,1(1' 
■Ir' 



Jik 



,'ii'H:i! 



;riit' 






^^^^^^^^^^1 






> . ^ . - "^^ 



P/-» 



^ '%.^x^^ '\^^^^ ^'^-.V 

^ c/^ /-^ /-^ 









■■■■■%' c?^ •■ •.% co^ ■• ■% " <^^ 






■b. 



<^' '^^ x.^ x^ \<^ \^ 

^ao'^ ^^o^ '^ao'« ^^0^ "^j-S 






'^^ 






"^^^ "f^<S^ "^AO^ '^^0^ 



.N^" 






-hay 7^/^ /<^m 6y77c 



fYC/v\A 



/ J 



,• 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



OF 



Des Moines C^ounty, Iowa 



CONTAINING 



BIOGRAPHICAL and GENEALOGICAL SKETCHES of \ 

I 

I 

MANY OF THE PROMINENT CITIZENS OF TO-DAY I 

AND ALSO OF THE PAST 



" Biography is the only true history" — Emerson 



ILLUSTRATED 



CHICAGO 

HOBART PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1905 



vW 



■M-'t-ti (o 



" The history of a nation is best told in the lives of 
its people." — Macaulay. 



Jq^iC'^- 



:><. >^ 



•/ 



PREFACE 



5^ 



The present age is happily awake to the duty of writing its own records, 
setting down what is best worth remembering in the lives of the busy toilers 
of to-day, noting, not in vainglory, but with an honest pride and sense of 
fitness, things worthy of emulation, that thus the good men do may live after 
them. The accounts here rendered are not of buried talents, but of used ability 
and opportunity. The conquests recited are of mind over matter, of cheerful 
labor directed by thought, of honest, earnest endeavor which subdues the earth 
in the divinely appointed way. " The great lesson of biography," it is said, " is 
to show what man can be and do at his best." A noble life put fairly on record 
acts like an inspiration, and no more interesting or instructive matter could be 
presented to an intelligent public. 

In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy 
the imitation of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in 
poverty, by industry and economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, 
with limited advantages for securing an education, have become learned men and 
women, with an influence extending throughout the length and breadth of the 
land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as 
statesmen, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in every 
walk of life who have striven to succeed, and records how that success has usually 
crowned their efforts. It tells also of those who, not seeking the applause of the 
world, have pursued the " even tenor of their way," content to have it said of 
them, as Christ said of a woman performing a deed of mercy, " They have done 
what they could." It tells how many, in the pride and strength of young man- 
hood, left all, and at their country's call went forth valiantly " to do or die," and 
how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace once more reigned 
in the land. 

Coming generations will appreciate this volume, and preserve it as a sacred 
treasure, from the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way 
into public record, and which would otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has 
been taken in the compilation of the work, and every opportunity possible given 
to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written ; and the pub- 
lishers flatter themselves that they give to their readers a work with few errors 
of consequence. 

Yours respectfully, 

HOBART PUBLISHING COMPANY. 
December, ipOj. 



■■ ./ pciiplc thai take no (ride in the noble acUwi'cmcnts of reniolc ancestors '.cil! 
neirr acliiar anything; worthy to he remembered with pride 
/'V remote •'cnerations." — Macaulay. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of 

Des Moines County 



PHILIP M. CRAPO. 

Philip M. Crapo, numbered among the 
honored dead of Burlington, was a man 
whose Hfe work was of the greatest benefit 
to his fellow-men. With a humanitarian 
spirit and a breadth of view that enabled 
him to realize the needs of the city, the con- 
ditions that would work for its improvement, 
and the possibilities for achievement, he put 
forth strenuous and effective efforts, the far- 
reaching effects of which will be felt for 
years to come. He was born June 30, 1844, 
and died Sept. 20, 1903, his loss proving a 
universal sorrow in Burlington, and largely 
throughout the State and nation wherever 
he was known. 

Philip Madison Crapo was a native of 
Massachusetts, born June 30. 1844, in Free- 
town. The Crapo family is of French 
lineage, but he also traces his ancestry back 
to the Pilgrim Fathers, and was very proud 
of this American line. His paternal grand- 
father, Benjamin Crapo, was born in Massa- 
chusetts, and was a descendant of Pierre 
Crapo, who was rescued from a French war 
vessel that was wrecked prior to 1700 near 
the Massachusetts coast, near Plymouth 
Colony. Pierre Crapo married Penelope 
White, a granddaughter of Peregrine White, 



the first white child born in Plymouth 
Colony. 

Philip Crapo, Sr., father of him whose 
name introduces this review, was born in 
Massachusetts, and became a sea captain. 
He wedded Hannah Crapo, also a native of 
the Bay State, and a daughter of Richard 
Crapo, who was a farmer there. The 
fathers of both Richard and Benjamin 
Crapo were soldiers of the Revolutionary 
War. Of the si.x children born unto Philip 
and Hannah Crapo only one is now living, 
Mrs. William A. Ashley, of Long Plain, 
Massachusetts. 

Philip M. Crapo was reared in New 
Bedford, Mass., where he acquired a good 
education at the common and high schools. 
He was but eighteen years of age when, in 
response to his country's call for aid to 
crush out the rebellion in the South, he 
enlisted as a defender of the Union, becom- 
ing a member of Company E, Third Massa- 
chusetts Infantry. He did valiant service 
for his country in the Civil War, returning 
to his home with a most creditable military 
record. Seeking first a favorable location 
for an active business career and one which 
would give full scope to his industry and 
ambition — dominant qualities — he re- 
moved to the West, settling in Flint, Mich., 



12 



niOGRAPHKAL REIIEU' 



wluTc III- ftipafji'il 111 l>ii.siiK-ss as a civil 
fnginetT. After assisting in constructing 
a portion of the Flint & Perc Marquette 
Railroad he was employed in the adjutant- 
general's office to assist in compiling a mili- 
tary record nf the State, and was also in the 
office of his uncle. Governor Crapo. while 
he was filling the office of governor. 

In 1868 he came to liurlington as the 
special or general agent for the Connecticut 
Mutual Life Insurance Company, having 
charge of one of the southern districts of 
the State. His territory was subsequently 
increased so that it comprised the entire 
States of Iowa and Nebraska, and he re- 
mained in charge of the company's vast in- 
terests in these States up to the time of his 
death. In 1HS2 the Connecticut Mutual 
Insurance Company made him its financial 
correspondent for Iowa and Nebraska. He 
then resigned as general agent and devoted 
himself entirely to the management of the 
company's investments. In acknowledg- 
ment of his efficiency in this direction, Mrs. 
Crapo was made the recipient of a testi- 
monial from the company, done on parch- 
ment in German text and rolled in a morocco 
leather satin-lined case. This is one of the 
mementos of the life work of her husband 
that .she cherishes dearly. In part it says, 
"And of the thousands of farms on which 
his loans were made, the company did not 
own a single farm, and never lost a dollar 
. . . and foreclosures were very rare." 

In addition to his extensive business in- 
terests in connection with the insurance 
comjiany, Mr. Crapo was actively concerned 
in local afTairs, at one time being local 
editor of the llm<-k-fLyc. and afterward a 
frequent contributor to its columns. Every 
movement which had a bearing upon the 
material, intellectual, social, and moral wel- 



fare of lUirlington was of <leei) interest to 
him, and every progressive measure received 
his indorsement and found in him an active 
champion. He was a strong advocate of a 
wagon bridge in connection with the rail- 
road bridge not then completed across the 
Mississippi River at Burlington. I5y a 
vigorous effort he at one time expected to 
bring the Iowa Central Railroad into Bur- 
lington, hoping that its line might cross the 
river here instead of at Keithsburg, and only 
the refusal of the directors to lease or sell 
the Burlington & Northwestern Railroad 
prevented the consummation of the plan. 

In 1887 Mr. Crajx) organized the Bur- 
lington & Illinois Bridge Company and se- 
cured a charter from Congress authorizing 
them to bridge the Mississippi River. After 
much lalvir and a large expenditure of 
money Mr. Crapo ])repared the way for the 
erection of a combined railroad and wagon 
bridge, which would have given independent 
railroad facilities to I'urlington. and also 
established a more satisfactory communica- 
tion with the farming districts of Illinois ; 
but when the work was completed, and the 
tax-])ayers of Burlington expressed them- 
selves as willing to vote a large tax to aid 
the |)roject, a majority of the members of 
the I'lridge Company declined to assume the 
rcsiKwsibility for the construction of the 
bridge, and the work has not yet been done. 

Not only was Mr. Crapo the president of 
the Burlington & Illinois 1 '.ridge Company, 
but he was also prominent in connection with 
many business positions of marked imi)or- 
tance. He was the president of the Bur- 
lington hoard of trade, the president of the 
Burlington & Henderson County Ferry 
Company, the president of the Burlington 
Commercial Club, a trustee of the city for 
the ferrv franchise, trustee of the public 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



13 



library, and a trustee of the Congregational 
church. He took special pride in the fact 
that he started the movement for the paving 
of the principal streets of the city with brick, 
addressing the city council by strong resolu- 
tions prepared and introduced b\- him at a 
session of the Commercial Club, the board 
of trade, and public meetings of the citizens 
called together by him for that purpose. 
He was conspicuous for his advocacy of the 
improvement of the Mississippi River, and 
his efforts in behalf of improved waterways 
were acknowledged b\' his appointment upon 
a committee to prepare memorials to Con- 
gress by not less than five of the great 
conventions called to consider the question 
of the improvement of the waterways. 

These varied interests show the extent 
and scope of his activity, and indicate his 
value as a citizen, for his labors were of a 
most practical character. Many improve- 
ments looking to the betterment of Bur- 
lington found him a champion. He was 
truly public-spirited, and was never so happy 
as when busily engaged upon some public 
enterprise. His own time, his own labor, 
his own money, were given lavishly where 
the public interest was involved. He never 
entered into any movement in a half-hearted 
manner, but gave his full effort to carrying 
forward to successful completion whatever 
he undertook. 

In politics, as well as in all civic move- 
ments, he occupied a prominent position, and 
few men were more familiar with the polit- 
ical issues and events, and few enjoyed a 
wider acquaintance among men of proini- 
nence throughout the entire country. He 
was always a Republican, and served his 
party as chairman of the county and con- 
gressional committees, as well as in other 
capacities. He was nominated for the posi- 



tion of State senator and in 1887 was 
prominently mentioned for the office of gov- 
ernor. 

It was, however, more largely as a private 
citizen of great public spirit and marked 
business capacity that he was best known 
to his fellow-townsmen. He worked inde- 
fatigably as a member of the Commercial 
Exchange, and as its president took an 
active i^art as a member of the Ferry Com- 
]jany. and did effective service on number- 
less committees. He was a friend of the old 
soldier, realizing fully the debt of gratitude 
which the country owes the boys in blue; 
and they, in turn, owe to Mr. Crapo a debt 
of gratitude for what he did in their behalf. 
He did more, perhaps, than any other man 
in Iowa for the magnificent Soldiers' Home 
at Marshalltown. His loyalty to Burlington 
and his faith in its citizens was demonstrated 
a number of years ago when the question 
of the location of the National Soldiers' 
Home was being discussed. A meeting was 
held in Burlington to consider ways and 
means of procuring the location of the home 
in this city. The matter was taken up with 
enthusiasm by the citizens, Mr. Crapo being 
one of the leaders in the movement. The 
tract of land south of Burlington known as 
Picnic Point was selected as the site of the 
home, and part of the money was subscribed 
for it. The national board that had the 
location of the home in charge visited Bur- 
lington, and an effort was made to induce 
the board to consider Burlington as the 
site. The board, however, announced that 
it would reserve its decision in the matter 
until its meeting in Leavenworth. Mr. 
Crapo was then appointed as a committee of 
one to go to Leavenworth and push Bur- 
Imgton's claim. At the meeting there, the 
board announced that no oflfer of location 



u 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIllW 



could Ix" Cdtisiticrcd iiiiloss such an offi-r wa> 
accompaiiii'tl by a guarantee bond of one 
hundred thousand dollars. There was not 
sufficient time for Mr. Crapo to communi- 
cate with the citizens of Hurlington, but 
without hesitation he himself sigfncd the 
bonil. .Although his efforts proved fruitless, 
it was through no lack of energy on his own 
part or that of his fellow-citizens. .After- 
ward Mr. Crapo was questioned as to what 
he would have done if the citizens of Bur- 
lington had failed to support him in his 
guarantee of the hotid. lie smiled and said 
that he had imt thought of it. and that he 
had t<H) much lailh in the enteri)rise and the 
public spirit of the citizens to think such a 
thing could be possible. He said, however, 
he would have personally carried out the 
contract, and every one ac(|uaintcd with Mr. 
Crai)o knows that he would have done so. 
Having failed in his efforts to secure the 
national home. Mr. Crapo turned his at- 
tention to the organization of the Iowa 
."soldiers" Home, and made a strenuous 
effort to have its location at Ilurlington. 
but again without success, the building 
going to Marshalltown. In the work of 
building and furnishing that institution Mr. 
Crapo was untiring, and has always been 
known as the " father of the home." 

He has builded tor himself in lUirlington 
two monuments more enduring than bronze 
or granite — the public library and Crapo 
Park. He found in the library an ill- 
assorted collection of books that were looked 
after in a dilatory manner, the collection 
containing little that was of real value, 
while a small tax was exacted from the 
citizens who wished to make use of the 
collection. Mr. Crapo's interest being 
aroused in behalf of the public library, he 
undertook the work of pushing the enter- 



prise with characteristic energy". It required 
some money to clear the collection of debt, 
and he furnished the needed sum. .A new 
law had been |)assed which enabled cities 
to establish free public libraries. Mr. Crapo 
led in the agitation, and from the beginning 
was a firm friend of the library. His dona- 
tions to the fine structure and to its splendid 
contents represent a handsome fortune. He 
never wearied of enriching the institution, 
of which he was justly proud, and he gave 
of his time and of his labor as freely as of 
his wealth: and to his eternal vigilance, 
no less than to his magnificent generosity, 
is due the fact that liurlington to-day 
possesses one really tine public structure in 
its library, which will compare favorably 
with those which are a .source of pride to 
nnich larger cities. 

.-\gain, his work in behalf of what is 
known as Crapo P.irk of Ilurlington was 
eijually commendable. Conceiving the idea 
that Ihirlington should have a public park, 
he recognized no obstacles, and overcame 
all difficulties by determined purpose, giving 
freely of his means as well as of his time 
and energies. .\s the result, P>urlington 
has a park of about one hundred acres 
which, in the cour.se of time, after the 
original plans are carried out, will be one of 
the finest in the .State, if not in the entire 
West. 

Mr. Crapo was married in P.urlington, 
Sept, 6, 1870, to Miss Ruth .\. Ray, and 
this union was blessed with seven children : 
Edith R., now the wife of Martin T. Bald- 
win ; Phili]) .A.shley, Chester P., Ruth K., 
Clifford .M., Lucy H., and William M. 
With the exception of Philip, all survived 
the father. This .son, like his ancestors, 
showed his patriotic spirit, and in the 
country's hour of need, in 1898, he re- 



DES MOISES COUNTY. IOWA. 



15 



t 



spondee! to the call for troops for service 
in the Spanish-American War, and died of 
typhoid fever at Jacksonville Fla., in Sep- 
tember, 1898. His remains were interred in 
Aspen Grove cemetery. His sketch appears 
elsewhere in this work. 

Mr. Crapo was always deeply interested 
in military affairs, and when the National 
Guard of Iowa held its encampment at 
Burlington, in 1888, the camp was called 
Camp Crapo in his honor, and liis name has 
been adopted by the local organization of 
the Sons of \'eterans in Burlington. 

Mr. Crapo was most generous in his 
charity, yet thoroughly unostentatious, and 
the general public knew little of his many 
benefactions. He extended a helping hand 
to many, and desired nothing in return save 
that no one should know aught of the gift. 
\Mien he passed away, the newspapers all 
over the country recorded his death. His 
])ortrait has adorned man}- magazines and 
books. Friendship Lodge, No. 11, Knights 
of Pythias, of which he was a member, 
published resolutions of respect, as did the 
Business Men's Club, while C. L. Matthies 
Post, No. 5, G. A. R., and Company H, of 
the Fifty-fourth I. N. G.. acted as escort at 
his funeral. The \^'oman's Relief Corps 
also attended the funeral in a body, and H. 
Cj. Marquardt, mayor, issued a proclamation 
closing all business houses during the 
obsequies. Resolutions of respect were also 
adopted and published by the library board, 
by the Shakespearean Club, and by the 
old soldiers in the home at Marshalltown. 
The publishing house of A. C. McClurg & 
Company, of Chicago, sent a letter to the 
librarian' expressing sorrow for the death 
of Mr. Crapo, and a memorial was sent from 
the Connecticut Mutual Life .Association. 
Xo one with whom he came in contact 



failed to respect him. Men differed from 
him in opinions, and he was ever fearless 
in spreading his own views, yet all esteemed 
him for his fidelity to his honest convictions. 
He had the good will and confidence of men 
throughout the country, — men high in au- 
thority and men in the lowly walks of 
life : and in Burlington, where he was best 
known, he was well termed one of its best- 
loved citizens. 



JOSEPH W. BLYTHE. 

JosKPH \\iLL[.\.M Blvthe, general coun- 
sel for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
Railroad, at Burlington, Iowa, comes of 
a family noted for strong intellectuality. 
.\mong his ancestors were those noted in 
educational circles and others along profes- 
sional lines. Of Scotch lineage, the first 
representatives of the name in America lo- 
cated in North Carolina. Rev. James E. 
Blythe, LL. D., D. D., grandfather of 
Joseph W. Blythe, was a distinguished edu- 
cator, for some years connected with Tran- 
sylvania University, at Lexington, Ky., and 
afterward president of Hanover College, of 
Indiana. He was also at one time mod- 
erator of the general assembly of the Pres- 
byterian church, but his later years were 
devoted more exclusively to educational 
labors in the colleges. 

His son. Rev. Joseph William Blythe, 
was born in Lexington, Ky., pursued his 
literary education in Transylvania L'niver- 
sity, and then matriculated in Princeton 
Theological Seminary. Following his or- 
dination as a clergxnian of the Presby- 
terian churcii. he devoted the first years of 
his ministry to the home missionary depart- 
ment of the church, and later accepted a 



i6 



BIOCKArtUCAI. REl-IEW 



pastorate in .Micliij,'an. ( )n leaving tliat 
State he went to I'ittsbiirg, I'a., and subse- 
quently to Cranberry, N. J. : after which 
he removed to Hanover, Ind.. to become 
financial officer of Hanover College, this 
occurring ai)out 1856. He rei)rcscntecl the 
financial interests of the college until i8<j2, 
when he entered tlie army as chaplain, re- 
maining in the hos])ital at Madis<in, Ind., 
until the close of the war. .Vfterward he 
was pastor of the Presbyterian church at 
Oiarleston, Ind., where he continued until 
his death, which occurred in 1876. His 
wife, Eleanor Henrietta (Green) Blythe, 
the mother of the subject of this sketch, 
was born in Lawrenceville, X. J., and was 
a daughter of Caleb Smith and Eleanor 
(Van Cleve) Cirecn. 

Jo.seijh William Ulythe, in early boyhood, 
was a student in the Lawrenceville school, 
and was afterward a student in I'rinceton 
College and in Hanover College. Prepar- 
ing for the bar. he was for three years a stu- 
dent in the office and under the direction of 
Thomas S. Aitken, of Trenton, X. j. He 
taught in the Lawrenceville school for three 
years. The degrees of Bachelor of Arts 
and Master of .\rts were conferred upon 
him by Princeton College, aii<l that of Doc- 
tor of Law by Dethany College, of Kansas, 
and Hanover College, of Intliana. 

Coming to Iowa in 1874. Mr. I'.lythe lo- 
cated in ilurlinglon, was admitted to the 
bar. and entered upon i)racticc. Soon after- 
ward he formed a i)artnershi]) with the Hon. 
Thomas Hedge, now a member of Con- 
gress, under the firm name of Hedge & 
Blythe. In 1876 he went into the service 
of the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Kail- 
road Company, as attorney for tJuir hnva 
lines. Afterward he was appointed gen- 
eral solicitor, and in 1901 general counsel. 



f )n the 15th of ( )ctober, 1877, Mr. Blythe 
was married to Miss Margaret E. Gear, a 
daughter of John H. and Harriet Graham 
( Foote) Gear. They have one son, Hugh 
I'.lythe, born .\ug. 22. 1878, a graduate of 
1 larvard Cniversity and Harvard Law 
School. 



WILLIAM CARSON. 

GiMCN to the ])rosecution of active meas- 
ures in business life, and possessing the 
earnest purpose of reaching an exalted 
standard of accomplishment, William Car- 
son lias become one of the foremost men of 
Burlington, a recognized leader in banking 
circles, and at tin- same time a representa- 
tive of that class of American citizens who 
in the promotion of varied enterprises add 
not alone to their individual prosperity, but 
.ilso advance the general welfare and pros- 
])erity of the cities in which lliey make their 
homes. 

William Carson was lx>rn in Eau Galle, 
Wis.. Xov. <j, i85y, a son of William 
and .Mary (.Smith) Carson. His paternal 
grand fatlier. William Carson, was born 
near (ilasgow. .Scotland, and following his 
marriage to a .Miss Robertson he crossed 
the .Vtlantic, establishing his home in In- 
verness, Canada. His remaining days were 
spent there and at Ouebec. 

William Carson was born at Inverness, 
Canada, in 1819, and comi)leted his edu- 
cation in the schools of Quebec, but early 
put aside his text-b<x)ks in order to become 
a factor in business life. In his youth he 
crossed the border into the L'nited States, 
antl made his way southward to St. Louis, 
.Mo. I^ter he retraced his steps until he 
had reached the timber districts of Wis- 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



17 



consiii, becoming one of the pioneers in the 
lumber business of that State. He was 
interested in mills at various places, in- 
cluding Eau Galle. Eau Claire, and Qiip- 
pewa Falls, and was associated for some 
time in the lumber industrj' at Burling- 
ton with the late E. D. Rand. They 
were among the first to engage in the 
lumber trade and to promote lumber 
manufacturing interests in this city. Mr. 
Carson continued with Mr. Rand until 
the latter's death, and afterward conducted 
the business alone until his own demise in 
Eau Claire, Wis. He was at that time 
seventy-nine years of age. He died full of 
years and honors, his life crowned by suc- 
cessful accomplisiiment, the resultant fac- 
tors in his career being keen business dis- 
cernment, the utilization of opportunity, and 
inflexible integrit}- in all business transac- 
tions. In connection with the lumber in- 
dustry he became identified with the bank- 
ing business at Eau Claire. His political 
views were in harmony with the principles 
of Democracy. He became known as a 
philanthropist in Wisconsin, because of his 
generous donations to various benevolent 
movements as well as to individuals. He 
stood in his old age, when crowned with 
wealth and honors, where he did in his 
youth, the champion of individual rights 
and an admirer of strong and stalwart char- 
acter. He was ever ready to assist tho.se 
less fortunate than himself in the business 
world, and his name is therefore held in 
reverence by many who knew him in the 
years of his activity. He wedded Miss 
Mary Smith at Prairie du Chien, and they 
became the parents of five daughters and 
one son, all of whom are yet living. The 
mother passed away in Eau Claire, Wis., 
nine vears ]irior to her husband's death. 



William Carson acquired his preliminary 
education in Eau Galle, and after studying 
for a time in I'.urlington, and later in St. 
Paul, Minn., comi)leted a high-school 
course by graduation. He then entered 
Cornell University at Ithaca, N. Y., where 
he remained as a student for three years. 
Following the completion of his college 
course he entered upon his business career 
in connection with the lumber trade at Bur- 
lington as an employee of the firm in which 
his father was a partner. Demonstrating 
his business ability and enterprise, he was 
made secretary of the company, and after- 
ward vice-president, which position he yet 
fills. The company has been incorporated, 
anil as the years have passed by, the scope 
of its activity has been increased until now 
the annual output reaches twenty-five mil- 
lion feet of lumber, while the plant covers 
an area of fifteen acres. Mr. Carson is also 
a director of the Rand Lumber Company, 
one of the extensive enterprises of this 
character on the river. He is likewise vice- 
president of the Rice Lake Company at Rice 
Lake, Wis. : vice-president of the Barber 
Lumber Company, of Boise, Idaho ; vice- 
president of the Cascade Lumber Company, 
of North Yakima. Wash. ; and also a di- 
rector in other lumber companies. 

His prominence as a representative of the 
lumber trade, and his business ability as 
demonstrated in his successful control of 
important industries of this character, led 
to his selection for the presidency of the 
First National Bank of Burlington. This 
bank was organized forty-one years ago. 
It is capitalized for one hundred thousand 
dollars, there is a surplus of seventy-six 
thousand dollars, and deposits amounting 
to from eight hundred and fifty thousand 
to one million dollars. 



i8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Carson was married, .\larcli 4, 1885, 
to Miss Louise Cook, a daughter of Lyman 
Cook, of Burlington, and they have two 
children. Dorothy and Louise. They attend 
and sui)|)ort the Congregational church, of 
which Mrs. Carson is a member. Politically 
Mr. Carson is a Democrat. His ambition, 
however, has never been along jiolitical 
lines, for his constantly expanding business 
interests have claimed all his time and at- 
tention. He has steadily advanceil in those 
walks of life demanding intellectuality, busi- 
ness ability, and fidelity. He stands to-day 
as a prominent representative of the lum- 
ber trade of the country, and although he 
entered upon a business already established, 
in enlarging and (k'veloj)ing this lie has 
shown marked capacity for management 
and ready discernment in mastering the 
])roblems of an intricate business situation. 



HON. WILLIAM HARPER. 

Hon. \Villi,\.\i U.vrckk. full of years 
and honors, having i)assed the eighty- 
fifth milestone on life's journey, has lived 
and labored to goodl\- ends, his life work 
becoming an integral cha])ter in the his- 
tory of Des Moines county and the State 
of Iowa. He has contributed to its 
pioneer growth, its business development, 
ti> its political and educational progress. 
The contem])orary and friend of many of 
tile most distinguished men of the State, 
he has been accorded a place in their 
ranks by reason of his ability to handle 
questions of great importance affecting 
the weal or woe of the commonwealth, 
and by reason of a character that, viewed 
in the light of the past eighty-five years. 



seems without a blemish. .\o historian 
would claim to write of a faultless man, 
and yet the mistakes that .Mr. Harper may 
have made have been those of judgment 
rather than intention : for a kindly spirit, 
a sense of justice, unfaltering integrity, 
and an indomitable adherence to upright 
|)rinciples have ever been salient features 
in liis career, and in ,ill Des Moines 
county there is no man held in greater 
love and respect than this venerable cit- 
izen of .Mediapolis. 

His life history began .\ov. 3. 1819. in 
Koss county. ( )hio. His ancestral history 
through many generations, both lineal 
.111(1 collateral, has been Jlistinctively 
.Xniericaii. altliougli farther back the line 
can lie traced to (iennany. His paternal 
great-grandfather. ,\dam Har])er. a resi- 
<lent of rendleton county. West \'irginia, 
settled on the headwaters of the .south 
branch of the Potomac River, and became 
a land owner in 1765. This place is 
twelve miles north of the town of Mon- 
terey, the county-seat of Highland county, 
old \irginia. He was among the first 
settlers of this ])oint. west of the Blue 
Ridge .Mcnmtains in X'irginia. and went 
through the hardships and dangers in- 
cident tn ])ioneer life in that country at 
that liiiie: tor in i7'>7 tlmse settlers were 
e.\|)osed to the attacks of the Indians, who 
waged a murderous warfare all along the 
line of that settlement. 

His farm was located across the south 
branch of the Potomac valley, in a most 
beautiful, |)ictures(|ue country, and in 
i(>o<~> the I lid original log cabin in which 
he dwelt as a pioneer was still standing. 
There were abundant portholes in it, 
through which he could fire his flint-lock 
rifle in defense of his home against the 



lit of th 



^ 





DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



21 



incursions of the Indians. A large orchard 
was on the place, located just northwest 
of the house, which stood on a bench 
overlooking the lower bottom ; and in one 
corner of this orchard the old people 
(Adam Harper and wife) were buried. 
There was a cold spring on the place, and 
a log milk-house was built near it, which 
also was still standing in the year of 1900. 

Adam Harper, Jr., married a Miss 
Flescher, whose parents came from Ger- 
many about 1735, and established their 
home in the Old Dominion, then a part 
of the colonial possessions of Great 
Britain. Adam Harper, Sr., came to 
America soon after the arrival of the 
Flescher family, and also established his 
home in Virginia. On Jan. 2, 1821, the 
last will and testament of Adam Harper, 
deceased, was presented in court, proved 
by oath of Jonas Harmon and Solomon 
Harper, two of the witnesses thereto, and 
ordered to be recorded. Henry Flescher 
became a major in the War of the Revolu- 
tion, when the colonies entered upon the 
struggle that brought independence to the 
nation. He was a brother to the wife of 
Adam Harper, Jr. 

Adam Harper, Jr., grandfather of 
William Harper, was born in Pendleton 
county, Virginia, and became a farmer by 
occupation. He removed from the Old 
Dominion to Ohio in 1805, settling in 
Ross county. Joab Harper, son of Adam 
Harper, Jr., was a native of Pendleton 
county, Virginia, now West Virginia. In 
1805 he was brought by his parents to 
Ross county, Ohio, where for many years 
they carried on agricultural pursuits. 
Having arrived at years of maturity, he 
was married to Lydia Jones, a native of 
Augusta county, Virginia. 



In 1849 Joal) 1 lar|)er came with his fam- 
ily to Iowa. He lived a quiet life, and 
]iossessed a conservative nature; yet no 
man was more stanch in support of the 
principles in which he believed. He was 
a devoted and loyal member of the Pres- 
Ijyterian church, having united with thai 
body after middle age, adhering to that 
faith until his death, which occurred Sept. 
17, 1882, when he was eighty-seven years 
of age. He had for several years sur- 
vived his wife, who passed away at the 
age of seventy-four years. They reared 
a family of six children, of whom we have 
the following record : William, of Medi- 
apolis ; John, also residing in Mediapolis ; 
Robert J., of Manhattan, Kans., who was 
formerly judge of the probate court of 
Riley county; Joab, Jr., who was engaged 
in the furniture business in Great Bend; 
Kans., and later moved to Hutchinson, 
Kans., where he died in June, 1901 ; Anna, 
the deceased wife of Edward Heizer, of 
Mediapolis ; and Adam, who died at the 
age of seventeen years. The mother, Mrs. 
Lydia Jones Harper, died Aug. 26, 1867, 
at the age of seventy-five years, and, as 
before stated, the father passed away 
Sept. 17, 1882, at the home of his son, 
Joab, with whom he had spent the even- 
ing of life. 

The first year that Robert J. Harper, 
son of Joab Harper, was located in Des 
Moines county, he taught school in the old 
Jefferson Academy ; he later taught for 
two years at Marion, Iowa, and still later, 
for one term in a cabin east of Northfield. 
The last year that he taught in Marion 
he had over a hundred pupils and an as- 
sistant teacher. 

On Aug. 27, 1862, he enlisted as a 
private in Company G, Eleventh Kansas 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



\ oluiitcir Infantry, and on organization 
of the regiment, he was appointed regi- 
mental (|iiartcnnaster sergeant, which 
rank he held until Sept. 4, i8(')3. This 
appointment was made by Col. Thomas 
Ewing, who was a son of Thomas Ewing, 
of Ohio, and the first chief justice Kansas 
ever had. 

In iWi_^ Mr. Harper was commissioned 
first lieutenant and regimental commis- 
sary of subsistence for his regiment by 
the governor of Kansas. Immediately 
after he was mustered into service he was 
detailed to relieve Capt. \l. Graham, act- 
ing quartermaster at Independence, Mo., 
where he remained until the spring of 
l8f>4. He was tlu-n detailed by (ieneral 
McKean as comiuissary of subsistence on 
his staff, and post commissary at Paola, 
Kans. He was also on the staff of Gen- 
eral McKean's successors. General Sykes 
and General I'.lunt. and remained at Paola 
until iSf)4. 

in the latter year his regiment was or- 
dered to Fort Laramie, and west of here 
he acted as regimental quartermaster and 
regimental commissary of subsistence. 
He also acted as adjutant of the regiment, 
but at bis request was relieved of the 
duties of adjutant. He served as regi- 
mental (|uartermaster and regimental 
commissary from the time he left Fort 
Riley until he was mustered nut of serv- 
ice, Aug. 19, 1865. 

Thomas F'wing, the first colonel of the 
regiment, was promoted to be a briga- 
dier-general, and was succeeded by Col. 
Thomas Moonlight. The regiment was 
in command of Lieut.-Col. V. V.. I'lunib 
the most of the time, he afterward becom- 
ing United States Senator from the State 
of Kansas. 



Mr. Harper's military service, being in 
the business \ra.Tl of the army, was very 
pleasant. He had the confidence and re- 
spect of his superior officers, as well as 
the confidence and respect of the non- 
commissioned officers to whom he issued 
supplies. His civic life since he came out 
of the army has been mainly official, he 
having served as probate judge for eight 
years, and as clerk of the district court 
for twenty-two years. He has also been 
police judge and justice of the peace of 
Maidiattan City, and, in fact, from 1859 
until he laid down the duties, burdens, 
and responsibilities of business life, four 
years ago, has acted in some responsible 
official position. 

There was nothing in the boyhood days 
of William Har])er to indicate the suc- 
cesses and honors to which he was to at- 
tain in later years. He had the advantage, 
however, of Christian training in his 
home, while lessons of industry atul in- 
tegrity were also instilled into his mind, 
and have borne rich fruit in later years. 
He knew what earnest toil meant in 
his early youth, and when not engaged 
in tlu- duties of the schoolroom was 
busy with the work of the fields. His 
educational advantages were afforded 
by the schools of the home district, 
and when nineteen years of age he 
began teaching, from which titue for- 
ward he has been an unfaltering cham- 
])i(iii anil advocate of the system of public 
instruction. He followed the ])rofession 
in the winter months, while in the sum- 
mer seasons his labors were given to the 
,farm, being thus engaged imtil his re- 
moval from Ohio to the West. At that 
date, — October, 1842, — Iowa seemed far 
distant, owing to the lack of transporta- 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



23 



tion facilities; for the journey had to be In the early period of his residence in 

made across the country or by water. thisicounty, however, Mr. Harper spent 

Visiting Dcs Moines county, Mr. Har- three years in the citv of BVirlington, act- 
per made his way to North Prairie, and ing a part of that time as teacher, and the 
was so pleased with the district comprised latter portion as deputy clerk of the 
in Yellow Springs township that he de- courts. He lived in the city from Sep- 
termincd to locate there permanently, tember, 1846, until 1841). and he and his 
The following winter he was employed to brother taught tlie first large select school 
teach a school, which convened in a log .in Burlington, leasing the old territorial 
church, and in February, 1843, 'le made hall, it being in the basement of old Zion 
his first purchase of land, becoming owner M. E. church, for the purpose. The un- 
of ninety-five acres on Section 17, Yellow dertaking proved a success, for in a short 
Springs township. A short time before a time the building was completelv filled. 
small cabin had been fniilt thereon, while Among the pupils were man\- who have 
five acres of the land had been broken; since become famous. During that time 
and Mr. Harper continued the further Mr. Harper and his brother were mem- 
work of cultivation and development, un- bers of the Congregational church of Bur- 
dertaking the task with resolute will, and lington, of which Dr. W'm. Salter was 
recognizing fully the arduous work that pastor, 
was before him. As an agriculturist .Mr. Harper was 

Returning to Ohio in 1S43. Mr. Harper ever foremost, quick to adojjt new meth- 
won a companion and helpmate for the ods that promised practical results, and 
journey of life, being married Aug. 7, equally quick to use the improved ma- 
1844, to Miss Harriet Heizer, who was chinery which in\ention placed upon the 
born Oct. 8, 1819, in Ross county, Ohio, a market. Moreover he realized that labor 
daughter of Samuel and Polly Heizer, is the ])asis of all success, and worked un- 
who were natives of Virginia, and of tiringly and perseveringly to acquire a 
("lerman descent. The wedding journey competence that would enable him to sur- 
of the young couple consisted of a trip round his family with the comforts that 
across the prairies by team, to the home make life worth living. As he prospered 
which he had prepared in Des Moines he added to his original holdings, until he 
county. They reached their destination owned a valuable farm of two hundred 
Oct. 3, 1844, took up their abode in the and ten acres. In early days he followed 
little cabin, and for four years lived in the plow himself, turned the furrows, har- 
true pioneer style. But the untiring rowed the fields, and planted and har- 
energy of Mr. Harper during that period vested his crops; but in later years pros- 
was crowned with success, so that at the perity released him from this arduous 
end of that time he was enabled to erect toil, and other interests have long since 
a large and substantial residence upon his claimed his attention, 
farm. It continued to be the family Following his removal to Mediapolis he 
home until 1877, when they removed to was engaged in the real estate, loan, and 
the village of Mediapolis. insurance business, in which he continued 



24 



niOGRArHlCAL REVIEW 



until iSfji. when he was chosen |)resitlent 
of the State luink of Mediajjolis. li> the 
meantime, while livinp ui)on the farm, he 
received his first commission as notary' 
piil)lic from Governor Hemsteail, in 1850, 
and has since acted in that capacity. Fol- 
lowinp the close of the war his work in 
this connection grew to extensive propor- 
tions, demanding the greater part of his 
time. He soon became an expert in pro- 
bate business also, and there is perhaps 
no man in Des Moines county who has 
been called upon to settle up more 
estates; for his trustworthiness in such 
connections was well known, his business 
honor and integrity standing as an un- 
<|uestioiied fact in his history. 

After being chosen to the presidency of 
the State Bank of Mediajiolis, he grad- 
ually disposed of all of his business inter- 
ests save an occasional transaction in real 
estate, his attention being given to the 
bank, whicji under his carefid guidance 
l)rospcred, becoming one of the strong 
financial concerns of the coiuity. He is 
now living retired, but it is safe to say 
that there are few men in this sectit)n of 
the State who have transacted more busi- 
ness. Ix^th for public and for private in- 
dividuals, than has William Harper. 
Thrf>ugh many years he was the only man 
whose name appeared on the list of 
pioneers who remained in active connec- 
tion with business pursuits. 

Wielding a wide influence in public 
affairs, Mr. Harper has left the imjiress 
of his individuality for good upon public 
thought and action through many years. 
He has ever been fearless in defense of 
his honest convictions, and nothing could 
swerve him from a course which he be- 
lieved to be right : yet he has never been 



hasty in forming his conclusions, and has 
always held himself amenal)le to reason 
and to argument. In early life and until 
he reached middle age he was a stanch 
Democrat, and ujotu that party ticket was 
elected to represent his district in the 
third general assembly of Iowa, which 
convened at Iowa City, in 1830. 

.\ board of commissioners had been ap- 
|)ointed by the second assembly to codif\ 
the laws of the State. This committee 
comprised the following named : Charles 
Mason, Stephen Hemstead, and W. Ci. 
Woodward. This was known as "Mason's 
Code." 

His course tlurein was one which re- 
flected credit upon himself and proved 
highly satisfactory to his constituents, 
and he relates many interesting incidents 
in connection with the jiroceedings of that 
early session of the Legislature. He was 
chairman of the committee on enrolled 
l)ills. and on agriculture ; was a member of 
the committee on schools, and chairman 
of the special committee to draft rules for 
the government of the House. He was 
also a member of the select committee to 
iiu|iiire into the expediency of the govern- 
ment of the I'nited States making dona- 
tions of land to actual settlers. He gave 
to each f|uestion wdiich came up for settle- 
ment his earnest study and consideration, 
and was connected with much of the im- 
portant constructive legislation of that 
early period. 

Twenty years later he was again 
elected to the House, served as chairman 
of the committee orw common schools, and 
was a member of the committees on State 
university and judicial districts. He was 
also chairman of the special committee to 
examine the report of Charles .\. White 



DES MOINES COUXTV. IOWA. 



25 



( 



State geologist, with a view to publishing 
the same. While in the House he formed 
warm personal friendships with many oi 
the distinguished men of Iowa, who 
recognized the worth of the man, and his 
superior capabilities. 

Mr. Harper's position in the Legisla- 
ture gave him excellent opportunity to 
further the interests of the public schools, 
which have always been dear to his heart, 
and he was instrumental in laying the 
foundation of the public-school system oi 
Des Aloines county. His experience as a 
teacher in earlier years gave him an in- 
sight into the needs of the school system, 
and this caused him to be placed in nomi- 
nation for the office of county superin- 
tendent of public schools of Des Aloines 
county, to which he was elected and re- 
elected, serving in all for six years. His 
work in behalf of public education alone 
would entitle him to rank with the dis- 
tinguished men of the State. He was an 
early promoter of Jefferson Academy, 
afterward called Yellow Springs College, 
and was president of the board of trustees 
during the existence of that institution. 

He informed himself thoroughly con- 
cerning the status of the schools, their 
possibilities and opportunities, and gave 
his knowdedge to the public through the 
columns of the local press m a manner so 
concise and favorable that the reports 
made a deep impression upon the minds 
of Des Moines county's citizens. He 
made a strong and forcible jilea for better 
schools and broader opportunities, for 
more efficient teachers and a higher 
standard of (.-(lucation, and he had the 
greatest appreciation for all who became 
his helpers in this work. While in the 
Legislature he put forth strong effort to 



secure the passage of measures beneficial 
to the schools, and though some of these 
were lost, he yet sowed the seeds that have 
in time produced the harvest. 

When elected to the House in 1870, Dr. 
licardsley was elected to the Senate ; and 
later, at the convention of the Pioneer 
I^aw-maker's Association, of Iowa, in its 
liiennial session held in 1894, Dr. Beards- 
ley spoke of the work in connection with 
the common schools in the following man- 
ner : 

" In the important matter of public 
education some things were undertaken in 
both of those assemblies which could not 
be carried to success, and which still 
remain in abeyance. For example, in 
the thirteenth, William Harper, of Des 
Moines county, chairman of the commit- 
tee on schools, introduced an elaborate 
bill, codifymg the school laws and adapt- 
ing them to the township district s\^s- 
tem, which could have been adopted then 
with much less difficult}- than now. But 
the House killed the bill. The change is 
still advocated by our most intelligent and 
experienced educators. Thus the present 
superintendent of j>uhlic instruction, in 
his report for 1888-89, speaking of the 
township system, says : ' This subject has 
been so ably discussed by each of my pred- 
ecessors in office that it does not seem 
necessary to spend much time upon it in 
this report. If the people of the State 
could be made to understand how much 
time, and money, and strength, is wasted 
in carrying our present comj^lex system 
into effect, and how much the efficiency 
of the school could lie increased by the 
adoption of the civil townsjiip as the unit, 
they would demand that the Legislature 
take immediate steps toward accomplish- 



26 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'IEW 



m^ that result.' He follows this with 
facts, fij^iircs. and ar)i;iimcnts to show its 
correct iK-ss. In the fourteenth, the chair- 
man ">t the committee on schools in tile 
Senate intrnduced and securerl the |)as- 
sape of a bill, both at the regular and ad- 
journe<l sessions, for oom])ulsory eiluca- 
tinu. In both instances it was dcf''ated 
in the House, and it still remains to be 
ad<>i)te<l, thoutjh succeeding superintend- 
ents have advocated it. and slimved its 
necessity by carefully gathered statistics." 

Mr. Harper was instrumental in secur- 
ing a change in the management of the 
State L'niversity. which ])assc(l from the 
charge of trustees to a board of re- 
gents: for through the inlluence of Mr. 
Harper and others the bill whereby this 
change was effected was introduced. As 
chairman of the committee on schools he 
alst) jiromoted other effective legislation, 
whereby the "graft" through the squan- 
dering of the scho(jl lands was done away 
with. .Mr. Har])er took an active interest 
in the ])assage of the railroad tax bill, and 
pending the passage of that bill (the 
Russell bill) ofTered an amendment re- 
taining four-fifths of the railroad tax col- 
lected, in the counties through wliicli the 
roads ])assed, and one-fifth to go to the 
State, .\ftcr a long and very interesting 
discussion, his amendment iiassed ; and 
on his motion llie niUs were suspended, 
and tin- bill ])assed by a vote of eighty- 
tw<i for and eleven against. 

During the momentous |)eriod of the 
Civil War, .Mr. Ilar]ier, who up to that 
time had been a stanch Democrat, became 
a stalwart ad\ocate of the Union cause. 
In the bitterness of feelings that then ex- 
isted he made public refutation of an in- 
sinuation luade by some of his party op- 



ponents, that he was influencing Demo- 
cratic voters against enlisting as volun- 
teers in order ttj secure their supjiort for 
Democratic nominees at the apj^roaching 
election. In a letter which breathed the 
true spirit of patriotism, he said : " I 
have ever, so far as relates to party, en- 
deavored to li\e the life of a consistent 
Deiuocrat : but the time has arrivetl 
when every true patriot shouhl be wiUing 
to forego all party ditTerences, ancl rally 
to the suijptjrt of the administration in its 
elTorts to suppress a rebellion which has 
already assumed such |)roportions as to 
threaten the destruction of our govern- 
ment. In a few weeks we will be called 
upon to cast our votes for a candidate to 
I'll! the highest office in the gift of the 
State. ']"he (|uestion should not be, Is he 
a Reiiublican ? Is he a Democrat? but. 
Is he a |)atriot ? Does he love his country 
more than his jjarty ? " Such was the at- 
titude of Mr. llar])er, who gave stalwart 
sujiport to the L'nion cause, and to the 
administration <if President Lincoln. 

When a call for three hundred thou- 
sand troo|)s came it seemed as if there 
would have to be a draft in Des Moines 
county, and L"ai)t. R. 1!. Rutledge, pro- 
vost marshal for this district, began look- 
ing for a recruiting agent for lUirlington. 
.Some one suggested Mr. HaT])er to him. 
and .Mr. Harper's rejjly to the marshal 
was that if he would give him the whole 
county, .so that he could devote his entire 
time to the work, he would accept. This 
was granted, and lUirlington was made 
one district. His ]ilan was to divide this 
district into wards, so that he coidd get 
local bounty from every township and 
ward. On the closing day as much as 
two hundred and fifty dollars was paid 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



recruits as bounty, and the draft was the Presbyterian church, and the able as- 
avoided, sistant and co-operator of her husband in 

While figuring prominently in connec- all of his church work. Of natural cul- 
tion with civil, religious, and educational ture and refinement, her life, permeated 
affairs, and with extensive business con- by her Christian belief, was full of kindly 
cerns, thus leading a most busy life, Mr. spirit, of generous deeds, of ready sym- 
Harper always found time for his family, pathy, and of marked devotion to princi- 
for the promotion of the interests of the pie. In her church, even after she had 
household, and the welfare and happiness become unable to leave her home, her fel- 
of his wife and daughter. Most con- low-workers regarded her as still in their 
genial in their tastes, married life to Mr. midst, and consulted her upon questions 
and Mrs. Harper was an ideal one, and concerning the various church activities. 
they traveled life's journey together She pondered deeply the questions con- 
through many decades. cerning this life and its purpose, and its 

Fifty years passed, and the young relation to the life to come, and her faith 
couple, who, standing before the Rev. was sincere and unshaken at all times. 
\\illiam Gage, were pronounced man and The resolutions of respect passed by 
wife, celebrated their fiftieth wedding the Presbyterian Missionary Society, of 
anniversary: on which occasion a large MediapoHs, included the following: "In 
number of friends were present, including this bereavement the common words of 
three who witnessed the original nuptials, sympathy seem meaningless. To us she 
On the anniversary day the commodious was the loved sister, the trusted friend, 
lawn around the beautiful home of Mr. one with whom we took sweet counsel, 
and Mrs. Harper was decorated with Ian- Others may take up her work, but who 
terns and supplied with seats. Mrs. Har- can fill her place in our hearts. She has 
per, because of her invalid condition, was left us a legacy of loving and helpful 
unable to appear in the open air; so the deeds, an example of patient, sweet sub- 
friends assembled in the home, where, mission in suffering, and of joy in His 
after the singing of, the hymn, "Blest Be will." 

the Tie," and appropriate words from Mr. and Mrs. Harper were always 

Rev. J. H. Marshall, Mr. and Mrs. Har- closely associated in their church work, 

per were presented with an elegant gold- At the age of nineteen he Ix-came a 



lined silver tea-set and other gifts, among 
them a fine gold-headed cane, as me- 
mentos of the happy occasion. An origi- 
nal poem was also read, written by Mrs. 
Jessie Harper-Heizer, of Sioux City. 



member of the Presbyterian church, and 
placed his membership with the First 
Presbyterian cluirch organized in his lo- 
cality, called the old Round Prairie 
church, with which he was associate<l for 



For a number of years Mrs. Harper several years. He later became a mem- 
was in ill health, Init she bore her suffer- ber of the Yellow Springs Presbyterian 
ings uncomplainingly, with true Christian church, at the time when a large number 
fortitude. She had from early woman- of the two bodies united in the ne\v or- 
hood been a devoted and loyal member of ganization, on account of the slavery 



28 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



question. When the church at Mcdiapo- 
lis was offianizcd he entered inti) relation- 
ship with it, in fact assisted in its organ- 
ization, and became one of its first ruling 
elders, serving since that time. His wise 
counsel. Christian spirit, and calm judg- 
ment were helpful factors in the manage- 
ment of affairs relating to the member- 
ship and to the u]>l)uildiiig of the congre- 
gation. 

Twice he has been sent by the pres- 
bytery of Iowa as a delegate to the gen- 
eral assembly of the United States, the 
first time in 1856, at New York city; and 
twenty years later, — in 1876, — at Brook- 
lyn, X. V. He was chosen from among 
many who would have been pleased to 
allend. and who were well qualified to 
discharge the duties of a delegate; but 
his peculiar i|ualificatii)ns caused his se- 
lection, and he might well be proud of 
the honor that was conferred upon him. 
He took a pronounced stand in support 
of humanitarianism when the question of 
slavery was before the jjeople, and has 
ever been deeply interested in all (|ik-s- 
tions of reform, of improvement, and 
progress. His aid has always been 
countctl upon to further these, and he has 
often done so at tin- sacrifice of his per- 
sonal interests. 

One of the most interesting features in 
the home life of Mr. and Mrs. Harper was 
their relation to their only daughter. 
Lurissa Jane, who was always known as 
Louie. She was born in Des Moines 
county, Xov. 18, 1845, •""' after attend- 
ing school in Kossuth, Iowa, continued 
her studies in the State University. 
When about twelve years of age she be- 
came a member of the Presbyterian 
church, with which her parents were 



affiliated, and retained her membership 
therein until after her marriage, when 
with her husband she joined the Meth- 
odist Episcopal churcli, in West Union. 
Iowa, where they made their home. Hers 
was spoken of as " one of the gentlest 
natures that ever lived in West Union," 
and again we find the secret of this beau- 
tiful life in the Christian spirit of Him 
who came not to be ministered unto, but 
to minister. She was always earnest, act- 
ive, and helpful in church work ; and she 
brought her Christianity into her home, 
into her every-day life, and into her social 
relations with fricn<ls and neighbors. 

It was on Jan. i, 18G8. that she gave 
her hand in marriage to William E. 
Fuller, of West Union, Iowa, a man who 
has won national reputation in connec- 
tion with public life. .An attorney by 
profession, he twice represented the 
fourth congressional district of Iowa in 
Congress, and was also a member of the 
House in the State Lrgislature at one 
time. For a number of years has been 
United States assistant attorney-general 
in connection with the Spanish Claims 
Commission, at Washington. He is a 
man of superior ability and intellectual 
force, and has made for himself a repu- 
tation as one of the distinguished men of 
this State. 

L'nto Mr. and Mrs. Fuller were born 
nine children, of whom two died in in- 
fancy, while four sons and three daugh- 
ters survived to enjoy the comjjanion- 
slii|) of a most devoted mother. The' 
eldest, Levi, married .Miss Elizabeth B. 
l>rown, a daughter of Alexander C. 
Ilrown, for many years a merchant of 
.Mediapolis, Iowa, but now deceased. 
Mr. and Mrs. Levi I-'uller became resi- 



DES MOINES . COUNTY, IOWA. 



29 



Carl W. Holbrook, who is secretary of 
the chamber of commerce in Chatta- 
nooga, Tenn. Stella is the wife of Rev. 
Marcus P. McClure, of Stevens' Point, 
Wis. Augusta is with her father, in 
Washington, D. C. William Wirt, a 
banker of Le Sueur Center, Minn., mar- 
ried Ethel Smith, a graduate of Upper 
Iowa University. Howard is a student in 
the Iowa Methodist Episcopal College, 
and Robert is a student in the military in- 
stitute at Bordentown, N. J. 

Mrs. Fuller was a most devoted wife 
and mother, and a faithful friend. Her 



dents of Chicago, and their children now City, a very distant relative, both being 
represent the fourth generation of the descendants of Edward I'"uller, who came 
Harper family. Harriet is the wife of to America in 1620, in tiie '■ Mayflower." 

Mrs. Manning is very jtroiniiu-nl in so- 
cieties for historical research and preser- 
\ati(m. and her name is also associated 
with \ari<ius benevolent works. 

(Jne of the later events worthy of note 
in the life of Mr. Harper, was the celebra- 
tion of his eightieth birthday anniversary, 
when he entertained a large number at 
dimier, and on whieli occasion he was 
]n-esented with a tine easy chair. .Such 
occasions are memorable in the history 
of the individual, and of all who attend. 
J'"ive more years have passed since that 
time, and Mr. Harper is yet a factor in 
influence was like the perfume of the vio- the life of Des Moines county. He is now 
let, permeating the home atmosphere and lix'ing retired, and yet there is perhaps 
tlie social life in which she moved with a no man in the county whose advice and 
force as sweet and penetrating as it Avas counsel are more frequently sought, or 
delicate and helpful. She passed away more freely and helpfulh* given. There 
after an illness of several months, at her is an old age which grows brighter and 
home in \Yest Union, Nov. 2, 1901, and better, mentally and spiritually, as the 
her funeral was one of the most largely years go by. giving out of its rich stores 
attended in that city. of wisdom and experience ; and such has 

Air. Fuller has continued his work in been the history of William Harper. 
Washington as assistant attorney-general There are none who have come in con- 
of the United States. He has been for tact with him who ha\e not entertained 
many years prominent in public life, and genuine respect for his honest opinions 
was a member of Congress during the and loyalty to his beliefs : for his integ- 
fort}--ninth and fiftieth sessions. In rity in business, his public-spirited citi- 
March, 1901, he was appointed by Presi- zenship, and his devotion to all that pro- 
dent McKinley as assistant attorney-gen- motes material, intellectual, and moral 
eral, which position he still fills, his progress of the race, .\lthough he has 
special duty being to defend the govern- never sought to figure in public life, his 
ment before the Spanish Treaty Claims native talents and his honorable conduct 
Commission, in the suits brought by have made him a factor in much that has 
American citizens for damages growing had its influence upon the welfare of the 
out of the Cuban insurrection. General Stale, and he has left the impress of his 
Fuller was again married, Dec. 2, 1903, individualily for good on the common- 
to Mrs. Clara H. Manning, of New York wealth. Long after he shall have passed 



30 



BIOGKAriUCAL REllEW 



away his words and work will remain as 
a monument to his memory, their fruition 
being shown in the lives of tliose with 
whom he has been associated. 



JOHN H. WYMAN. 

Xo man in Burlington is better known 
than jnhii 11. W ynian, for he is the oldest 
business man of the city in years of con- 
tinuous connection with its commercial in- 
terests. Entering mercantile life here when 
a youth of fifteen years, he has steadily 
worked his way upward thrnugli the utili- 
zation and mastery of opportunity, and has 
found in each transition stage of his career 
the chance for further progress and great 
accomplishment. He is now at the head of 
the firm of W'yman & Hand, incorporated, 
dealers in carpets, .furniture, and queens- 
ware, and occupies a foremost position in 
public opinion because of a business policy 
that he has ever maintained, that neither 
seeks nor requires disguise. 

Mr. W'yman is a native of Lancaster, 
Mass., born in 1837, and is a representa- 
tive of one of the oldest families of New 
England. His ancestors came from Eng- 
land in lf>35, settling in the colony of 
Massachusetts ; and in lOfjO members of the 
family removed to Woburn, Mass., where 
they built a house, which is still in posses- 
sion of their descendants. The \\'yman 
family, always noted for patriotism, loyalty, 
and public spirit, was well represented in 
the colonial wars and in the war of the 
Revolution. John R. W'yman. father of 
our subject, born and reared in Massachu- 
setts, was married t^iere to Miss Harriet 
Rand. They came to Burlington about 1852, 



but remained for only a few months, re- 
turning to Massachusetts, where they con- 
tinued to reside until called to their final 
rest. The father, who was a farmer by 
occupation, died in 1878. 

J. H. W'yman acquired his early edu- 
cation in the schools of his native State, and 
when fifteen years of age accompanied his 
parents on their removal to Burlington, but 
unlike them did not return to New Eng- 
land. .\llying his interests with the great 
and growing West, he embraced the op- 
portunities for business advancement here 
offered, and in the course of years has be- 
come one of the most prominent merchants 
of the Stqte. Ik" was fifteen years of age 
when he entered the general store of J. S. 
Kimball & Company as a clerk, remain- 
ing in their employ until 1864, when he 
|)urchased an interest in the business, in 
which he continued as partner for five 
years. He then withdrew, and entered 
business alone as a retail dealer in carpets, 
and this enterprise has since been conducted 
with good success. In 1879 he became as- 
sociated with C. W. Rand as a member of 
the W'yman-Rand tarpet Company, and 
later they added a stock of furniture, 
queensware, glassware, curtains, and other 
household furnishings. The business was 
inc()r))orated under the style of W'yman & 
Rand in 1894, and a wholesale and retail 
business has since been conducted. Mr. 
Rand died in 1897, but the former firm style 
has been retained, Mr. W'yman being presi- 
dent of the incorporated com|>any. The 
business has suffered from two conflagra- 
tions, the first fire occurring in 1892, the 
second on the 5th of January, 1904. Each 
time a heavy loss was incurred, but the 
business was resumed on a more extensive 
scale than ever before, and has continuallv 



DES MOINES COUNTY. lOlVA. 



31 



grown until it has reached very extensive 
proportions. There are forty-five thousand 
square feet of floor space in the present build- 
ing, which fronts on both Fourth and Jeffer- 
son Streets. A fine line of goods is carried, 
and the liouse enjo_\s an extensive and sat- 
isfactory trade. Their methods are in keep- 
ing with modern business ideas, and the 
plans inaugurated by the firm are attended 
with practical results that indicate their 
expediency. Mr. Wyman is a man of good 
business discernment, of energy and reliabil- 
ity, and the house of which he is the head 
has become one of the leading commercial 
enterprises not only of Burlington but of 
the State. 

'Sir. Wyman has been in business in this 
city for fifty-two consecutive years, and is 
furthermore entitled to distinction from the 
fact that he was the first to sell goods out 
of Burlington — its first commercial trav- 
veler. In 1S59 'i^ drove a team on a trip 
to Des JMoines, selling goods for J. S. Kim- 
ball & Company. From 1885 until i8go 
the firm of \\'yman & Rand maintained 
branch stores at Ottumwa, Keokuk, Iowa ; 
Hannibal, j\Io. ; and Carthage, 111. They 
have a large storage building on Washing- 
ton Street, w'hile the retail store has been 
conducted at its present location for twenty- 
three years. 

Mr. \\'ynian was married to Miss Ange- 
line Smith, a native of Burlington and a 
daughter of Sanuiel Smith, a government 
contractor, who built the first grist-mill for 
the Indians in what is now Des Moines. 
He also built the first courthouse at Rock 
Island, 111., but made, his home in Burling- 
ton. Mr. and Mrs. Wyman were married 
in Burlington in 1858. They have one 
•daughter, Frances, who is a graduate of the 
Burlington schools, and afterward spent six 



years as a piano stuilent in Berlin, Ger- 
many, under Musquoski. She is now en- 
gaged in teaching a class in music in Bur- 
lington. Two children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Wyman are deceased. The family 
hr)nic is at J2j North Sixth Street. 

Mr. Wyman is a member of Friendship 
Lodge, Knights of Pythias, also of the 
IScncvolent and Protective Order of Elks, 
:md for a half century has been identified 
with the Congregational church. His ca- 
reer should inspire all who read his life's 
history with a truer estimate of the value 
and sure reward of character. His busi- 
ness career, though not without its reverses 
and obstacles, has been marked by consecu- 
tive progress relative to the growth of the 
city, and to-day he stands pre-eminent 
among those who have gained success and 
an honorable name simultaneouslv. 



HON. FREDRICK N, SMITH. 

Hon. Fredrick X. Smith, of Burling- 
ton, whose activity has been a controlling 
factor in the material progress and political 
interest of the State of Iowa for a third 
of a century, stands to-day as a typical rep- 
resentative of the spirit of the times, be- 
ing closely in touch with the world's prog- 
ress, and possessing an intellectual force 
that enables him to understand existing 
conditions and correctly value possibilities 
and utilize opportunities, not only in the 
field of commerce and finance, but also in 
]iolitical matters where the general inter- 
ests of society are affected. Supervising 
his business interests, and meeting each 
obligation because it has been the duty of 
the day, he has at the same time, largely 



32 



lilUGKAl'HICAL REl lEW 



unconsciously to himself, carved his name 
deeply on the roll of tiie distinguished 
citizens of Des Moines county. .\ native 
son of the county, he was born at Pleasant 
Grove, Washington township, Aug. 28. 
1850, his father, .\. J. Smith, having be- 
come one of the {)ioneer residents of this 
])art of the .State. He is descended from 
one of the old families of N'irginia. his an- 
cestral history being given in connection 
with the life record of his father on an- 
other page of this work. He acc|uire<l his 
preliminary educatiim in the public schools 
of Des Moines county, and continued his 
studies in Denmark Academy, the oldest 
incorporated educational institution in the 
State of Iowa. When his attention was 
not occupied with the work of the school- 
room, it was largely given to fann lalxjr. 
for by practical experience he became fa- 
miliar with the work of the fields as well 
as with the control of the financial affairs 
connected with his father's large agricul- 
tural interests. More and more largely im- 
portant duties were entrusted to him, and 
as he grew to manhood he became accus- 
tomed to handling enterprises of magnitude, 
botli for his father and as an independent 
o|)erator. One of the basic elements of bis 
success is his power to recognize an i)p])or- 
tunity for judicious investment. He has 
never withdrawn from the occupation to 
which he was reared, but has always con- 
trolled extensive farming interests. ])ur- 
chasing land from time to time in Pleasant 
Grove and Washington townships, until his 
reality holdings in the latter townshi]). in 
the vicinity of Yarmouth, aggregate aj)- 
proximately eighteen lumdred acres. He 
occupied bis country home there until 1899. 
when he purchased a beautiful residence at 
864 Franklin Street, one of the most desir- 



able residence districts of the city. In ad- 
dition to "the supervision of his general 
farming interests, he is engaged in the rais- 
ing, buying, feeding, and shipping of stock, 
han<lling alxnU two thousand head of stock 
each year, while on his farm at Yarmouth 
alone he now has ajjpro.ximately seven 
hundred head of selected stock. In addi- 
tion he owns and operates a ranch of five 
thousand acres in the .State of Kansas, on 
which be has a herd of fifteen hundred 
cattle, and he s|)ends two or three months 
each year upon the ranch in the necessary 
supervision of the business and the tliscus- 
sion of its conduct with his resident partner, 
H. M. IVckham, of Xess City, Kans. His 
business ca])acity has also permitted his 
active connection with other commercial 
interests, and fnr fifteen years he devoted 
considerable attention to the buying and 
storing of grain along the line of the Bur- 
lington & Oskaloosa Railroad, being as- 
sociated in this enterprise for a number of 
years with R. M. Raab. of Burlington, and 
George Zion, of Mount L'nion. In 1895 be 
established the I'armers' Bank of Yar- 
mouth, of which he has been president since 
its inception. It is an excellent country 
bank, tlrawing a good patronage from the 
agricultural comnnniity, and Mr. Smith 
brings to it the same keen ])erception and 
discrimination which marks his successful 
control of his other business interests. His 
alteiitiirii, however, is given chiefly to the 
investment of his capital in land, to the 
control of his stock-raising interests, and 
to the political affairs which have been in- 
trusted to him. 

Endorsing the jjrinciples of Democracy, 
and deeply intereste<l in their adoption be- 
cause he believes they contain the best ele- 
ments of good government, it would be 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



33 



[ 



difficult to find a citizen who has mani- 
fested so sHglitly the spirit of tlie office- 
seeker and yet has figured so prominently in 
political circles. His fellow-townsmen, rec- 
ognizing his ability and his devotion to all 
that fosters public progress, first elected 
him to office, and for twelve years he 
rendered acceptable service as a member 
of the township boanl of trustees, and for 
twenty years he acted as a member and 
treasurer of the school board at Yarmouth, 
rendering effective service to the cause of 
education along lines of practical improve- 
ment. His fidelity and capability in local 
office called to him public attention, and 
led to the bestowal of further political 
honors ; and his personal popularity was 
attested wfien, as a candidate on a Demo- 
cratic ticket, he won election in districts that 
the same years gave large majorities to the 
Republican candidates for governor and 
president. In 1900 he was elected to the Sen- 
ate of the twenty-ninth General Assembly 
to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation 
of W. A. McArthur, and in 1901 he was 
re-elected. During this incumbency he per- 
formed valuable service for his constitu- 
ents, while as a member of the committees 
on compensation of public officers, ways 
and means, federal relations, agriculture, 
public libraries, cities and towns, and horti- 
culture, he was enabled to make notable 
contributions to the prosperity of the State 
at large. As a constant student of the 
public needs and an unfaltering supporter 
of meritorious measures and methods. 
Senator Smith became well known in the 
capital, and it is the consensus of public 
opinion that the influence he gained in the 
matters of legislative polity was never mis- 
used. He is equally true to private trusts, 
as is demonstrated bv his administration 



of various estates, of which he has been 
maile executor. 

In fraternal circles in Towa, Senator 
Smith is also well known. He is a mem- 
ber of the Benevolent and Protective Order 
of Elks, and of Federal Lodge, No. 445, 
Ancient Free and Accejjted Masons, at 
Yarmouth, of which he became a charter 
member, and which he served as treasurer 
for many years. In all movements with 
which he has been identified, his labors 
and counsels have been eagerly sought and 
their value proved. In many cases he has 
subordinated his private interests to the 
general good, and liis course in all relations 
has been marked by justice and absolute 
rectitude and impartiality as between man 
and man in all his dealings and transactions. 

In 1874 Mr. Smith was happily married, 
near Pleasant Grove, to Miss Caroline Beck, 
daughter of Conrad and Sophia Beck, who 
were natives of Germany, and became 
pioneer citizens of Des Moines county, 
where through close application, unremit- 
ting diligence, and judicious investment, 
;\Ir. Beck became an extensive landholder 
and one of the leading and representative 
farmers of his section of the State. Both 
he and his wife are now passed away. Mrs. 
Smith was reared under the parental roof, 
remaining at home until her marriage. In 
addition to her attractive social qualities, 
tact, and kindly consideration, which she 
always displays in extending the hospitality 
of their home to their many friends. Mrs. 
Smith has been a most valuable companion 
and helpmate to her husband in matters of 
business concern, her judgment and advice 
proving correct in many business transac- 
tions, and their congeniality of taste along 
many lines has resulted in an ideal home 
relation. They have become the parents of 



34 



BIOGRAPHICAL REI'IEW 



four children, but lost one son, Webster, at 
the age of three and a half years. Three 
sons yet survive : William B., who wedded 
Miss Lilly Ashy, is engaged in agricultural 
jnirsuits near Varniuuth ; Justus C. who 
married Miss Kate WelK-r, of Memphis, 
Mo., resides on a farm near .Mount Union; 
and Ihirrell D. is yet attending school. The 
greatest satisfaction that Mr. Smith has 
gained in the accumulation of wealth has 
come in the o|)portunity which it provides 
him of promoting the comfort and liai)pi- 
ness of his family. The genial and whole- 
some traits of his nature and disposition 
have won him many friends, in whose re- 
spect and warm regard he finds the truest 
reward for duty well done. .\s a member 
of the body politic he has exhibited the 
virtues of an ideal citizen, and his business 
career has been marked by consecutive ad- 
vancement, gaining in each onward step 
a broader outlook, nor has his ])ath been 
strewn with the wrecks of other men's 
fortunes. The virile strength of the West 
and the dominant s])irit of enterprise so 
characteristic of this section of the country, 
finds exemplification in liis career. 



LA MONTE COWLES. 

L,\MoNTE CowLiis, cit> attorney of Bur- 
lington, is one of the leading representatives 
of the Republican party in the first district 
of Iowa. Absolute fidelity to the interests 
of his clients, a wonderful capacity for hard 
work, and systematic preparation of all 
cases entrusted to his care, have been some 
of the noteworthy factors in the achievement 
of his success. It is long since he has had 
much leisure, and it is fortunate for him 



that he can find genuine enjoyment, as he 
docs, in the line of endeavor which he has 
chosen as his special work. Early in life 
he leanied the hard but necessary lesson that 
■■ nothing of value can be gained without its 
eipuvalent,"' and therefore when lie entered 
u])on the ])ractice of law he brought to bear 
all of the talents with which nature had liber- 
ally endcywed him, industry and persever- 
ance being among these. 

Mr. Cowles was born in Oskaloosa. Iowa, 
.Sei)t. 30, 1859, and is a son of the Kev. W'. 
1". Cowles, a minister of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, who for a half century devoted 
his time and energies to the work of the gos- 
pel. .Vt length he retired from active con- 
nection with the ministry, and spent his last 
days quietly at his home in Burlington, where 
he died July 16, 1899. His wife bore the 
maiden name of Maria Elizabeth LaMonte, 
and was a representative of one of the old 
Colonial families. The Cowles family was 
also establisheil in America long prior to the 
Revolutionary War, the first of the name 
locating in this country about 1636. Many 
of the ancestors of our subject were actively 
connected with the i)atriot cause in the war 
for independence. Reverend Cowles served 
as revenue collector for the fourth district 
under President Lincoln, IxHiig twice ap- 
jjointed to that office, and the i)a])ers signed 
by President Lincoln are now in possession 
of La.Montc Cow-les. 

The itinerary of a .Methodist nunister 
caused frequent changes in the place of resi- 
dence of the Cowles family during the boy- 
hfxxl and youth of LaMonte Cowles, who 
therefore attended school in various Iowa 
towns. He pursued his more specific lit- 
erary education in the Iowa Wesleyan Uni- 
versity at Mount Pleasant, where he was 
graduated with the class of 1879, winning 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



35 



the degree of Ilachelor of Arts ; ■while later 
the same institution conferred upon him the 
honorary degree of Master of Arts. Going 
to the W'est he was for four years a civil 
engineer in the employ of the Union Pacific 
Railroad Company and the Ikirlington & 
Missouri Railroad Company, locating and 
constructing their lines in Colorado, Idaho, 
Kansas, and other Western States. Desir- 
ing, however, to become a member of the 
legal fraternity, Mr. Cowles entered the law 
office of Judge Power, of Burlington, where 
he spent three years as a student, applying 
himself assiduously to the mastery of the 
principles of jurisprudence. Within this 
time he was admitted to the bar, and after- 
ward entered into partnership with C. B. 
Jack, a relation that was maintained for 
eighteen months, when Air. Jack removed 
to Salt Lake City, I'tah. Mr. Cowles has 
since been alone in general practice, and is 
regarded as one of the working members 
of the bar, preparing his cases with great 
care, thoroughness, and precision, and pre- 
senting his cause -with clear and cogent rea- 
soning. He has an extensive and representa- 
tive clientage largely in the line of corpora- 
tion law. He is general solicitor for the 
German-American Life Insurance Company, 
of Burlington, and general attorney for the 
General Agency Company, of Burlington. 
He is also identified with several important 
business enterprises, having direct bearing 
upon the material prosperity and commercial 
activity of the city, as well as providing a 
source of gratifying income to the stock- 
holders. Political offices that he has filled 
have largely been in the line of his profes- 
sion. He was city attorney for two years, 
afterward referee in bankruptcy for six 
years, and in 1904 was again elected city at- 
torney, so that he is the present incumbent 



in that office, and his early election was the 
popular evidence of the trust reposed in him 
after a former service in that position. 

Recognized as one of the representative 
Republicans of his district, and one whose 
labors are of a practical and far-reaching 
character, Mr. Cowles has been called upon 
to serve in various positions in connection 
with the management of the party's inter- 
ests. He has been chairman of the county 
and city central committees, and also chair- 
man of the congressional committee of the 
first district for ten years, acting in that posi- 
tion at the present time. He has done much 
active campaign work as a speaker in pre- 
senting the issues before the public, and his 
utterances are always clear, logical, and con- 
vincing. He has been a candidate for county 
attorney and for State senator, but the dis- 
trict has a normal Democratic majority of 
fifteen hundred, and on this occasion he met 
defeat. He has, however, done effective and 
valuable service for his party, and follcrwing 
the close of the campaign of 1904 a local 
pajjer said of him: " LaMonte Cowles, 
chairman of the first district Republican 
committee, finds deep satisfaction in the re- 
sult at the polls. He had made it his per- 
sonal endeavor to conduct an effective cam- 
paign under conditions which largely elimi- 
nated public meetings, street parades, and 
brass bands. The usual concomitants of a 
presidential campaign were not in vogue 
this year. Here, as elsewhere in the United 
States, the chief reliance of both parties was 
in organization, leaving political discussion 
chiefly to the press. Mr. Cowles quietly, 
but sedulously, conducted the campaign 
along less spectacular lines, and he has the 
gratification of seeing'Mr. Hedge re-elected 
by nearly five thousand plurality, the largest 
ever given a candidate in this district." 



36 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Cowles is a Mason, a member of the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, of the 
Woodmen of the World, and the Benevo- 
lent Protective Order of F.Iks. lie was mar- 
ried on the 15th of Sept.. 1886, to Miss Hat- 
tie E. Kane, who died Nov. 11. 1889, leav- 
ing a daughter. Ethel M. On the 24th of 
November, 1898, Mr. Cowles was again 
married in Burlington, his second union be- 
ing with Ida M. Miller, of this city. Their 
home at 810 North Fifth Street was erected 
in 1899, and is one of the attractive resi- 
dences of the city, its hospitality being cor- 
dial. 



F. OTIS GRANDSTAFF. 

F. Otis Grandst.m-i--, secretary of the 
firm of Acres, Blackmar & Co., manufactur- 
ing stationers of Burlington, has arisen to 
this position from that of a humble employee 
of the house, nor is there any unusual 
phase in his business career, his advance- 
ment Ix'ing gained through close applica- 
tion, unfaltering energy, and a mastery of 
every duty assigned him — qualities which 
all may cultivate, and which never fail to 
bring results. 

F. Otis GrandstatT was born in Guthrie 
county, Iowa, Nov. 18, 1866, his parents 
being James and Martha (Frazer) Grand- 
stafT. The father was born in Zanesville, 
( )hio, in 1843, and was a son of Eli Grand- 
staff, who became a resident of Zanesville 
during the pioneer epoch in its history, and 
there followed the shoemaker's trade for a 
time, but later engaged in merchandizing 
at other places. In 1854 he came with his 
family to Iowa, locating near what is now 
Guthrie Center, although at that time the site 
of the town was an unbroken prairie. 



There he secured a tract of land, made a 
home, and developed a farm, but because 
of the severe climate he and his son James, 
with their respective families, removed to 
.Mercer county. Mo., and in that locality 
])urchased land. Mr. Grandstaff continued 
to make his home there for some time, but 
when in advanced years he took up his 
abtide in the home of his daughter at Stan- 
berry. Mo., spending his last days with her. 

James Grandstaff was educated in Zanes- 
ville. Ohio, and in the primitive schools of 
Iowa such as were common in every pioneer 
district. He has, however, been a close stu- 
dent in later years, reading broadly, think- 
ing deeply, and thus acquiring an intimate 
knowledge not only of books, but of the 
great questions which have been of con- 
cern to the world in its progress toward an 
advanced civilization. He was but eighteen 
years of age when, in response to his coun- 
try's call for aid, he enlisted in Company 
I. Twenty-ninth Volunteer Infantry, being 
with the regiment from its organization 
until it was mustered out after the close 
of the war. He was a non-commissioned 
officer, but during the greater part of his 
service acted as regimental quartermaster. 

On his return from the army he was 
elected county superintendent of schools of 
Guthrie county, but resigned that position 
in order to remove south with his family 
and his father. He purchased a farm in 
Mercer county. .Mo., where he continued to 
reside until 1884. In that year he returned 
to Iowa, settling at Leon, where he carried 
on business for a time. At a later date he 
occupied the position of recorder of deeds 
in Decatur county for nearly six years, his 
(ifticial service giving entire satisfaction. 
L'pon his retirement from the office he again 
became a factor in business life, and is now 




R OTIS C.RAXDSTAFR 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



39 



a furniture dealer and undertaker at Leon. 
IJe is classed with the representative men 
of that place, prominent in commercial cir- 
cles and in public affairs. 

In his political views he has ever been a 
Republican, active in support of the party 
and its principles, as was his father. In 
September. 1865. he was married to Miss 
Martha Frazer, their only child being F. 
Otis, of this review. iSIr. and Mrs. Grand- 
staff hold membership in the Methodist 
Episcopal church, taking an active part in 
the work of both church and Sunday-school. 

F. Otis Grandstaff at the usual age began 
his education, attending a typical country 
school of northern Missouri. The little 
temple of learning was a log cabin with 
puncheon floor and slab benches. Later he 
enjoyed the advantages of instruction in 
the graded schools of Leon, Iowa, and sub- 
sequently became his father's assistant in 
his store, aiding him during the periods of 
vacation and at other times when his .studies 
would permit. He remained in Leon until 
1890, removing to Burlington at the time 
his father was made recorder of deeds in 
Decatur county. Here Mr. Grandstaff en- 
tered the employ of J. L. Kelly & Co., deal- 
ers in agricultural implements, but after a 
few months he secured a position with the 
firm of Acres, Blackmar & Co., as book- 
keeper, entering that service in August, 
i8go. His capability won ready promotion, 
and in each transitional stage of his busi- 
ness career he has found opportunity for 
further advancement and broader effort. 
Eventually he became interested in the busi- 
ness financially, and is now secretary and 
general manager of the company, conduct- 
ing the largest stationery manufacturing 
business in Iowa, and giving employment 
to a large force of operatives and local sales- 



men as well as traveling men. The prod- 
uct of the house is sold throughout Iowa 
and surrounding States, and a liberal pat- 
ronage is enjoyed because of the excellence 
of the manufactured goods, the reasonable 
prices, and the reliability of the house in all 
trade transactions. 

Air. Grandstaff has made for himself a 
prominent position and honored name in 
commercial circles, and yet is perhaps equally 
known as the champion of Republican prin- 
ciples, being recognized as one of the lead- 
ing members of the party in this city. He 
belongs to the county central committee, and 
has been a delegate to many of the State 
conventions. He has never sought or de- 
sired office, however, although in March, 
1904, he was elected councilman at large 
for Burlington. As a member of the board 
of aldermen he is now serving as chair- 
man of the finance and judiciary committees, 
and is also an active worl<ing member on 
other committees, including the claims, 
water, and light committees. He entered 
upon his official duties with the same spirit 
that characterizes his business career, that 
of close application and a thorough mastery 
of every dut\' that devolves upon him. 

Mr. Grandstaff was made a Alason in 
Malta Lodge, No. 318, Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons, and has since taken the 
degrees of Iowa Chapter, No. i, Royal 
.\rch Masons. Zerubbabel Council, Royal 
and Select Masters. St. Omer Commandery, 
No. 15, Knights Templar, and Zerapath 
Consistory of Davenport, Iowa. He likewise 
belongs to the Kaaba Temple of the Mystic 
Shrine at Davenport. He is thus prominent 
in Masonry, having taken most of the de- 
grees, and with its teaching and tenets he 
is familiar, while in his life he exemplifies 
its beneficent and helpful spirit. 



40 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. CjrandstafF was married on the 
twelfth of Xoveniber, i8yi, to Miss Anna 
L. Failor, of Xewton. Iowa, a daughter of 
I'eiijaiiiin M. and Sarali J. Failor. Thev 
have two children, Benjamin V. and Martha. 
They are members of the Presbyterian 
church at Burlington, Mrs. Grandstaff hav- 
ing served as its organist for many years. 
She is also associated with the i)rominent 
musical societies of the city, and is well 
known in connection with many of the lead- 
ing musical events of liurlington, while 
her position in social circles is an enviable 
one. The family home is at 1304 North 
Sixth Street, situated on the Mississipj)! 
River bluff, Black Hawk Rock, a notable 
feature in the scenery along the river, being 
immediately back of this ])n)])erty. 



JAMES LYMAN EDWARDS. 

J.\MEs Lym.\n Enw.xRDS, president of 
the Merchant's National Bank of Burling- 
ton, has attained distinction in' financial and 
business circles as the youngest bank ])resi- 
dent in Iowa of an institution of the size 
and character of that of which he is now 
the head. .\ native son of Iowa, his career 
confers honor ii|)oh the State, illustrating 
its possibilities and opportunities that lie 
before the young man of determined pur- 
po.se and laudable ambition. With a ready 
recognition of opportunity, without which 
there is no success, Mr. Edwards has stead- 
ily advanced in those walks of life demand- 
ing close application, strong intellectuality, 
and determined purpose. 

Born in Morning Sun, on Oct. 2, 1864, he 
is a son of Manasseh and Orra W. (Hurd) 
Edwards. Mis father was a native of 



Wales, born Oct. 4, 1839, and in his child- 
hood days was brought to America by his 
parents, Mr. an^ Mrs. Hugh Edwards, who 
established their honie in Iowa, the former 
following the occupation of wagon-making 
in order to ptovide for his family. Ma- 
nasseh Edwards, having acquired his educa- 
tion in the public schools of Iowa, learned 
the trade of cabinet-making and located at 
Morning Sun. There he was married to 
Miss Orra W. Hurd. a native of Ohio, who 
had come to Iowa with her parents in her 
early girlh(x>d. In 1881 Mr. Edwards re- 
moved with his family to Burlington, and 
has since been connected with the lumber 
business of this city. While a resident of 
Morning Sun he was elected recorder of 
Louisa county, and his capability led to his 
re-election, so that he was the incumbent in 
that |)osition for four years. His political 
allegiance has always been given to the Re- 
publican jjarty, but he has had little time or 
inclination to seek public preferment. He 
and his wife hold luemlx^r.ship in the First 
Presbyterian church, and he has made for 
himself a cretlitable name in social and busi- 
ness circles. 

James Lyman Edwards acquired his early 
education in Morning Sun, continued his 
studies in Wajjello, and after his arrival in 
Biu-|ington in 1880 pursued a course of 
study in Orchard City Business College. 
He then secured a position with H. A. 
Brown & Company, dealers in boots and 
shoes, as a bookkee])er, but soon accepted a 
similar position with the Burlington School 
Furniture Comi)any, with which he re- 
mained for two years. Later he spent a 
brief period at Red Oak, Iowa, and then 
entered upon his first active connection with 
the banking business as an employee in the 
Red Oak National Bank. On ( )ct. 21, 1885. 



DES MO!KES COUXTV, IOWA. 



4i 



he entered the .Merchant's Xational Bank of 
Burhngton as general bookkeeper, and was 
the accountant for the institution until Oct. 
4. 1897, when he was promoted to the posi- 
tion of cashier, acting in that capacit)- un- 
interruptedly until April 28, 1904, when 
he was elected president. The election came 
to him as an honor, and one well deserved, 
he being the youngest bank president in 
Iowa, having control of a moneyed institu- 
tion of such extent and importance as the 
Merchant's National of Burlington. This 
bank was organized in October, 1870, and 
now has a capital of one hundred thousand 
dollars, with surplus and undivided profits 
amounting to one hundred and twelve thou- 
sand dollars. In this respect the Merchant's ■ 
National surpasses any bank in the city. For 
twenty years Mr. Edwards has been con- 
nected with this institution, working earn- 
estly and untiringly for its welfare, and 
gradually he has gained advancement until 
he to-day stands at the head of one of the 
most important financial concerns of Bur- 
lington. The bank occupies fine quarters in 
its own building at the corner of Main and 
Jefferson Streets, the building being ele- 
gantly furnished and equiplped with every 
modern device for convenience and safety. 
There are also modern safety deposit vaults, 
affording every possible protection to the 
depositors. 

]\Ir. Edwards is also a director of the 
Merchant's National Bank, and is well 
known in connection with other banking in- 
stitutions, being a prominent representative 
of financial interests of the Aliddle West. 
He is a director of the First National Bank 
of Dallas Cit\ . 111., and was one of the pro- 
moters in building up this institution. He 
likewise has made investments in other 
banking houses outside of Burlington, and 



is to-da\' one of the leading re])resentatives 
of financial circles. He belongs to the Iowa 
State Hankers' Association, of which he 
was at one time vice-president, and he has 
declined the ])residency on account of busi- 
ness interests. He likewise belongs to the 
An:erican I '.ankers' Association, and is a 
regular attendant at its meetings. 

In his political views Mr. Edwards is a 
stalwart Republican, thoroughly informed 
concerning the questions and issues of the 
day. F'raternally he is connected with 
Malta Lodge, No. 318, Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons. He belongs to the Com- 
mercial Exchange of this city, and he is a 
men.ber of the First Presbyterian church 
of Burlington. By the consensus of public 
opinion he ranks with the leading men of 
his adopted city, occupying a notable posi- 
tion aniong those in control of financial in- 
terests.' His energies have been directed to 
banking as a focusing point, and his close 
application, systematic effort, and unfalter- 
ing purpose have resulted in the successful 
culmination of his laudable ambitions and 
expectations. 



WILLIAM CLAIBORNE HUNT. 

Theke is no name in Des Moines county 
which carries with it more of integrity, of 
uprightness, of earnest citizenship, or calls 
forth more universal expressions of regard, 
than that of W. Claiborne Hunt, now among 
the oldest settlers in the county. Whatever 
of virtue in the cha^cter of Mr. Hunt, 
whatever of quality in his living, has been 
directly founded upon traits inherited from 
an ancestry rich in the virtues of patriotism, 
loyalty, steadfastness, and principle, •which 
to-day places him in the foremost ranks of 



42 



lilOGHAPHlCAL REl lEW 



the highly honored and respected nu-n of 
the coinnuinitv. 

Mr. Hunt was born Jan. 21. 181S. in 
I'ond county. Illinois, and is a son nf John 
I'.ael and i'.stluT ( i'.artletl ) Ihnu. His 
father was born in I'altiinore. Mil.. I'eb. 
2, 1 7" I, and located in liond cf)unty in 181 1. 
wliere he Ixnight a large farm, and was en- 
gaged in general farming for many years. 
He died Feb. 21. 1850, at the age of seventy- 
nine years. The mother of our subject 
was Ixirn in (Ireenbrier county. West \'ir- 
ginia, June 27. 1773. and survived her hus- 
band eight years, dying Scj)!. 10, 1858. 
They were the ])arents of eleven children, 
of whom all are dead but three : Claiborn, 
of this review: l'>thiT. tlie wife of I'eter L. 
Delashnuitt, of .Montgomery county, Iowa; 
and Louise Hunt, who resides near Chicago. 
Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were devoted members 
nf the Methodist chunli. and the former 
was a firm Democrat, but by no means an 
oftice-seeker. He served all through the 
War of 18 1 2, stationed at Edwardsville, 
Madison county, 111. 

Claiborn Hunt attended the district 
schools in Bond county for a short time, and 
then later pursued his studies in a little old 
log schoolhouse in McDonough county. Illi- 
nois. He then reiuaincd on his father's 
farm till he was about twenty-one years of 
age, when he went to Eddyville, Iowa, in 
i83r), and lived alone on a piece of land for 
awhile. 

Nov. 21, 1843, Mr. Hunt married .Miss 
Ann Smith, who is a daughter of Peter and 
Martha (Ellison) Smith, and was born in 
Sutton, luigland, .-Vug. 15. 1821. .\ full 
history of her |)arents will appear in the 
sketch of her brother. Sanniel Smith, on 
another ])age in this book. Mrs. Hunt was 
educated in the Moravian school, in Eng- 



land, and came to .\merica in 1835 with her 
parents. After the marriage of this worthy 
couple they settled on forty acres of land 
in L'nion township. Des Moines county, 
and at first lived in a little log house in 
the old-fashioned pioneer times. I-'roni time 
to time he added more land, made the im- 
provements of a substantial kind which are 
necessary for the progressive farmer, and 
built a comfortable brick residence. Ik- 
carried on farming and stock-raising, and 
continued to live on this farm, which had 
increased to one hundred and fifty acres 
under his careful management and general 
supervision, for over fifty-seven years. In 
Kpi Mr. Hunt sold his entire farm, and 
shortly afterward moved to the city of Ikir- 
lington and purchased a beautiful home 
at loi W<3o;llawn .Avenue, where he and 
.Mrs. Hunt can have more frequent social 
intercourse with their many friends and ac- 
(luaintances. and spend the evening of their 
active and well-spent lives in case and pleas- 
ure. I'nto .Mr. and Mrs. Hunt were born 
eight children, of whom si.x are living : 
Laura, married Albert (umn. of Cobden, 
111., and died in ujoi, leaving threo chililren, 
Josephine, Lucy, Elizabeth, and George: 
Williaiu .\., an emi)loyee of the Rand Lum- 
iK-r Company, of I'.urlington, Iowa, residing 
at 101 Woodlawn Avenue. He has one son, 
Harvey, who is a railway jwstal clerk, and 
lives with his parents. Jose]>hine. died Sept. 
2'i^. 1872. Esther, is the wife of H. J. Whip- 
l)le. who had liiree chililren ))\ his former 
marriage (.-Kmy, Elsie, and James), who 
are students in a I'oston college. Mr. and 
Mrs. W hipi)le formerly resided in South 
Dakota. biU now live in Cuba. Charles C, 
who is also in Cuba, with his sister. Martha 
I'., married l->emont Jackson, and Jives on 
a farm in Kansas. She has three children. 



DES MOfXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



43 



Claiborne, Josephine Denirali, and Frances. 
I'Vancis Bell, a farmer in Union township, 
and has three children, Nixon Claiborne, 
tiray, and Robert. Dr. John P., a prosper- 
ous dentist in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, has seven 
children: Ethel AIa_\-, James, Arthur, Paul, 
.\nnie Christine, Alice, and Walter. 

Mrs. Hunt has becii a devoted member 
of the Methodist church for over fifty years, 
and in her younger days was much inter- 
ested in Sunday-school work. Mr. Hunt 
has always cast his vote for the Democratic 
candidates, but did not care for office, 
though he served his district as school di- 
rector for six years. Time has dealt gently 
with this aged and worthy couple, as soon 
the sixty-second anniversary of their mar- 
riage will be celebrated — a happy occur- 
rence which falls to the lot of but very few. 
Mrs. Hunt made a visit to the land of her 
birth alone several years ago, and Mr. Hunt 
is also physically able to visit his children 
often. They have noted many vast changes 
in the county during their long sojourn 
through life, and can give some very inter- 
esting accounts of the pioneer times of fifty 
years ago. \\'hat Air. and Airs. Hunt have 
accomplished in life by their moral and up- 
right lives can not be measured in words ; 
the fruits of their living will go on beyond 
the borders of the present, and blossom 
again, bringing into the lives of those yet 
to come the beauty and richness of unselfish, 
pioneer lives, strong in the elements upon 
which a statehood is alwavs founded. 



GEN. JAMES A. GUEST. 

Gen. James A. Gue.st, of Burlington, 
promiiient in commercial, social, and mili- 
!arv circles, was born in Lvons, Wavne 



county. X. Y., May 4, 1845, his parents 
being Josepli and Lydia (Curtis) Guest. 
The ancestry of the family can be traced 
back to Joseph Guest, w^ho left England as 
a passenger on the ship " Delaware " about 
1645, a"d established his hdme at Swedes- 
boro, becoming the progenitor of the family 
in .\merica. The house which he builded 
there of imported brick, is still standing. 
William C. Guest, one of the descendants 
of Joseph Guest, and the grandfather of 
General Guest, was an officer in the Seventy- 
first New York Regiment in the War of 
1812. He commanded a company of 
cavalry and was stationed at Black Rock, 
now I!ufl:"alo, X. Y. Previous to the war he 
had removed from New Jersey to Lvons, 
X. Y., becoming one of the pioneer resi- 
dents of that district. Following- the ces- 
sation of hostilities with England, he went 
on a trip of six hundred miles through the 
forests to Philadelphia, taking with him a 
drove of horses. He died in that city, of 
imeunionia, the result of exposure and hard- 
ships while on the trip. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Alary Wallace, w^as a 
relative of Sir John Wallace, of Scotland, 
and with her parents she emigrated from 
Scotland to New Jersey. 

Joseph L. Guest, father of General Guest, 
was born in New Jersey in 1809, and dur- 
ing his infancy was taken by his parents to 
X'ew York. His mother remained a resi- 
dent of Lyons after her husband's death, 
and Joseph there spent the days of his youth 
and acquired his education. He became a 
merchant tailor, and removing to the West, 
spent his remaining days in Michigan. He 
married Lydia Curtis, a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, Avho died when licr son James was 
nine years of age. 

[ames A. Guest iiursued his education in 



44 



BIOGRAPHICAL REI'IEW 



Lyons. N. ^'.. Cfimpk-tinfj his cnursc in tlie 
academy there, anil at the age of seventeen 
enlisted in defense of the I'nion, becoming 
a meniher of C'onipaiix C ( )ne Hundred and 
Sixtieth \ew N'ork Infantry, thus joining 
tlie army in i8f)2. He was first sent to New 
York and thence to \e\v Orleans, going 
with Cicneral Uanks's expedition. They 
made the trip by ocean on transports and 
were twenty-nine days in reaching the 
southern port. Mr. Guest jiarticipatcd in 
twenty-one engagements with his regiment, 
being for two years in Louisiana, after 
which he wa.s in N'irginia under command 
of Generals Grant and Sheridan. The 
regiment proceeded by steamer to I'"ortress 
Monroe, where the troojjs joined Grant's 
forces, and later they particii)ated in the 
movements in the Shenandoah Valley under 
Sheridan. Mr. Guest was severely wounded 
at the battle of Winchester, where Sheridan 
made his famous ride, and was in the hos- 
pital for tw^o months afterward. He then 
rejoined his regiment, with which he served 
until nuistered out on account of the ces- 
sation of the war. He was then serving as 
first sergeant, and was commissioned by 
Governor Fenton of New York as second 
lieutenant, but could not get his commission 
because of his regiment's being below the 
re(|uired numerical strength. Prior to the 
close of his service he was sent to Georgia 
to quell a negro insurrection there. In 
November, 1865, he was discharged, having 
served for three and a half years, during 
which time he did his full duty as a soldier 
in one of the most fiercely contested wars 
in all history. 

Returning to Lyons, N. \ ., General 
Guest pursued a course in Ames Business 
College, at Syracu.se. and then came to 
Iowa, settling at l'>elle Plain, where he en- 



gaged in business, meeting with success dur- 
ing his seven or eight years' coiniection with 
its commercial interests. He came to Bur- 
lington in 1875. and iK'cair.e connecte<l with 
the piano and organ trade, purchasing the 
interest of Mr. I^nge in the firm of Lange 
& \'an Meter, the leacling music <lealers of 
the city. The firm name was then changeil 
to \an Meter & Guest, .\fter two years 
Mr. Guest ])urchased his partner's interest, 
and has since comlucted the business alone. 
L'nder his guidance it has continually ex- 
panded, and has now reached very exten- 
sive and profitable proportions. He now 
handles Chickering & Sons and other high- 
grade jiianos. having the sole agency for 
Iowa and j)ortions of other States. His 
business in Burlington now occupies his 
entire business block, three stories in height, 
at 106 North Main Street. He also has 
branch houses at Des .Moines, Cedar Rap- 
ids, ( )ttumwa. Iowa, and Monnunith. 111., 
and furnishes employment to a large number 
of traveling and local salesmen. His trade 
has grown along substantial lines, and his 
business, conducted in harmony with mod- 
irn ideas of jirogress in conunercial circles, 
and in strict confo'rmity with the highest 
commercial ethics, has brought to him a 
Very gratifying prosperity. 

Always deeply interested in music. Gen- 
eral Guest has been active in securing the 
best musical talent for Burlington in con- 
certs and other ])ublic performances, and 
in promoting musical education and cul- 
ture here, and his efforts have been far- 
reaching in this particular. 

General Guest is perhaps e(|ually well 
known in military circles in Iowa, having 
become identified at an early day with the 
Iowa National Guard as captain ofr Com- 
pany H, Second Regiment. He was after- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



45 



ward promoted to the rank of major, lieu- 
tenant-colonel, and then to the colonelcy. 
The regiment was composed of twelve com- 
panies, representing twelve towns and cities. 
Subsequently he was elected brigadier-gen- 
eral of the First Brigade, and his labors 
have been effective in promoting the inter- 
est of the national guard and in the forma- 
tion of a military organization which is a 
credit to the State. 

In his political views General Guest has 
always been a Republican, but never an 
aspirant for office. 

He is a member of Malta Lodge, No. 318, 
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of 
which he is a past master; Iowa Chapter, 
No. I, Royal Arch Masons ; St. Omer Com- 
mandery, No. 15, Knights Templar, of 
which he is past commander. He is also 
past grand commander of the grand com- 
mandery of the State of Iowa, and thus one 
of the foremost representatives among the 
Knights Templar of the State. 

In community aft'airs he is deeply inter- 
ested, his efforts having proved of practical 
benefit to the city in many ways. He was 
president of the Commercial Exchange, the 
leading manufacturers' and jobbers' club 
of IJurlington, and served as such for 
three years. His co-operation can always 
be counted upon for the furtherance of any 
progressive measure for die city, and his 
influence has been an essential factor in win- 
ning support of popular measures for the 
public good. 

General Guest was married to JNliss 
Louise M. David, of Burlington, a daugh- 
ter of Col. John S. David, who was born in 
Kentucky, and was one of the prominent 
pioneers of Burlington. He built the first 
warehouse along the river here, was also 
engaged in the grocery business, and oper- 



ated quite extensively in real estate, build- 
ing a number of city blocks in the early 
years of his residence here. His labors 
largely promoted the early growth and sub- 
stantial development of Burlington. The 
marriage of General Guest and Louise M. 
David was celebrated June 6, 1876, and they 
have one son, Lyman, who is with his father 
in the music business. They are members 
of the Episcopal church, of which General 
thiest has served as vestryman and warden. 
Their home, at No. 1020 North Fifth 
Street,- is the center of a cultured society 
circle. Long residents of Burlington, they 
have a wide acquaintance and a host of 
warm friends. 

The career of General Guest has been 
marked by consecutive progress in busi- 
ness and military life, and undoubtedly he 
could have won political honors had he so 
desired, but he felt the pursuits of private 
life as abundantly worthy of his best efforts, 
and these have been so discerningly directed 
in the fields of business activity as to win 
a gratifying measure of success, and gain 
a place as one of the leading representa- 
tives of commercial interests in his adopted 
citv. 



T. W. KRIECHBAUM. 

T. W. Kriechbaum, who, entering busi- 
ness life as a messenger in the German 
American Savings Bank, has for a num- 
ber of years been cashier of that reliable 
institution, having advanced through con- 
secutive stages of promotion to his present 
responsible position, was born in Burlington 
in i860. His father, John P. Kriech- 
baum, was a native of Darmstadt, Germany, 
and at the age of twelve years came to 



46 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



America with his parents, the family home 
beinp established in Burlington, Iowa, in 
1837. John P. Kriechbauni learned the 
cooiKTS trade, and for many years owned 
and conducted a cooperage business in this 
city. He was married in Burlington to 
Miss Elizabeth Funk, also a native of 
Darmstadt, and unto them were born 
eleven children, six of whom are now liv- 
ing: August B., Charles. Fred, Edward, 
T. VV., and Nellie. The daughter is the wife 
of Rev. F. D. Burhaus. a Congregational 
minister of Chicago. The father, John P. 
Kriechbauni. died June 7, 1887. at the age 
of seventy years, his birth having occurred 
on the 5th of March. 1817. He had retired 
from active life when about si.xty years of 
age. thus s])en(ling the last decade of his 
earthly pilgrimage in well-earned rest from 
labor. His political support was given to 
the Democracy, and for one term he had 
served as alderman. He belonged to the 
German Evangelical church. Mrs. Kriech- 
bauni died in February, 1905. 

At the usual age T. W. Kriechbauni be- 
gan his education in the public schools of 
his native city, and continued therein until 
he had mastered the high school course. 
.•\t the age of seventeen, three years after 
the organization of the German American 
Savings Bank, he became a messenger boy 
in that institution. He was soon made a 
bookkeeper, and continued in that capacity 
until the retirement of \V. A. Torrey, whom 
he succeeded in the position of cashier in 
1897. He has contributiil in no small de- 
gree to the success aii<l development of 
the bank, and has intimate and' thorough 
knowledge of the banking business in every 
department. 

In 1883 Mr. Kriechbauni was united in 
marriage to Miss Sophia M. Xiehaus, a 



native of Burlington, and a daughter of 
J. I-'. \V. Nichaus, now deceased, who at 
one time was engaged in furniture manufac- 
turing in this city. His wife, who in her 
maidenhood was Lazetta Von Palgenmeier, 
is of German birth, and is still living. Two 
chililren have been born unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Kriechbauni : Horace T., a graduate of the 
Burlington high school, and now a student 
of medicine in the Xorthwestern I'niversity 
at Chicago; and Walter, who is attending 
the high school of this city. In 1891 Mr. 
Kriechbauni built his present home at 413 
South Gunnison Street. He is a member 
of Des Moines Lodge, No. i, .Ancient Free 
and Accepted Masons, of which he is 
treasurer, and of St. Omer Commandery, 
No. 15. of which he is treasurer. He also 
belongs to Excelsior Lodge, No. 268, In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and is 
serving as its treasurer, and is likewise a 
member of the Commercial Exchange. He 
ranks as one of the enterprising business 
men of Burlington, equally active in matters 
of citizenship as in financial circles, and 
his broad humanitarian spirit is indicated 
by his liberal and frequent contributions to 
churches, hospitals, and charities. 



WASHINGTON DALLAM GILBERT. 

W. Dai,l.\m Gilbert, for forty years one 
of the most prominent business men of Bur- 
lington, was born in Cassville, Crawford 
county. Wis., in February, 1829, while his 
parents were temporarily residing there 
on their way from Kentucky to Prairie du 
Chien, Wis, The grandfather, Samuel Gil- 
bert, was a native of \irginia. whence 
he removed to Kentucky. His business 




WASHINGTON DALLAM GILBERT. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



4 9- 



was that of a tobacco-planter, and he owned 
a number of slaves in Kentucky ; but be- 
coming convinced that the system of sla- 
very was wrong, he freed all of his bonds- 
men. 

Samuel Gilbert, Jr., father of W. Dallam 
Gilbert, was a native of Kentucky, and 
married Philotheta Parker, who was born 
in Oneida county, New York, in 1798. 
She was a representative of one of the old 
families of this country, and England, be- 
ing a lineal descendant of the Parker earls 
of Macclesfield, the original ancestor in 
America having come from England to 
Massachusetts about 1645. There he es- 
tablished his family, and later the Indians 
massacred the parents ; but the children es- 
caped, hiding in the grass. The youngest 
one, Samuel, reached adult age, afterward 
removed to Coventry, Conn., and lived to 
the very advanced age of one hundred and 
six years. He built the first house and barn 
in Conventry, and was the first deacon in 
the first Congregational church there. His 
descendant, the father of Mrs. Philotheta 
Gilbert, was a soldier in the War of 1812. 
He removed with his family from New 
York to Louisville, Ky., in a covered wagon 
when his daughter was fifteen years of age, 
and there she afterward formed the ac- 
quaintance of Mr. Gilbert and gave to him 
her hand in marriage. In 1827 they re- 
moved to Galena, 111., which was then en- 
joying a period of rapid growth and pros- 
perity. Later they went to what was then 
the territory of Michigan, settling in Cass- 
ville, and two years afterward started for 
Prairie du Chien, then an extreme outpost, 
where Fort Crawford was built. The 
pioneer settlers freely mingled with the 
Sacs, Fox, Winnebago, and Menominee 
Indians. Mr. Gilbert was one of the ear- 



liest lumbermen in the ujiper cnuntrv, tak- 
ing an active part in reclaiming the natural 
resources of the State for the uses of the 
white man and in promoting its material 
prosperity. Alxnit 1845 'le removed from 
Prairie du Chien, Wis., to Albany, 111. 

W. Dallam Gilbert spent the first sixteen 
years of his life at Prairie du Chien, where 
he pursued his education under private tu- 
tors, and later he accompanied his parents 
on their removal to Albany, 111. At that 
age the spirit of commercialism had so de- 
veloped itself that he determined to take a 
raft of logs down the river to Fort Madison, 
which task he successfully accomplished, 
selling the logs for his father. Subse- 
quently he accepted a position as clerk for 
the Nelson & Gilbert Company at Wilson's 
Landing, Wis., and at the age of nineteen 
years, in connection with a brother, he pur- 
cliased a lumber mill at Eau Clair, Wis., 
the plant being located on the present site 
of the town. Thus he became actively as- 
sociated with the lumber industries of the 
State. In 185 1 he came to Burlington, 
Iowa, where, in connection with John W. 
Gilbert, he established a lumber business 
that grew to extensive proportions, becom- 
ing known far and wide. Their patronage 
increased with the growth of the State and 
its wonderful development. They had the 
keen foresight to anticipate what would 
be the needs of the commonwealth in their 
direction, made judicious investment in for- 
est lands, and utilized their timber inter- 
ests in the manufacture of lumber that 
found a ready sale on the market and 
brought to them a splendid financial return. 
Mr. Gilbert dealt largely in pine lands, and 
operated mills in Minnesota and Wiscon- 
sin. He also owned extensive pineries in 
Washington. He likewise became a large 



50 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



owner of l!iirlingfton real estate, antl laid 
out two additions to the city which bear 
his name. He and his business associates 
probably did more toward the upbuilding 
and development of Burlington than any 
other individual or corporation. Mr. Gil- 
bert erected many houses, which he sold 
on easy terms, thus adding to the material 
improvement of Hurlington, and making 
|)()ssiblc the ciwmrshi]) of homes to many 
men in moderate financial circumstances. 
He also became prominent in banking 
circles, and was a director of The Mer- 
chants .National liank and an officer of the 
German American Savings Bank. 

Mr. Gilbert married .Miss Hetta Wells 
Merrill, who was born in Plymouth, X. H., 
in 1835, and when seven years of age re- 
moved with her parents to Boston. In 
1859 she gave her hand in marriage to Mr. 
Gilbert in Burlington, having in the mean- 
time accompanied the family on their re- 
moval to this city. She is a daughter of 
Stevens Merrill, formerly a resident of 
Warren and Plymouth, N. H., and Boston, 
Mass., coming from the latter jilace to Bur- 
lington, where he purchased the home now 
occupied by his daughter, Mrs, Gilbert, at 
910 Jefferson Street. It was then situated 
in the midst of a hickory grove, but now 
stands thirty feet above the street level. 
Part of the house — known as " Hickory 
Grove " — is more than sixty years old. 
Late in life he sold this property to Mr. 
Gilbert, whose widow now resides there 
with her only remaining daughter, Mrs. 
Gate Wells, and the latter's son Gilbert. 
Mr. Merrill was of an old Quaker family 
<lescended from Nathaniel Merrill, who 
located in Ipswich, Mass., in 1633, and 
two years later became a pioneer settler and 



founder of Xewburyport. The Merrill 
family was originally, however, of Hugue- 
not origin, living at Auvergne in the south 
of France, and the name there was spelled 
Du .Merle. Representatives of the name 
tied to England at the time of the St. Bar- 
tholomew massacre. They were connected 
with the French nobility, "and at the time 
of the removal to England the fleur de lis 
(Ml the shield was displaced by a peacock's 
head, the crest remaining the same. 

W. D. Gilbert died .April 16, 1894, leav- 
ing to his widow and daughter a large 
estate. Xot only had he controlled exten- 
sive business interests, being for forty 
years an active representative of trade rela- 
tions in I'lurlington and in the West, but 
was also prominent in the conuuunity af- 
fairs of the city. He belonged to the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, was a member and liberal 
contributor to the Congregational church. 
He served in the city council, and was once 
defeated for the office of mayor when a 
candidate on the Democratic ticket. He 
possessed a social, genial nature that won 
him warm friendships, while his business 
successes awakened for him the admiration 
and respect of all wlm knew aught of his 
history. His name is inseparably associ- 
ated with the progress and upbuilding of 
Burlington along many lines, and no his- 
tory of the city would be complete without 
a detailed account of his career. Mrs. Gil- 
bert, prominent in social and church cir- 
cles in Burlington, is now the president of 
the Xorman Circle of Kings Daughters. 
Mrs. Wells is president of the Burlington 
Musical Club and regent of the Burling- 
ton Chapter of the Daughters of American 
Revolution, and a member of the Society 
of the Colonial Dames of .America. 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



51 



HON. JOHN GRAHAM FOOTE. 

The memory of Hon. John Graham 
Foote will always be associated with the 
city of Burlington, Iowa, as a pioneer and 
prominent leader in her upbuilding and de- 
velopment, and not only did he accomplish 
much for his adopted city, but throughout 
a long term of years he exercised a wide 
and beneficent influence upon the public 
affairs of the State of Iowa. Mr. Foote 
was born at Middlebury, Vt., April 21. 
1814, a son of Justus and Harriet S. (Gra- 
ham) Foote, of that fine old Puritan stock 
which for nearly three centuries has so 
potently shaped the course of American 
history. The founder of the family in 
America was Nathaniel Foote, who was 
born in England in 1593, married in that 
country Elizabeth Denning about the year 
1615, and had two sons and five daugliters. 
His name first appears this side the Atlan- 
tic in the records of Massachusetts Bay 
colony for 1633, when he took the freeman's 
oath. It also appears conclusively that he 
had land assigned to him at Watertown. 
Mass., and later he became a pioneer settler 
of Wethersfield, Conn., his name appearing 
in the charter as one of the patentees. He 
died in 1664, aged fifty-one years, and his 
wife, Elizabeth, on July 28, 1683, aged 
eighty-eight years. His eldest son, Nathan- 
iel, was born in England in 1620, married 
Elizabeth Smith, of Wethersfield, Conn., in 
1646, and by her had three sons and one 
daughter. He died in 1655. at the age of 
thirty-four, after having spent the greater 
part of his life in Wethersfield. Samuel, 
second son of the foregoing, was born at 
Wethersfield. Conn., in 1649, n:arried Mary 
Merrick, of Springfield. Mass.. in 1671, and 
was a resident of Hatfield, ^lass.. the date 



of his death being Sept. 7, 1689, while his 
wife died Oct. 3, 1690. He was the father 
of five sons and three daughters, and Daniel, 
the fifth son, who was born at Hatfield in 
1689, married .Mary Collyer, of Hartford, 
Conn., in 17 18, they residing at Simsbury, 
Conn., where the\- had four sons and four 
daughters. Daniel Foote died July 15, 
1740, aged fifty-one years, and his wife on 
June 17, 1769, aged seventy-one years. 
Samuel, eldest son of Daniel, was born at 
Hartford, Conn., in 1719. and married 
Lois Loomis on Nov. 24, 1743, by whom he 
had five sons and five daughters. They re- 
sided in Simsbury, Conn., and he died Sept. 
18, 1775. Elijah, third son of- Samuel 
Foote, was born at Simsbury, Conn., March 
14, 1755, and was twice married, first on 
Dec. 12, 1771, to Mary Latimer, who died, 
survived by five sons and one daughter. 
The second marriage was to Zerniah Bar- 
ton, at Norwich, \'t., and by this union 
he had two sons and one daughter. He re- 
sided at Simsbury, New Haven, Middlebury, 
Conn., and Fairfield, \'t., and some place in 
New York, and his death occurred in his 
seventy-second year, in 1828. while his wife, 
Zerniah, died in 1827. Justus Foote, fourth 
son of Elijah, was born at Simsbury, Conn.. 
June 24, 1782, and on April 15, 1810, mar- 
ried Harriet S. Graham, daughter of Rev. 
John Graham, of Suffield, Conn. They re- 
sided at IMiddlebury, \'t., and he died, June 
10, 1829, aged forty-seven years, while the 
date of his wife's demise was April 20, 1865, 
in the seventy-sixth year of her age. To them 
were born five .sons and three daughters. 
and their second child was John Graham 
Foote, whose name introduces this review. 
In the maternal line, Mr. Foote was de- 
scended from James Graham, Marquis of 
Montrose, who was born in Scotland in 



52 



BIOGRAPHICAL REllEW 



1612. and ilicil in i()5i. An intermediate 
descendant of this nobleman was Andrew 
Graham, who died in June, 1785, aged 
fifty-seven years. Rev. John (jraham, son 
of Andrew, was born in Scotland in 1694. 
came to America when ymniji. and began 
his career as a minister of the gospel at 
twenty-seven years of age. He .settled at 
Stafford, Conn., in 1723, and died at South- 
burg, that State, Dec. 11, 1774. His son, 
also Rev. John (Irahain, was born 1722. and 
died at .Suffield, Conn., in i7'/>. aged seven- 
four years. Harriet Swan Graham, daugh- 
ter of the second Rev. John Graham, and 
mother of our subject, was born at West 
Suffiehl. Conn., and married Capt. Justus 
Foote. at Middlebury. \'t.. .\|)ril 15. 1810. 
She died in lUirlington. Iowa. .April 20. 1865. 
It is now more than one hundred years since 
her father was pastor of the church at West 
Suffield, Hartford county. Conn. He was 
one of the early graduates of Vale College, 
having been a member of the class of 1740. 
Hon. Joini Graham Foote, as a boy and 
young man, received the best schooling avail- 
able at that time, for he was educated at 
Middlebury College. .Middlebury. \'t.. but 
[)refiTring an active and practical lite to the 
pursuit of a learned profession, he learned 
the trade followed by his father, who was 
a saddler in Middlebury. The stories of 
the great new West, however, appealed to 
his imagination, and his love of enterprise 
and worthy endeavor, and in 1835 he came 
westward to St. Louis, \yhere he acted as 
a clerk until 1843, which was the date of his 
coming to Burlington as the rejjrcsentative 
of his employers in .St. Louis, for the pur- 
pose of establishing here a branch of their 
large hardware business. Tn Burlington, 
on Aug. 20. 1845. he wedded Miss Kliza 
Jane Ewing, and to them were born four 



children, but oi the number only one grew 
to maturity, this being Harriet, who married 
I'Vank R. nurham. then chief clerk of the 
I'urlington ])ost<ifficc, and has two sons and 
a daughter. Harriet luxUe. John (iraham, 
and George l-'oote. .Mr. Durham is now de- 
ceased, having died June 30. 1891. Eliza 
lane ( Fwing) l-'oote. first wife of our sub- 
ject, died Aug. 5. 1853. aged twenty-nine 
years. 

In 1855. .Mr. I'ooie again married, his 
.second wife being Miss Mary E. Merrill, 
who survives him. Mrs. Foote is descended 
from Nathaniel Merrill, of England, who 
lan<led at Ipswich. Mass.. in 1634. The 
family originally emigrated to England 
from .\uvergne, I-'rance, shortly after the 
.Massacre of St. Bartholomew, in all jiroba- 
bility. as they were Huguenots, and fled 
from I-rance for safety. They first located 
in Worcester. England, and later in Sussex, 
whence they came to .America. They were 
descended from the old Auvergne family of 
\h\ Merle. Families of the same name are 
.still to be found in that and other provinces 
of I''rancc. while the names Des Merles, Du 
Merles. Dnmeril. and other ft)rms are modi- 
fications of their patronymic. Their an- 
cestral home in .Auvergne was at Place de 
Dombes. In .America, the family has sup- 
plied many Congregational and Methodist 
ministers of ability, as well as a number of 
men eminent in other spheres of life. Mili- 
tary henx;s also are not lacking, as Sir 
Peter Merrill, of this family, and member 
of the British .Army, was knighted in 1634. 
while a descendant of N'athaniel Merrill 
was a member of the .State Legislature of 
Massachusetts, and captain of the military 
comi)any raised in his own town for service 
in the Revolutionary War. This was Sam- 
uel .Merrill, and his part in the war was an 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



53 



active one, he taking part in the battles of 
Ticonderoga, and being present at the sur- 
render of General Burgoyne. His son 
Jesse, then a boy of sixteen years, was a 
private in his father's company. After the 
war Samuel Merrill removed to Vermont, 
where he was also a member of the State 
Legislature, and prominent in public afifairs. 
His son James, on leaving college, located 
in Philadelphia, where be became associated 
with the famous Thaddeus Stevens, and oc- 
cu])ieil a prominent place as membur of the 
.State bar. The marriage of Nathaniel Mer- 
rill ])robably took place in England, and the 
name of his wife was Susanna, but her 
family name is not known, although it is 
sujjposed to have been \Mllerton. He was 
the father of seven children, and his resi- 
dence during his later years was at New- 
buryport, Mass., where he died March i6, 
1665. The subsequent generations are, 
briefly, as follows : Abel, born 1654, and 
married Priscilla Chase: Abel, l)orn 1671, 
and married Abigail Stevens ; Abel, born 
1698, and married Ruth Kclley ; .Stevens, 
born T731, and married, first, Sarah Chase, 
second, Mary Noyes ; Joseph, born 1764, 
and married Sarah Copp : Stevens, bom 
1790, and married Mehitabel Worthy 
Wells. The mother of Airs. Foote was 
a member of the celebrated Wells family, 
so long known in the afifairs of New Eng- 
land, and her great-grandfather, .Sanniel 
\\'ells, of Plymouth, N. H., was commander 
of the State militia. Mrs. Foote's father. 
Stevens Merrill, was sheriff of Grafton 
county, N, H., and Plymouth, that State, 
and later removed to Boston, where he en- 
gaged in the dry-goods business and also 
took up the brokerage business. He was 
attracted to California in 1849 upon the dis- 
coverv of gold in that State, and was en- 



gaged in mining oi)erations. there for several 
years, but in 1853 he returned East, and set- 
tled in Burlington, Iowa, where he died in 
1863, in his seventy-si.xth year. His wife, 
who was born at Plymouth, N. H., in 1797, 
died in Burlington, Jan. 12. 1886, aged 
eighty-eight years. Mrs. Foote, widow of 
our subject, was born at Plymouth, N. H., 
.March 19, 1832, and received a good educa- 
tion in the public schools of Boston. She 
came to Burlington in 1854, at the age of 
twenty-one years, accompanying the other 
members of the family, which comprised 
six sons and four daughters, who grew to 
maturity. She was married to Mr. Foote, 
the year following her arrival in Burlington, 
and of their union were born three sons, two 
of whom died in infancy, while one, Graham 
Merrill, born in 1856, married Anna Joy, in 
1880. He has one son, Graham M., Jr., 
born March 7, 1889, who survives. He was 
educated in the public schools of Burling- 
ton, and is now engaged very successfully 
in business at Long Beach, Cal. 

Mr. Foote, on coming to Burlington, con- 
ducted a hardware store in the interest of 
his emjjloyers, but established an independ- 
ent business, having enjoyed great success 
as manager. This enterprise he prosecuted 
with such effect as to raise himself to an 
important position in the commercial world 
of southeastern Towa in a few years, and to 
it he gave close attention during the greater 
part of his active life, being engaged in the 
hardware business here for a period of 
thirty-three years in all. Outside this field 
of endeavor he was also active in almost 
every enterprise that held out a reasonable 
prospect of advancing the welfare of his 
adopted city. He was interested substan- 
tially in the building of its first railroad, the 
lUirlington & Missouri River, and for a 



.•>4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



.time was treasurer of the company, while he 
was later a member of the board of direc- 
tors of the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad 
Company, and of the directorate of the Car- 
thajje & iUirlinj^ton C"om])any. He was a 
promoter and director of the first company 
to rnn a telegraph wire into r.nrlinfjton, thus 
bringing the business interests of the city 
into contact with the great financial and 
commercial centers of the East. In the 
world of finance his ]i(>sition was likewise 
One of undisputed supremacy, and he took a 
leading part in the organization of the First 
National I'.ank of Burlington, of which he 
was afterward a director and vice-president, 
and to his sponsorsliij) and business aliilily 
this great institution doubtless owes much 
of the j)rcstige which it enjoys to-day. 

While Mr. I'"oote was very successful in 
the conduct of his private affairs, and pur- 
sued his object with a ])crsistency of purpose 
which overcame all obstacles, he never for- 
got that he owed service to his State and 
his country, and throughout his whole ma- 
ture life took a helpful part in the work of 
politics. Originally a W hig, he joined the 
l^epublican m>>\ement at its inception, and 
was one of the ])rominent organizers of that 
party in Iowa. In the fall of 1861, he was 
triumphantly elected, on the Republican 
ticket, to the Senate of the State of Iowa, 
as being best t|ualified in those troublous 
times to represent his district, and as one 
who, amid the e.xcitement of civil war, might 
be relied on to act with calmness, integrity, 
and efliciency, and to cast the weight of his 
counsel and his vote on the side of right and 
justice at all times. The trust reposed in 
him by his fellow-citizens proved to be well 
placed, for he served as senator from 1862 
to 1865, inclusive, with great honor to 
himself and to the highest .satisfaction of his 



constituency, and was able to procure much 
beneficial legislation. He was also chair- 
man of a board of three commissioners for 
the con.struction of the capitol building of 
the State of Iowa, and the manner in which 
he dischargetl this great trust won general 
admiration. ( )ne who was long and in- 
timately connected with the jHiblic business 
of the State and who is considered among 
the foremost authorities on the subject.says: 
"He (Mr. T'oote) |)ersonaIly di.sbursed two 
million eight hundred seventy-si.x thousand 
three hundred dollars through a period of 
fourteen years, not a dollar of which money 
was misap|)ro]iriate(l, and no breath of sus- 
l)icion ever followed this large expenditure. 
It is (|uoted as a marvel of the times that the 
rigid. u])right honesty of John G. Foote 
made it ])ossible to get so great a structure 
built for such a ])rice." Mr. Foote was also 
connected with Iowa politics by the mar- 
riage of his sister. Harriet Foote, fourth 
child of the family of which he was a mem- 
ber, to John H. Gear, in Burlington, Dec. 15, 
1852. Mr. Gear enjoyed a national reputa- 
tion, and his career, including his brilliant 
administration as governor of Iowa, is too 
well known to reiiuire extended mention in 
this article. Mrs. Gear was born Nov. 16, 
18 1 8. and was first married to Joseph C. 
Ketchum, at .Middlebury, \t., .April 22. 
1835. ^l'*" li^* been spoken of as "one of 
Iowa's most remarkable women." while her 
wisdom and guidance were ever a great helj) 
to her distinguished husband, and much of 
the success of his career was doubtless due 
to her aid antl advice. 

During the later jiortion of his life, .Mr. 
I'ooto retired from business and |)ublic 
activities, and gave his efforts in an in- 
creased measure to the work of the Christian 
f;iitli. of which he was a devoted follower. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



He became a member of the Congregational 
church in 1853, and wa^ long a faithful 
and helpful laborer for its advancement, and 
for the success of its Sunday-school work, 
being for a long term of years a teacher in 
the Sunday-school. In this capacity he gave 
to those under his instruction the richest 
treasures from the storehouse of his mind, 
and many have had CMUse to remember his 
counsel with fondest gratitude. In the 
church he held the office of deacon for a 
long period. The place left vacant by his 
demise is now in a sense fully occupied by 
his widow, for she is a very active and in- 
fluential member of the church. In 1865, 
Mr. Foote was a member of the national 
council of Congregational churches that met 
at Boston, and, standing around Plymouth 
Rock, where the ancestors of our subject 
had landed two and a half centuries before, 
joined in the Declaration of Faith which 
is now generally recognized as the highest 
and most enlightened and advanced expres- 
sion of Christian faith and ecclesiastical 
order yet made by any large and delibera- 
tive body in the world. In 1867, he was 
elected a corporate member of the American 
Board of Commissioners of Foreign Mis- 
sions, and gave his assistance and attention 
down to his eightieth year to the questions 
that have attended, and at times have em- 
barrassed, its great and glorious work. 

In his home, the life of Mr. Foote was 
ideal, for there lo-\e and cheer, fidelity and 
truth, ever reigned, and the spirit of his 
home he carried with him into the world of 
Christian work. It was his happy lot to 
be connected with many religious enterprises 
which still survive as monuments of his de- 
votion and faith. He was one of the found- 
ers and original incorporators of the Chi- 
cago Theological Seminary, and a memljcr 



of its first board of directors. He was a 
lifelong supporter of the institution, obliga- 
tions which he assumed in this connection 
having since his demise been met bv his 
widow. He was an earnest student of the 
Scriptures, and was of a devout mind and 
spirit. He possessed a fine intelligence, a 
broad and comprehensive human charity, 
and a high and steady Christian character. 
He was universally esteemed and by many 
fondly beloved. He died March 4, 1896. 
Mrs. Foote is d member of the First Con- 
gregational church of Burlington, of the 
Daughters of the Revolution, of the Young 
Women's Christian Association Auxiliary, 
a member of the missionary society of the 
church, and treasurer of the Ladies' Aid 
Society of Burlington Hospital. She is 
a lady of distinguished ability, and has long 
made her home the center of a cultured 
social circle. 



JOHN C. FLEMING, M. D. 

Dk. John C. Fleming, a general med- 
ical practitioner of Burlington and local 
surgeon for the Chicago, Burlington & 
Ouincy Railroad Company, \\as born in 
Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, Nov. 
24, 1848. and represents one of the old 
families of that locality. Tlie founder 
of the family in America was the great- 
grandfather of Dr. Fleming, who died at 
sea, while on his way from the north of 
Ireland; but his famih' continued on their 
way to the Xcw Wcirlil. and cstabHslied 
their home in Huntingdon county, where 
his descendants have since l)een foun(.i. 
Janus Fleming, father of Dr. Fleming, 
was a silk-!:nitter. cmiijoycd in tlie mill'^ 



56 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of Huntingdon county, where he spent his 
entire life. 

Dr. ricming, having accjuircd his pre- 
liminary education in thi: jjublic sch(X)ls, 
continued his studies at Tuscarora Acad- 
emy, in Juniata county. Pennsylvania, 
and later he entered Kishacoquilis Semi- 
nary, in Mifllin county. Tennsylvania. 
He attended those institutit)ns of learning 
through the summer months, and in the 
winter sea.sons engaged in teaching 
school, that he might secure the funds to 
meet the expcn.ses of his own education. 
He was thus engaged until twenty-one 
years of age, when, having determined to 
make the practice of medicine his life 
work, he became a student in the office 
and under the direction of Dr. John Mc- 
Culimigh. who ])lanne(l his course of 
reading until he entered upon a course of 
lectures in Jefferson Medical College, at 
I'hiladelphia. On the completion of a 
three-years' course, he was graduated in 
1871. with a class numbering one hun- 
<lred and twenty-seven members. He 
then entered ujion the active practice of 
medicine in the office with his former 
preceptor, remaining in the East until 
1877. when he settled at P.urlington, and 
has since followed his profession here 
with constantly growing success. 

From 1880 until 1886 he served as 
county ])hysician for Des Moines county, 
and for two years of that time was also 
city physician and health officer. About 
188S he was ap])ointed local surgeon for 
the Chicago, lUirlington & Quincy Rail- 
road, and has since acted in that capacity. 
He is also examiner for the New York 
Life Insurance Company, and for a simi- 
lar ])eriod. fifteen or twenty vears. he has 
been thus connected with the Ivcjuitable 



Life .\ssurance Society, of New N'ork, 
and the .Mutual Benefit Insurance Com- 
I)any. of New Jersey. He performs ail 
this professional service in addition to the 
duties of a large general practice. He has 
never had a partner, and his success has 
come in direct recognition of his profes- 
sional skill and ability, won through care- 
ful |)reliminary preparation and thorough 
investigation and broad study since leav- 
ing college. He keeps in touch with the 
advanced thought and improved methods 
of the profession, and has practiced along 
scientific lines, with the result that his 
labors have been most effective in check- 
ing the ravages of disease and alleviating 
human suffering. He has, too, the strict- 
est regard for a high standard of profes- 
sional ethics, and therefore commands the 
respect and confidence of his professional 
brethren. He belongs to the Des Moines 
.Medical Society and the .American Medi- 
cal .Association. In his political views 
and affiliations he is an inde])endeiit 
Democrat. 

In March. 1894, Dr. Lleming was mar- 
ried to Miss Ida Weber, a native of Bur- 
lington, anil they have one son, John C, 
Jr. Readily received into cultured so- 
ciety circles, their own home is also noted 
for its generous and gracious hospitality. 



WILLIAM W. COPELAND. 

\Vii,i.i.\M W. CorEi,.\M>, prfmiinent in 
commercial, financial, and political circles 
of Burlington, has since 1887 been con- 
nected with the active business life of the 
citv. This is an era in which the small 
tradcsni.in |)lays very little |)art in the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



59 



public life of a community, for the traffic curing a position as clerk in a general 
of the country is managed by large con- store. His ready adaptability was soon 
cerns, but the promising feature in the manifest, and he eagerly availed himself 
business conditions of the day is that the of every opportunit}- to master the prin- 
clerk of to-day may be the merchant of ciples of mercantile life. When twenty- 
to-morrow, controlling interests of mag- one years of age he engaged in business 
nitude having important bearing upon on his own account in Mifflin, Pa., pur- 
the business life and prosperity of his chasing a stock of new goods and opening 
community. Such has been the career of a general merchandise store, in which he 
Mr. Copeland, whose foresight, sound met with success from the beginning: but 
judgment,and unfaltering enterprise have believing that there was a still wider 
taken tangible form in his rise from a field in the Middle West, he came to Bur- 



humble clerkship to the ownership of an 
extensive commission house. 

Born in Mifflin, Juniata county, Pa., 
Oct. 7, 1856, he is a son of John M. 



lington, Iowa, in 1887. For a short time 
he traveled for the Standard Oil Com- 
pany, but soon engaged in the commis- 
sion business in Burlington, under the 



and Katherine (Hartmann) Copeland. The firm name of Copeland & Martin, this re- 



famih', of English lineage, was founded 
in Pennsylvania at an early day in its set- 
tlement, the grandfather, Willis Cope- 
land, being one of the pioneers of that 
State. He spent his entire life there, fol- 
lowing the occupation of farming, and 
John M. Copeland, the father, was born 
and reared in the Keystone State, still 
making his home in Mifflin, where for 
many years he has been employed as 
storekeeper by the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road Company. He served the Union 
cause in the Civil War. and gives his po- 
litical allegiance to the Democratic party, 



lationship continuing until 1903, when 
Mr. Copeland purchased his partner's in- 
terest, becoming sole proprietor of a 
large fruit and commission business, 
hardly excelled in volume in the Middle 
West. His location is at the corner of 
Front and A^illey Streets, where he occu- 
pies a large building, with railroad tracks 
passing in front, thus enabling him to un- 
load direct from the car to the house. 
He carries on a wholesale business ex- 
clusively, and largely handles his goods 
in car-loads, receiving from and shipping 
to all parts of the United States. He em- 



by which he was elected to the office of ploys a number of traveling men who sell 

to the trade in Iowa and adjoining States, 
and the business has been gradually ex- 
panded from a small nucleus to its pres- 
ent extensive proportions — this gratify- 



treasurer for Juniata county in 1888. His 
wife, born in the same locality, is a 
daughter of William Hartmann, of Ger- 
man descent, and the family were mem- 
bers of the Lutheran church. 



ing result being achieved through the 



William W. Copeland was educated in ability and watchful care of Mr. Cope- 

the public schools of Mifflin, and was land. 

reared upon a farm, where he remained Xot confining his attention alone to the 

until sixteen years of age, when he ven- commission business, Mr. Copeland has 

tured into the field of commercialism, se- become well known in financial circles in 



6o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REIIEW 



coniicctit)n witli the .Merchants Xatiunal 
Bank, of which he has served as director 
for several years. He is also one of the 
founders of the Clinton Copcland Candy 
Company, which was incorporated in 
1898, when he was elected its first presi- 
dent, in which ])ositi()n he has since 
served. Tiiis has likewise been a success- 
fid enterprise, and the company erected a 
commodious and well-e(|uipped factory in 
1905. Employment is furnished to about 
seventy-five peo|)le, and the business has 
become one of the leading manufacturing 
enterprises of lUirlington. 

Mr. Copeland is a leader in Republican 
circles, and }et is not a politician in the 
common acceptance of tlial ti-rm. Deeply 
interested in jiolitics from the point of 
view of the business man and citizen, his 
opinions carry weigiu in the councils of 
the |)arty. Despite bis undoubted inlht- 
ence. he has never been a candidate for 
office here, although while in business at 
.Miftlin, I'a., he was aiipointed postmaster 
at that ])lace, his being one of the first 
appointments made fluring the Garfield 
administration, and held the office until 
the election of President Cleveland, when 
he resigned. On the organization of the 
Burlington Water Company in this city 
two directors were appointed by the 
mayor to represent the municipality in its 
board of directors, and Mr. Copeland was 
first apjjointed by a Democratic mayor to 
this position, which he now holds under 
a Republican incumbent. In 1903 he was 
elected a director of the Burlington Hos- 
pital, and on the expiration of his term 
was re-elected in 1905. His membership 
in the Commercial Exchange of I'lurliiig- 
ton dates from its organization, he having 
served for a time on its land site com- 



mittee; and in Eeijruary. i<X>5. he was 
elected its president. Fraternally, he is 
connected with Malta Lodge, .Ancient 
I'ree and .Xccepted Masons, and is deeply 
interested in all that pertains to the ma- 
terial, political, social, and intellectual 
progress of his adopted city. 

Mr. Copeland was married Dec. 2^, 
1879, to Miss Mary .\. Miller, of Burling- 
ton, a daughter of Henry Miller. They 
have one son. Joini R. COjieland, who is 
now connected with the Clinton Co])e- 
land Candy Company. .Mr. and Mrs. 
Copeland attend and support the Congre- 
gational church, of which Mrs. Copeland 
is a nuMni)er, and they occupy a fine home 
at 405 .South Tenth Street. It is such 
men as Mr. COpeland, men of strong in- 
telligence and marked enterprise, that 
have made Burlington a commercial and 
industrial center of the Middle West, and 
as the architect of his own fortune he has 
also builded wisclv and well. 



WILLIAM FISCHER. 

WiLLi.vM Fischer, general merchant 
at Augfusta, Des Moines county, Iowa, 
where he has been engaged in business 
since 1868, and where he has occupied 
the office of postmaster during the major 
portion of the time since 1S78, is one of 
those indomitably courageous Americans 
who found in early poverty the stimulus 
to exertion anil the starting point on the 
road to success. Of German nativity, 
.Mr. Fischer was born March 13, \'8<},C\. at 
Limburg on the Lahn, in the ilukedom of 
Nassau, now the province of Hesse-Nas- 



DES MOrXES COUXl'V. IOWA. 



6i 



sail, a son of George and Anna Alarie 
(Koch) Fischer. 

;\[r. P'isclier remained at home with liis 
parents and attended schodl until he was 
fourteen years of age, when he went to 
Cologne on the Rhine to engage in learn- 
ing the drug trade. There he remained, 
meantime utilizing his spare time to ac- 
quire a reading and writing knowledge of 
the English language, until the year 1854. 
He then decided to emigrate to the land 
of more abundant opportunity on this 
side the Atlantic, and taking passage at 
Antwerp, after a voyage of six weeks' 
duration he landed at New York. Thence 
he went to Buffalo and secured work in 
a Ijutcher shop, where he continued until 
January, 1855, the date of his coming to 
Iowa. For a short time after his arrival 
in the West he stayed with relatives in 
Keokuk county, Iowa, but being eager to 
begin his active career, he went to Bur- 
lington in the spring and there secured a 
position as clerk, which he continued to 
hold until 1868, making many .friends and 
establishing a reputation for efficiency 
and ability in practical affairs. As a 
young man he exercised constantly the 
virtues of care and economy, never throw- 
ing away the fruits of his labor in useless 
dissipation or pleasure, and thus in a few 
years he found himself the master of in- 
dependent resources. In 1868 he came to 
Augusta, and with his earnings purchased 
an established mercantile business, in 
which he has ever since been engaged 
with excellent success. 

At Burlington, in October, 1857. Mr. 
Fischer wedded Aliss Mary Louise Brun, 
a native of Alsace-Lorraine, and to them 
were born seven children, of three ^of 
whom thev were bereaved in the course 



of a single week through the agency of 
the dread typhoid fever. One daughter 
and two sons grew to inaturit\-. Louise, 
who married Charles Lauer, resides at 
Winfield, Iowa, and they have two chil- 
dren. Arnold and .\da. I-'.dmtuul. who 
married Miss Agnes McKibbin, had his 
home in Nebraska, where his death oc- 
curred in 1895, he being survived by two 
children. Forest and Fay. Arnold, now 
residing in Denmark, Iowa, married Miss 
Margaret Gallagher, and they have three 
children. Jfirl. Frieda, and Floyd. The 
mother of the family is now deceased, 
having died in 1896, and was buried in 
Aspen Grove cemetery in Burlington. 

Mr. Fischer has since remarried, the 
date being Sept. 27, 1898, when he was 
united in bonds of holy matrimon}' to 
Miss Ida L. Kinzie. Mrs. Fischer was 
born in the village of South Augusta, 
Denmark township, Lee county. Iowa, in 
the year 1857, a daughter of Alexander 
and Emily (Shoester) Kinzie. She early 
received a good education, and for a time 
she was engaged in the work of the teach- 
ing profession, teaching two terms in the 
home school. At the expiration of that 
period she became a dressmaker, and this 
she continued until the time of her mar- 
riage. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kinzie, 
came to the West from Delaware county, 
Pennsylvania, in 1840, soon after their 
marriage, and immediately settled in 
Augusta township. Mr. Kinzie was 
comparatively wealthy at the time, but he 
invested in a flouring mill, which he lo- 
cated on the south side of the river; but 
this enterprise proved unsuccessful, and 
he lost a large part of the capital which 
his business ability had enabled him to 
acquire i)rior to that time. 



62 



It/OCh'.ll'IlJi.lL KEVIIiW 



At various times since i8<i8 Mr. Fischer 
has ailded to his property in Augusta, 
so that at the present time his material 
interests lure are quite extensive. In 
1877 he bought the old Moffett mill at 
this place, and conducted it for a ])eriod 
of twenty years, at the end of which time 
he tore down the i)uilding and disposed 
of the machinery. This institution 
played an im])ortant part in the early set- 
tlement of the West, being the first mill 
to be established within the borders of the 
present State of Iowa. A few years ago 
Mr. Fischer raised the old burr of the 
mill from the river bed, it being the first 
of the kinil to be brought across the .Mis- 
sissip])i River, and ])resented it to the 
trustees of Crapo park, at Burlington, 
where it may now be seen, a reminder of 
pioneer days and an evidence of com- 
mendable ])idjlic spirit on the ])art of Mr. 
Fischer. This tendency on his ])art has 
been characteristic of him ever since his 
arrival in .America. He became a natur- 
alized citizen of the United States, and 
partici])atcd in tlie election in i8f)0. sup- 
porting the Re])ublican ticket, headeil by 
.Abraham Lincoln ; and even prior to that 
time he had taken an active part in poli- 
tics, being a member of the Republican 
marching club in iSsf), and taking an ac- 
tive share in the campaign for the election 
of John C. Fremont for the jiresidency. 
He has frequently served his party as 
delegate in county conventions, and his 
fellow-citizens early showed their appre- 
ciation of his services and bis ability and 
integrity by electing him to the oflfice of 
township clerk, in which he served for a 
number of years, or until the pressure of 
private business compelled him to refuse 
further honors. Fraternallv. he is a mem- 



ber of Hiram Lodge No. 7. Ancient Free 
and Accepted Masons, in which he has 
held the office of secretarv, and also been 
active for the advancement of the local 
interests of the order. 

Mr. Fischer's career is one full of les- 
sons for struggling youth, for when he 
came to .America as a young man he was 
entirely without means, exce|)t enougli t<i 
supply the barest necessities for a short 
time; but by industry, honesty, and a 
right use of his natural ability he has 
risen to a position of prominence in the 
community, and achiex'ed a business suc- 
cess of no small proportions. He de- 
serves the highest praise for his resolu- 
tion in pnrsuiiig for long years one un- 
. deviating path of endeavor, and moreover 
he has won by his course the admiration 
and regard of a multitude of friends. 



JOHN M. MERCER. 

John M. Mkkckk, j)racticing at the Bur- 
lington bar as the senior member of the 
well-known law firm of Mercer & Mercer, 
has not only attained prestige as an able 
representative of the legal fraternity, but 
also as one of the foremost re])resentatives 
of Democracy in his district ; anil although 
his association with the party is not of as 
active a character as formerly, he is never- 
theless a champion of the principles of 
Democracy, and has wielded a wide in- 
fluence in political circles. 

.\ native of Illinois, Mr. Mercer was bom 
in Kewanee, Aug. 28, 1858. His father, 
William Mercer, was born in the parish of 
!)nimi)re. County Down. Ireland, and came 
with bis i)arents to America when about 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



63 



twelve years of age, settling near Allegheny mother were reared in the Ihiited Presby- 

City, Pa. He afterward removed to Henry teriaii churcli, but in later years, with all of 

county, Illinois, where he grew to man- their children excepting John M., became 

hood upon his father's farm, situated at communicants of the Episcopal church. 
Virginia Grove, through which ran Indian In his youth Jnhn .M. Mercer came with 

Creek. Not desirous of making agricultural his parents to Burlington, where he was 

pursuits his life work, he learned the paint- reared, and acquired his preliminary edu- 



er's trade in Allegheny City, Pa., and was 
afterward employed by the Burlington & 
Missouri Railroad Company, at Burling- 
ton, about 1867. Pie went to the West 
during the gold rush of 1863, and prospered 



cation through attendance at the public 
schools. He is also a graduate of the 
Aliens Business College, and on complet- 
ing his course there he entered the law 
office of Newman & Blake, under whose di- 



during that trip. He spent about three rection he did his preparatory reading, prior 

years in the Pacific Coast country, being to entering the law department of the State 

in the gold fields of California, Idaho, and University, from which he was graduated 

Oregon. Then returning to Burlington, with the class of 1880, the degree of 

he continued to make his home in this city Bachelor of Law being then conferred 

until his death, which occurred .A.pril 4, upon him. In September of the same year 

i8go. For some years he was at the head he opened an office for practice in Burling- 

of the locomotive painting department of ton, and has since been a member of its 

the Burlington Railroad, thus occupying a legal fraternity, gaining the prominence that 

responsible position in connection with in- results from comprehensive understanding 

dustrial interests in this city. He held of the principles of jurisprudence, inastery 

membership in Washington Lodge, No. i, of the salient points of a case, and the clear 

Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of which and forceful presentation of his cause be- 



he was a past noble grand. In early man- 
hood he married Sarah Chambers Miller, 
who was born near Downpatrick, in County 
Down, Ireland, and came to the United 
States when about thirteen years of age, and 
is now living in Burlington. They were the 
parents of eight children : William G., who 
has charge of the Buffington \\'heel Works, 
at Burlington ; Elizabeth ^^'eede, the wife of 
W. H. Rhein, of Lander, Wyo. ; Samuel 
Chambers, deceased ; John M. ; Charles and 



fore court or jury. He acted as private 
secretary to Judge Tracy for two years, 
while the latter was president of the Bur- 
lington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Rail- 
road, during its construction in the North- 
west. Later he formed a law partnership 
with Samuel K. Tracy, a son of Judge 
Tracy, who was general solicitor for the 
Burlington, Cedar Rapids, & Northern Rail- 
road Company, and who was succeeded 
in the firm by George S. Tracy, which con- 



Laura, who have passed away : Margaret nection was maintained for several years 



Jones, who has been a stenographer in the 
office of her brother John for twelve years : 
and Olive Ruth, who since her graduation 
has been a teacher in the North ( )ak pub- 
lic school of Burlington. The father and 



under the style of Tracy & Mercer, the dis- 
solution of the partnership occurring in 
1891. In June, 1904, Mr. Mercer was 
joined in a partnership by his son, Herbert 
]\[iller Mercer, and the firm stvle is now 



64 



BIOGRAPHICAL REI'IEW 



Mercer & Mercer. Tluir clientage is large 
and of an important character, and the de- 
mands which his professional duties make 
upon John M. Mercer leave him little 
leisure time for outside interests. He is 
professionally and financially interested in 
several leading enteqiriscs of the city, being 
vice-president, solicitor, and a director in 
the Tabor-Burns Paper Box Company, and 
one of the incorporators, directors, and so- 
licitors for the Evans Automatic Car 
Coupler Company, of Burlington, organized 
for the purpose of manufacturing an auto- 
matic coupler which is pronounced by ex- 
perts the most practical coupler ever tested. 
The patents therefor have recently been 
issued and manufacture of the couplers will 
be proceeded with. 

Mr. Mercer is a Democrat, and in former 
years was very active in the party councils. 
He served as clerk of Burlington township 
for four years, was surveyor of customs for 
four years under President Cleveland's first 
administration, city clerk for eight years, 
and city attorney for two years. In recent 
years he has not been active in the work of 
the party, his profession demanding all of 
his time and energies, and yet in the per- 
formance of his duties of citizenship he is 
never remiss, and labors earnestly and ef- 
fectively for the welfare of his adopted 
city. Fraternally, he is connected with 
Iowa Camp, \o. 98. Modern Woodmen of 
America, and has represented the local or- 
ganization in both the State and national 
camps. He became a charter member when 
the camp was organized in Burlington in 
May, 1885, and was its first camp clerk; 
during the nine years last ])ast he has 
acted in that capacity. He is also a mem- 
ber of the Royal Neighbors and the Fra- 
ternal L'nion, and was a charter member 



of Lodge Xo. 89, Benevolent and Protective 
Order of P'lks, and a member of Flint Hills 
F^odge, \o. 39, Knights of I^ythias. His 
religious faith is indicated by his member- 
ship in the 13a])tist church. He ser^•ed for 
live terms as moderator of the Baptist As- 
sociation and for five consecutive terms as 
trustee anil deacon of the Walnut Street 
Baptist church. He was also for many 
years a trustee and for several years secre- 
tary of the board of trustees of Burlington 
University, more recently known as Bur- 
lington Institute. 

On Feb. 23, 1881, Mr. Mercer was 
married to Miss Jennie M. Bernard, a 
daughter of Cornelius and Martha M. 
( White) Bernard. Her father was one of 
the pioneer settlers of Des Moines county 
and a public-spirited man, who aided in the 
growth and development of the city, contrib- 
uting largely to its material improvement. 
He helped in a financial way to develop 
the street railway system and the railroads 
leailing out of the city to the north. Coming 
to the West from \'ermont, he lived for 
many years in Burlington, one of its capital- 
ists and leading men. His widow still 
survives him, and makes her home with her 
children. Mrs. Mercer was born and reared 
in Burlington, and is a member of the 
Stars and Stripes Chapter of the Daughters 
of the .American Revolution, being de- 
scended in the maternal line from five 
ancestors who fought in the war for inde- 
pendence. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mercer have four children : 
Herbert Miller, Harry Bernard. Ralph Paul, 
and Jane Annette. The second and third 
sons are in the employ of the Tabor- Bums 
Paper Box Company, while the eldest son 
is practicing law with his father. He ac- 
quired his education in the Burlington public 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



65 



schools, the BurHngton Institute, and the 
State University, from the law department 
of which he was gradviated with the degree 
of Bachelor of Law in 1904. He is now 
the junior member of the law firm of Mercer 
& Mercer. This name has long figured 
prominently in connection with the legal 
records of the city, for John M. Mercer 
possesses the strong mental force, marked 
individuality, laudable ambition, and un- 
swerving purpose which are ever concomi- 
tants of successful accomplishment. 



EMIL G. BANDLEON. 

Emil G. Bandleox, vice-president and 
secretary of the Wyman & Rand Company, 
is a notable example of a feature in the 
business world to-day, — that is, it is the 
young men who are at the head of the lead- 
ing business concerns of the country, in- 
fusing their enterprise and energy into the 
commercial, industrial, and professional 
world, with the result that America has 
become a commercial center of the world. 
Mr. Bandleon is now active in the man- 
agement of one of the leading mercantile 
houses of Burlington, — Wyman & Rand, 
Incorporated, wholesale and retail dealers 
in carpets, rugs, draperies, curtains, furni- 
ture, and china and glassware. 

Emil G. Bandleon was born in Burling- 
ton, April 26, 1876, a son of George and 
Nancy (Pfister) Bandleon. The father 
was born in Heidenheim, Wurtemberg, 
Germany, and the mother's birthplace was 
also in that locality. The ancestry of the 
Bandleon family can be traced back to 
France, and the grandfather, after serving 
in the Napoleonic wars, went to Germany. 



George Bandleon learned the cabinet- 
making trade in his native country, and 
after coming to America in 1855, he es- 
tablished his home in Burlington, Iowa, 
where he resumed his labors along that line. 
He had remained a resident of this city for 
some time when gold was discovered in 
California, but he did not tarry long after 
that, being among the first to go to the 
mines. He spent some years on the Pa- 
cific Coast, being quite successful in his 
search for gold, and then returned over- 
land to Burlington, where he built what was 
later known as the Lower Town Brewery. 

Entering into partnership with his half- 
brother, George Bosch, they began the op- 
eration of their plant, which stood at the 
intersection of what is now Angular and 
Main Streets. The firm soon secured a 
large trade and conducted a prosperous 
business until 1884, when the prohibition 
law of Iowa went into effect, and they dis- 
continued their business, Mr. Bandleon re- 
tiring permanently, and throughout his 
remaining days enjoyed a well-merited rest. 
He died at the age of fifty-nine years, and 
is. still survived by his wife. They had 
two children : Mattie, now the widow of 
Charles H. Wyman ; and Emil G. The 
father was also interested in other business 
enterprises of the city, and his labors con- 
tributed to its industrial and commercial 
activity, as well as to his individual success. 

Emil G. Bandleon was educated in the 
public schools of Burlington, being gradu- 
ated from both the ward and high schools, 
while later he pursued a commercial course 
in Elliott's Business College. Shortly after 
the completion of his studies he entered the 
house of Wyman & Rand as assistant book- 
keeper, later becoming head bookkeeper, 
and after the death of Charles Rand he pur- 



66 



BIOGRAPHICAL REI'IEW 



chased his stock in ihe concern, and was 
elected vice-president, while subsecjuently 
he was also chosen secretary. He entered 
the firm in 1894. The business was estab- 
lished in 1852, and incorporated in 1903. 
They conduct a wholesale and retail trade 
in carpets and rugs, mattings, curtains, wall- 
paper, wood mantels, tiling, parquet floor- 
ing, furniture, and china and glassware at 
313 to 317 Jcflferson Street, and both de- 
partments of the business have a good pat- 
ronage, so that the sales reach a large 
annual figure, and the stockholders receive 
a good return from their investment. The 
policy of the house is indicated by the 
prompt attention given orders, the courtesy 
shown to patrons, and the straightforward 
methods which characterize every trade re- 
lation. 

Mr. Bandleon in his mercantile career 
displays the traits which are in keeping with 
the progressive spirit of modern business 
life, being watchful of every opportunity, 
and carefully considering every step made, 
that it may be one of advancement, bring- 
ing him continually nearer the goal of de- 
sired success. His political support is 
given the Republican i)arty, and his social 
relations are indicated by his membershiii 
with Lodge No. ?<7,, Benevolent and Pro- 
tective Order of I-:iks, the Burlington Golf 
Club, and ilu- I'.nrlington Boating .Asso- 
ciation. 



CASWELL HANNA. 

To trace the genealogy of Mr. Hanna, 
anil toll the story of his inuncdiatc and 
remote ancestors in their struggle with 
the hard conditions of life in the New 
World, would be in large measure to 



write the history of the .American people. 
The story of the hardy and fearless pio- 
neers, who in the early days followed the 
westward-moving frontier of civilization, 
is an inspiring one, and the record of their 
achievements reveals the causes of our 
national greatness and power. On the 
paternal side, the first .American ancestor 
of our subject was the grandfather, who 
emigrated frcim Ireland at a very early 
date, in company with his two brothers, 
and settled in the Carolinas. Thence he 
afterward removed to Indiana, and the 
original homestead which he purchased in 
Union county, that State, is now owned 
by his grandson, the farm being operated 
at the present time by a great-grandson. 
His son, James Craig Hanna, father of 
Caswell Hanna, was born in the State of 
North Carolina, Oct. 19, 1793, removed to 
Union county. Indiana, at about eighteen 
years of age, and there remained until 
^^^7, when he decided to try his fortune 
in the more remote West. In Indiana he 
did farming to some extent, but also con- 
ducted a grocery store, and was a stock- 
buyer, buying hogs and shipping to the 
Cincinnati market. On coming to Iowa, 
however, he purchased, in .\ugusta town- 
ship, Des Moines county, the farm on 
which our subject now resides, and de- 
voted his linic exclusively to agriculture. 
He ])laced a portion of the land under 
cultivation, began the work of clearing 
away the forests, and erected a commodi- 
ous log house, in which he established 
himself and family in cifcunistances of 
comparative comfort. There he resided 
until his death, which occurred at his 
home on Sept. i, 1839. after a short illness 
of one week, which was the result of an 
injury accidentally received. He was a 




CASWF.Ll. HANNA. 



X 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



6g 



man of progressive tendencies, and in his 
political affiliations was a lifelong member 
of the Democracy. 

While residing in Indiana, James Craig 
Hanna wedded Miss Eleanor Crawford, a 
member of one of the well-known old 
families of Virginia. She was born about 
fifteen miles from the city of Richmond, 
Va., on July 25, 1793, and resided at the 
place of birth until about fifteen years of 
age, at which time she removed with her 
parents to Indiana. It was in that State 
that she received her education, and there 
also she was married to Mr. Hanna. They 
were the parents of eight children, of 
whom our subject is the only one now 
living, as follows : Elizabeth A., born July 
16, 1814; William C, born March i, 1816; 
Phoebe, born Oct. 16, 1818; James L., 
born May 5, 1822; Mary Jane, born Nov. 
13, 1824; Rebecca, born June 19, 1827; 
Sylvester, born Nov. 29, 1829; and Cas- 
well, who is the 3'oungest of the family. 
Eleanor Crawford Hanna was, during her 
early life, a member of the Presbyterian 
church, but there being no organization of 
that persuasion in Danville, she joined 
the Congregational society on her re- 
moval to Iowa. She died Nov. 11, 1856, 
■and both she and her husband are buried 
in Blakeway cemetery, Augusta township. 
Mr. Hanna chose this place, and was the 
third man to be buried there. 

Caswell Hanna, whose name lends title 
to the present review, was born Oct. 24, 
1832, in Union county, Indiana, where he 
resided until his fifth year. He then re- 
moved with his ])arents to Iowa, arriving 
in Des Moines county in the month of 
November, 1837, ^"d located on the farm 
which he still occupies. He received his 
first knowledge of books in the rural dis- 



trict school near his home, the school be- 
ing conducted in a log schoolhouse which 
his father had furnished the money to 
build. He was ambitious of still farther 
advancement along the paths of educa- 
tional progress, however, and afterward 
pursued courses of study both at Daven- 
port and at Mount Pleasant, thus acquir- 
ing an excellent preparation for the du- 
ties of active life. On the completion of 
his education he returned home and took 
charge of the farm, where he has ever 
since continued, with the exception of a 
lirief period spent in Nebraska. His 
mother acted as his housekeeper until her 
demise, which occurred when he was 
twenty-four years of age. He engaged 
very successfully in general farming, and 
also to some extent in stock-raising. In 
fact, such was his success that he was en- 
abled to erect a large and substantial 
dwelling-house, a large barn, and other 
necessary buildings, and moreover added 
one hundred and twenty acres to the farm. 
He himself purchased the home farm 
from the heirs, and with what he has 
added to this his holdings now aggregate 
two hundred and sixty-two acres of rich 
and productive agricultural lands located 
in Augusta and Danville townships. 

On May 30, i860. Mr. Hanna was 
united in marriage to Miss I-Vances Ellen 
Ainsworth, a daughter of Elijah and 
Electa (Fox) Ainsworth. The father of 
Mrs. Hanna was born in Mindeti, N. Y., 
whence he removed to Watertown, in the 
same State. In the latter place he resided 
for a numlier of years. l)ut came West in 
the fall of 1846. and located at West 
Point, Lee count}'. In 1848 he removed 
to a farm near .\ugusta, Des Moines 
county, where he engaged in agricultural 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'IFJV 



pursuits until tlu- linn- i)f liis death, 
wliich dcciirrfd Aug. 30. 1864. His 
widow, wlio was born in X'erniont, Dec. 
II, 1812, survivctl liini many years, and 
died March 6, i8<)i. 

Mrs. Ilanna is, like our subject, de- 
scended from old colonial ancestry, and 
her great-prandfatber. Daniel Ainsworth, 
\vho was born at Woodstock. Conn., Oct. 
21, 1724, served in the Trench and Indian 
War in 1738, under Col. John Murray, 
and later as a soldier of the Revolutionary 
War. He married, first, Sarah Uuffbee, 
and for his second wife, Elizabeth Corbin, 
of Dudley, Mass. His death occurred in 
the year 1810, at Cherry Valley, N. Y. 
In the maternal line the great-grand- 
fatlur of Mrs. Hanna was William Fox, 
wlio was born June 28, 1760, ])robably at 
Nevvburg, X. Y. When he was but two 
years of age his father died, and bis 
mother returned with her two small boys 
to her native place. Woodstock, Conn. 
Altbougb be was but little more than 
sixteen years old at the lime of the revolt 
of the colonies from liritisb rule, he en- 
listed in the Continental army, and bore 
a man's part as a soldier of the Revolu- 
tionary W ar. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Ilanna have been 
born three children, as follows: Charles 
Henry, now engaged in the coal and ice 
business at Garden City, Kans., married 
Miss Minnie Roberts, of Missouri, and 
they have two children, Ross l-'lmo and 
Lola Helen ; Emily, who is at home with 
her parents: and Willis Ross, who also 
resides at the ])arental home, antl ojier- 
ates his father's large farm. 

Mr. Hanna is eminently fitted by nat- 
ural ability and educational advantages 
for leaderslii]), ;ind affairs of ])ractical 



politics have always absorbed a large pro- 
portion- of his thought and activity. He 
is well known as a prominent and influ- 
ential worker for the success of the Dem- 
ocratic party in Des .Moines county ; and 
such is the popularity he enjoys, and such 
the trust reposed in him by his fellow- 
citizens, that he has held ])ul)lic office 
continuously for more than hall a cen- 
tury, or since he was twenty-one years of 
age. and it may be said in explanation of 
this remarkable record, that he has at all 
times justified the confidence of the peo- 
])le. I'or a long term of years he held the 
office of justice of the peace, and during 
that time it was universally recognized 
by his constituents that his rulings were 
dictated by a sense of absolute justice be- 
tween man and man without regard to 
weallii or station. Since 1872, or for a 
period of thirty-three years, he has been 
district and township treasurer of the 
school board of .Vugusta township 
schools, as well as being elected to a num- 
ber of other offices of trust, and has done 
much for the cause of education, in which 
he is a firm believer, regarding it as the 
basis of free institutions. He is a member 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, in 
which for many years he held the office of 
trustee, and has ever been active in relig- 
ious and humanitarian work. In politics 
he has always been on the side of protect- 
ing the jnirity of the ballot and safeguard- 
ing the popular liberties, and in religion 
his name is identified with liberal and 
charitable ideas and views. By reason of 
his long residence here, his well-known 
and varied abilities, his success in what- 
ever he has attem])ted, his honorable 
share in advancing the moral, material, 
and si)iritual welfare of his community, 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



his steadfast devotion to the cause of 
ri,q-Iit and justice, and his adiiiiralile Chris- 
tian character, he has become known, 
by reputation, at least, throughout Des 
Moines county, and enjoys amicable in- 
tercourse with a large number of friends, 
and is esteemed and respected wherever 
known. 



James Lewis Hanna was born near 
Dunlapsville, Union county, Ind., May 5, 
1822, and died at his home in Des Moines 
•county, Iowa, Sept. 27, 1895, aged seven- 
ty-three years, four months, and twenty- 
two days. 

He removed to Iowa with his father's 
family in September of 1837, and was 
united in marriage to Elizabeth Moore, 
Jan. 8, 1846. To this union were born 
five daughters and three sons, as follows: 
Mrs. Rebecca Phillips, who now resides 
at the old family home; Mrs. Frances 
Rhodes, of New London, Iowa ; Mrs. 
Mary E. Alexander, now deceased; Mrs. 
Sadie Melcher, of Burlington ; Dr. Harry 
Zaiser ; J. M. Hanna, of Des Moines, 
Iowa; Mrs. Bettie Cleaver, of Keokuk, 
Iowa ; and Dr. W . B. Hanna. of Chicago, 
111. 

It was forty-five years prior to his de- 
mise that he located on the farm which 
was the scene of that sad event. Had he 
lived until Jan. 8, 1896, he would have 
celebrated his fiftieth wedding anni\-er- 
sary. He was converted to the faith of 
Christianity at the watch-night meeting 
at Long Creek Methodist Episcopal 
church, and united with that church on 
Jan. I, 1S51). under the pastorate of Rev. 
J. C Thompson, ever after continuing 
one of the faithful members until his 
death. He was alwavs readv to advance 



the true interests of the church by every 
means in his power, counted no self-sac- 
rifice too great which contributed to that 
end. He was among the early pioneers 
of Danville township, and bore his part 
niantuUy and courageously in endiu^ing 
the hardships incident to the settlement 
of a new country. He was a public- 
spirited man, with advanced ideas as to 
culture and education, earnestly second- 
ing all early ambition in his children. 

During the latter years of his life he 
was severely afflicted, and fully -realized 
the uncertainty of life, always expressing- 
his willingness to die when the time 
should come. Truly hath (iod taken 
home unto himself a good man. I-"uneral 
services were conducted by Rev. George 
Filmer. on Sept. 29, 1895, ^t Long Creek 
Methodist Episcopal church. 



A very large number of old acquaint- 
ances, relatives and friends attended the 
funeral of Mrs. Elizabeth Hanna at Long 
Creek church, at eleven o'clock, Thurs- 
day morning, Jan. 15, 1903. The services 
were conducted by Reverend Crull. 

Elizabeth Moore was born near 
Moundsville, W. Va., the eldest child of 
Francis and Anna Moore. She came to 
Iowa in 1S31). and was married to James 
Lewis Hanna Jan. 8, 1846. On the farm 
on which she died she lived for fifty-two 
years, dying Jan. 12, 1903, aged eighty- 
four years, two months, and twenty- 
six days. She was the mother of five 
daughters and three sons, and there were 
twenty grandchildren, sixteen of whom 
are still li\ing. and three great-grand- 
children. One brother, W. R. Moore, 
and two sisters, Mrs. Sarah Jester and 
Mrs. Maggie I'arriolt. sur\i\e her. 



H10GR.WHR.il Rlil I Elf 



She was ci>nvcrti-<l and united witli tin- 
Methodist Episcopal church when four- 
teen years of ajj;e. and was a loyal, con- 
sistent nienilter for seventy years. I'ntil 
incapacitated by the infirmities of age, 
she was ever faithful in the discharge of 
her formal religious duties, considering 
it no sacrifice to deny herself that she 
might assist in advancing the mission of 
the church, .^lie was a tlevoted mother, 
and always enjt>yed the society of young 
peo|)le. As a neighbor she was most 
kin<l and helpful. She longed to go to her 
heavenly home, having the fidl assurance 
of a blessed entrance. 



JOHN W. VAN OSDOL. 

The name which intro<luces this review is 
one well known to the citizens of Des Moines 
county, where he was born Jan. 20, 1844, 
being the son of William and Hannah 
(Banta) Van Osdol, both of whom were 
natives of Kentucky. The father was lx>rn 
in 1816, and was a miller by trade. When a 
boy. he emigrated to Indiana with his par- 
ents, settling in Switzerland county, where he 
grew to manhood, and where he was married. 
He came to Des .Moines county at an early 
day, and purchased eighty acres of partly im- 
proved land in Section 4, Hcnton township, 
and there lived for si.\ or eight years. Later 
he bought a farm in Franklin townshi]>. 
where lie settk-<l tor a short time, and then 
purchased the site of the old I'ranklin Mills, 
lie built the original mill, which was used as 
a sawmill, but afterward converted it into a 
flouring-mill. and there he lived. carr\ ing on 
the business of milling until 1856. 

After being engaged in the niercaiitilc 



business in Mt. I'leasant for four years, he 
bought a farm in Section 33, Benton town- 
ship, where he lived till his death, which 
occurred Oct. 3. 1868. He was a public- 
spirited man, and was ever ready to do his 
duty in matters pertaining to the welfare of 
the community. L'pon the death of Mr. Van 
( )sdol. his widow removed to Mediapolis, 
where she resided for some twenty-four 
years, until her death in July, 1892, at the age 
of sixty-seven years, and was buried by the 
side of her husband in the cemetery at 
Franklin Mills. 

They were the parents of twelve children, 
of whom ten are living: Mehala, widow of 
J. W. McDonald, resides in .Mediapolis; 
Melissa, widow of J. W. King, and also a 
resident of Mediajjolis; Martha, has been a 
teacher in the high school for many years ; 
John \\'., our subject: .Melinda. wife of T. 
.*>. I'oole. a .Methodist minister now located 
on -Mt. Pleasant circuit, whose daughter 
l-vdia is a missionary in India; Mary, wife 
of Nicholas Boyce, of Iowa City; Jane, wife 
of Henry Walker, of Mediapolis; Anna, now 
.Mrs. Frank Corder, of .Mediajjolis ; Minnie, 
the wife of .\lbert Hollinger, of Burlington, 
Iowa; and Birdie, who married John I'iper, 
and lives in .Mediapolis. 

( )ur subject received his early education 
in the common schools of Franklin township 
and in the high school in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. 
.Although only eighteen years old. on his 
country's call for preservation by her pa- 
triotic sons he enlisted, -Aug. 19. 1862, in 
Company (i. Twenty-fifth Regiment Iowa 
N'olunteer Infantry, at Mt. Pleasant, and 
was discharged at X'icksbnrg in 1864, im- 
mediately re-enlisting in Company H, 
I-'orty-fifth Regiment Iowa Volunteer In- 
fantry. He participated in the battles of 
I'hickasaw llavou. .\rkansas Post, was also 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



73 



at the fampus siege of Vicksburg, and was 
honorably discharged at Keokuk, Iowa, in 
September, 1864. After his discharge he 
returned to the home of his father, who at 
that time resided in Benton township, and 
remained on the farm assisting his father 
three years ; after which he went to Medi- 
apohs, where he was engaged in the stock 
and grain business for four years, in partner- 
ship with his brother-in-hiw, J. W. McDon- 
ald, doing a successful business under the 
firm name of McDonald & Company. They 
erected a large elevator, which is still the 
only one in Mediapolis, and conducted an 
extensive and prosperous business. In 1876 
they sold the elevator and business, and Air. 
Van Osdol rented the farm of two hundred 
and eighty acres which he has now owned 
for several years, and which he bought in 
October, 1892. His farm is now all under 
cultivation, and he has made substantial im- 
provements upon it, erecting a handsome 
two-story frame house, a commodious and 
modern barn, as well as other necessary 
buildings, and is now engaged in raising 
a high grade of hogs and cattle, besides 
carrying on general farming quite exten- 
sively. 

Oct. 10, 1867, occurred the marriage of 
Mr. Van Osdol and Miss Lydia Poole, who 
was born in Benton township, on the farm 
which is now her home. She is the daughter 
of Robert and Lydia (Saddler) Poole. Her 
father was born in Clarke county, Ohio, 
Aug. 3, 1817. his parents being born in 
Virginia. Air. and Airs. Poole were married 
in 1839, and in 1841 the young couple 
emigrated to Iowa, which was then only 
slightly improved. The land was unbroken, 
and fierce wolves and wild deer roamed over 
the prairie, while neighbors were far apart. 
Thev bought three hundred and sixtv acres 



of partly imi)ro\'e(l land, and erected a log 
cabin, in which they lived in true pioneer 
style for the next ten years, when Mr. 
Poole erected a large and handsome res- 
idence. Other improvements were made 
from year to year, and the farm was in- 
creased to four hundred acres. 

It was upon this place that their six 
children were born, two of whom died in 
infancy. The others are : Nancy E., who 
married William Foster, of Mediapolis ; 
Thomas S., educated in a private school in 
Burlington, and also in a conmiercial college 
in Chicago, now a minister of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, stationed at Bentonsport, 
Iowa, being ordained in 1878 ; Lydia, wife of 
John Van Osdol, of this review ; Eliza 
Josephine, wife of Samuel V. AlcCallister, 
of Columbus, Ohio. 

Air. Poole retired from farming in 1881, 
and moved to Mediapolis, where he lived 
retired till his death, which occurred Sept. 6, 
1894. Airs. Poole died Jan. 27, 1896, and 
both were buried at Kossuth, Yellow 
Springs township. They were active Chris- 
tians from early childhcK^d, and took a prom- 
inent jaart in church and Sunday-school 
work, being for many years members of the 
Alethodist Episcopal church, and active in 
organizing and building the church at Tama- 
town, Benton township. Air. Poole was 
steward of the church for over forty years, 
and one of its most liberal supporters, and 
in 1884 was lay delegate to the Iowa annual 
conference. He was also justice of the peace 
for twenty years and town.ship clerk for 
many terms. They were greatly comforted 
by seeing all of their children become Chris- 
tian men and women, and happily situated 
in life. 

L^nto Mr. and Airs. Van Osdol were bom 
three children, all living in Des Aloines 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



coiiniy : Thomas ( )., was bom in Benton 
township. June 21, i8^>8. He was educated 
in the common schools, finisliing with two 
years at Mediapolis. He married Miss Mat- 
tie L. Walker, daughter of Isaac and Han- 
nah (Frientl) Walker, and tliex have four 
children, all born in Henton township: Alma, 
Mary, John, antl Wren. They live on part of 
tlie home place, where he is engaged in 
farming. He is secretary of the Benton 
township school board. Xora M.. married 
James R. Walker, son of Isaac and Hannah 
(Friend) Walker, and they also live on a 
part of Mr. Van Osdol's farm, and have 
had seven children : Jay, RoUic, Ralph, Dale, 
Thomas, deceased, Howard, deceased, as is 
also an unnamed infant. Zora M., is a mem- 
ber of the class of 1907, Iowa Wesleyan 
University at Mt. Pleasant, low'a. 

Mr. Van Osdol is a member of the 
Tamatown Methodist church, of Benton 
township, and has been one of the trustees 
for some years. In politics lie gives alle- 
giance to the Republican party, and has 
been the school treasurer for his district for 
eighteen years. The welfare of the town- 
shi]). the needs of the church, and the sup- 
port of e<lucation are all subjects in wliii.-li 
he is much interested. Me is a man of Ijroad 
and liberal views, and this, together with the 
upright moral life he has led. makes him of 
great value in the comiininity. where his 
friends are without number. 



FRANK M. SMITH. 

As an eminent 1\ successful farmer and 
business man and a n'ember of one of 
the older and lietter-known families of 
Des Moines countv, Frank M. Smith oc- 



cupies in tiie community a position of 
considerable prominence. He is now re- 
siding on his large farm of three hundred 
and twenty acres in Section 15, Pleasant 
throve township, and besides the pursuit 
of agriculture is interested in a number 
of other prosperous enterjirises. Mr. 
Smith was born in this township on 
.March jo. 1848, a son of Andrew J. and 
Jane (Westfall) Smith. The father was 
a native of the Olil Dtjminion, and was 
liorn in Washington county, that State, 
Dec. 28, 181 1, first coming westward with 
his parents in 1817 and locating in Clarke 
county, Indiana. I'rom Indiana he came 
to Des Moines county, Iowa, in 1H43, ar- 
riving on the first day of May in that 
year, and settling in Pleasant Grove 
townshii). He was a poor man, his entire 
cajjital at that lime being about sixteen 
dollars in money; but he secured work 
plowing up the virgin ])rairie for other 
settlers, and by strenuous effort soon 
placed himself upon an independent foot- 
ing, besides li(|uidaling some iiulebted- 
ness which he had previously incurred. 

A few years after his arrival in the 
State he purchased a farm of eighty acres 
in this townshi]). and on .\pril 18, 1847, 
he married Miss Westfall. .\ (piick per- 
ce])lion of oi^iJortunity and an unfailing 
attention to his work marked him in all 
that he di<l. and he ra])idly achieved pros- 
periiN on a large scale. He increased his 
original ])urchase of land from time to 
time, and at one period was the owner of 
one thousand and three hundred acres in 
Des Moines county. His main interests 
were farming and the raising and feed- 
ing of cattle and high-grade stock. Hard 
and persistent work was the secret of his 
success. His education was rather limited. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



75 



and for tlie most part was obtained after 
he had reached manhood's estate, but by 
faithful appHcation and the exercise of 
native ability he overcame this limitation. 

Politically a Democrat, he was honored 
by election to the office of county super- 
visor, and also was for a number of years 
trustee of his township. He and his 
wife were supporters of the Universalist 
church, which they attended. His death 
occurred Dec. i6, 1903, in Pleasant Grove 
township, and interment was at Pleasant 
Grove cemetery. He was a man of fine, 
strong, and upright character, an excel- 
lent example of American manhood at its 
best, and enjoyed the general respect in a 
remarkable degree. 

The mother of our subject was born in 
Alleghany county. New York, June 20, 
1829, and in girlhood came with her 
parents to Iowa, where her father died 
when she was quite young. She was the 
mother of a large famih', there being 
twelve children, all of whom still survive. 
She died at Yarmouth, Washington town- 
ship, in 1895. 

Mr. Smith, the subject of this memoir, 
received the advantage of a good training 
in the district schools of his native town- 
ship, and on attaining his majority pur- 
chased one of his father's farms, consist- 
ing of eighty acres near Yarmouth, where 
he conducted operations in the line of 
general farming and stock-raising for 
four years, at the expiration of which 
period he disposed of his holding and 
removed to Page county, Iowa. At the 
latter place he remained for two years, 
and then returned to Pleasant Grove 
township, there purchasing a farm, which 
he conducted for four years. Later he 
purchased, and for four years farmed one 



hundred and twenty acres of land in Keo- 
kuk county, and subsequently spent three 
very successful years on a farm of two 
hundred and ninety acres which he jjur- 
chased in Jefferson county. Returning 
to Des Moines county, he purchased his 
present farm of three hundred and twenty 
acres, which lias been the place of his 
residence continuously ever since, and al- 
though the land was at that time already 
partially improved, he has by constant 
care and the expenditure of much time, 
energy, money, and thought, succeeded 
in raising it far above its former condi- 
tion, and made it a model of its class. 
He had the misfortune to lose the original 
residence building by fire, but this he has 
replaced with a large and substantial 
dwelling-house. liesides general farming 
he has given much attention to the rais- 
ing of fine stock, making a specialty of 
Shorthorn cattle and Chester White hogs, 
for both of which his farm has become 
widely and justly celebrated. He also 
raises some fine sheep and Angora goats, 
having two hundred of the latter at the 
present time. 

On Dec. 20, 1869, Mr. Smith was united 
in marriage to Miss Caroline V. Jones, 
who was Born in St. Louis, Mo., a daugh- 
ter of Edward and Mary A.' (Justas) 
Jones. ^Ir. Jones, who was a farmer and 
millwright, came to Iowa about the year 
1855, locating in Washington township, 
this county. He died there at a very ad- 
vanced age, l)ut his widow still survives 
at the age of eighty-eight years, and is 
residing in St. I-ouis. They were the 
parents of eigiit children. Mrs. Smith is 
now deceased, her death having occurred 
at the home in Pleasant Grove, Aug. 16, 
i8i;9. She is buried in Pleasant Grove 



76 



BIOGRAl'HKAL RH JLH' 



township. She was a member of the 
Cumberland I'reshyterian church, a 
woman of beautiful ciiaracter, a devoted 
wife, and a loving mother, and in turn 
was beloved by all. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Smith were born four children, all born 
in Washington townshii). as follows: .Al- 
bert J., now engaged in the hotel and liv- 
ery business at Burnside, 111., married 
Miss Ellen Wasson. at Pleasant Grove: 
Edward A., now residing on his farm in 
Pleasant Grove townshij). married Miss 
Elizabeth Wasson. daughter of .\. J. 
Wasson, a pioneer settler of this town- 
ship, and they had four children, Myrtle, 
Clarence, Leo, and one child which died 
in infancy; Mary J., wife of John F. Des- 
pain of Pleasant Grove township, has 
five children, Roy, Earl, Cecil, Ruby, and 
Gladdys ; and Minnie, who married 
Thomas J. Lee, a farmer of Henry county, 
Iowa, and has two children, Francis and 
Mabel. 

Mr. Smith has long taken ])art in puidic 
affairs as a leading member of the Demo- 
cratic party, and has occupied the office 
of director of schools for the past seven- 
teen years, being ])articularly interested 
in all that ])ertains to education, and be- 
lieving that tlurein lies tJK- chief security 
of popular liberties. Two years ago he 
was elected to the office of township trus- 
tee, which he still holds, and as one ac- 
customed to the details of practical busi- 
ness his administration has been one of 
uniform efficiency. Tie is a director of 
the Henry County ■i\li|ilii>iu- Company, 
holds the same office in the Yarmouth 
Mutual Telephone Company, and never 
refuses supjit^rt to any worthy project 
looking toward fnitluring tin- host inter- 
ests of the contmimitv in which his 



career is being passed. Eminently con- 
servative, he is nevertheless not inimical 
to progressive and liberal views, and his 
jiosition is distinctly one of recognized 
leadership in many lines. 



JOHN ROSS SUTHERLAND. D. D. 

Dr. Jou.n Ross Sutherland, pastor of 
the First Presbyterian church of Burling- 
ton since February, 1896, was born in Ox- 
ford county, Ontario, a son of Alexander 
Campbell and .Margaret (Ross) Sutherland. 
His father was born in Sutherlandshire, 
Scotland, representing one of the oldest 
families of that land, the shire being named 
in honor of his ancestors. Earlier genera- 
tions of the family became prominent in 
business and professional life. Alexander 
C. Sutherland was reared to manhood in 
his native country, and was there married, 
his wedding journey being a trip to Canada, 
where he settled, turning his attention to a 
general contracting business. He resided 
there imtil his death, becoming successful in 
business life and prominent in local political 
circles, being recognized as one of the lead- 
ers of the Conservative party. He did not 
seek office, however, but wielded a wide 
influence in matters affecting general wel- 
fare. An active member of the Presbyterian 
church, he served for many years as one of 
its elders. His death occurred in 1889, and 
his wife survived him for only a few hours, 
passing away on the night following his 
burial. They were the |«rents of seven 
children. 

Dr. Sutherland acquired his early edu- 
cation in the schools of his native town, and 
prepared for college at the grammar school 



DES AIOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



77 



in Woodstock, Ontario, subsequent to vvliich 
time he matriculated in Knox College, 
Toronto, and later continued his studies in 
Toronto University. His preparation for 
the ministry was made as a student in Au- 
burn Theological Seminary at Auburn, 
N. Y., and in the JNIcCormick Theolog- 
ical Seminary in Chicago, 111., following 
which he was ordained by the presbytery 
at Indianapolis, Ind. His first pastorate 
was at Grand Haven, Mich., where he 
remained for six years, his labors there 
being crowned with marked success, his 
church growing in numerical and spiritual 
strength. At one time eighty-seven people 
were received into the church as the result 
of special meetings held by Dr. Sutherland. 
At other times additions were made to the 
membership, and thus the church grew in 
strength and in the power of its influence. 
On leaving Grand Haven Dr. Sutherland 
accepted a call from the First Presbyterian 
church at Jacksonville. 111., to succeed Dr. 
Glover, who had been pastor for thirty- 
seven years. His services there covered 
four years, and during that time the church 
edifice was destroyed by fire, and he lost 
thereby his library and manuscripts. His 
congregation then worshiped with the Cen- 
tral church, of which Dr. Harsha was 
pastor. Dr. Harsha and Dr. Sutherland re- 
signed their pastorates with the view to hav- 
ing the two churches unite, and the latter 
then accepted a call from the First church 
of Rockford. 111. He went from that place 
after a successful pastorate of five years 
in response to a call from the Second Pres- 
byterian church of Pittsburg, Pa., and in 
the latter city became prominent in a move- 
ment to consolidate the Second and Third 
churches under his pastorate. It was the 
intention of the amalgamated congregation 



to occupy the Third church building and to 
sell the property of the Second church, the 
proceeds of the sale to be used as an en- 
dowment for institutional work. About 
fifty members of the Second church, how- 
ever, opposed the movement on the ground 
that they were strong enough to maintain a 
separate church organization. The con- 
solidation, however, was consummated ; but 
those who were opposed presented a protest 
to the synod during the absence of Dr. 
Sutherland, and on learning of this, he re- 
signed, although opposed in this step by 
the almost unanimous vote of his parish- 
ioners. He then supplied the pulpit of the 
Central Presbyterian church in Buffalo, 
N. Y., during the absence of its regular 
pastor in Europe, until called to Burlington, 
Iowa, as pastor of the h'irst Presbyterian 
church of this city, .\fter his arrival here 
the First church building was partly des- 
troyed by fire, and the edifice was rebuilt 
and redecorated. Other material improve- 
ments have been made, and the church has 
also grown spiritually, while the work has 
been carried on successfully in various lines 
of church activity. Dr. Sutherland has 
twice been a member of the general assem- 
bly, and is now a member of the special 
committee of the general assembly on min- 
isterial sustentation. The degree of Doctor 
of Divinity was bestowed upon him by 
Wooster University of Ohio. 

Dr. Sutherland has directed his efforts 
into the lecture field and the realms of lit- 
erature. He has been a frequent contributor 
to magazines, and he is a member of the 
"Victoria Institute, the philosophical society 
of Great Britain, He has also been a suc- 
cessful lecturer upon popular subjects. His 
writing Embraces a witle range, his con- 
sideration being given to the great economic 



78 



RIOGRAPHIC 



and sociological jjroblcms as well as those 
which have direct bearing upon the church 
and its work. He has now under |)rc|)ara- 
tion a work on the ApocalyiJse. and he has 
delivered a course of lectures on that book. 
Dr. Sutherland is identified with the .Ma- 
sonic fraternity as a member of King Solo- 
mon Lodge, No. 53, Free and Accepted 
Masons, which he joined at Woodstock, On- 
tario, blit he has never taken an active part 
in its work. He was married to Miss 
Adclia Mathews Atkin, of New York City, 
and they have three living children : Mrs. 
Margaret J. Sprole, Florence M., and 
Frances (i. Without invidious distinction 
Dr. Sutherland may be termed one of the 
leading divines of the Presbyterian denomi- 
nation. His latent intellectual powers have 
been developed and strengthened in his 
study of the great (piestions which through- 
out the ages have had their effect upon 
human character and destiny. His broad 
humanitarianism has been manifest in ready 
sympathy for those who needed the aid and 
encouragement of their fellow-men. 



DAVID HARRIS McKEE. 

D.wii) IIakkis McKkk, i)roniiiKiit in 
banking circles of Iowa, attaining prestige 
becau.se of his close ap])lication, his thor- 
ough mastery of every detail of the business, 
and his recognition and utilization of op- 
portunity, is now president of Danville State 
Savings P.ank, of Danville; cashier of the 
Citizens' State I'.inik, of Mediajjolis; bank 
examiner for the State of Iowa; and pres- 
ident of the [Jankers' Association of the 
State. The honors which have been accord- 
ed him have been worthily won and worn, 
and lie ranks to-day willi the representative 
ir.en of the .Middle West whose enterjirise 



IL REVIEW 

has been the resultant factor in the ui)bnild- 
ing of this section of the country. He was 
born .\ng. 27. 1869, in Washington county, 
Iowa, his parents being Sanuiel F. and 
Hannah (Harris) McKee. He attended the 
[)ublic schools of his native county, and 
afterward ])ursiied an academic course, 
which was completed by graduation with 
the class of 1888. His father was the 
founder of the institution in which he ended 
his school life. 

After putting aside his text-books he en- 
gaged as a clerk in the Washington National 
I'.ank. with which he was identified for 
about .seven years ; and Jan. i, i8g6, came to 
the Citizens' State liank, of .Mediapolis, as 
cashier, being selected for the position by 
its founder, Mr. Thomas. He has since 
acted in that capacity, and the success of 
the institution is largely attributable to his 
etTorls. The bank was organized in 1896 
by John L. Thomas, who has since occupied 
the i)residency, while the other officers are, 
Joseph I'larton. vice-president: D. H. Mc- 
Kee. cashier; and M. C Bridwell. assistant 
cashier. These gentlemen constitute the 
board of directors, together with S. J. Hus- 
ton, J. L. Jones, John T. Beckman, Henry 
r.reder, Herman Walker, .\ugust I-'. Peter- 
son, (). F. Higbee, W. S. Husted. Herman 
.Myers, and W. 1). Ilutchcroft. The state- 
ment of the condition of the Citizens' State 
r.ank at the close of the business year end- 
ing Feb. 16, 1905, was as follows: — 

I^.ins and Discounts . .$.;6i.825.is 

Overdrafts 1.645 72 

Keal I-lstalc and Personal Property 17.01 l>!o 

Cash Due from Hanks .W.'VtM 

$3JO,327.2i 

Capital $50,000.00 

Surplus 10,000.00 

Undivided Protits 2,788.17 

Dividends Unpaid 3,060.00 

Deposits 254,479.04 

$320,327.21 



DES MOfXES COUXTV. I Oil' A. 



79 



The 'tollowina;' comparative statement, 
showing the increase in the following prin- 
cipal accounts of the bank, is an indication 
of its prosperity and of that of the coni- 
niunity : — 

March i, 1896. 

Capital $25,000.00 

Surplus and Profits i6.3.6g 

Deposits 14,882.65' 

Loans and Discounts 27,525.30 

M.VRCH I, 1S98. 

Capital $25,000.00 

Surplus and Profits 3.465.73 

Deposits 70.890.72 

Loans and Discounts 78,152,97 

;M.\rch I, 1900. 

Capital $25,000.00 

Surplus and Profits 6,865.88 

Deposits 103,548.92 

Loans and Discounts 115,657.28 

AL^RCH I, 1902. 

Capital $50,000.00 

Surplus and Profits 7,784.39 

Deposits 227,723.02 

Loans and Discounts 227,103.73 

AL\RCH I, 1904. 

Capital $50,000.00 

Surplus and Profits 14,699.93 

Deposits 229,771.04 

Loans and Discounts 241,503.85 

^L\RCH I, 1905, 

Capital $50,000.00 

Surplus and Profits 20,678.95 

Deposits 261,631.83 

Loans and Discounts 276,683.14 

Paid in dividends to stockholders during this 
period, $20,462.00. 

W'itli ready recognition and utilization 
of opportunity, David H. McKee was the 
promoter and organizer of the Danville State 
Savings Bank, of which W. H. Hurlbut 
was chosen the first president ; but in the 
second year Mr. McKee was elected presi- 
dent, and has since occupied that position, 
with J. H. Dodds as vice-president, and 
George H. Giese, Samuel Xau, A. P. Cald- 



well, 1;. W. Shepherd, and Wmids .\l. Irwin 
as directors. The organization took [jlace in 
1900. and the report of the bank at the close 
of business, .March 31, 1905, was as fol- 
lows : — 

RESOURCES. 

Loans and Discounts $144,707.60 

Deposits in Banks 54.125.23 

Real Estate 3,53i.6o 

Cash 2,968.21 

Expense 1,256.951 

Overdrafts 381.37 



$206,971.00 



LI.\BILITIES. 



Capital $12,000.00 

Surplus 5.000.00 

Profit and Loss, Interest, and Exchange 2.951.93 

Cer. Demand 117.00 

Deposits 186.902.07 



$206,971.00 

That .Mr. McKee has been instrumental 
in organizing and promoting two of the 
strong financial concerns of eastern Iowa, 
brought to him the recognition and ap])recia- 
tion of other representatives of the same line 
of business activity, and led to his appoint- 
ment as treasurer of the Iowa Bankers' 
Association in 1903. In 1904 he was chosen 
vice-president, and in June, 1905. he was 
elected to the presidency of the association. 
On Jan. i. 1903, he was made State bank 
examiner, and is still tilling that position. 

In fraternal relations he is a Mason, hav- 
ing been identified with the lodge in Medi- 
apoHs since 1897. Perhaps no better indica- 
tion of his character and standing in banking 
circles can be given than to quote from the 
pamphlet published by the Iowa Bankers' 
Association, June 15, 16, 1904. In the course 
of the meeting, when the election of officers 
was in process, .\lr. \'an \'echten, address- 
ing the chair, said : — 

"I desire to ])lace in nomination one whom 
we know verv well, and who is hig^hlv re- 



8o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REIIEIV 



gardcd by every member of the association, 
Mr. David H. McKce, of Media]xjlis, wbo 
served us so efficiently as treasurer during 
the last year." 

Mr. Uolch: " I desire to seconti tbe nom- 
ination." 

Mr. Young: " I desire to say a word in 
seconding that nomination. The name of 
D. H. McKee is very jjleasantly associated 
with my hfe as a banker. Like some others 
of you gray-haired men liere, a part of my 
duties has been to ecUicate into the banking 
business the boys of my town. .\iiii>ng 
them, a few years ago — and I won"t tell 
how many, for you might then guess David's 
age — • a white-haired boy applied for a posi- 
tion in the bank I have been connected with 
for many years. We gave him a minor 
position in that bank, which he filled so well 
that from day to day he advanced in his 
work, and came to be known by others as 
worthy of a better position than we gave 
him. They sought his services, and he has 
built 11]) in an adjoining town a fine business, 
and has become, I can say, a fine banker. 
He has served you well as your treasurer. 
I feel I am a kind of father to Dave, and 
I could not refrain from asking tlie i)riv- 
ilege of heartily seconding that nt)mina- 
tion." (Applause.) 

.Mr. Jordan: "I niove tliat the secretary 
he instructed to cast the unanimous ballot 
of the as.sociation for Mr. McKce as our 
vice-president." 



CHRIS MATHES. 

The important part which Chris Mathes 
has taken in advancing the material up- 
building and coiumercial progress of Bur- 
lington has made him one of the real u])- 



builders of the city, and his labors, both 
for the development of his ])rivate busi- 
ness interests and for the county's welfare, 
have been of such a character as to entitle 
him to distinction and honor. Few men 
have been so uniformly respecte<l, and his 
closest friends arc found among the lead- 
ing business men and citizens of promi- 
nence in r.urlington. 

.Mr. Mathes was born Aug. 31, 1833, in 
Ludwigsharfen, on IJodensee, in Baden, 
Germany^ His father, S. Mathes, was a 
prominent business man of that town, in- 
terested in a pottery. He was al.so a suc- 
cessful teacher, and filled the jjosition of 
postmaster. He became actively involved 
in the revolution of 1848, sjjeaking and 
writing in behalf of the cause of freedom 
as o])i)ose(l to the practices of monarchical 
ride, and was recognized as a leader in the 
movement to secure greater liberties for 
the people. He came to America in 1849, 
but returned to Germany in 1850, and his 
death occurred there in 1863. His wife 
liore the maiden name of Julia Wiedenhorn. 
and her death occurred in 1864. In their 
family were four sons and four daughters. 
lliose now living in America are Otto 
.Mathes, a resident of Burlington: and Mrs. 
l"ackler. of Cincinnati. ( )hio. ( ( )tto died 
.May 10. i(p5.) 

Chris Mathes, the youngest son of the 
family, attended the public schools, and also 
continued his studies under jirivate in- 
struction. His father was serving as post- 
master of Ludwigsharfen at the time of 
the revolution, and his son Chris was ap- 
pointed postmaster at Engen March i, 1849. 
and although only fifteen and a half years of 
age at the time, he successfully conducted the 
office till June l, 1852, when he resigned to 
come to America. He successfully passed 




CHRIS MATHES. 



DES MOLXRS COUXTV. IOWA. 



83 



an examination which won him the place, 
and took charge of the office in a town of 
two thousand inhabitants, and also had 
charge of the mails for thirty-three villages, 
covering five rural mail routes. He dis- 
charged his duties in a most commendable 
manner from IMarch, 1849. i-intil June i, 
1852, when he came to the United States 
in order to avoid military service in the 
Fatherland. He came to this country with 
a brother and sister, taking passage on the 
sailing vessel, " Corinthian," bearing three 
masts. They were thirty-seven days in 
making the voyage from Havre, France, to 
New Orleans. JNIr. Mathes brought with 
him a letter of recommendation to the Ger- 
man consul at New Orleans. He had in- 
tended remaining there, but on account of 
the yellow fever the consul advised him to go 
North, and he made his way up the river to 
St. Louis. He found that fever and ague 
there prevailed, and being unable to obtain 
employment he went to Alton, 111. The 
Chicago & Alton Railroad was then being 
built. He worked in a general store there 
from Dec. i, 1852, until ;\Iarch, 1853, for 
four dollars per month, after which he went 
to Cincinnati, Ohio ; but again he was un- 
successful in his search for work, and he 
joined a brother in Buffalo, N. Y., where 
for a year he was employed in a grocery 
store.' He was able to read and write the 
English language when he arrived in this 
country. Some of his relatives located in 
Cincinnati in 1854, and he joined them 
there, finding employment in a retail store 
and manufacturing drug house. He after- 
ward traveled for a year in the West, South- 
west, and North for a company- engaged 
in the manufacture of pocketbooks and bank 
cases, carrying many samples, and he found 
that an cnjo\al)le occupation, for he traveled 



largely by water — on the Ohio and IMissis- 
sippi rivers. 

Mr. Mathes arrived in Burlington Oct. 
12, 1857, and bought out a candle, lard, and 
oil factory, the firm of Hecker & Mathes 
succeeding that of Miller & Hagenian. The 
business was thus continued for four years, 
when Mr. Mathes purchased his partner's 
interest, becoming owner at the time that 
President Lincoln was inaugurated, Alarch 
4, 1 86 1. He continued business alone until 
1880, being engaged in the manufacture of 
soap, lard, oil, and candles, at the corner 
of (Jsborn and .Agency Streets, where now 
stands the hide house. In March, 1867, he 
suffered through fire and the reduction in 
market prices a loss of sixteen thousand 
dollars. The steaming factory and rendering 
establishment were completely destroyed, 
but with determined purpose he set about 
to retrieve his losses, and continued in 
business until 1900. although he discon- 
tinued his manufacturing interests in 1880. 
He did not close out his tallow and hide 
business, however, until 1900. 

Many other business enterprises have felt 
the stimulus of the efforts and keen dis- 
cernment of Mr. Mathes. In 1888 he 
turned his attention to the paving-brick 
business, being active in the organization 
of the Granite Brick Company, of which 
he was secretary, treasurer, and manager 
until 1902. In this enterprise he was as- 
sociated with Charles Starker, E. Hage- 
nian, Carl Nies, C. Heil, \\". W. Baldwin, 
and the company was incorporated for 
twenty-five thousand dollars. They manu- 
factured paving brick exclusively, and Mr. 
Mathes sold his interest to the new com- 
pany in 1902. In 1876 he became a partner 
of C. G. Ward, constituting the Silver 
-Spring Mineral Water Company, Mr. 



8+ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mathes actiiij^ as Irk ikkfi-per ami also as 
si-crctary and treasurer. In 1880 he j)iir- 
cliascd his partner's interest anil reor- 
ganized tlic business under the name of C. 
Mathes & lirother. I'ive years later he 
bouj^ht his brother's interest and tcMik his 
son, 11. .\. .Mathes, into the business under 
the linn style of Mathes & Son. Since 
Kjoo it has been carried on under the name 
of 11. .\. Mathes. l-or .some years Mr. 
.Mathes was also a director of the Iowa 
.^tate .'Savings Hank. He has thus been the 
promoter of many leading enterprises which 
have contributed to the business develop- 
ment of the city. 

In iW/) Mr. .Mathes was one of the or- 
ganizers of the German-. Vnierican School 
.Association, became a director, and was 
l)resident for a number of years. This 
company conducted a school in llurlington, 
owning ])roperty at the corner of Seventh 
and Washington Streets, but when the ])ub- 
lic-school system of the city was iiii|)roved, 
discontinued its school. 

In 1S6S Mr. Mathes was elected a mem- 
ber of the county Ixiard of su]>ervi,sors for 
one term, doing much for public progress 
through the exercise of his official prerog- 
atives. His incumbency in that position 
covered fifteen years, and from January, 
i8qi, until January, 1905, he served as 
chairman nI the county board, his course 
being eminently .satisfactory to the entire 
county. He won high encomiums from 
Democrats and Republicans alike, for he 
never allowed ])artisan prejudice to inter- 
fere with the faithful performance of his. 
dutie.'^. In 1892, under his regime, new 
countv insane asylum and intiniKiry build- 
ings were erected, at a cost of about fifteen 
thousand dollars, but these were destroyed 
by fire on the 15th of July, 1901. With the 



exception of one shed all of the buildings 
were burned, twelve in number, including 
the barns as well as the hou.se. In 1902 
new buildings were erecteil, including the 
county asylum, infirmary, barns, and other 
out-buildings — a blacksmith sho]), engine 
house, and others, — making in all twelve 
buildings. These buildings for the inniate> 
are of stone and, brick. lessening the liability 
of fire, and the cost of construction was 
seventy thousand dollars. The barns and 
ice-house are frame structures. .Mr. .Mathes 
was chairman of the board of supervisors 
at the time when all these improvements 
were made. During his incumbency over a 
hundred steel bridges were erected, to- 
gether with a large number of stone cul- 
verts and arches. It was his plan to make 
improvements of a lasting and permanent 
character, and he thus did much for the 
county along the line of substantial im- 
provement. In 1882 he served as alderman 
at large of lUirlington. Mr. .Mathes gave 
his political support to the Republican 
party until 1883, when the prohibition law 
went into effect and demoralized all the in- 
dustries that he had fostered. He then 
joined the ranks of the Democracy, and 
has since been one of its advocates. He 
was nominated and elected to a position on 
the board of supervi.sors without his solici- 
tation, and was re-elected again and again 
when other candidates on his ticket were 
defeated — a fact which indicated his per- 
sonal popularity and slK)wed the confidence 
reposed in him by his fellow townsmen. 
.■\gain he was a candidate in i(X>4, but in 
that year, in the great Re])ul)lican landslide. 
he was defeated, which has been a matter 
of uniform regret, exjiressed by Repub- 
licans as well as Democrats, for no county 
supervisor has done as much for the county 



DES MOINES COUNTY. 10 IV A. 



as did Air. Mathes, whose first interest 
seemed always the welfare of the general 
public, and whose efforts were of a most 
practical and far-reaching character. He 
assisted in organizing, in if^qj, the State 
Association of County Supervisors at Des 
Moines, and was its first president. In 1893 
he organized the Board of Supervisors' 
Association of the First Congressional Dis- 
trict, was its president the second year and 
again in 1903. He is now the oldest mem- 
ber of the board of supervisors of the State. 

Mr. Mathes became a charter member 
of the Commercial Club upon its formation 
in 1888, and has since been identified there- 
with. He became one of the seventv-five 
charter members of the Crystal Lake Club. 
is now serving as one of its directors, and 
was vice-president for many years. 

In Burlington, in 1859, Mr. Mathes was 
married to Miss Rosa Seibel, who was born 
in Germany and came to this city in 1857, 
her parents having previously died. They 
have two children : Herman A., the elder, is 
agent for the Anheuser-Busch Brewing 
Company at Burlington, and has his own 
bottling works. He married Miss Petty 
Heil, and they have a son, William A., who 
is with the Bicklen-Winzer \Miolesale Gro- 
cery Company. The daughter, Ottillie J., 
at home, was for several years chairman of 
the program committee of the Woman's 
Musical Club, of this city, which indicates 
her position in musical circles here. The 
family home is at 726 North Fourth Street, 
and was erected in 1871. Mr. Mathes is 
recognized as a man of unfaltering honor 
and integrity, who has a wide acquaintance 
in this city and throughout the State, and 
his friends are among the leading repre- 
sentatives of business and social circles in 
Des Moines countv. 



SURPRISED SUPERN'I.SOR 

Hon. Cliris. Mathes Presented a Beautifnl 
Loving Cup. A Token, of the Apprecia- 
tion of Long and Faithful Service. Judge 
Pozver Made Presentation. 

One of the happiest incidents that has 
ever taken place within the grim walls of 
the county building occurred at eleven 
o'clock yesterday morning. The board of 
supervisors was busy at work, complet- 
ing Mts labors and getting ready to make 
way for the new board, several of the new 
officials were patiently waiting to be sworn 
into office, the auditor was closing up his 
books, preparatory to handing them over 
to his successor, when Judge J. C. Power 
stepped into the office, followed by a delega- 
tion of perhaps "fifteen or twenty, includ- 
ing a bunch of newspaper men and other 
good citizens. The judge begged to in- 
terrupt the proceedings of the board, and 
immediately addressed himself to the chair- 
man and to the assemblage. 

He said that all would agree with him 
that ours is the best country upon earth and 
that Iowa is the best State in the Union, 
and it is a matter easily demonstrated that 
Des Moines is the best county in the State. 
This, of course, she owes to the men who 
have made her what she is ; and in no small 
degree to the men who have managed her 
public afi'airs. She has been singularly 
fortunate in selecting good, competent, and 
faithful men to manage her public affairs. 
It is always a credit to a man to fill an office 
in a manner that is for the best interests of 
his community, but it is more especially 
to be noted when a man virtually neglects his 
own affairs, in order to minister the public 
business, and when he does this in a manner 
that no reasonable man can find fault with. 



86 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Thus while we have had very many faithful 
officials, the services that the present chair- 
man of the board of supervisors has ren- 
dered are simply unc(|uallcd. Judge Power 
spoke of the fact that although enormous 
sums of public money had passed through 
Mr. Mathes's hands, no one had ever ac- 
cused him of having an itching palm, not 
the slightest suspicion ever having attached 
to his management of the finances of the 
county ; he spoke of the great services that 
Mr. Mathes had rendered the county in 
actively furthering the cause of good roads, 
and of the changes worked in the county 
buildings, of the fine institution, which is a 
credit, not only to the county, hui to the 
State. He referred to the fact that the 
man who looked after the business and the 
finances of the county with unceasing 
vigilance never forgot the poor and the un- 
fortunate, and gave of his own and of his 
valuable time without stint to make the 
wards of the county happy. But valuable 
and v;irie(l as tlic services had been, which 
Mr. Mathes has rendered his county and 
his fellow-citizens, perhaps the greatest 
.service that he has rendered has been to the 
generation who will be the voters and the 
office holders of to-morrow. He has shown 
them the worth of good. true, loyal, effi- 
cient, faithful service, and the appreciation 
shown him will not be lost upon them. 
■' And now it becomes my most pleasant 
duty, Mr. Mathes, in the name of your 
many friends to ask you to accept this token 
of their ajipreciation of your faithful and 
untiring service ; and when you have en- 
joyed a period of well-earned rest, perhaps 
to again take u]> the burdens and to assume 
the duties which you have discharged with 
such pains-taking care and such marked 
success." 



The surprise was complete. Mr. Mathes 
had not the remotest idea what was desired 
of him, when the judge a.sked permission 
to break in upon the regular proceedings. 
He soon gathered himself together, however, 
and replied in a few words, coming from 
the heart. He accepted the gift in the spirit 
in which it was tendered, and deeply 
touched by the words of commendatior» 
from a political op])onent, he was actually 
beginning to grow proud of his record. 
The judge replied that the sentiments were 
not his alone, although he shared them fully 
and com])letely, but virtually those of the 
community, and after a hearty hand-shake the 
ceremony was over, and the board resumed 
its deliberations. 

The pretty keepsake consists of a three- 
handled solid silver loving cup, on a solid 
silver tray, and a large spoon. On the cup 
is engraved the following: — 

TO HON. IIIKIS. M.XTIIKS. 

/;/ token of your long and faithful seri'ice, 
to Dcs Moines County. 

VOIR KKIKNDS. 

January 2, i</J5. 

The platter is inscribed with the names 
of the following citizens, who had chosen 
this method of showing their appreciation of 
the valuable and unselfish services rendered 
the community by the Hon. Chris. Mathes: 

Thos. Hedge. W. W. P.aklwin, Lyman 
11(1 wards, J. L. W'aite, Geo. S. Tracy, Carl 
Lolimann, H. C. Mohland, C. E. Perkins, 
\\'m. Carson. \\'. P. Foster, Max E. Poppe,^ 
.'^t^ause P.ros., A. C. Zaiser, C. C. Paule, 
v.. Hagemann, Chas. Adnknecht, G. H. 
Higbee, John C. Power, Alex Moir, F. O. 
Grandstaff, L. C. Gie.seker, J. W. Blythe, 
Geo. C. Boesch. H. S. Rand, Theo. W. 
Kriechbaum, J. T. Remey, H. A. Leipziger, 
Thos. Stivers. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



87 



E. W. JOHNSON. 

E. W. Johnson, postmaster of West 
Burlington, Iowa, a position which he has 
filled with honor and efficiency for a long 
term of years, is a representative of one of 
the older families of Des Moines county. 
He is the son of William Ferdinand John- 
son, who was born in Bedford county, 
Pennsylvania, the son of Joshua and Sarah 
(Burbridge) Johnson. The father of our 
subject passed his early years in his na- 
tive State, later, however, removing to Vir- 
ginia, where he wedded Miss Isabel Parrott ; 
and shortly after this event they decided to 
cast the hazard of their fortunes in the 
then new and undeveloped country known 
as the West. Pursuant to this project, they 
emigrated to Iowa, locating in Des Moines 
county, and in the year 1836 took up their 
residence in Flint River township, where, 
in association with his brother Washington, 
William Ferdinand Johnson entered a tract 
of government land, and this he owned 
during the remainder of his life. He was 
the father of ten children, whose names in 
the order of birth are as follows : Sarah 
Louisa, Luther B., Anna R., William R., 
John, Edgar W., Denton, Christopher, 
Susan B., and Mattie. The mother of this 
family died in 1863, and later Mr. Johnson 
remarried, his second union being. -with Miss 
Mary E. Burk ; but of this marriage no 
children were born. As a man of public 
spirit he was an active worker in the ranks 
of the Republican party, and was an earnest 
and constant supporter of the cause of tem- 
perance, for which he accomplished much 
in the course of his long and useful life. 
At the same time his adherence to the prin- 
ciples of right in all fields of human rela- 
tionship caused him to take a deep interest 



in the cause of the church, he being a devout 
believer in the doctrines of Christianity and 
a helpful member of the Methodist Episcopal 
denomination. He appreciated the privi- 
leges of independence and freedom which 
belong to a frontiersman's life, and was 
known far and wide as a skilful woods- 
man and hunter — a character in which he 
formed relations of intimacy and friend- 
ship with all ranks and conditions of people 
throughout a large extent of territory, be- 
ing everywhere honored for the simple and 
rugged virtues of his mode of life and 
thought. On the other hand his own home 
■was always the scene of a large and lavish 
hospitality, for his disposition was pre- 
eminently social and charitable. 

Edgar W. Johnson, the subject of this 
review, traces his lineage to a remote period 
in the past, and through his maternal great- 
grandmother Brown, whose maiden name 
was Ball, enjoys a not distant relationship 
with George Washington, father of Amer- 
ican liberty. He is a native of Lincoln 
county, Missouri, of which place his par- 
ents were temporary residents during a 
period of two years, and there he was born 
Jan. 16, 1849, returning with his parents to 
Des Moines county, Iowa, where he received 
a good education in the public schools, as 
well as an excellent home training in the 
lessons of agricultural industry and in the 
principles of the religious faith of his par- 
ents. On leaving school he took up farm- 
ing as a regular occupation, and this he 
pursued •with great success for about twenty 
years : but in 1889 he sold his farm interests 
and removed to West Burlington, where he 
engaged in mercantile business, in which 
he has ever since continued : and in this 
latter work he has also reaped the full re- 
ward of industry, ability, and the conscien- 



88 



BIOGRAPHICAL RliVIFAV 



tious application of his powers to tlic work in 
hand. His political faitli is that of the Re- 
publican jiarty, and as a reward for his 
valuable services to that organization he was 
appointed in iScjo to the office of postmaster 
of the villat,'e nmiir the administration of 
President llarriscm. was reappointed under 
the administration of President McKinley, 
and has since continued to occupy the posi- 
ticjn to the general satisfaction of the com- 
nuinity, giving to its duties the same careful 
attention and wise oversight that have made 
him so successful in his private business. 
Mr. Johnson was united in marriage 
with Miss Elizabeth J. Inghram, daughter 
of John and Sarah .\nn (Delashmann) 
Inghram. and to tluin have been born three 
daughters and one son, all of whom are 
residents of West Burlington, as follows: 
Grace, wife of A. L'. Winkler; Edna, wife 
of John Peoples; Mattie, wife of George C. 
Scholes ; and Horace, wlio wedded Miss 
Agnes Johnson, l-'raternally Mr. Johnson 
enjoys desirable connections, being a mem- 
ber of the Knights of Pythias and of the 
Ancient Order of United Workmen, 
tlirough all the chairs of which latter or- 
ganization he has passed ; and politically he 
is known throughout Dcs Moines county 
as one of the leading Republicans of this 
section, while his high personal character 
has won a place for him in the esteem of 
his friends and the general public which is 
indeed enviable. 



LOUIS WEINSTEIN. 

Louis W'einsteix, of Burlington, who 
aided in shaping public thought and action 
in the State of Iowa, and left an indelible 
impress for good, was one of the ablest 
journalists of tbt- Mi<l(llc West. He was a 



man of wide influence, yet he never used 
this to further his own ends. Through the 
columns of the llm^'k-Eyc, with which he 
was so long connected, he preached the gos- 
l)el of hope and perseverance, of the power 
of lalxir and the |x>ssibility of accomplish- 
ment, and his own life was an excmplificati<jn 
of all these. L'nconsciously to himself, he 
proved in his own life the value of the princi- 
ples which he published, the force of the facts 
which he presented, and many there were 
who listened to his counsel and heeded his 
admonitions to their own betterment. His 
superior intellectual force, his genial man- 
ner, and clear presentation of his thoughts, 
made him a most delightful companion, and 
as the champion of many measures of direct 
and permanent benefit to the State, he proved 
so valuable a citizen that his death was 
deeply de|)lored thrt)ughout the common- 
wealth. 

Louis Weinstein was born in Schwerin, 
Mecklenburg, Germany, Jan. 12. 1846, and 
in the schools of the Fatherland he acquired 
a good practical education that served as an 
excellent foundation for the superstructure 
of learning to which he constantly added as 
the years went by, and his reading embraced 
all the various lines of thought commanding 
public attention, as well as the classic literary 
productions of all the ages. He came to 
.\merica at the age of sixteen years, and 
after being employed in a dry-goods store 
in Xew York for a time, he went to the 
South, where he maintained business con- 
nections until alxiut 1870. Proceeding 
northward, he went to Omaha, Nebr., where 
he engaged in the dry-gcmds business on his 
own account ; but. like thousands of others, 
met reverses during the wide-spread financial 
panic of 1873. 

Xot long afterward he came to Hurling- 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



89 



ton, making this city his permanent home. 
He arrived here in 1876, and was employed 
in Liebstandter's dry-goods store; but hav- 
ing a talent for newspaper work, he soon 
became editor of the hnva Tribune, and in 
1879 associated himself with Jacob Wohl- 
wend in the publication of the German 
paper. Becoming traveling deputy in con- 
nection with the office of internal revenue 
collector, under John Burdette, then of the 
Tlawk-Evc his ability was recognized, and 
the position of managing editor of the 
paper was oftered him and accepted. He 
acted in that capacity, to the material bene- 
fit of the paper, until he was stricken with 
locomotor ataxia, when he was forced to 
relinquish the business affairs of the office, 
but he never ceased his literary work and 
editorial writings until within a few days 
of his death. No greater valor or more stal- 
wart heroism has been displayed on the 
field of battle or in the face of danger than 
was shown by Mr. Weinstein, when, under 
almost constant suiTering, he continued his 
writing, preparing editorial after editorial 
for the paper, and discussing the great polit- 
ical and sociological problems claiming 
public attention. A noticeable feature of his 
writings was the note of hope and encour- 
agement that pervaded it ; there was never 
a pessimistic utterance or the least suggestion 
of doubt as to the ultimate triumph of all 
that works for permanent good. One of his 
associates on the Hawk-Eye. writing of him 
at the time of his death, said: "Mr. Wein- 
stein was pre-eminently a journalist. He 
may have inherited some of his talent and 
passion for the profession, his father being 
one of the guild. He possessed the rare 
gift of being able to differ from others, to 
even administer very hard blows, and yet 
to keep his temper, and to arouse no lasting 



ill-feeling or animosity in those who went 
down before him. He was broad, just, 
liberal, fair, and honorable. He could advo- 
cate a reform and carry a movement to suc- 
cess without appealing to the prejudices of 
his supporters or ruthlessly trampling upon 
those who differed from him. He could 
meet you in fair fight, and victor or de- 
feated, would be happy to welcome you as a 
friend, to .share his mental repasts, or, if 
need be, his last dollar with you. It is not 
belittling his magnificent gifts, his fine edu- 
cation, to say the most striking element of 
his newspaper life was industry, and the 
pages that he turned out in connection 
with journalism would form, not a respect- 
able number of volumes, but a respectable 
library. He was a born politician. Had he 
devoted the same energy to furthering his 
own interests that he was ever ready to de- 
vote to the cause of his friends, greater 
honors and emoluments would have fallen 
to him. 

Air. Weinstein, however, filled some 
public positions, and the duties of these he 
discharged with the utmost fidelity and 
ability. It was inevitable that some public 
service should be asked, some honor be- 
stowed, upon a man so eminently qualified. 
He was for two terms collector of internal 
revenue for the southern district of Iowa, 
receiving appointment under President 
Harrison's administration. He was for 
fourteen years a trustee of the Iowa School 
for the Deaf, at Council Bluffs, discharging 
his duties with satisfaction to the State 
officers and Legislature. He was largely in- 
strumental in raising the standard of the 
school and promoting its efficiency ; and 
when failing health prevented him from 
continuing his connection with the school, 
he maintained the deepest interest in its 



go 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



work and progress, using liis inHucnce for 
its ii])lniil(ling. I'or many years he was 
also oil* inspector, continuing in that office 
U]> to the time of his deatli. He served as 
chairman of canii)aign committees, and his 
opinions carried weight in tlu- councils of 
the Re])ul)hcaii party. Me was a close and 
discriminating stu<lent. and his analytical 
mind enabled him to understand with rare 
keenness of mental vision the value and 
possibilities of any political measure. His 
inlhience. i)erha]3s. was e.xerted in a polit- 
ical wa\ most widely through the columns 
of his pai)er, for his discussion of jiroblems 
created widespread interest and discussion, 
and the seeds of truth thus sown often bore 
ridi fruit. 

.Mthough leading a most busy life. Mr. 
W'einstein always found the opportunity to 
enrich his own niiiid by broad and varied 
reading, and was not only familiar w itli the 
classical in literature, but in other lonns of 
art as well. His home became the center 
of a cultured society circle, iik-ii of intel- 
lect gathering there to discuss with him 
the leading (|uestions of the day or the 
problems that literature has preserved to 
us. It would 1h- (liflicuh tci ii;ime one man 
in T'.urliugton who liad more sincere frienils, 
for those who knew him well regarded him 
with genuine affection. He was a gentleman 
and a scholar, devoted to the highest ideals, 
and of this class were his friends. He was, 
moreover, quick to recognize and ap])reciate 
all that is commendable in others ; and al- 
though the demands u]jon his attention were 
man\', he always found time for a hearty 
hand-shake and word of greeting for those 
who sought an audience with him. 

To a man of strong mind, high jnirposes, 
lofty ideals, and with a clear understanding 
of the purposes of life, it was most natural 



that liis. deepest interest centered in his- 
home. He was married in 1880 to Miss 
Loui I^TJk, and they had two children, Ed- 
ward and Dora, who, with the wife, sur- 
vive him. His first thought was for his 
fainil\. and to them the richest elements of 
his character and the greatest depths of his 
tenderness were most often shown. With 
lieroic eflfort he labored for the family and 
the age in which he lived, and his life, with 
its note of cheer and sympathy, as well as 
his writings, was a source of inspiration to 
those with whom he came in contact. Well 
might it Ix" said of him, as of the Koniaa 
statesman of old : — 

" His life was Kcntle. and tlic elements 
So mixed in him that Nature might stand np 
And sav to all the world. " This was a man.' " 



HENRY THIE. 



I1i:nkv Tini:, who now resides on hi-'^ 
large and well-improved farm of one lum- 
dred acres in l""ranklin township, is a 
worthy representative of the sturdy Ger- 
niau-.\n)erican stock to which Des Moines 
coimty is .so deei)l\ indebted for her present- 
ilay prosperity. .Mthough |)ast the allotted 
mark of threescore years and ten, he is a 
strong, active man, taking part not only in 
the work of his own farm, but also retain- 
ing a deep interest in the affairs of the 
coninuiiiitN . 

Henry Thie, .son of Henry and Louisa 
(l'"llerhof) Thie, was born in Prussia, 
West Phalen, Ciermany, Teh. 18, 1S34. 
There be received his education in the com- 
mon schools. When he grew to manlvHxl 
he was exempt from .serving in the regular 
army of the Fatherland, not being accepted 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



91 



■on account of havintr a stiff finger. He was 
raised with a thoroiie:h practical knowledge 
of agriculture, and followed this occupation 
until he came to America, in 1857. 

In this country he began to climb the 
ladder leading to success by working at 
first by the month on a farm, receiving 
seven dollars a month for his services. He 
worked in this way for about four and a 
half years, and rented farms for the ne.xt 
seven years. He was located for a time 
in Buryngton township, and for three years 
in Union township. Through thrifty ways 
and careful management of farm affairs, 
he made such a success of these ventures 
that in 1869 he felt warranted in purchas- 
ing a farm of his own. He bought eighty 
acres in Section 26, Franklin township, the 
only improvement then on the place being 
an old log shanty. He lived in this for a 
year, then added one room, and made this 
his home for several years. Then he built 
his present comfortable residence, and has 
from time to time built a number of other 
commodious farm buildings, as they were 
needed, and has otherwise generally im- 
proved the place until it is one of the best 
equipped farm homes in the community. 

In 1878 he bought eighteen acres of tim- 
ber land, and has at other times added to 
his original holdings, until now he has one 
hundred acres after signing over sixty 
acres to one of his sons. His farm is un- 
usually well stocked with fruit, as he has 
set out about one hundred fruit trees, be- 
sides a fine vineyard of about two hundred 
stocks. Water is furnished for the farm 
by a good wind pump, and the conve- 
niences of the farm are such as to make it 
a most desirable home. 

Feb. 25, 1862, Mr. Thie was united in 
marriage to Miss Christina Distelhorst, 



daughter of Charles and Christina 
(Diercks) Distelhorst. She was al.so a 
native of West Phalen, Germany, being 
born there May 17, 1843, and coming to 
America when she was only two \'ears of 
age. They became the parents of eight 
children, of whom seven are still living. 
The children are as follows : Henr_\-, 
Charles, William, and John are located 
near Mediapolis, Yellow Springs township ; 
Fred lives next to his father ; Herman and 
Louisa are at home: Kdwanl died in 1880, 
aged about two years. 

Mrs. Thie died June 17, 1905, aged sixty- 
two years and one month. She was an 
earnest Christian woman, a faithful wife, 
and a loving mother, and she left a place 
in the home circle that can never be filled, 
the memory of her loving kindnesses and 
her unselfish acts of service remaining in 
the hearts of husband and children like 
a benediction. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Thie were members 
of the Evangelical church. Mr. Thie was 
baptized in this faith in Germanv, and has 
been a member ever since coming to .\mer- 
ica. He is now president of the organiza- 
tion, having held that office for many years. 
In his political belief, Mr. Thie is an ad- 
herent of the Republican party, and is a 
trusted counselor in the assemblies of the 
party, always standing for the best inter- 
ests of the entire community, as he sees 
them. That he enjoys the confidence of 
the neighborhood, is evidenced by the fact 
that the citizens of his township have 
repeatedly bestowed upon him the highest 
honor in their power to give, by electing 
hitn trustee of the township. The first 
time that he was thus honored, he was 
elected for two consecutive terms, but re- 
signed during the second term, serving two 



02 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



vcars. Later lie was aj^in elected to this 
same office, and after serviiiij two years 
was elected to the office of county super- 
visor, being elected in 1903, ami still serv- 
ing in tliis capacity. 

.Aside from farming. Mr. Thie has never 
been identified with any business except 
during two winters, when he. with a cousin, 
was engaged in work in a pork house: 
but that he has undoubted business talent 
and sagacity of a high degree is amply 
proved bv the success he has made of all 
his ventures in connection with his farm, 
as well as by the unciualified success that 
he has made of the affairs of the township 
that have come under his supervision dur- 
ing the years he has served the public as 
trustee and as supervisor. He is a man 
who has won success not only in a mate- 
rial sense, but also in tiie better sense, in 
that he has won and well merited the con- 
fidence and respect of all with whom he 
has come in contact in the various rela- 
tions of life. 



WILLIAM HENRY MOREHOUSE. 

\\ I I.LI AM Hk.nkv Mokf.iiouse, in whose 
life record there is much that is worthy of 
the closest and most reverent emulation, and 
who.se memory is dear to the large circle of 
friends who knew and honored liim dur- 
ing his active life, was born Jan. 10. 1832, 
in Saratoga county. New York. F.ntoring 
the public schools of his native State, he 
laid there the foundation of his education ; 
but most of his youth and all the years of 
his earlv manhood were sjient in the West, 
for in 1846 he removed to Illinois, locating 
in Kane county. It was in Kane county 



that he was united in marriage, in 1839, to 
.Miss Minerva .\. .Mc.Arthur, and the same 
year he united with the Haptist church, a 
connection which he faithfully maintained 
until his death. In Illinois he engaged suc- 
cessfully in the pursuit of agriculture until 
1861. when he went to ( Htuniwa, Iowa, to 
act as agent for the .American Express 
Company, continuing in that ]x>sition for 
some years. I^ter he went to Janesville, 
I'remer county, Iowa, and embarked in a 
mercantile enterprise, for which he was 
well fitted by his marked aptitude and 
ability for the conduct of practical affairs, 
which he possessed in a remarkable degree. 
The (|ualities of determination and self- 
reliance, which had stood him in such 
good stead during the earlier years of his 
independent career, now broiight him suc- 
cess in this new venture, resulting in a pros- 
perity that was in some sense commensurate 
with his merits, great as these were. Two 
years subsequent to the hokling of the Cen- 
tennial Exposition at l'hiladel])hia. which 
Mr. and Mrs. Morehouse attended, they 
removed to lUirlington. where they built 
a pleasant and commodious home at 523 
South Garfield .Avenue, still occupied as 
her residence by Mrs. .Morehouse. 

.\lthough Mr. Morehouse always main- 
tained a home in lUirlington after removing 
to this city, and was intimately c<innected 
with the advancement of lUirlington in 
many lines of progress, he was interested in 
many outside enterprises, notably the Hank 
of Hrookings. at I'.rookings. S. Dak., which 
he established about the year 1883 with a 
paid-up capital of $30,000, he becoming 
president of the institution, and his brother, 
(ieorge Morehouse, cashier. It may be said 
with truth that to his intelligent and care- 
ful supervision ;iiid direction the bank 



DES MOIXr.S COUNTY, IOWA. 



93 



principally owed its success, together with 
the vital force which his strong personality 
infused into the workings of all its depart- 
ments ; for he possessed the rare gift of 
being able to impart to his subordinates the 
effective and triumphant energy which so 
strongly marked his own career. He was 
also treasurer, cashier, and member of the 
board of directors of the Home Life As- 



C'olo,. and later l)ecame manager of the 
( )verland Cotton Mills at Denver, but is 
now in charge of a banking institution in 
Arizuna. He married Miss Zora Fink. 

Too much can ncjt be said of the man 
whose life forms the subject of this review. 
Selfishness was a thing unknown to him,., 
and his constant thought and care were oc- 
cu])ied in doing good to others. Although 



sociation, a company of which a brother of a lifelong member of a political party, the 
Mrs. Morehouse, M. C. AIc.Arthur. was 
for several years president. 

The wife of our subject was born in 
Dryden, Tompkins county, N. Y., in 1837, 
and both her parents dying when she was 



Republican, and in a position to command 
much of its influence for his own Ijcnefit 
had he so desired, he never cared for the 
personal honor of j^ublic office, and largely 
devoted his life to Christian work, in and 



yet quite young, she came West with her out of the church, carrying always in his 



two brothers at the age of seventeen years, 
making her home in Kane county. 111., 
where she was a teacher in the public 
schools until the time of her marriage. She 
is a woman of unusual ability, and despite 
advancing years she still retains that fresh- 
ness and buoyancy of mind and spirit 
which are the invariable accompaniments 
of true culture. Mrs. Morehouse has one 



heart the most absolute and trusting faith in 
the humble and self-sacrificing Christ, 
whom he sought to the best of his ability 
to make the criterion of his earthly exist- 
ence. Pre-eminently religious, he was at 
the same time a patriotic citizen, a loyal- 
hearted friend, and a noble example of true 
manhood. His interest in church work was 
perennial, and he held the office of treas- 
sister, Mrs. Lydia Repass, who makes her urer of the First liaptist churcli, was a 



home with her, and who, with her hus- 
band, came to Burlington at about the same 
date as did i\Ir. and Mrs. Morehouse, the 
husband's death occurring in ISurlington 
in 1878. One son, '\\. A. Repass, is a 
resident of Fremont, Nebr., while a grand- 
daughter. Mrs. \\'illiam Henry Plock, re- 
sides in this city. No children were born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Morehouse, but they early 
took under their care and reared Edwin 
M., son of the Reverend Doctor Hurd. of 
the Baptist church, giving him a father's 
and mother's affection and the advantage 
of a good education in ])ublic school and 
business college. He was for seven or 
eight years bookkeeper in a liank at Denver. 



member of its official board, and was a 
member of the building committee which 
erected the ]jresent magnificent structure. 
He was also one of the official board of the 
Baptist College of Burlington, in the wel- 
fare of which he was deeply interested. In 
his fraternal connection he was long an 
active member and worker in the Masonic 
order, in which liis loss was deeply de- 
plored. He (lied at the Homeopathic 
Hospital, Chicago, on Monday. June 17, 
iqoi, and his funeral services were con- 
(hicted at the home on \\'ednesday, June 19, 
by his old pastor. Rev. Euclid B. Rogers, of 
S])ringfield. HI., the ceremonies being in 
charge of the Knights Templar, of which 



»'4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REIIEIV 



ho was ail lionorol im-mber. Interment was 
in tlie Aspen Grove cemetery. Mr. More- 
lionse wa.s above all else domestic in his 
preferences, devoting his spare time to his 
home and the comjjanion of his joys and 
sorrows, and her niemi>ries of him remain 
as a precious and iR'antifid ])(>ssession. To 
him belonged many sterling traits of char- 
acter, and his high moral .sense, his un- 
faltering integrity, and his broad sympathy 
won him un(|ualitied confidence and the 
<lcepest regard of all. His kindly spirit and 
genial disjjosition brought him frjpnds, and 
he had the happy faculty of drawing them 
closer til him as die vears went bv. 



HON. SILAS A. HUDSON. 

Hon. Sil.\.s A. Hudson, deceased, who 
was one of the jjioneer settlers of Dcs 
Moines county, and became a man of de- 
cisive character, serving as minister to 
Central .\mcrica, and exerting no unim- 
portant influence u|)(>n the people with 
wh(jm he came in contact, was born in Ma- 
son county, Kentucky, Dec. 13, 1815. His 
father, ISailey Washington Hudson, was a 
native of l-"auriuier county, N'irginia, born 
.•\pril 15. 1782. He was descended from 
one of the old families of England that was 
established in N'irginia in colonial days. He 
served with distinction in the War of 1812, 
participating under General Harrison in 
the battles of Tiii])ecanoe, the River Raisin, 
rmd tile Tliames. lie and his brother 
Sanuiel had |)reviously settled in Masnn 
county, Kentucky, where they jointly pur- 
chased seven lunulred and sixty acres of 
land, known as the family homestead. 
There I'.ailev W. Hudson married Miss 



Susan .\. tirant. a sister of Jesse R. and a 
daughter of Noah Grant. The last named, 
one of the patriots of New England, be- 
longed to the party of seventeen men who, 
disguised as Indians, threw the tea over- 
Ixiard in I'.oston harbor, and thus instituted 
what has since been known in history as 
the lioston tea-party. Several years after 
his marriage Mr. Hudson entered into part- 
nership with Xoah Grant, Jr., his brother- 
in-law. under the firm style of Xoah Grant 
&' Com])any, and they conducted one of the 
leading mercantile enterprises of Maysville, 
Ky. Mr. and Mrs. Hudson became the par- 
ents of seven children : Silas A. ; Noah 
Grant, born June 2},, 1817; John \'., born 
July 2, 1819: IVances .\., .March 20. 1821 ; 
Walter Warder, June 11. 1823: and Peter 
Todd, Oct. 26, 1825. The two last named 
were among the early settlers of I'urlington. 
and aided in molding the pioneer history of 
this part of the State. Walter W. Hudson 
came to lUirlington with his brother Silas 
in 1839. He was a soldier of the Mexican 
War. serving WMth the Eifteenth Regiment 
under ("dldiiel Howard, and he ]}artici]jated 
in the engagements at National liridge, 
I'ueblo. Cluirubusco, Molino del Rey, and 
Chepultepcc. At the last named he was 
the first to carry the flag over the walls, and 
the lone Iowa Company was given the 
credit of running up the first I'nited .States 
flag over Che])ultei)ec and garrisoning the 
fort. I'ollowing the close of the .Mexican 
War, and U]Jon the commendation of Col- 
onel H()ward, Walter W. Hudson was .ap- 
pointed a lieutenant of the First United 
Slates Regular Infantry by President Polk. 
He was then sent to the Rio (irande, where 
he had charge of the troops that were pro- 
tecting the line of forts then being built 
along the frontier. In an engagement with 





nJ> \X ^ >^vivAX\^ 



DES MOIMiS COUNTY. IOWA. 



97 



the Imlians lie was woundeil at J<"ort Hud- 
son (which had been named in his hontjr), 
and lie died at Mcintosh near Lorado, 
Texas, April 9, 1850. In his deatli the 
L'nited States Army lost one of its most 
promising, energetic, and efficient officers. 
Peter Todd Hudson came to Burlington in 
1845, and made his home with his brother 
Silas until after the discovery of gold in 
California, when, hoping to realize a for- 
tune in the mines on the Pacific Coast, his 
brother fitted him out with teams and suffi- 
cient means to go to the far West. He re- 
mained for two years, taking advantage of 
various business opportunities, and then 
because of failing health he returned to 
Burlington. In 1857 Silas A. Hudson sent 
him to Denver, Colo., where he opened a 
supply store, being one of the first settlers in 
that place. He was among the discoverers 
and aided in the early development of the 
mines at Breckcnridge, and in fact was the 
founder of that place, naming it in honor 
of J. C. Breckenridge, a personal friend of 
the Hudson family. During the first year 
of the war of the rebellion he was driven 
away by the Indians, and he returned to 
Burlington to join General Grant's staff. 
He entered the service with the rank of 
captain, and was subsequently promoted to 
that of lieutenant-colonel. He served with 
General Grant, taking part in all the battles 
fought b}- that intrepid commander, from 
Vicksburg to Appomattox, and was offered 
by General Grant the position of senior 
major in the regular army, but declined to 
accept this military position. He remained 
on General Grant's staff' until 1867, when 
he resigned and went to California, where 
he was engaged in the stock business. He 
was afterward offered by General Grant 
the office of United States marshal of Cali- 



fiirnia, but also declined to serve in that 
cajjacity. He is now living in Colusa 
county, California. 

.Silas .\. Hudson acquired a liberal edu- 
cation in the Maysville Academy, at Mays- 
vilje, Ky., and largely supplemented his 
intellectual training by private study. 
Through travel he gained the culture and 
knowledge which can be obtained in no 
other way. He left home when seventeen 
years of age, and spent the succeeding year 
in travel, visiting the leading cities of 
America. He first visited Burlington in 
1837, and also touched at other points on 
the Mississippi River, but returned to St. 
Louis, where he continued to reside until 
1839, after which he made a permanent 
settlement in Des Moines county. He pur- 
chased a lot on Jeffer.son Street in Burling- 
ton, and in 1840 erected two brick houses, 
which at that time were superior to any 
dwelling of the city. Becoming a factor in 
mercantile circles, he engaged in the stove. 
tin. and hardware business, with which he 
was identified for more than twenty years, 
having a large jobbing trade and also con- 
ducting a number of branch hou.ses in other 
Western towns. He possessed marked busi- 
ness capacity, unfaltering energy, and with 
keen foresight understood the conditions 
of the ^^'est and its probable development, 
which enabled him to anticipate future 
needs and to meet them in a manner that re- 
sulted beneficially to his community, and at 
the same time brought liim desirable pros- 
])erity. Thus he contributed to the material 
welfare of the localities with which he was 
connected in mercantile lines, but he prob- 
ably became best known through his ac- 
tivity in political work. 

From his youth Mr. Hudson was deeply 
interested in the question of politics, and 



o8 



BIOCRAPIIICAL REllEW 



rt-ad cverv thing that he could find Ix^aring 
upon such subjects, so that when lie reached 
manhood he was well informed concerning 
the |)olitical history of his country, and 
had intimate knowledge of the leading (|ues- 
lions of the day, as well as of the careers 
and records of all of the prominent public 
men. The fir.st national election in which 
he took part was in the pre.si<lential cam- 
])aign of 1H36. when he gave his support to 
tjeneral Harrison, casting his first l)allot 
at Louisville. Ky. He was an ardent sup- 
])orter of the W hig party, and after his ar- 
rival at Turlington he wrote the call that 
organized the Whig party in this territory, 
giving his supiwrt to its nominees during 
the existence of that great political organi- 
zation. 

Mr. Hudson left liis impress u])nn the 
political history of hjwa. being very in- 
Huential in her affairs. He was clerk of 
the Territorial Legislature anil also first chief 
clerk of the House in the State organization. 
During the legislative session of 1842-43 the 
territorial laws were revised by the general 
asseml)ly, and in this work .Mr. Hudson 
largely assisted, as he ilid when the laws 
were again revised in 1846-47, being 
adapted to the State organization. In 1862 
lie rendered valuable service because of his 
intimate knowledge of the needs and con- 
ditions of the commonwealth. He was the 
author of the city charter of ISurlington and 
its principal ordinances under which the 
city was g<iverned for more than thirty 
years, jjreparing these documents in 1845. 
He used the charter and ordinances oi the 
city of Cincinnati as a basis upon which 
to work, and the pajjcrs were so correct as 
to construction and so adequate to the city's 
needs that there was no change made in 
three decades. In coninuinitv affairs Mr. 



Hudson was actively intercste<l. holding 
many im])ortant offices. He was a nieni- 
Ikt of the city council for fourteen years, 
and was mayor of I'urlington in 1855-56, 
holding- that position at the time the Chi- 
cago, liurlington & Ouincy Railroad was 
constructed to this city. He was also act- 
ing mayor during the two previous terms. 
He filled a number of minor offices, serving 
for some time as a member of the scIkxjI 
lx)ard. .At the time of the establishiuent of 
the Xew Xork Tribitiic .Mr. Hudson Ix'- 
came one of its subscribers, and for more 
than twenty years was an influential and 
valued contributor to its columns, as he was 
also to the Louisville Journal, its editor 
being (ieprge D. Prentice. He was from 
early life an intimate friend of .-Vbraham 
Lincoln : and. recognizing his great quali- 
ties, he became a cham|)ion of his cause in 
connection with the jiresidency when the 
subject of the choice of a candidate was 
being discussed by the jieople in i860. He 
used the columns of these influential jour- 
nals to bring the name of Lincoln promi- 
nently before the pid)lic. and in connection 
with Horace Greeley he arranged to have 
.Mr. Lincoln go to Xew York, where he 
made the great speech that so seriously hurt 
Mr. .'-Reward's chance for the presidency. 
Mr. Iluilsoii was also instrumental in hav- 
ing .Mr. Linci)ln come to liurlington, where 
he was listened to by many citizens who still 
reside here. This was the only time that 
the martyred president ever spoke in this 
city, and his subsequent election and re- 
election were largely aided by the voice and 
pen of his old friend. The cordial rela- 
tion existing between them was never in- 
terruptetl until the assassin did his deadly 
work and the nation mourned a martyred 
])resident. 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



99 



Mr. Hudson was always a stanch friend 
and admirer of (jeneral (jrant. who was 
an own cousin, and with whom lie had been 
in a measure in close relationship in his 
youth, each living at different periods at the 
home of the other. Naturally Air. Hn<lson 
was an ardent supporter of the war, and 
was among- the first to take an active and 
prominent part in raising and forwarding 
troops. During the war he spent a part of 
the time in the field with (ieneral (irant, and 
at the siege of X'ickshurg he had a narrow 
escape. Raising his head above the breast- 
works, several rebel bullets instantly whis- 
tled about his head, one cutting a crease 
in his scalp; and because of his injury he 
was almost a constant sufferer afterward. 
He never wavered in bis allegiance to the 
Union cause until its preservation was an 
established fact. Outside of offices con- 
nected with the municipal government he 
did not seek political prominence, yet in 
March, i86«j. he was ap])ointed by President 
Grant to the position of United States min- 
ister to Central America. On that mission 
he was eminently successful. Previous to 
his residence there the commerce between 
the United States and Central .America 
was very limited. He devoted himself to 
increasing the trade with the states there, 
and soon after his arrival he arranged for 
the landing of the vessels of the Pacific 
Mail Steamship Company, running between 
San Francisco and Panama. .According to 
the terms of the treaty these were to stop 
at five jjorts of Central America. These 
and other- means which he employed led 
largelv to diverting the trade of Central 
America to this countr_\-, and the immense 
commerce which succeeded was the legiti- 
mate outgrowth of his efforts. He not only 
rendered valuable service to the United 



.States during his ministry, but also did able 
work for the people of Central America as 
well. 'J'hat country was in a state of con- 
stant revolution at the time, and the friendly 
offices of tile legation were being constantly 
eni])loyed in behalf of foreign residents 
coming under the displeasure of the govern- 
ment. The creditable manner in which his 
services were rendered to all ])arties led to 
the government's consenting that he should 
represent foreign residents in Central Amer- 
ica, hi this way he represented nine dif- 
ferent nationalities, including Switzerland, 
which country has ever since confided to 
the American ministry, elsewhere as well 
as in Central .\merica, tiie protection of 
her citizens abroad. 

In 187 1, after five successive battles, the 
rebels won their way to the city of Guate- 
mala, and demanded its surrender. On this 
occasion the government placed Mr. Hud- 
son at the head of a commission, investing 
him with the power to treat w ith the rebel 
general and his forces for a change of 
government, and this commission was suc- 
cessfully concluded. Owing to the bitter 
opposition of General Barrios, second in 
command, the commission met with almost 
total failure. The bloody-minded half- 
breed chief had enlisted and led the ad- 
vance columns, and held them under prom- 
ise that the plunder of the city should be 
given up to them for their services, and 
he would listen to no other terms. When 
the commission had advanced within about 
a furlong of the rebel forces, they were met 
and halted by the officer commanding, and 
informed b\ him that he was ordered to 
turn back all parties seeking personal in- 
terviews with the general-in-chief. and to 
fire upon them it tjiey refu.sed. .Mr. Hud.son 
stated to him the object of the commission; 



lOO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



that it was inailc up of the representatives 
of friendly powers, and that in tlieir qiiahty 
as such they could accejn no such answer, 
especially from a lesser officer than the 
geiiera!-in-chief : that the commission ex- 
pected, and would give him a reasonable 
time to furnish, a fittintj escort to the camp 
of the general-in-chief, and should he fail 
to do so they w'ould undertake to find their 
way unai<led. After much parley with him 
by others, an<l no movement being made 
toward j)roviding an escort. Mr. Hudson, 
announcing his purpose, and accompanied 
by the I nited States consul, rode forward, 
while all the others sought cover outside 
the sweep of the battery i)lanted in front 
of them. They were allowed to approach 
within forty or fifty yards of the guns, while 
every demonstration of a purpose to fire 
upon them was being made. At length the 
commander ordered the gunners not to fire, 
and came forward, meeting Mr. Hudson and 
his com]janion. declaring that he could not 
execute the order, and that he would furnish 
an escort as reciuested and go with them 
himself to insure their safety and freedom 
from unpleasant stoi)])ages. Here they were 
again joined by their colleagues. Mr. Hud- 
son afterward learned that this officer was a 
nephew of General Granados. the rebel com- 
mander, and that in em])loying the friendly 
offices of the United States legation in be- 
half of ]>olitical suspects a short time before 
he had secured the relea.se of his brother, 
who had been condemned tfi be shot as a 
spy. and that this brother was present with 
the commrmder. |)k'a(ling with him in .Mr. 
Hudsons behalf until he was successful in 
his attem])t to have the life of Mr. Hudson 
spared. 

In comjiany with both parties they ]iro- 
ceeded to the camp of General Granados. 



reaching there about lo i-. m. The greater 
])art of the night was spent in arranging the 
terms by which the ])ersonnel of the gov- 
ernment could be changed ]>eacefully and 
further loss of life anil properly be avoided, 
and not offend the mercenary I'.arrios and 
his followers. Hy the terms of the com- 
pact the rebel troo])s were commanded to 
stack their arms four miles outside of the 
city, which they did to the number of about 
twenty-four thousand, and to enter Guate- 
mala as private citizens. The next morning 
at ten o'clock they met on the government ' 
plaza and elected, viva voce. General Gran- 
ados provisional i)rcsident : who, as such, 
by the terms of the treaty was required and 
did issue writs of election to the several 
deiiartments for the election of new mem- 
bers of congress and the organization of the 
government under the existing law. This 
l)ut an end to the revolutionary troubles 
during the residence of Mr. Hudson in that 
city. 

-In 1873 .Mr. Hudson resigned, and re- 
turned to his home in Burlington, where 
he lived until his death. In his domestic 
relations he was happy. In 1844 he mar- 
ried Miss .Ann Caldwell, a native of Ken- 
tucky, born Jan. 14, 1826. Of this mar- 
riage there were three children : Virginia. 
Imrn Oct. 23. 1845; Marietta, born June 
25. 1848: and Walter Werder. born Aug. 
25, 1850. The second daughter died Jan. 
II. 1874. Mrs. Hudson died on the 13th 
of March, 1851, and on Jan. 11, 1853, Mr. 
Hudson was again married, his second 
union being with Serena GrifFev. who was 
born at Morgantown, \\ . \ a.. July 23. 1825. 
and was the fifth in a family of twelve chil- 
dren, ten of whom reached adult age. nine 
daughters and a son coming to Burlington. 
Her father, VN'illiam Griffey, was born July 



( 



DES MOIXES COUXTV, IOWA. 



lOI 



4. 1787, and was of Elnglisli descent. He 
was a successful merchant at Morgan- 
town, and was an iron manufacturer. He 
was married Oct. 28, 1810, to .Miss Mary 
Spitzer. a native of Winchester, \'a.. and of 
German descent. Mr. Griffey was obliged 
to pay a large security debt, and nearly all 
of his property was swept away in this 
manner. He had to take as partial indem- 
nity for his loss the negroes that had be- 
longed to the man who failed, and these he 
allowed to purchase their freedoni as they 
were able to do so. Mr. -Grififey came to 
Iowa in May, 1837, proceeding down the 
(^hio and up the Mississippi rivers by 
steamer to where the village of Burlington 
stood. It then contained only a few houses. 
^Ir. GrilTey took up land, and in connection 
with r\lr. Sherfy operated a sawmill on 
Flint Creek and one in Illinois. Later he 
opened a clothing store on Jefferson and 
Main Streets, where he remained until his 
death, which occurred Jan, 11, 1848. His 
wife, who was born June 15, 1795, .died in 
1850. Their children were Leanna, who 
married Charles Medara, and died in the 
spring of 1838: Henry, who went South, 
and was not heard from after a time ; Le- 
vara, who married David Rice, and died 
leaving a famil_\- : -Alary, the wife of John 
Johnson, of Denver; Airs. Hudson; Delia, 
who married Capt. Thomas French, and 
is a widow, living at Cripple Creek, Colo. ; 
Ellen, who is the widow of Daniel Cox, 
and resides in Burlington, Iowa : Laura, de- 
ceased ; Martha, the widow of \\'illiam Hill- 
iiouse, and now living with her mother ; 
and Caroline, who died after attaining early 
womanhood. 

During the last ten years of his life Mr. 
Hudson w'as an invalid, suffering from 
paralysis. His mind was very clear and 



alert, and he maintained a deep interest in 
public affairs unlil his demise, which oc- 
curred Dec. ly, 1897. In thQ management 
of his varied enterprises Mr. Hudson was 
successful, and he ac(|uired a competency, 
enabling himself and family to live in ease 
and comfort. His was, indeed, a well-spent, 
active, and useful career, characterized by 
unfaltering devotion to the general good 
as well as to his individual interests. He 
was a co-laborer and colleague of many of 
the eminent men of the nation, and the 
labor which he did when serving as min- 
ister to Central .\merica still finds its 
fruition in tlie national trade relations 
which have since existed between the two 
countries. 



ADRIAN SCHULTES. 

\\ HEX the tocsin of war sounded, 
Adrian Schultes res])onded to his coun- 
try's call for aid, put aside personal con- 
siderations, and followed the banner of 
the Union to the liattlefields of the South. 
He is now a veteran of the war, and de- 
serves all the honor and credit which is 
given to the boys in blue. He is, more- 
over, one of the most jirosperous and suc- 
cessful farmers of Huron township, hav- 
ing now extensive landed possessions, all 
ac(|uired through his own labors. He 
was born March 4, 183^5. in Baden, Ger- 
many, his parents being .Michael and Bar- 
bara (Fisher) Schultes. He was edu- 
cated in the public schools, but his oppor- 
tunities in this direction were very 
meager, for at about seven years of age 
he began to earn his own living. In ac- 
cordance with tlu' l;i\vs of the land he 
had to render nnlitar\- service to his 



I02 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'lEW 



country wlu'ii twonly-onc years of age, 
antl Ik- rc-iiiained with the army for six 
years, being aide-ile-camp the second 
year. He was reared, however, to farm 
work, ancl has always been identified with 
agricultural |)ursuits. 

It was in May, iS<)i, that .Mr. .^chultes 
arrived in America, locating first at Port 
Jervis, X. V. He afterward came to Bur- 
lington, Iowa, but not being able to get 
more than eight dollars per month for 
his services here, he went to Wisconsin. 
After a hriil i)eriod he enlisted at .Me- 
nominee, Wis., as a member of Company 
D, Fifth Wisconsin Infantry. The regi- 
ment was mustered in at Madison, Wis., 
and was assigned to the army of the Poto- 
mac. With his command Mr. Schultcs 
participated in many im|)ortant engage- 
ments, including the battles of Fred- 
ericksburg, Gettysburg, Rappahannock, 
Mine Run, the Wilderness. S])ottsylvania 
Courthouse. North .\nna River, Hanover 
Conitliouse. Cold liarlior. and the assault 
on Petersburg. He was afterward called 
to Washingtt)n, and fought at lulward's 
Ferry, Snicker's Gap. I'elleville, and Win- 
chester. He was on picket duty for thir- 
teen (lays, and in the fall of 1864 returned 
to Washington, after which he was sent 
to Petersburg. l-'eb. 17, i8()5, at Cold 
Harbor, his bayonet was struck with a 
bullet, which split and cut his face to 
some extent. He was also in the battle 
of Hedges Run and in the storming of 
Pcter.sburg. He became ill at l-'reder- 
icksburg because of wounds he had sus- 
tained, and was in the liosjiital for four 
months. He was t;iken prisoner during 
the first day's battle of the Wilderness, 
but was held as a cai)tive for only a brief 
period, his forty men with him cajituring 



a cin-ps of three liundre<l men. The com- 
mand received an honora1)lc discharge at 
Hall's Hill, \'a., and the corps made its 
review aliout two weeks later. 

I-'ollowing the close of the war .Mr. 
.^chultes returned to Wisconsin and later 
came to Des Moines county, Iowa, locat- 
ing in Huron township, where his sister 
lived. Here he carried on farming for a 
time and in 1867 he bought eighty acres 
of land and later purchased one himdred 
and fifty-nine acres. The latter tract was 
afterward sold to .Mr. W'aiUeigh and is 
now owned by Mr. Xewhouse. His farm 
of one himdred and twenty acres lay on 
Section 24. and to this he has a(l<led 
until he now has a valuable and extensive 
farm coni|>rising five hundred and ninety- 
four acres on Sections 24 and 19. and 
he also has thirty-four acres on Section 
2f>, Huron township. He raises and 
feeds about fifty-five calves each year, and 
has also engaged extensively in raising 
horses. All of his land lies along the 
river Ixittoni exce])t the thirty-four-acrc 
tract of timber and, take it all. constitutes 
a beautiful farm, which is very rich and 
|iro<iuctive and is highly tilled. His 
methods are ])ractical, .systematic, and 
prove residtant factors in winning him 
success, and he is to-day accounted one 
111 the leading agriculturists of his coiu- 
nuinit) . 

.Mr. .Schultes w:is married l'\l). iS. iXOS. 
to Miss Emerence Worley. a daughter of 
Joseph and Harbara (Shinzer) Worley. 
and a native of I'.aden. Germany. They 
have one child. Tinney. who was born 
Ian. 14. iK()i). and an a(lo])ted daughter, 
.Mary, who was born .\pril 8. 1881, and is 
now the wife of Benjamin Luckinbill. 

Mr. Schultes is a stanch Rei)ublican in 



DES lilOIXES COUXrV. IOWA. 



103 



politics but lias lu-vcr sought or desired 
office, iJreferring to give his undivided at- 
tention to his business interests, in which 
he has met with signal success. He is now 
a member of Shepard Post, Grand Army 
of the Republic, Mediapolis, and thus 
maintains pleasant relations with his old 
army comrades. In all matters of citizen- 
ship he is as true and loyal to his country 
as when he followed the old flag upon 
southern battle-fields. In his religious 
faith he is a Catholic. His determination 
to seek a home in America was a wise one, 
for here he found improved business op- 
portunities, and by the utilization of the 
advantages which have come to him he 
has gradually worked his way upward 
from a humble financial position to one 
of affluence, and the young man of limited 
financial circumstances who arrived at 
New York in 1861 is now one of the pros- 
perous farmers of Huron township. 



ISAAC NEWTON McCLURE. 

The business interests of Alediapolis, 
Yellow Springs township, Des Moines 
county, are well represented by this gentle- 
man, whose enterprising spirit is in har- 
mony with the progressiveness of the West. 
He is a prosperous dealer in a general mer- 
cantile business in Mediapolis, and is one 
of the native sons of the county, his birth 
having occurred here Feb. i, 1844. His 
parents were William and Cynthia (Evans) 
McClure, and were among the very early 
pioneers of Des Moines county, settling in 
Yellow Springs township in i83<), where 
they entered from the government a tract 
of land about four miles north of Mediap- 
olis, upon which farm they resided for 



many years. Tliis worthy gentleman <lic(l 
in 1864, aged fifty years, and his wife 
passed awa\- in 1895, aged seventy-seven 
years. They liad led lives of great useful- 
ness, and their memories are still cherished 
by many throughout this section of the 
country. 

The subject of this review was reared 
on his father's farm, where he remained till 
he reached his majority. His parents gave 
him a liberal education, first sending him 
through the district school (if their town- 
ship, and later giving him a course of 
study in the schools of Mt. Pleasant. Iowa. 
.Still later he attended the Yellow Springs 
Academy, located in Kossuth, Iowa. These 
courses of study were of great value to 
Mr. McClure, and were the foundation of 
his mercantile success in life. 

In 1872, at the age of thirt\- years, j\lr. 
McClure entered upon mercantile pursuits, 
and the well-known firm of Ilrown & Mc- 
Clure was formed, which continued busi- 
ness for thirteen years. He then, with 
J. O. Roberts as partner, further continued 
the business, the firm doing business under 
the name of McClure & Compan_\-, which 
lasted for a period of seven years. 

The next three years this large house 
was run by I. N. McClure alone with great 
profit and success. Mr. McClure then took 
in Mr. A. J. Evans as a partner, and liung 
out the sign of McClure & Evans, which 
attracted the passer-by for five years, when 
the firm was again changed. For the past 
si.x years Mr. J. P. Helphrcy has been en- 
gaged in business with Mr. McClure, and 
to-day they do an important part of the 
business of the town, having a general 
store, which has been greatly enlargeil un- 
til it is now the Mammoth Store, both in 
name and nature, of that section of the 



I04 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFAIFAl' 



country. Every department is well filled 
witli a fine assortment of the best of p<x)ds, 
and are all in cliarjje of reliable and ac- 
commodating clerks. The numerous cus- 
tomers of this great department store, 
which resembles those of much larger 
cities, are not confined to the city of its 
location alone, as the trade reaches out 
over a vast territory of the country. 

Dec. I. i8()9, Mr. McLlurc became the 
husband nf .Miss Elizabeth Susan Parrett, 
a young lady of much ability and refine- 
ment, who is the daughter of Jo.seph and 
.Molcna (Carley) Parrett, of Greenfield, 
Ohio, liitn Mr. and Mrs. McClure three 
children have been lx)rn, all of whom are 
grown to maturity, and well settled in life, 
and are a great source of comfort to their 
parents. The children are as follows : 
Marcus P., a i'resbyterian minister, of 
.^(evens' Point. Wis.: Louie Maggie, mar- 
ried the Rev. Herbert W. Reherd, pastor 
of ISethany Church of Detroit, Mich.; 
and I'ranklin Evans, a successful and well- 
known ])liysician of .\eenah. Wis. 

In politics, Mr. McChire has always been 
a Ke]nil)lican, but has never aspired to any 
jjublic office. He and his wortiiy wife are 
respected and devoted members of the 
Presbyterian church, and are actively en- 
gaged in the advancement of religion. Mr. 
McClure is well and generally known and 
respected throughout the county as a man 
pos.sessing sterling business qualifications. 
He has always been much interested in any 
and all jirojects that would work a direct 
benefit to tiie town or counts . and has been 
a leader in contributing to any enterprise 
of worth or merit that would in any way be 
of assistance to the young people in his 
vicinity. His long term of years in such 
a large business has brought him in con- 



tact with hundreds of the residents of the 
surrounding country, who all hold him in 
the kindest regard and as a man above 
reproach. 



CASPER H. BREDER. 

.\.\io.\(; the sons of the Fatherland 
who have come to .America and won suc- 
cess and i)roniiiience. and at the same 
time been recognized as valued and 
worthy citizens of the communities in 
which they live, i.s numbered Casper H. 
Ilreder, who was born in Westphalia, 
(iermany. .\pril 5, 1826, and who now 
lives on his large farm in Benton town- 
■^hip. .Mr. I'lfeder was educated in Ger- 
many. an<l livetl there until he was twen- 
ty-six years of age. his parents dying in 
that cfiuntry. 

In 1S3J .Mr. r)reder came alone to the 
I'nited States, and arrived in \ew York 
City without any money, having to bor- 
row fifty cents from a friend to get to 
Lockport, X. V. Since that time he has, 
unaided and by his own efforts and tal- 
ents, clindied the ladder of success, his 
achievements forming a lesson in self- 
hel|) worthy of stuilious consideration by 
all younger men. He remained in Lock- 
port, for two years, after which he came 
to r.urlington, Iowa, where he worked 
as a laborer. Here his native thrift and 
good management were such that at the 
end of five years he was able to come to 
I'liUoii township, wluiH- lu- l)()ught a 
farm of oiie hundred and si.x acres, which 
he cleared. Later he sold that, and 
bought his present farm of one hundred 
and eighty-seven acres, besides other 
|)roperty. Here he has lived ever since. 




CASl'liK II. BKEUKR. 




MRS. ELIZABETH S. BREDER, 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



107 



constantly making improvenicnts. till Henry, lives in Franklin townshi]). and 

now he has one of the best-kept farms in carries on farming: John, owns a hotel 

the comnnmity. He has put up a large, and is in the real estate business at Hugo, 

substantial house with modern im])rove- I. 1".; and Tillie, who lives at home, 

ments and has erected other buildings as Henry married Louisa Alever, daughter 

need arose, all increasing the value of of Herman .Meyer, and thev are the par- 

the place, as well as adding to the com- ents of four children, Bessie, Clcll, Floyd, 

fort of living on it. .Mr. I'.reder has car- and L'rsula. John married Miss Mis- 

ried on general farming- and stock-rais- souri Pershing, a native of Pennsvlvania, 

ing successfully, and has owned other and has three children : X'erne, .Alice, anrl 

farms ; but as it took too much of his Harry. 

time, has sold out ;niil invested the pro- lioth Mr. l/ireder and his excellent wife 

ceeds differently, becoming a stockholder were members of the Evangelical church, 

in the Citizens' State Bank of Mediapolis, in which they were highly regarded as 

of which he is also a director. people whose lives kept close to their 

In 1865 Mr. Breder became interested professions, making religion sincere and 

in bee-keeping, and started them with one practical in every case. For a nmnber of 

or two stands. Liking bees, he has made years Mr. Breder has been a deacon in 

a study of improved methods, and from that church, and is known as an active 

the small beginning he increased it to and efficient official. In all questions af- 

one hundred stands, that in themselves fecting the public welfare, as well as in 

were valuable. A few years ago he sold his private life, Mr. Breder's influence has 

many of his stands ; but has increased always been on the side of strictest in- 

them to large proportions again, being in tegrity and morality. 

this as in all else successful in his under- He has always been active in local ])ol- 

taking. itics, serving the Republican ])arty in \ ari- 

Mr. Breder was married in Lockport, ous capacities, in which his energy and 

N. Y., in 1854. His wife was Elizabeth unwavering loyalty have been important 

Schaffer, who was also born in Germany, factors in its success, for he is possessed 

and came to the L'nited States the year of practical abilit}- of an unusual order, 

she was married. She was a worthy He enjoys vast popularity in his own 

helpmeet, as well as a loving companion communit}- and throughout I)es Moines 

to her husband through a married life of county, as is e\idenced b\- the fact that 

forty-seven years, helping him through although he has never sought for polit- 

the struggle of the early \cars, and en- ical ])referment, he has been repeatedly 

joying with him the fruits of their laljors, called upon to fill .some of the minor offi- 

in later years. She de])arled this life ces, such as were within the jjower of his 

July 25, 1901, at the home place. She neighbors to bestow upon him. The ca- 

was the mother of six children. Of these reer of this sturdy citizen of our great 

one died in infancy, Louis died at the commonwealth is and should be full of 

age of six years, and Elizabeth at the age insjiiration for all young men, especially 

of two. The three living children are: lor those who depend for advancement 



io8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ii])iin their own efforts ami devotion to 
duty. 

He has made his way in the world by 
his own efforts, and by liis in<lnstry. He 
lias done his lull share toward making 
the country what it is to-dav. 



HERMAN G. MARQUARDT. 

In the field of political life and com- 
mercial activity Herman G. Marquardt has 
won distinction, and to-day is numbered 
among the leading influential and honored 
citizens of lUirlington. In his business ca- 
reer his efforts have been so discerningly 
directed along well-defined lines of labor 
that he seems tn ha\c realized at any one 
point of progress the full nuasure of his 
possibilities for accomplishment at that 
point, and the line of achievement with him 
has ever been the path of honor. He is, 
however, a director of public thought and 
opinion in jjolitical circles, and one who has 
wielded a wide influence. The consensus of 
public opinion and the evidence of history 
shows that there has been no more efficient 
mayor of Burlington than Herman G. Mar- 
quardt. 

He was born in the province of Posen. 
Prussia, Germany, April 20, 1853. His 
father, John G. Marquardt, born in the 
kingdom of Prussia, afterward established 
his home in that part known as the province 
of Posen. During the greater part of his 
life he was a she])lKr(i. He served in the 
Prussian army in the revolution of 1848, 
and in his later years he was again a shejv 
herd. In 1864 he came to .America, leaving 
Germany on account of tiie anti])athy that 



e.xisted in that country for his religious 
views. He was a Baptist, and determined 
to make his home in .America, where one has 
freedom to worship (jocI according to the 
dictates of his conscience. He located first 
in Goshen, Ind., living there for a few 
months during the time of the Lincoln and 
the McClellan campaign. He afterward 
went to Bloomington. III., anrl worked for 
the Chicago & .Alton Railroad, his death 
occurring in that city in 1875. His wife, 
who in her maidenhood was Johanna Dor- 
othy Bloch, died in 1872. They had but 
two children who reached mature years: 
Herman G. and Carl Louis, the latter now 
pastor of the Baptist church at St. Joseph, 
Mich. 

Herman G. .Manpiardt was a youth of 
eleven years when he came with his parents 
to the New World. He pursued his educa- 
tion in the common schools of Germany and 
of this country and also in a business col- 
lege at Bloomington, 111. Subsequently he 
worked in the shops of the Chicago & Alton 
Railroad Company at that place as an em- 
ployee in the coach dei)artment. Previously 
lie engaged in clerking. He was with the 
railroad comjiany for about four years, when 
he removed to I'urlingfton on account of his 
health. He was with the Orchard City 
Wagon Company for a short time, then em- 
barked in the grocery business at the corner 
of Osborn Street and .Agency Avenue, 
w here for three years he was connected with 
Chris Jordon, IT" has continuously engaged 
in the grocery trad? for a (|uarter of a cen- 
tury, and, with the i'xcei)tion of three years, 
has been alone in business. For about 
eighteen years he has been located at No. 
1500 Osborn Street. He has practically 
built his home and store on this corner. He 
Keeps enlarging the place in order to accom- 



DBS MOf.MlS COUXTV. IOWA. 



niodate his growing; business, his investment 
in buildings alone anioiniting to alxuit fifteen 
thousand dollars. He is now i)roprietor of 
one of the largest grocery houses of the city, 
and his patronage is steadily increasing, for 
he enjo\s an unassailable reputation for re- 
liability, as well as for the excellent grade 
of goods which he carries. 

On New Year's eve, Dec. t,i. 1874, at 
Eloomington, 111.. Mr. Marquardt was mar- 
ried to Miss Hedwig Kietzmann. a native of 
Germany. There are six children living: 
Herman : Charles ^^'.. who married Nettie 
Lohmann, and has a daughter, Dorothy ; 
John Henry, who is a graduate of the high 
school : Clara : Lydia, who was educated in 
the high school and a business college of 
Burlington ; and Herbert, who is attending 
grammar school. Herman, Charles, and 
John are assisting their father in the grocery 
business. 

The parents are members of the Baptist 
church, active and influential in its work, 
and for nineteen years Mr. Marquardt was 
■superintendent of the Sunday-school. He 
has served on the school board of Burling- 
ton for six years, w^as its president for one 
term, has been chairman of the teachers" 
committee, and also served on the high 
school committee, and it was during his in- 
cumbency that the west high school was 
built. 

He was elected councilman at large for 
two years on the Democratic ticket, and 
while serving as a member of the board of 
aldermen was chairman of the claims and 
other committees, including the police com- 
mittee and the judiciary committee. He 
served from 1898 until 1900, and in the 
latter year was elected mayor, being re- 
elected in 1902, both times as a candidate of 
the Democracy. He has frequently attended 



the State conventions of his jiarty as a del- 
egate, and his opinion and counsel are highly 
valued by his political colleagues, both in 
State and county. 

His administration of municipal affairs 
was most beneficial to Burlington ; in fact, 
liis incumbency covered one of the most pro- 
gressive periods in the city's history, largely 
owing to his ])ractical efforts in its behalf. 
Franchises were granted to the People's 
Cas Light & Electric Company, street rail- 
way, also to the Citizen.s' Water Company 
lo operate the water plant, but the term of 
the lighting contract having expired, a new 
lighting contract was made. Many public 
improvements and reforms were instituted 
and carried forward to successful comple- 
tion. Mr. Marquardt was particularly care- 
ful concerning the expenditures of public 
moneys. He advised public conferences be- 
fore measures were finally adopted, and 
during the term of four years the bonded 
debt was reduced one hundred thousand 
dollars, this representing the largest re- 
duction ever made in the same period in the 
city's history. He kept himself well in- 
formed concerning the financial condition 
of the city, and insisted upon the expendi- 
tures being kept within the revenues, 
promptly vetoing any measure that would 
exceed the tax levy or appropriation. He 
was a strong advocate of permanent im- 
provement, the effect of which would be 
lasting. 

Mr. Marquardt is a con.servative man, 
and yet never hesitates to uphold progress- 
ive measures when his sound judgment 
sanctions. He is extremely practical, as 
shown in his business, political, and social 
life, and there is no man in Burlington who 
commands more uniform confidence and re- 
spect than does Herman G. Marquardt. 



I lO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



WILLIAM H. SMITH. 

William H. Smith, one of the early 
settlers of Des Moines county, and now 
a venerable citizen of almost eijjlUy years, 
was born in (ireen county. Illinois, Jan. 
20, 1826, his i)arents beinjj Jeremiah 
.Smith, Jr.. and ICllen .M. (I'otts) Smith. 
The father was born in I'ickaway county, 
Ohio, and i)ecanie a resident of Illinois 
at an early day in its development, set- 
tling in (jreen county, where he jjiir- 
chascd a tract of land and engaged in 
farming. P'or a sliort time he was also 
engaged in merchandizing at Whitehall, 
Green cminly. and he remained a resident 
of Illinois until 1H33, when he came to 
I'lurhngton. There he followed mercan- 
tile pursuits, being what was then known 
as an Iiulian trader. He bought their 
furs, which they brought in from a broad 
e.xtent of territory, selling them goods in 
return. He was located on Front Street, 
a little north of Columbia, at the time of 
his coming there being only one other 
store in the place. lie was well ac- 
(|uainted with lllack Hawk and all the 
other noted Indians, and entertained 
I'dack Hawk and his wife many times. 
He also had a strong inlluence with the 
Indians — more than any other man who 
ever lived about here. 

Later, as the Indian trade diminished, 
and the country became settled, he con- 
tinued as a gener.il merchant. .As gov- 
ernment contractor he built the grist-mill 
for the Indians south of Agency City. 
He also purchased a farm two miles west 
of the city, giving a part of his time to 
its cultivation and improvement. He 
had three hundred acres of land, the 
greater ])art of which In- li.id ])urchased 



and liuilt a house on before moving to 
llurlington. Later he ])ut a ])art of it 
under cultivation. He made all the im- 
provements upon that pro])erty. and it 
was his home uj) to the tinu of his death, 
which occurred in 1852. when he was 
fifty years of age. tjeneral farming, 
stock-raising, and general merchandizing 
elaimi'd his time an<l energies, and he was 
known as a most enterprising, reliable, 
and successful business man. 

His ])olitical allegiance was given to 
the Democracy: and. well fitted for lead- 
ership, he was several times elected to 
the .State Legislature. He served as a 
member of the Legislature when its ses- 
sions were held at (ireen l>ay. Wis., trav- 
eling by land and camping out on the 
trip. The country was not settled, at 
that time Iowa being a part of Wisconsin 
Territory. He was also a member of the 
House after Iowa Ix-came a State, and he 
erected a building in Uurlington in which 
the sessions of the Legislature were held 
for some time. This building, whicii 
stood beside his store, was destroyed by 
tire during the first session of the Legis- 
lature. 

He was a man of superior individuality, 
firm in his convictions, and of strong |)ur- 
|)oses, anil he left his imjiress for good 
upon the legislation of the State and its 
ileveloi)ment along other lines. .\t the 
time of the I'.lack Hawk war he joined 
the army, serving until the close of hos- 
tilities. A part of his farm is com])rised 
in what is now known as Smith's addi- 
tion to tlu' city of Uurlington. and ])art 
of which is still owned by William H. 
Smith. His wife, who was I)orn in Ohio, 
became a resident of Illinois at a verv 
earlv dav, and was there married. She 



DBS MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



1 1 1 



was a (lc\'oteil iiu'iiiher of llic Alctlnulisl 
church, and departed this life al)Out 1885. 
In their family were eiijht children, of 
whom seven are yet living, namely : 
William II.; George F., deceased; Sam- 
uel; Etna, the widow of William Masl ; 
Amelia, the widow of A. T. Hay; Iowa 
J.; Lycurgus; and .\dna. who resides in 
Burlington. The four eldest were horn 
in Illinois, and the others in llurlington. 
Iowa J. Smith was said to he the first 
white child horn in the territorv of Iowa, 
after which it was given its name. 

William H. Smith was a lad of seven 
years when, in the fall of 1833, he came 
with his parents to Iowa. He accpiired 
his education in the common schools of 
Burlington, and worked u])on the home 
farm when not busy with his te.xt-hooks. 
After completing his education, his en- 
tire attention was given to the labors of 
field and meadow, and he remained at 
home until thirty years of age. when he 
took charge of his father's farm !iear 
Burlington. He also engaged in the 
manufacture of brick in the city for sev- 
eral years, and a year prior to his father's 
death he. with his father, purchased a 
farm in Jackson township, comprising 
six hundred and fort}' acres of land. He 
])laced all of the improvements here, and 
made it a splendid jaroperty, and a part of 
it is now owned by his brother Sanuiel. 
William H. Smith, however, cultivated 
the land for about ten years, and then 
went to Idaho, where he engaged in min- 
ing for four years. He was one of the 
first miners in Boise county, and his 
venture there proved successful. He left 
Burlington in May, 1862, and drove a mule 
team through, they being three months 
on the journey from t'ouneil Ithifts to 



I'owder River, on the eastern Iioundary 
of Oregon, the first mining cam]) they 
came to, and then was in the rush to 
I'loise county, Idaho, where he obtained 
good ])lacer diggings, and remaineil till 
1865. He retiuMied to Burlington by way 
of the isthmus, where he followed the 
trade of carpentering, and also gave a 
part of his time to thecultixation and de- 
\elopment of the farm, which is now 
owned by his brother .Sanuiel. .Mr. Smith 
is the owner of a number of dwellings 
and other i)roperty in Burlington, which. 
he rents, and receives therefrom a good 
income; but for the past decade he has 
li\'ed with his brother on the farm, and 
his attention is largely given to its im- 
])rovement. He is also extensively engaged 
ill the production of honey, giving much 
study and attention to the modern methods 
of handling bees. 

Ill his political views William H. Smith 
is a Republican, and for several years he 
has held the office of justice of the peace, 
lieing the present incumbent in that po- 
sition. He is a member of the .Methodist 
church, having filled dilTerent offices, and 
has led an upright, honorable life, com- 
mending him to the confidence and good- 
will of those with whom he has Ijcen 
associated. 

Samuel .Smith was born at Whitehall, 
111., and when a year old came to Iowa, 
since which time he has lived in Des 
Moines county, accpiiring his education 
in the schools of Burlington. He has al- 
ways been a farmer, devoting his time 
and attention to agricultural pursuits 
throughout his entire life. He purchased 
his present farm in Jackson township 
from his brother William, and here he 
has since lived. 



112 



filOCR.IPHIt.lL Kl:l Jhll- 



WILLIAM E. JONES. 

'I'liK aljiivc name is one thai is familiar 
ti> till- citizens of Dcs Moines county, for 
it belongs to one of the oldest residents of 
Washington townshi]), who is now retired 
from the iliities which have so lon.:^ en- 
grossed his attention as a farmer and stock- 
raiser. He was born in Wales. May 3, 
1826, and when thirteen years of age. went 
t<j the city of Liver))oi>l, where he remained 
till 111- was twenty-one years of age, bein^j 
eiii^aged [)art of the time as employee in 
the (Jueen's tobacro warehouse. He then 
came to America, and after landing in .\ew 
York was emjiloyed for a time as a steam- 
boat hand ; remained there for a short 
time, and then went to .Madison, Conn., 
where he was engaged for two years on a 
sloop transporting ijotatoes to New York. 
His next move w-as to the South, where he 
located in .\ew Orleans, and secured em- 
ployment in the gas wocks, and also fol- 
lowed steamboating for some time. 

In 1850 he settled ])ermanently in Iowa. 
;nui in 1852 purchased one hundred ami 
si.xty acres on Section 24. in Washington 
township, Des Moines county, where he 
at once became an active farmer and pros- 
perous stock-raiser. He soon sold eighty 
acres, and later bought ten more, making 
ninety and one-half acres. .Mr. Jones trans- 
formed this hare and wild ])lace into one of 
beaut) and cultivation. liiV Ikiuic, barn, 
and other necessary farni buildings are 
good and durable, and to-day both field 
and meadow yield rich golden harvests. 

Sept. 2, 1852, Mr. Jones married .Miss 
Elizabeth Morris, who was also born in 
Wales, and came to .\nierica when a yo.'ug 
girl with her parents, who located in the 
State of ( )liio. In 1X41 they came to Iowa, 



and settled in {-"ranklin township, Des 
.Moines county, where her father carried 
on farming and blacksmithing for many 
years. I^ter they moved to Louisa county, 
where Mr. Morris died, Nov. 11, 1869. 
March 16, 1899, Mrs. Jones passed away 
at the home ])lace, at the age of seventy- 
one years and eight months. She was a 
member of the Congregational church, a 
kind and loving mother, a devoted wife, 
and a true friend. 

Mrs. Jones left the following six chil- 
dren: William M., resides in .Mt. Union, 
Henry county, where he is engaged as a 
farmer. He married Miss Clara Lusk, and 
they have seven children: Elmer .M., Wal- 
ter .M., Lincoln O., Harry, .\letha H., Ri:th 
L'., and Delia. John E. married .Miss 
lunma .Muelkerson. and has two children: 
Elsie M. and Leila 15. He is a traveling 
man residing in Winfield, Henry county. 
Mary is the wife of William H. Myers, 
who was born in \'ellow Springs township, 
and is a son of Richard and Henrietta 
Myers. Mr. and Mrs. Myers reside with 
the parents of .Mrs. Myers on the home 
place, and thus relieve the duties of Mr. 
Jones. Sarah J. is the wife of John C. 
I'ye, of Washington township, and is the 
mother of one son, .Morris C. .\nna L. is 
now Mrs. A. H. Featherby, of Yarmouth. 
Iowa, where Mr. I'^eatherhy has a hard- 
ware store. Lincoln H. lives in Nebraska. 
Ill- married .Miss .\nna I've, and they have 
two daughters, .Vgnes and Dorothy. .\11 
the above-named children were born in 
Washington township on the home place. 

Politically, .Mr. Jones is a strong Repub- 
lican, and has held nearly all the townshi]) 
offices, and those of road supervi.sor antl 
.school director for many years, attending 
to all duties in a verv satisfactorv manner. 



DBS MOIXliS COl'XTV. lOir.l. 



He is a devoted and conscicntiinis niem!)er 
of the Con,q;reg"ational church, and lives up 
to his Christian profession in all walks of 
life. 

Besides the beautiful farm mentioned in 
this review, Mr. Jones also has eighty acres 
of land in Henry county, Iowa, and also 
eighty acres in Washington township on 
Section 34. He truly is a self-made man. 
Starting in life as a steamboat hand, liy his 
untiring energy and perseverance he has 
progressed step b\- stcj). till to-day, in the 
evening of life, he has accumulated a com- 
fortable competence, and is able to live in 
retirement, and thus enjoy the labor of his 
early life. He also possesses those quali- 
ties which have insured the making of 
friends whose esteem and confidence he 
enjoys to an unusual degree. 



DAVID WILLIAM DAVIS. 

David William D.wls, who claims \'ir- 
ginia as his native home, and who owes all 
his prosperity to his own willing hands, in- 
tegrity, untiring energy, and conscientious 
dealings with his co-laborers in life, is a 
son of David William and Catherine (Cur- 
ran) Davis, and was born in iMartinsburg, 
\'a., Aug. 17, 1823. His parents had 
eight children : James : John : George ; Eliza 
(Mrs. Solomon Morgan): Julia, deceased: 
Ann Amelia (Mrs. James Kilmer) : an un- 
named infant, deceased : and David William, 
subject of this review. The parents died 
within six months of each other, when 
David was but seven years old. and on this 
account his education was very limited, 
though he well remembers the little old log 
cabin in which the school was held. 



.\ short time after the death of his ]iar- 
ents he was bound out to a man by the name 
cif William .Xble, but on account of the 
unkind treatment he received, his brothers 
were compelled to take him away, and 
settle him in his brother John's home, wliere 
he remained for five years : and when about 
nineteen years old, he was apprenticed to 
his brother George, who was a tailor. After 
completing this trade he was a journeyman 
for a number of years, but growing rest- 
less at this he worked for a while for his 
brother John, who was a butcher. Want- 
ing to see something of W'ashington City, 
he determined to go. arriving there the day 
James K. Polk took his seat as president 
of the Inited States. Here he spent six 
months working in a butcher sho]\ but 
was not contented, and so returned to his 
native home in \'irginia. When about 
twenty-five years old he moved West, lo- 
cating on a farm in \'ellow Springs town- 
ship, Des }doines county, Iowa. lu 1849 
he was seized with the gold fever, and 
started to California with a Mr. Veich and 
John Hunt. They went overland, and thus 
saw much of the country, as well as experi- 
encing some thrilling times. There was 
scarcely a day that they did not meet or 
encounter some Indians. One day a man 
in their emigrant train from Illinois, who 
had no love for the Indians, swore he would 
kill the first one he saw. Soon after say- 
ing this he saw a redskin sitting on a large 
ledge of rocks sunning himself, and taking 
deliberate aim, he shot and killed the Indian. 
The tribe to which the dead Indian be- 
longed consisted of about two hundred, and 
w-ere camped close by where the shooting 
occurred. In a short time up rode the 
chief and a band of his tribe and demanded 
the paleface that killed their Indian. .As 



114 



BIOGRAI'lllCAL REllEW 



the emigrants refused at first to give up 
their man. tlie cliief at once took all of their 
stock and supplies away. . This step on the 
jiart of the chief crippled the progress of 
the emigrants very much, who held an- 
other hasty conference and decided to give 
up the man, which they were very sorry 
to do. The red men then returned all stock 
and supplies confiscated in a half hour, and 
the unfortunate man was hoppled and put 
on a pole hitched to a pony, and drawn at 
a terrible rate over the plains, and this was 
the last seen or heard of him. 

Reacliing California. .Mr. Davis remained 
six years, and was engaged mostly in min- 
ing; but on account of bad luck overtaking 
him he was compelled to work at his trade. 
In 1855 he returned to Burlington, making 
this city his home ever since. During the 
year i860 our subject opened a meat 
market in the building where the central 
fire department is now located, where he 
continued business for five years, when he 
sold out. After this he worked for a num- 
ber of years at the butcher-shops of sev- 
eral different men till about 1900, when he 
virtually retired from active business. 

Mr. Davis was married Oct. 4. 1849, to 
Miss Amanda Patterson, daughter of 
Robert and .Maria (Hukill) Patterson. 
This union was blessed with three children : 
Prudence died when eighteen years old : 
Robert Franklin, and Ada Maria (Mrs. 
Willis Carson), both of Oskaloosa. Iowa. 
I'nth our subject and his worthy wife arc 
consistent members of the Methodist church. 
Politically, Mr. Davis is a strong Democrat, 
and has always tried to serve his party to the 
best of his ability in a private capacity. 
This aged couple have lived in their pres- 
ent home. 161 1 .\gency Street, since 1855. 
The first house he built Innned in 1866, and 



soon afterward he built his present brick 
house, which is a model of neatness and 
home pleasantness. Such a large portion 
of Mr. Davis's life having been spent in this 
iocality, his history is therefore largely 
familiar to his fellow townsmen, who rec- 
ognize the fact that his has been an honor- 
able career, worthy of their respect, con- 
fidence, and regard. 



JOHN L. THOMAS. 

< )ni; fact that stands out prominently 
in the history of the .American re])ublic. 
and has been illustrated again and again 
in the lives of her peo])le, is that she owes 
much of her greatness and supremacy to 
the enerfi;y. indomitable will ])Ower, and 
cnmmanding moral character of citizens 
who trace their origin to foreign lands. 

John L. Tlmnias, a well-known resident 
of Mediapolis, Iowa, is a native of South 
Wales, born near .Xewcastle, and is a son 
of Daxid and .Mary (Lloycl) Thomas, his 
father being a farmer in his native coun- 
try. \\ hen a boy, the subject of this 
sketch left the paternal home, and en- 
gaged in any kind of work that came to 
his hand. IJeing of an ingenious turn 
of mind, he worked at many occupations, 
and mastered the trade of stone-mason 
without serving a regular apprenticeship. 

Deciding to try his fortunes in the New 
World, he came to .\merica in 1854, lo- 
cating first at Newark. ( )hio. where he 
engaged in work as a stone-mason. From 
there he removed to Louisa county, Iowa, 
working at the same trade in Columbus 
City. In September. 185''), he removed to 
Des Moines counl\ . where he worked on 




m 



//A>vu < (/A^~^^^x, 



d^ 



DES MOINES COUXTV. IOWA. 



a farm in Section 8, P'ranklin township, 
and afterward rented a farm for a num- 
ber of years. 

His first purcliase of lantl was forty 
acres in Section X, I'ranklin townshi]j. to 
which he added by subsequent purchases 
until lie had a farm of two hundred and 
eighteen acres. (Jn this place he lived 
until 18S4. when he sold out and retired 
from farming', removing to Mediapolis, 
which has ever since been his home. 

He has also become tlie owner of val- 
uable ])roperty in Alediapolis. and in i8<;o 
built the first bank building, and organ- 
ized the first banking institution, in this 
village. This is known as the State Bank 
of Mediapolis, and he was elected and 
served on its board of directors. In the 
fall and winter of i8<)5-c)6 he organized 
the Citizens' State Bank of ]\Iediapolis, 
of which he has ever since been president. 
Both of these institutions are considered 
the strongest banking houses in this part 
of the State. 

He is a Republican in politics, and a 
warm supporteF of that party's princi- 
ples. Though not an aspirant for polit- 
ical honors, he has taken an active interest 
in local affairs, and has served as town- 
ship trustee. He has often been a dele- 
gate to county and State conventions, and 
was a delegate" to the convention that 
nominated Governor Shaw. He has al- 
ways been devoted to the cause of ptib- 
lic improvements, and was the builder of 
the Dudley Hotel in 1903-04, wdiich was 
named in honor of his wife. He has been 
a liberal supporter of religion, gi\'ing 
generously on all occasions, irrespective 
of creed and denomination. 

Upon mo\ing to Mediapolis he virtu- 
allv retired from business, except that he 



continued to look after his own pro[jerty 
interests, which were very extensive. He 
is one of the largest property owners of 
Mediapolis and that vicinity. The cor- 
rectness and accnrac}' of his business 
foresight ma\' be instanced in connection 
with the building of the Dudley Hotel, in 
1903, for he executed this project against 
the advice of many leading citizens, and 
}et the investment has ])roved to be one 
of the wisest and most profitable he ever 
made. 

In November, 1881, Mr. Thomas was 
married to Mary A., daughter of David 
and Martha (Evans) Dudley, and a na- 
tive of Licking county, Ohio. David 
Dudley was also a native of Wales, and 
emigrated to this country in 1842. select- 
ing Licking county, (Jhio, as his place of 
settlement. 

Mr. Thomas's success in life is a good 
illustration of what can be accomplished 
by industry, integrity, frugalit}', close at- 
tention to business, and good manage- 
ment. When he came to .\merica his sole 
capital was good heahli. correct morals, 
and an earnest determination to succeed. 
To-day he is enjoying the fruits of a well- 
spent life, a life lived in accordance with 
the rules he earh- laid down for his guid- 
ance, and is in the possession of a com- 
fortable competence. 

In Alay, 1886, he and his wife started 
for a well-earned holiday, visiting various 
parts of ^^'ales and England, and spend- 
ing three months on the trip. When he 
emigrated to America he came in a sail- 
ing vessel which took five w'eeks and 
three days to make the passage across 
the .Atlantic. ( )n his return to his native 
land he crossed in eleven days, a good 
illustration of modern progress. 



ii8 



BIOGRAPHICAL RElIEir 



Mr. Thomas is well known and iii)j;hlv 
esteemed in Des Moines county, and 
wherever he is known. He has always 
been considered as one of the leading 
business lights of this part of the county. 



HON. ELLISON SMITH. 

Hon. Ellison Smith, in whose life 
record there is much tliat commands the 
highest praise, and wliose meiiiory is dear 
to a large circle of friends who knew and 
honored him during his active life, was 
one of the noble figures in the history and 
development of this section of Iowa, 
being known throughout Des Moines 
cminly, and in a measure throughout the 
State, as one who was singularly devoted 
to all that might conduce to the moral 
and spiritual advancement of mankind, as 
well as being always among the lirst to 
aid any worthy movement for the material 
upbuilding of the community in which 
he made his home. He was born at 
Skipton, in Yorkshire, England, March 8, 
1825, the third of a family of ten children, 
son of I'eter and Martlia (Ellison) Smith, 
and acc<inii)aiiir(l ]ii> parents to .\inerica 
in 1835. 

The father, who was also a native of 
Yorkshire, was by trade a miller, follow- 
ing that occupation in I-".ngl;nul ; but on 
coming to America he purchased a farm 
of three hundred acres three miles south 
of r.urlington, Iowa, and devoted himself 
to agriculture. Cira])pling with the hard 
problems of ])ioneer life and frontier con- 
ditions, he cleared away the encumbering 
forests, freed the jiroductive forces of the 
soil, erected buildings, and establisheil a 



home for himself and his family. It was 
here that he resided until the lime of his 
death, which occurred in 1870, at the age 
of seventy-five years. He was a member 
of the Episcopal church, maintaining this 
connection through life, and while he was 
always wisely conservative in all things, 
he was a friend of true ])rogress, and at- 
tained a gratifying degree of pecuniary 
prosperity. The mother of Ellison 
Smith was also a native of England, and 
she attained to the age of eighty-one 
years, her death occurring in 1881. She 
is survived by five children, all of whom 
are residents of the Middle West. 

Mr. Smith obtained his formal educa- 
tion almost, wholly in his native country, 
the only schooling which he received sub- 
sc{|uent to his tenth year being that of a 
si.x weeks' term in the jiublic schools of 
liurlington township, Des Moines county. 
Despite the meagerness of his early ad- 
vantages, however, he formed a taste for 
reading, which he always retained, antl 
through habits of reflection and intelli- 
gent observation he became possessed of 
the extensive knowledge and broad views 
which made him a man of true and uni- 
versal culture. With the exceiUion of a 
short ])erio(l, during which he learned and 
worked at the brickmaker's trade, he re- 
mained with his |)arents until his twenty- 
sixth year. 

( )n .\i)ril 9, 1851, he was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Mary .\. Hunt, d.iughter of 
Jesse and Delinda ( Kirki)atrick ) Hunt. 
The father of Mrs. Smith wa> i)orn June 
20, 1807, at Knoxville, Tenn., whence he 
removed with his parents to Illinois when 
only five years of age. The family lo- 
cated in llond county, where they en- 
g.'iged in farming, and where the yoimg 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



119 



son was (.'ducatL'd in tlie pnhlic school. 
Later he was em])loye(l upon the home 
farm until he was twenty-two years of 
age, at which time his marriage took 
place, and he began independent farming 
operations in Illinois. This he continued 
until 1834, when he removed to Iowa, 
choosing a location at what was then 
known as Flint Hills, and is now included 
within the corjjorate limits of the city of 
lUirlington. There he purchased the 
farm which is at present occupied by his 
only son, John I'.., and there he resided 
continuously until his death, which oc- 
curred July 16, 1893, 

He was the owner of five hundred acres 
of valuable land in Des Moines county, 
comprising some of the richest agricul- 
tural tracts in the middle Mississippi val- 
ley. He was a member, and a generous, 
loyal supporter of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and as a man of great pub- 
lic spirit, he felt a genuine interest in 
political questions, acting from principle 
with the Democratic party. His wife, 
who, like himself, was a devoted member 
of the Methodist Episcopal denomination, 
died June 25, 1871, at the age of sixty- 
three years. She was born at Madison, 
111., a daughter of Francis and ^lary ( Gil- 
lum) Kirkpatrick. Her father was a 
native of Georgia, whence he came to 
Illinois immediately upon his marriage, 
making the journey in company with a 
number of other pioneers, and traveling 
overland by teams. He was of old colo- 
nial ancestry, and the great-grandfather of 
Mrs. Smith, widow of our subject, was a 
soldier of the Revolutionary War. losing 
his life in the southern branch of the 
service. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Smith were born six 



children, all of whom sur\ive. .Mice is 
the wife of jnhn Cavenee, a ranchman 
and stock-raiser of ISroken How, Xebr., 
and they have one son, Paul. By a 
former marriage to J. .\. Wright. .\1. D., 
who died in 1882. she has another son, 
Ray I'xhvord. Samuel .V., who is a farmer 
at W'ilsey, Kan., married Miss Orlena 
t\Trel, of Danville, Iowa, and they have 
one child, Jesse C. Jesse M., now a mer- 
chant at I'rovo, Utah, married Miss Etta 
Seamons, and has one daughter, Mary. 
Virginia is the wife of H. T. Catlin, who 
is engaged in railroad work at Hutchin- 
son. Kans., and they have one son, Carl, 
Walter E., now a farmer of Xorth Platte, 
Xebr., married Miss Cora Peterson, of 
Dan\ille, and they have two sons. Paul 
and Hugh. Jean P., youngest child of 
Mr. and Mrs. .Smith, was born Jan. 12, 
1867. and after completing the work of 
the public schools of Danville, matricu- 
lated and ])ursued a course of study in 
Parsons College, at I'airfield, Iowa. On 
leaving college in 1886, he went to Jewell 
City, Kans., and engaged in the banking 
business, continuing there with success 
for five years. In i8()i he removed to 
Kansas City, Mo., and was there con- 
nected as chief clerk with the Xational 
Bank of Commerce for a period of six 
years. After two years spent in Danville, 
he formed a connection with Armour & 
Company, at Omaha, for a further two 
years, and then returned to Danville, 
where he has resided continuously since, 
engaged in the care and supervision of 
the old home farm. He is possessed of 
great natural gifts, and holds a high and 
enviable place in the general esteem, both 
for his ability and for the ])robity of his 
personal character. 



BIOGR.IPIUCAL REI -inW 



liniiK-diatily after his niarriafjc to Miss 
llunt Mr. Smith removed to Danville 
townshij), purchasing there a farm on 
which they resided for eleven years. In 
i8'>5 they ajjain removed, estahlishinjj 
their home in the village of Danville, and 
also ])urchase(l a farm of one hundred 
acres witliin the ])resent corporate bound- 
aries of the village. This new home was 
the place of .Mr. .Smith's residence during 
the remainiler of his life, aiid here he 
gave much attention to farming accord- 
ing t(j the most modern and a])provcd 
scientific methods. To him very largL-ly 
is due llie magnificent system of soil 
drainage which has added so much to the 
value of agricultural lands in Dcs Moines 
county, and for a number of years he en- 
gaged in the sale of tiling as part df his 
regular business. He also built the ele- 
vator at Danville, and entered the grain 
business on an extensive scale, continu- 
ing to conduct the enterprise with signal 
success until his death. lie was re- 
sourceful, progressive, and alert, and in 
whatever he , attempted his achievement 
was sure to be more than ordinarily not- 
able, and of enduring value and signifi- 
cance. 15y the ])urity and strength of his 
character he commanded the unqualified 
confidence of the peo|)le, and as a lead- 
ing member of the Democratic ])arty, 
with which he was closely identified dur- 
ing the major portion of his active life, 
he exercised a widespread and intimate 
inthunce upon the ])ublic alTairs of his 
tinu'. 

In 1889 Des Moines county chose him 
as its representative in the State Legis- 
lature of Iowa, and in this capacity he 
serveil his fellow-citizens fnr two years, 
with great credit to himself and l;isting 



benefits to his constituency. He was al- 
ways active 'in the c<induct of townshi|> 
aflairs, ami was for many ye.'irs a town- 
ship scho<jl director, for he was aii ear- 
nest advocate of the State public school 
system, believing that therein lay the 
foundation for the perpetuity of the State 
and popular government. In addition to 
his more immediate business and pul>lic 
interests, he was extensively connected 
with I'.urlington institutions, and the uni- 
form saneness and correctness of his 
opinions rendered his counsel widely 
sought in financial circles. .\ natural 
leader of iiKii. all looked to him for guid- 
ance in times of doubt and crisis, and 
desjiite the stress and jjressure of his 
private aflfairs, none ever ap])ealed to him 
in vain. Himself no sectarian, his entire 
life was molded upon the highest moral 
])rinci])les, and was in close accord with 
the myriad ujiward tendencies of human 
society. 

Mr. Smith \va> an es])ecially |)o])ular 
man among the higher classes. I'.usiness 
men admired the masterly ability which 
won him success in the world of action. 
His unimpeachable character stood for 
great ])rinci])les which have left their im- 
])ress upon the community ; and the de- 
votion to his home life, which was one 
of the strongest of his characteristics, in- 
stinctively appealed to all who revere the 
highest and holiest of relations. The 
moral and mental purpose of his life will 
li\e beyond the brief ])eriod which com- 
]jasscd his existence, and still inlluence 
and u|)lift his fellow-men. He died July 
3, i8<^3, sixty-eight years of age, and 
his remains rest in Aspen drove cem- 
etery, at I'.urlington. Mrs. Smith is a 
ple.'isant kuly of distinguished ability an<l 



DRS MO/XHS COUXT)-. lOir.l. 



121 



many social s^races, and licr lionu- is the 
center of a generous Init refined and (|uiet 
iiiispitality. 



HOWARD A. MATHEWS. 

Howard A. Mathews, who for the third 
term is filhng the position of county super- 
intendent of schools, and whose labors have 
been effective in raising the standard of 
public instruction in Des Moines county, 
was born in Danville township, Sept. 27, 
1866. His father, Henry C. Mathews, was 
born in Michigan during a brief residence 
of his parents there. They had come from 
New York to the Middle West, and re- 
moved from Michigan to Illinois, and later 
to Des Moines county, Iowa. The grand- 
father was a millwright by trade, and was 
interested in pioneer days, in establishing 
mills at Lowell, Henry county, a few miles 
south of Danville, one on either side of the 
Skunk River, and operated by water power. 
For many years he was thus identified with 
the early industrial development _of this 
part of the State, while later he turned his 
attention to farming. He was also one of 
the early school teachers of the State, and 
his labors proved an important factor in 
promoting progress and upbuilding here. 
He died on his farm, aged seventy-six. 

Henry C. Mathews, father of Professor 
Mathews, was only two years old when 
brought by his parents to Des Moines 
county, and under the parental roof he was 
reared amid pioneer environments. After 
arriving at years of maturity he married 
Miss Cyrene E. Dodds, who was born in 
this county. Their wedding was celebrated 
in Danville, March 19, 1864, and they began 
their domestic life upon a farm. Mr. 



Mathews was engaged in agricultural pur- 
suits throughout his entire life. He owned 
four hundred acres of land in Danville 
township, constituting a valuable farm, and 
he was also active in community interests, 
serving as township trustee for many years 
and otherwise supporting progressive and 
beneficial measures for the general good. 
His political support was given to the Re- 
publican party and he was a consistent 
member of the Congregational church. He 
died in 1897, at the age of sixty-two years, 
and his widow still resides u])on the old 
homestead near Danville. They were the 
parents of eight children, and with one ex- 
ception all are yet living, namely: Henry 
Sherman, of Danville, who married Lu- 
cretia Beck; Howard A.; Warren L., who 
married Ida R. Mi.x ; Willis S., who mar- 
ried Edith Ferinsworth ; Grace A. ; Birdie 
B., who is engaged in teaching in the pub- 
lic schools : and Fred D. The deceased 
daughter was Lilly Mathews. 

Professor Howard A. Mathews was 
reared upon the home farm, and his early 
education was acquired in the district 
schools, supplemented by study in the Dan- 
ville high school, from which he was gradu- 
ated with the class of 1887. He began 
teaching in the public schools, and was thus 
identified with the educational interests of 
the county for twelve years, or until elected 
to the office of county superintendent in 
September, 1899. He was for one year 
principal of the schools of Danville, and 
was teaching in the Maplewood school 
south of Danville when elected to the office 
of county superintendent in 1899. His 
nomination came entirely without his solici- 
tation, and was a public recognition of his 
ability as an educator and his worth as a 
citizen. He discharged his duties with 



122 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFJ'IFAV 



such satisfaction to the general public that 
he was re-elected in m/ji. and again in 
1903. so that he is now serving his third 
term, and under his guidance the schools 
have made satisfactory progress. He is 
continually studying out new methods for 
improving the schools along practical lines, 
and he has the faculty of securing the co- 
operation of the teachers and arousing their 
zeal in behalf of the imi^roved plans which 
he introduces. He is a member of the State 
Teachers' Association and the Southeastern 
Iowa Teachers' Association ; was chairman 
of the county su])crintendent's section of the 
Southeastern Iowa Association held at lUir- 
lington in 1903. 

Professor Mathews was married in Dan- 
ville, in 1896, to Miss Emma A. Gugeler, 
who was born in Danville tt>wnship, Des 
Moines county. Oct. 29. 1870. and they 
have three children: Alvin G., George H., 
and Grace .A. Mrs. Mathews is a daughter 
of Fred Gugeler, who was born in Ger- 
many, and his wife. ^L'l^y (Xau) Gugeler. 
who was born of German parentage, in Des 
Moines county. They now reside upon a 
farm in Danville township, and their chil- 
dren arc : Henry, deceased ; Charles, who 
married Pearl Carter : Mrs. Lizzie Dodds ; 
Mrs. Hmma Mathews: George, .Anna, and 
Maggie, all at home. 

In his political views Mr. Mathews is a 
Republican, well informed concerning the 
questions and issues of the day, and yet 
never active as a politician. He belongs to 
the Congregational church, and has wielded 
a wide influence for the betterment of his 
fellow-men along the lines of intellectual 
and moral progress, while his own sterling 
worth and allegiance to high principles have 
gained for him the uniform regard of the 
residents of eastern Iowa. 



WILLIAM FREDERICK CAVE. 

• 

W'lLLIA.M I'KEOEUICK CWE, woll knOWU 

in business circles in Burlington as a dealer 
in coal and wood, came to this city from 
Ontario, Canada, in i8(>i. his home in the 
Dominion having been about sixty miles 
from the city of Toronto. He was born 
there June 23, 1855, a son of Edward and 
Mary A. (Mair) Cave, the former a na- 
tive of England and the latter of Canada, 
the mother's birth having occurred in the 
same house in which the subject of this 
review was born. Many of the ancestors 
were English, but on the paternal side Mr. 
Cave is descended from French Hugue- 
nots. His great-great-great-grandfather 
was in the seventeenth century a colonel on 
the staf? of William, Prince of Orange, 
afterward king of England, when he was 
warring against King James over Cathol- 
icism. The paternal great-grandfather. Mr. 
Cave, who was a native of Ireland, left 
that kingdom and settled in Wiltshire, Eng- 
land, ui)on a farm of five hundred acres, and 
this property has since remained in the 
care of his descendants, the ])lace being 
called Long Newnton. That the estate was 
])rosperous is indicated by the fact that when 
the grandfather of Mr. Cave retired from 
farming in 1857, he sold stock from Long 
Newnton netting him one thousand and 
nine hundred and seventy pounds, three 
shillings, and three pence, ecpiivalent to 
about ten thousand dollars in United States 
money. Thomas Mair, the maternal grand- 
father, was born in Yorkshire, England, and 
as a young man emigrated to Canada, set- 
tling on the Penetanguishene Road, where 
he entered into a contract with the I'.ritish 
government to supply the garrisons at 
Penetanguishene and the fleets on the upper 



DBS MOfXRS COUXTV. IOWA. 



123 



lakes with beef, pork, and other meats. He 
bought hvestock over a large extent of 
territory to fulfil his contracts, all of this 
being driven overland to the designated 
points. At his home he had a large stock 
farm, and to this he imported some of the 
first blooded stock in Canada, including 
English coach horses, Durham cattle, and 
Leicestershire sheep, doing much by his 
praiseworthy activity in this line to im- 
prove the stock in that portion of the Do- 
minion. He married a lady who was a 
native of Kent, England, and who after the 
death of her first husband had come to 
America as lady's maid to the wife of the 
governor of Upper Canada, she being a 
lady of superior attainments and culture 
and the widow of a wealthy lace manufac- 
turer of London, who lost his fortune and 
died at the close of the Peninsular war, 
leaving his widow in very straitened cir- 
cumstances. She married Thos. Mair in 
Toronto, and had strong influence over him, 
he appreciating the fact that she had always 
been accustomed to the advantages of 
wealth, and putting forth every eflr'ort in his 
power to provide her with all that he be- 
lieved would promote her happiness and 
welfare. He had removed from Toronto 
to County Simcoe, in the Province of On- 
tario, in 1 819, and there he died at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-one years and six 
months. To him and his wife were born 
three daughters, who grew to maturity, 
these being Elizabeth, who married James 
F. Wickens ; Hannah, wife of Frederick 
Usher, Mr. Wickens and Mr. Usher be- 
ing both members of prominent families ; 
and Mary A., who became the wife of 
Edward Cave, and the mother of the sub- 
ject of these memoirs. 

Edward Cave was born in Wiltshire, 



England, in the \ear 18 1 S, and was there 
educated, coming to IJarrie, County of 
Simcoe, L^pper Canada, in 1845. In that 
county he purchased a farm and successfully 
conducted agricultural niierations until the 
time of his coming to jjurlington with his 
son in 1892. He married Miss Mair in 
1847. and to them were born six children, 
only one of whom, William F., attained 
maturity. Airs. Cave died in 1868, and her 
husband's demise occurred at the home of 
their son in l^urlington in 1894. Both were 
members of the Episcopal church. 

The mother of William Frederick Cave 
died when he was thirteen years of age, and 
afterward he was a member of a household 
that numbered only his father, his grand- 
father and himself. The public schools 
afforded him his educational privileges, and 
he remained upon the home farm during 
the period of his boyhood and youth, as- 
sisting in its development and improvement. 
He afterward became the owner of one hun- 
dred and eighty acres of land in Canada, 
comprising four farms, and at one time he 
also owned the old homestead, covering 
two hundred and fifty acres. .\t length he 
sold his farm property in Canada and came 
to Burlington in 1891. Here he secured 
employment in a rolling mill, and afterward 
in the shops of the Chicago. Burlington & 
Quincy Railroad, having charge of the tool 
room. In 1896 he bought a coal and wood 
yard of Joseph Slocum on Osborn Street, 
and two years later he bought out his pres- 
ent location at 833 Jefferson Street of W. W. 
Kennear. He uses three teams in the de- 
livery of coal and wood, selling only to the 
retail trade. He deals in anthracite, Illinois 
soft coal, smithing coal, and coke, and in 
addition to the conduct of this business he 
operates a farm of seventy acres two miles 



124 



niOGRAPHICAL REVIPAV 



from the city. He is also interested in 
mining property in Colorado. Mr. Cave has 
extensive fraternal connections, having been 
matle a Mason in Des .Moines Lodge. Xo. i, 
of lUirlington, and being also a member of 
Iowa Chapter, No. i. Royal .Vrch Masons, 
and of the Indei)endent Order of Foresters, 
of Burlington, of which latter he has l)een 
chief ranger. 

Mr. Cave was marricfl in the township 
of Ore, in Ontario, Canada, Dec. 17, 1872, 
to Miss Emma Liicy Harrington, who was 
born in the State of Now York, and is 
of English parentage, her birth occurring 
two weeks after the landing of her i)ar- 
ents, James and Ruth Harrington, in the 
Xew World. They were farming people, 
and removed from the Empire State to 
Canada. The father is now deceased, but 
the mother is residing in ^'<lungstown, 
( )hio. Mr. and Mrs. Cave have become the 
i;areuts of nine children: Emma Mary is 
the wife of Frank B. Wilson, of Burlington, 
a son of Captain Frank Wilson, of Cleve- 
land, (^hio: Roland Mair wedded Winni- 
fred N'andervere, and is enii)lnye(l in the 
shops of the Chicago, I'.urlington & Ouincy 
Railroad ; Edward H.. who married Bea- 
trice Rosendalc. of New York City, at- 
tended the country schools of Canada, and 
was first connected w'ith editoral work in 
Cleveland, Ohio. He was for a time ed- 
itor of the Sfortiiti^ Coods Dealer, of St. 
Louis, was afterward on the Motor Review, 
and is now editor in chief of Field and 
Sfreaiii. James F. is with his father in the 
coal business. Gertrude E. is a teacher 
of nnisic. Ernest Alfred, .Arabella O., 
Coral Ruth, and Roderick Baldwin arc all 
at home with their parents. The family 
home is at 1902 West .X venue, a two-stor\ 
residence of eight rooms standing in the 



midst of two city lots. In his political 
views Mr. Cave is a Rei)ublican, but the 
honors and emoluments of office have had 
no attraction for him, as he has ever pre- 
ferred to concentrate his energies upon his 
business affairs. He was reared in the 
Episcopal fait|i, but is now a member of 
the Presbvterian church. 



CHARLES WILLIAM HUNT. 

-Mu. Hlnt, who is the oldest living rep- 
resentative of one of Des Moines county's 
pioneer families, was born on the farm on 
which he still resides, in Union town- 
ship, Dec. 2^, 1839. a son of Samuel and 
.Martha (McGee) Hunt. The father was 
a native of I'ond county, Illinois, where hi^ 
birth occurred on Jan. 21, 1809. and where 
he resided until attaining his majority. .At 
that time he removed to Macomb, McDon- 
ough county. 111., and for several years fol- 
lowed various occupations in that city. But 
in 1835 he joined the great westward move- 
ment, and. coming to Des Moines county, 
entered from the government one hundred 
and sixty acres of land in Union township. 
He then returned to Macomb, where he 
wedded Miss McGee. In 1838 he brought 
her to Iowa, and they settled on his home- 
stead. The land was in its wild state, and 
he was compelled, in common with the other 
courageous pioneers of his day, to surmount 
great difficulties in jireparing it fur cultiva- 
tion. These difficulties he attacked with the 
high resoluticm which always characterized 
him, and in a few years he cleared away 
much of the forest, brought the prairies 
under the dominion of the jilow. and from 
till' wilderness began to reap the hard-earned 



> 

r 

■X. 

c: 
z 




> 

7: 



"X. 

c 
z 




DBS MO/XliS COrXl)\ IOWA. 



127 



fruits of toil. In addition to fanning he 
became to some extent interested in raising 
and feeding stock, in which he achieved a 
fair proportion of success ; and he also en- 
gaged largely in buying and selHng farm 
property, at one time being the owner of 
approximately eight hundred acres in Des 
Moines county. He continued to reside on 
the land where he first settled until the time 
of his death, in November, 1889. The de- 
mise of his wife occurred Dec. 9, 1885. 
Both were members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church, and were earnest and helpful 
workers in that denomination. To them 
were born twelve children, of whom our 
subject is the eldest, and the others are in 
order of age as follows : Sally, wife of Mr. 
McCash ; Alary Louise, wife of Mr. Harris ; 
Samuel B., of Burlington township ; John 
McGee, of Illinois ; Jesse Buchanan, also of 
Ilhnois ; Elizabeth, wife of Mr. W'alden : 
Lydia Mildred; Douglas; Lillian, wife of 
Mr. Leak ; Lucy, wife of Mr. Mast ; and 
Esther. The father of this family was a 
man of wide acquaintance, and as a lead- 
ing member of the Democratic party of his 
day was frequently elected to ]niblic office, 
holding at various times most of the posi- 
tions within the gift of his township. 

Charles W. Hunt is indebted to the dis- 
trict schools for his early knowledge of 
books, and at the age of seventeen years he 
became a student in the Baptist College at 
Burlinglon, where he followed a course of 
study occupying two terms. L'pon the con- 
clusion of his education he returned to the 
farm, assisting his father until his twenty- 
first year, when he inaugurated his inde- 
pendent career by renting land and begin- 
ning farming operations on his own account. 
Thus he passed the first two years of his 
manhood, but in the spring of 1862, in com- 



pany with five young men of the neighbor- 
hood, he crossed the plains to the Territory 
of Idaho, taking four years for the trip. 
They were drawn thither by the excitement 
and consequent pros])erity attending the dis- 
covery of gold on Salmon River. For two 
years after his arrival Mr. Hunt engaged in 
freighting in the gold district, and met with 
great jjecuniary success; but in the follow- 
ing two years he invested extensively in min- 
ing stocks. This, however, proved unprofit- 
able. In February, 1866, he returned to 
Iowa to resume his former occupation of 
farming, and on Christmas day, 1866, he 
was imited in marriage to Miss Hilary Eliz- 
abeth Burge, daughter of Samuel and 
Martha (Wootten) Burge. Mr. Burge was 
a native of Maryland, being a son of Adam 
and Elizabeth lUirge, and was born in 1813. 
His father was a minister of the Methodist 
church. .Samuel Burge grew to manhood 
in \'irginia, learned the cabinet-maker's 
trade, and in early life traveled about con- 
siderably, but finally settled in Tennessee, 
where he met and married his wife, who- 
was a native of Nashville, being born in 
1821. In 1847. a few years after their mar- 
riage, they came to Des Moines county, 
and established their home in Burlington, 
where Mr. Burge opened a retail furniture 
shop on Jefl'erson Street, doing all kinds of 
repair work for many years. To Mr. and 
-Mrs. Burge were born seven children: 
William is a railroad man living in Kansas 
City ; John is also a resident of Kansas 
City; Sanuiel died in California at the age 
of forty-eight years ; C. W., of Burlington, 
is a railroad man ; Anna, deceased ; Thomas, 
deceased. Mrs. Burge died in Burlington, 
Julv 8. 1859. Several years after the death 
of his wife, Mr. Burge moved to Kansas 
Citv, where he again engaged in tiie furni- 



128 



biogr.iphic.il review 



tiirc business, continuing at it for many 
years. Retiring from business, he turned 
his estate over to his sons, and died in Kan- 
sas City, Oct. 8, i8y2. Mr. and Mrs. lUirge 
were both members of the Methodist cluirch, 
and all of their children were reared in that 
faith. 

To Mr. and .Mr.s. Hunt have been horn 
three sons and one daughter, as follows : 
Samuel Etlgar, who married .Miss Smith; 
Charles William, Jr.. who is at home; Harry 
Walter, also a member of the ])arcntal house- 
hold : and luniice ICUkI. wife of I^. W. 
Smith. The year fojlowing his marriage 
Mr. Hunt purchased a small farm, consist- 
ing of forty-five acres, and in addition to 
this rented about one hundred and sixty 
acres, which he cultivated. \ ie has always 
farmed at least two lumdred acres, and uni- 
form success has enabled liim In increase his 
first purchase, so that at the [)rt.sent time 
he is the owner of two hundred and sixty 
acres, excellently imjiroved, and comprising 
some of the finest and most productive agri- 
cultural land in I'nion township or Des 
Moines county. He has always been an 
admirer of high-grade horses and cattle. 
and has his farm well stocked with fine ani- 
mals. He has engaged to .some extent in 
cattle raising and feeding, always with suc- 
cess, and has given much thought and care 
to the development of a fine orchard, which 
now graces his farm and yields an impor- 
tant annual revenue. The work of the farm 
has absorbed the greater portion of his at- 
tention, and although he has been a student 
of political questions, always acting with the 
Democratic party, in whose main tenets he 
is a thorough believer, he has never been an 
aspirant for public office, finding am|)le em- 
ployment in keejiing his farm uj) to the high 
standard which he has set for it. He is 



cheerful and genial, an obliging neighbor 
and a loyal friend, widely known and pop- 
ular. Mr. and .Mrs. Hunt attenil and sup- 
jiort the .Methodist Episcopal church. 



THOMAS STIVERS. 

Tiio.\i.\s Stivers, publisher of the Ei'cn- 
iiit; Gazette at lUirlington, is a native of 
I'omcroy, Meigs county. Ohio, and was born 
ill [S44. llis father. Aaron Stivers, was 
descended from an old Holland family that 
was established in America in the early 
part of the seventeenth century. The great- 
grandfather was a soldier of the Revolu- 
tionary War. and the grantl father was a 
soldier of the War of 1812. .-\aron Stivers 
was a civil engineer, and probably surveyeil 
the first railroad line constructed in Iowa, 
this being prior to 1844. He was identified 
with railroad construction many years, thus 
contributing toward the development of the 
State. .\s the years passed, and he saw 
<>])])ortimity for judicious investment, he 
purcha.sed lands and acquired considerable 
proj)erty. When the family came to the 
West in 1876 the home was established in 
( )sceola, but Mr. Stivers spent his last days 
in .\fton, Iowa, where he died in 1S95. His 
son Henry built the old narrow-gauge rail- 
road, extending between Des Moines and 
( "lainesville. Mo., and was its general super- 
intendent anil manager for several years, 
in this line the father was also interested. 
Henry Stivers is now a banker and farmer 
at Osceola, Iowa, thus being closely con- 
nected with the business interests of that 
locality. A (laughter, Jcimic Stivers, be- 
came the wife of S. M. Leach, of .\del. 
Iowa, who was one of the World's h'air 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



I2g 



commissioners and a member of the Re]iuli- 
lican State central committee. He is con- 
nected with financial interests at Aclel as 
president of a bank there. A half-sister 
of onr subject, Susie Stivers, is living at 
Osceola, Iowa, and for many years was 
principal of the Afton Normal School. The 
mother of Thomas Stivers died when 
twenty-eight years of age, and the father 
afterward married Miss Sophronia Cole, 
who is living in Osceola with her daug-hter 
Susie. 

Thomas Stivers spent his early vouth in 
his native village, began his education there, 
and after com]:)leting the high-school course 
also enjoyed the advantages of academic 
instruction. At the age of sixteen years he 
entered a printing office and learned the 
printer's trade, and between the years 1870 
and 1884 he devoted his time and energies to 
newspaper work in Atchison, Kans.. being 
city editor of the Atchison Champion and 
also owner of the Atchison Patriot. At 
length he disposed of his newspaper inter- 
ests in that city and removed to Leaven- 
worth. Kans., where he built a nnile street- 
car line. This he equipped and controlled 
for a time, but eventually sold that property 
and removed to Burlington in 1887. Here 
he purchased the Burlington Gazette, a daily 
paper, which at that time had a city circula- 
tion of only five hundred and sixty-two. 
The paper had been established in 1836. It 
has had a remarkable evolution, keeping in 
touch with the progressive spirit .of journal- 
ism. The paper has had a continuous ex- 
istence from territorial days, having been 
established in Burlington when the city was 
known as a part of the Black Hawk Pur- 
chase, its owners being CyrUs Jacobs, a 
young lawyer, and James Clarke, a practical 
printer. 



X'arious changes occurred in ownership 
as the years passed, and among its editors 
and publishers have been many men who 
have attained State and National reputations 
in connection with public interests. In the 
decade ]jreceding the Civil War the Gazette 
was the State organ of the Democratic party 
and the champion of the Iowa senators, 
Hon. A. C. Dodge and Hon. G. W. Jones, 
ably defending them through the great 
struggle of the Kansas-Nebraska act. Up 
to this time the Gazette had been published 
as a weekly paper, but in 1853 the tri-weekly 
issue was begun ; and after Iowa became a 
State the name of the paper was changed 
to the Iowa State Gazette. Different men 
l)urchased, owned, and controlled the paper, 
and different changes occurred in the name. 
It was on June I, 1867, that the word Argos, 
whicli then formed a part of the title, was 
dropped, the paper becoming known only 
as the Gazette. On Sept. 24, 1874. the 
Gazette Printing Company was organized, 
and in 1887 Mr. Stivers and his associates 
purchased the paper with all its franchise 
and good-will. Its equijiment at that time 
was of the most primitive, with a noticeable 
absence of improved machinery, and its 
entire circulation by mail and carrier was 
less than one thousand copies. Since then 
improvements have been continuouslv made, 
until the Gazette office has no equal in 
equipment in this country in a city of the 
size of Burlington. It is a practical demon- 
strator of the acme of modern invention. 

In 1904 occurred changes, nearly fifty 
thousand dollars being invested in machin- 
ery and material for the publication of its 
papers. Under the management of Mr. 
Stivers a new press, the Goss straight-line. 
has been installed. It is a double-deck 
perfecting press, turning out twenty-five 



I ;o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



thousand folded, jirintcd Gazettes in an 
hour. There is also a battery of Mergen- 
thaler linotype machines, with all necessary 
cquijHiients for |nil)lishing a modem evening 
daily, 'i'lie paiier has also been a financial 
success, and the circulation in the city now 
exceeds thirty-eight hundred co])ies. and 
there is also a large outside patronage. The 
paper has ahvays been the clianii)ion of 
Democracy. u])holding the i)rinciples of 
Jefferson. .Madison, and other old-time lead- 
ers of the jjarty. It is now the champion of 
.sound-mf)ney Democracy, having supported 
Palmer and I'.uckner. and in the recent cam- 
l)aign Parker and Davis. The Gazette is 
furnished with the associated press dis- 
patches, and in addition has a large and 
efficient corps of reporters throughout the 
State gathering the news that will be of the 
greatest interest to Iowa readers. 

Mr. Stivers has always been active and 
inlhicntial in jiolitics. d<iing much for his 
party aside from the strong influence which 
he exercises in connection with the publica- 
tion of the Gazette. He attends to the con- 
ventions of his party, yet has never sought 
or desired political i)refcrmeiit. 

Mr. Stivers was married in Fomeroy, 
Ohio, in 1870, to Miss Frances Metcalf. of 
McConnellsville, Ohio, and tluy have one 
son. fieorge. who is now business manager 
of the Gazette. They lost a daughter, who 
was the wife of W. G. Coffin, and died at 
Memphis, Tenn., leaving a son, Joseph, who 
is now living with his grandfather. The 
family home of Mr. and Mrs. Stivers is at 
1122 Smith Street. Mr. Stivers is a mem- 
ber of the Benevolent and F'rotective Order 
of Elks, the Commercial Club of Ilurlington. 
and the dolf Club. He is a man of marked 
business tact, a representative journalist, 
wide-awake, alert, and enterprising, regard- 



ing his field of activity not only as a busi- 
ness but as a profession, giving broad scope 
not only for the acquirement of a financial 
reward, but also for the e.xercise of a g<Kid 
influence. 



THOMAS T. EVANS. 

( ).\ the pages of the pioneer history of 
Des Moines county ajipears the name of 
Thomas T. K\ans. who assisted mate- 
rially ill the early development of this 
liarl of the .State, and aided in reclaiming 
the wild land for the pur])oses of civiliza- 
tion. .\ native of Wales, he was born 
about iScK), and ac(|uired his education in 
the public schools of that land. He after- 
wartl learned the weaver's trade, becom- 
ing an expert in that de]jartment of labor. 
He wove in all colors and designs, and 
because of his superior ability was able 
to command good |)ositions. He was 
married in his native country to .Miss 
.Mary .Morris, who was al.so born in the 
little rock-ribbed land of Wales, her natal 
year being 1804. 

Desirous, however, of enjoying the bet- 
ter business op])ortunities of the .\ew 
World, ;mcl the higher wages here paid, 
Thomas T. Kvans crossed the .\tlantic to 
the United States in 1833, settling first at 
Ruscanee, \. V., where with his wife and 
three chilclren he established his home. 
They crossed the .Atlantic on the old sail- 
ing vessel, " Sidol," which several years 
afterward was lost at sea. and nine weeks 
had been added In tlu' cycle of the cen- 
turies before anchor was dro|)ped in the 
harbor of \ew York, .\bout 1835 the 
family went from the l".iii])ire State to 
I'ortage county. ( )hio. where the father 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



engaged in the transfer or teaming busi- 
ness, making tri])s from Portage eounty 
to Pittsburg. liis residence in the Buck- 
eye State cox'ered about nine years, after 
which he came to Des Moines county, 
Iowa. 

It was in May, 1845, that Mr. Evans 
arrived in this State. He purchased forty 
acres of land, and later he entered one 
hundred and sixty acres from the govern- 
ment, through the meilium of a Mexican 
land warrant which had been granted to 
a soldier of the Mexican war in recogni- 
tion of his service, the soldier selling the 
same to Mr. Evans. In this way the lat- 
ter became owner of a quarter section in 
Washington township, about a half mile 
west of the boundary line of Yellow 
Springs township. His son, "Moses, also 
bought eighty acres in the same neigh- 
borhood, but in the spring of 1850 he 
went to California, attracted by the dis 
covery of gold on the Pacific Coast. 
Later he returned to his farm, bringing 
with him about two thousand dollar^ 
whicii he had made in the mines of the 
West. He died in Des Moines county in 
1854, leaving his property to his father, 
and this was the family homestead until 
the death of the parents. 

Mr. Evans was an enterjjrising agricul- 
turist, placing his land under a high state 
of cultivation, and li\-ing a busy, useful, 
and active life. He died in 1855, and 
within a week his wife and two daughters 
passed away, Catherine Sophia being then 
si.xteen years of age, while Mary .Augusta 
was fourteen years old. John Jones, an 
old-time friend of Mr. Evans who had 
lost his wife in Des Moines county and 
afterward resided in different places, con- 
tracted the cholera, and Mr. Evans, out 



of the kindness of his heart, went to nurse 
liim during that illness. He then re- 
turned home, bringing with him the 
dreaded disease, and he and his wife and 
daughters all succumbed to it. There 
was only one other death from cliolera 
in the locality, a girl by the name of 
\'irgin. 

Mr. and Mrs. Evans were the parents 
(if ten children : Elizabeth, a resident of 
Portland, Ore., is now the widow of 
William P. Jones, who died in 1896; 
Moses, died wdien twenty-four years of 
age; Henry; Ann, married Frederick 
Gowdy, of this county, and died in 1878; 
James Grimes, died at Salenas, Cal., in 
July, i<p3; Catherine Sophia, died of 
cholera; Mary Augusta, whose death was 
occasioned by the same disease; Joseph, 
died in Des Moines county in July, 1867, 
at the age of twenty-two years; Jane, 
died in San Francisco, Cal., in 1903, be- 
ing survived by her husband, Andrew 
(iartley, a former resident of Burlington, 
Iowa ; and Thomas Charles, living in 
Winona county, Iowa. 

Henry Evans, to whom we are indebted 
for the history of Thomas T. Evans and 
his family, was born April 8, 1832, in 
Wales, and was therefore onl}- about a 
year old when his parents came to Amer- 
ica. He pursued his education in the 
schools of Ohio and of Des Moines comi- 
ty, Iowa, and for a time was a student in 
the public schools of Burlington. In 1853 
he went to California, sailing from New 
York on the steamer "Star of the West," 
by way of Nicaragua, and was engaged 
in mining there when he received the sad 
news of the death of his father, mother, 
and two sisters. It was accompanied by 
an ajipeal for him to return home, which 



132 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ho <lid hy way of Tanaina. for he was left 
the eldest of the family, ami naturally the 
obligation of larinj: for the younger mem- 
bers fell upon him. lie therefore re- 
turned to Iowa, anil took charge of the 
old home place, and of his younger broth- 
ers and sisters. He continued the man- 
agement and operation of the home farm, 
there residing for six years. 

Dec. 12, i8<ii. he was married to Miss 
Catherine Williams, a daughter of W . W. 
and Margaret (Owens) Williams. .Mr. 
I-'vans brought his l)ride to the old home- 
stead, and ("mally jiurchased the interest 
of the other heirs in tin- properly, con- 
tinuing to reside thereon until he pur- 
chased an additional tract of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres. Upon this quarter 
section he erected a new and commodi- 
ous residence, residing here until his re- 
tirement from business life in i8<)2. when 
he then removed to .Mount Pleasant. lie 
owns an extensive tract of land, which is 
devoted largely to the raising of stock, 
making a s])ecialty of Hereford cattle and 
Poland China hogs. This ])lace is oper- 
ated by .Merrett T. Evans. 

Mr. and Mrs. Evans's children were: 
Margaret Ann. who tlied in i8<^: .Vustin 
J.; Will II.; .Merrett: .\ugnsta : Laura, 
wife of .\. W . .Miller; P.ertha. <lied at the 
age of five years; and one that died in 
infancy. The family have all attended 
the Iowa Wesleyan Cniversity and are 
Melhoilists. 

Mr. Evans was elected townsliii) trus- 
tee on three difTereiit occasions on the 
Rejniblican ticket, and he has always 
been a stanch a<lvocate of the principles 
of the party. .Almost his entire life has 
been passed in this county, where he lo- 
cated when a lad of twelve years, and he 



has therefore witnessed the many changes 
that have occurred here as the locality 
has |)Ut off the evidences of frontier life 
and taken on all the improvements of a 
modern civilization. His business aflTairs 
were capably managed, and his close ap- 
plication, frugality, strong purpose, and 
laudable ambition enabled him, as the 
years passed by. to add annually to his 
income. He is now one of the extensive 
land owners of the county, ami leaving 
the care of his farms to others, he is now 
enjoying a well-earned rest. 



MERRETT THOMAS EVANS. 

One of the most prominent and pro- 
gressive of the younger farmers of Des 
Moines county is Merrett T. ICvans, now 
living in Washington township. L'pon 
the farm where he yet resides he was 
born Jan. 16, 1876. his parents being 
Henry and Catherine (Williams) Evans, 
who are living retired in .Mount Pleasant. 
The family was eslal)lislu'<| lure in pio- 
neer times by the grandfather. Thomas 
T. Evans, a native of Wales. 

The subject of this review j)ursued his 
early education in the district schools, and 
afterward entered the Iowa Wesleyan 
I'niversity at .Mount Ple.isant. lie was 
also a student in the high school, and in 
the college at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, be- 
ing a graduate of the former. His edu- 
cation completed, he returned to the old 
home farm and began its <le\ elo|)inent. 
He is now in control of an extensive tract 
of land of nine hundred and eighty acres 
in Washington and bellow Springs town- 
shii)S. Des Moines county. Here he is 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



133 



engaged in the breeding and raising of 
cattle, having about one hundred and 
fift}' head upon his place each year. He 
also feeds about the same nundjer of 
hogs, and his stock-dealing interests are 
bringing him very gratifying success. 

Sept. 14, 1897, Mr. Evans was married 
to Miss Florence Bowman, a daughter of 
Henry I'owman, and they now have four 
children: Henry, born Aug. 10, 1898; 
Dorothy, born Feb. 9, 1900; Tom, born 
July 12, 1902; and Mary Frances, born 
Aug. 25, 1904. 

Mr. Evans, as the result of his study 
and consideration of the political issues 
and questions of the country, has given 
his support to the Republican party. He 
belongs to the Alpha Beta society, 
a Greek letter fraternity with which he 
became connected while attending col- 
lege at Mount Pleasant. He also be- 
longs to the Methodist Episcopal church, 
and is now serving on its official board. 
He is a young man of strong purpose, 
laudable ambition, and determined will, 
qualities which are always essential in a 
successful business career, and in the con- 
trol of extensive farming and stock-rais- 
ing interests he displays excellent busi- 
ness ability and executive force. 



SAMUEL H. F. WILSON. 

S.VMUEL H. F. Wilson, one of the vener- 
able citizens of Franklin township, was born 
in Moundsville, near Wheeling, W. Va., — 
then a part of Virginia, — June 30, 1827, 
and when a youth of eight years was 
brought to Iowa by his mother in 1835. He 
is a son of George and Rebecca (Parrott) 
Wilson. The father was born in the east- 



ern part of West Virginia, and throughout 
his entire life followed the occupation of 
farming. His death, however, occurred in 
Virginia when he was thirty-two years of 
age, his son Samuel being at that time a 
young lad of seven summers. He was a 
member of the Methodist church, his life 
was honorable and upright, and in his busi- 
ness undertakings he prospered, being' rec- 
ognized as one of the enterprising and pro- 
gressive agriculturists of his community. 
His political allegiance was given to the 
Whig party. His remains were interred 
at Moundsville, Va. 

The following year the mother brought 
her family to Iowa. She was born in Berk- 
ley county, \'irginia, and was educated in 
the common schools of her native State. 
Her parents were William and Susan (Tur- 
ner) Parrott. Her father was a farmer 
and slave-owner of West Virginia, and a 
very prominent and influential man in that 
State, where his death occurred. Mrs. Par- 
rott afterward came to Iowa. She had a 
family of nine children, all of whom ac- 
companied her to this State in 1836. She 
brought the first slave into Burlington, and 
freed him here, and continued a resident 
of Burlington until her death. For a short 
time she conducted what was then called 
the Wisconsin Hotel, but the name was 
afterward changed to the Mansion House. 
It stood on the northeast corner of Colum- 
bia and Main Streets, and the location is 
now used as a restaurant. On disposing of 
the hotel business, Mrs. Parrott went to 
West Burlington, and her death occurred 
in 1 85 1, when she had reached the advanced 
age of seventy years. She had three sons 
and six daughters, all of whom have now 
passed away, namely : Christopher C. ; 
Lawson S. ; William: Mrs. Rebecca Wil- 



134 



HIOGRAriUCAl. RLllLir 



son; Mary Ann. who married Aaron I'liil- 
lips; Martha, who became the wife of 
TliomaN I'.allzer; Isabella, the wife of Wil- 
liam I". Johnson; Jane, the wife of Robert 
Chaifant : and Elizabeth, who married 
Sheiiherd Ijtelller. All became residents 
of this coi-.nlv. and were prominent to a 
greater or less extent in business life and 
jmblic interests, but all have now ])asse(l 
away. Mrs. \\ il.son, coming with her two 
sons to Des Moines county, located in T'lir- 
linpton. where she lived until her death. 

I'or her second husband. Mrs. Wilson 
married Charles Madera, then a resident 
of Burlington, and otic of the early set- 
tlers of the county, who became a man of 
marked i)rr)minence and inlluence in his 
conmiunity. I-'or some years he served as 
juflge of the probate court, and was after- 
ward coimty treasurer, filling the latter 
position at the time of his death. He acted 
as probate judge from 1837 until 1842, and 
during that period had charge of every 
estate settled at that time. \'arious posi- 
tions of trust an<l res])onsibility were con- 
ferred upon him. and he was widely known 
for his fidelity and reliability. Me was rec- 
ognized as a leader in political matters, and 
had the entire confidence of his fellow-men. 
even those who ditTered from him in jm- 
litical views respecting him for his honesty 
and worth. His business career was equally 
notable. He was engaged with Shepherd 
l-oefiler in the dry-goods business at I'ur- 
lington for a number of years, and built and 
owne<l the first saw-mill on I'lint River. 
He passed away when .ibout fifty years of 
age, and Mrs. Madera died at the age of 
fifty-one years in liurlington. She held 
menibershi]) in the .Methodist church, in 
which she was an active and devoted 
wnriver. His fraternal relations were with 



the ( )dd h'ellows Society, and in the lodge, 
in public life, and in his srxial relations he 
was esteemed for his genuine worth. By 
this marriage there were a daiighter and 
four sons, but only one is now living. 

Samuel H. 1*". Wilson and his oidy 
brother, Joseph .\. Wilson, remained with 
their mother after her second marriage, 
making their home with .Mr. and .Mrs. Ma- 
dera while they lived. 

.Mr. Wilson, of this review, was educated 
in the common schools of liurlington, and 
he and his brother were among the early 
pui)ils of .Mrs. .Sheldon, who taught one of 
the first schools in the city, and was well 
known as ".Mother .Sheldon." When six- 
teen years <jf age he entered upon his busi- 
ness career as a .salesman in the dry-goods 
store of John R. Campbell & Company, 
with whom he remained for some years, 
and then began clerking for H. H. Scott 
& Coin])any. in whose employ he continued 
imtil 1850. He next went to California, 
where he engage<l in mining for some years, 
and he also carried on the stock business, 
buying and selling cattle and horses. He 
returned to I'urlington in 1856. and after 
a short stay in that city, again made his 
way to the West. He was wagon-master 
for Majors Russell and Waddel during the 
.Mormon war in Ctah. continuing with the 
army throughout the Mormon troubles un- 
til iSiwi, ill' then engaged in freighting, 
transporting freight by ox-teams from Ne- 
braska C"ity to Heiiver. it requiring thirty 
days to make lli.it trip. The winter of 
1851; was sjieiu in Denver, and tlu- next 
spring he took a train of twenty-seven 
wagons an<l hauled lumber for the express 
comi)any, the lumber being used in the 
building of stations along the express line 
for a distance of three hundred miles. In 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



135 



J 860 he returned to Iowa, where he re- 
mained until the following year. 

When the country became engaged in the 
Civil War, Mr. Wilson, his patriotic spirit 
aroused, offered his services to the govern- 
ment, enlisting at Burlington in Company 
C, First Iowa Cavalry, with which he spent 
three years and four months, receiving an 
honorable discharge at Davenport, where 
he was also mustered out. He was sta- 
tioned most of the time in Mississippi, and 
took part in a number of important battles 
and skirmishes. His only brother, Joseph, 
who was a harnessmaker by trade, was also 
in the army, and died at St. Louis, Mo. 
When the war was over he returned to 
Burlington, where he engaged in the feed 
and livery business for about two years, 
and then conducted a dair)^ and engaged in 
farming in Franklin township on the place 
where he now resides. He has made all of 
the improvements upon this farm. His 
original house was destroyed by a cyclone 
in 1890, and during the summer the family 
lived in tents until the new residence was 
erected. For the last forty years, Mr. Wil- 
son has been engaged successfully and ex- 
tensively in the breeding of Poland China 
hogs, and his stock has taken many pre- 
miums at the State and county fairs. He has 
one hundred and sixty acres in the home 
place, and the farm is valuable because of 
the care and labor which he has bestowed 
upon it and the practical and modern meth- 
ods which he has followed. 

Mr. Wilson was married in 1865 to Mrs. 
Lydia Upton, nee Eagle. Her mother has 
been three times married, her second hus- 
band being Levi Gridley, and her third 
husband, Hezekiah Archer. She is now 
more than ninety-eight years of age, and 
makes her home with Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. 



By their marriage eight children have been 
born : George, who died in infancy ; Dan, 
who resides upon the home farm ; Fannie, 
the wife of Ernest Starbuck, a wood-turner 
of Peoria, 111., by whom she has two chil- 
dren, Daisy W. and Julian B. ; Susan, who 
died at the age of seventeen years ; Nellie, 
who died at the age of two years; Sam, 
who is engaged in the hotel business in 
Kansas City ; Fred, who is operating the 
home farm ; and Daisy, the wife of E. H. 
Lutton, of Mediapolis, Iowa. 

Mr, Wilson votes with the Republican 
part}-, which stood by the Union in the 
dark days of the Civil War, and has always 
been the party of reform and progress. In 
all matters of citizenship he is as loyal to 
his country as when he wore the blue uni- 
form of the nation. He has never sought 
to figure prominently in public life, how- 
ever, preferring to give his attention to his 
business interests, and as an agriculturist 
has won creditable success, becoming the 
owner of a valuable farm. His life history 
has been a varied one, and during his 
service on the plains and on the battle-fields 
of the South he has had many interesting 
and exciting experiences, which, if written 
in detail, would prove the old adage that 
" truth is stranger than fiction." He is 
now living amid comfortable surroundings, 
spending the evening of his days in quiet 
upon the home farm, and is one of the 
respected and worthy residents of Franklin 
township. 



GEORGE SWENY. 

One who has for a long term of years 
occupied a prominent place in the develop- 
ment and material and spiritual progress of 
Burlington is George Sweney, who was born 



136 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in Warren county, Ohio, Oct. 28, 1820, a 
son of Robert and Mary (King) Sweny, 
the father being of Pennsylvania birth and 
Scotch extraction, while tlie mother was a 
native of Virginia and was of German and 
EngHsh parentage. Both laid down the bur- 
den of life at Lebanon. Ohio, and are there 
buried. The father, who passed the greater 
])art of his active life as a miller, was a 
veteran of the War of 1812. in which he 
served as a lieutenant in the anny of Gen- 
eral Hull, and participated in the surrender 
near I'ut-in-Bay, in Lake Erie. Two 
brothers of our subject were soldiers of the 
Civil War. one of whom held the rank of 
lieutcnaiil. and lost his life by falling from 
a boat and drowning. The other brother, 
James, now of the Soldier's National Home 
of Kansas, had one son in the Spanish- 
.\mcrican War. 

Mr. Sweny's early years were passed in 
ac<iuiriiig an education in the jiublic schools 
and in the work of his father's large farm, 
the sugar camp, the saw-mill, and the grist- 
mill, and at the same time he learned the 
trade of cabinet-making, at which he con- 
tinued to work with much success for 
fifteen years. In the spring of 1845 h^ 
wedded Miss Margery J. Scarff, by whom 
he had one child, Joanna Janetta, who died 
in Burlington at the age of five years. Mrs. 
Sweny. who was of Quaker parentage, died 
about the year 1852 in Kenton, Ohio, and 
was buried in Xenia, Ohio, her old home. 
From 1845 to 1849 ^^^- Sweny was en- 
gaged in the drug business in Xenia, at 
the end of that time removing to Kenton, 
where he resided until 1853. engaged in 
drug and jewelry business. The latter 
year is the date of his removing to Burling- 
ton. Shortly after coming to the West he 
purchased an interest in J. W. Price's drug 



store, but the partnership lasted for only 
two or three years, the business being 
conducted during that period at the comer 
of Washington and Third Streets under the 
style of Price & Sweny. On severing this 
relation by the sale of his interest, Mr. 
Sweny engaged in the insurance business, 
which he carried on in connection with ex- 
tensive real estate and loan operations. He 
also served as receiver for several firms, 
in this capacity having charge of numerous 
concerns in bankrujilcy. His investments 
in real estate were very large. He pur- 
chased a farm and much suburban property, 
nearly all in its primitive wooded state, the 
latter of which he platted under the names 
of Sweny's and the Highland .\dditions to 
r.urlington. these comprising in all about 
thirty acres. The additions lie next the 
Mississippi River, in the southern portion 
of the city, and include some of the finest 
residence ])roperty in Burlington. Always 
l)ublic-.spirited, he labored earnestly for fif- 
teen years to secure the opening and im- 
provement of South Main Street to the 
present city limits, and finally, upon the city 
council's offer to open the street provided 
half the estimated cost be borne by those 
directly interesteil, he to<ik personal charge 
of the matter, and by diligent and unremit- 
ting labor raised and collected subscriptions 
to the required amount, four thousanrl five 
hundred dollars. He was also instrumental 
in securing the building of the street-car 
line into that part of the city, and built some 
fifteen or twenty residences in Sweny's Ad- 
dition, paving all the sidewalks abutting 
his property on Main Street, and otherwise 
improving the addition, thus becoming a 
benefactor of the southern part of the city, 
and doing perhaps more than any other one 
man to aitl and encourage its development. 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IO]VA. 



At Burlington on Feb. ii, 1868, Mr. 
Sweny was united in marriage to Miss 
Mar_v H. Pine, who was born in New 
Jersey, but was reared and educated in 
Philadelphia, the daughter of Ebenezer 
Pine, of New York. ]\Irs. Sweny's father 
was in Philadelphia a wholesale and retail 
merchant, and both he and his wife, who 
before marriage was Naomi Higbee, of 
New Jersey, were of old English Quaker 
stock, the Higbee family in America having 
been founded by seven brothers who immi- 
grated together from England and settled 
at Higbeeville in New Jersey. Mrs. 
Sweny's great-grandfather Brannon was a 
noted Quaker preacher, while on the other 
hand her great-grandfather Higbee- so far 
disregarded the tenets of his sect at one 
time during the Revolutionary War as to 
enlist for a time in the patriot army, with 
the design, however, of protecting his own 
home, and it may be further urged in ex- 
tenuation that he was then a young man. 
Pine Street in the city of Philadelphia was 
named for the family of which Mrs. Sweny 
is a member. 

Reared in the Quaker faith, the wife 
of our subject united in 1868 with the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which she 
has ever since been a faithful and consist- 
ent member. Mr. Sweny himself has been 
a member and a worker in that denomina- 
tion since the age of sixteen, and almost 
continuously since that time he has been 
a member of the official board, serving at 
different times on the respective boards of 
the three Methodist Episcopal bodies of 
Burlington. He is a member of Grace 
Methodist Episcopal church, in the move- 
ment for whose erection he was a leader, 
and it was Mrs. Sweny who chose its name, 
bestowing upon it that of Grace Episcopal 



church of New York, in which city she had 
relatives. While making his residence at 
Xenia, Ohio, Mr. Sweny served on the 
church's official board, was class leader, 
steward, and trustee, and was likewise en- 
gaged and connected while at Kenton, 
where much of the time he was also 
superintendent of the Sunday-school. In 
the organization of the Sunday-school as- 
sembly and camp-meeting of Bluff Park 
at Montrose, Iowa, he took an active part, 
and to his eft'orts is largely due the cele- 
brated artesian well that is such an attract- 
ive and popular feature of the grounds. 
He still maintains a cottage at the park, 
and for many years was accustomed to 
spend a portion of the season there As one 
of the board of trustees and a member of 
the various committees of the association, 
he has given much time, money, and earnest 
effort to advance its interests. At one 
period he was president of the association, 
member of the board of trustees, and at the 
same time was serving upon eight different 
committees, these being the committee on 
grounds, finance, transportation, sale of 
lots, artesian well, sanitarium, old institute 
property and the executive committee. He 
has ever been a most generous supporter 
of all religious movements, giving freely of 
his substance to the churches, and offering 
his financial aid in all departments of their 
work. 

In the early days of Iowa's development 
Mr. Sweny bought a great deal of prairie 
land in different places, and laid out towns 
on the sites thus selected, laying out in 
this manner a number of now flourishing 
count}'-seat towns and owning much prop- 
erty outside of Burlington, particularly at 
xA.fton. But his interests are now Almost 
exclusively in this c\\.\, where he is still 



138 



IHOCR.irmC.lL HLl 11:11 ■ 



largely intcrcslcil in rial estate, owning 
])racticall.v all of the Sweny Addition and 
a numlK-r of lots and some very handsome 
residence buildings in the Highland Ad- 
dition. Besides his activities in real es- 
tate, he was one of the organizers of the 
Merchants .National Hank of lUirlington. 
in which he is a stockholder and director, 
and it may be said that the institution owes 
much to the In-nefit of his advice and 
counsel. 

In his fraternal connection. Mr. ."^weny 
is a member of Washington Lodge. No. i, 
Intlependent ( )rder ( )dd I-"cllows. having 
been affiliated with the order continuously 
since 1853, when he became a member at 
Kenton. ( )hio. He has also been a member 
of the (irand Lodge of Iowa, and a number 
of vcars ago was elected and served as its 
grand chaplain. 

Mis political faith is thai of the Repub- 
lican party, of which he has been an ardent 
sui)porter since its organization. He was a 
delegate frfim ( )hio to the national conven- 
tion at Niagara l-'alls, X. Y., which placed 
General W'iiilkld Scntt in nomination for 
the i)residency of the L'nited States. As 
one taking a prominent |)art in |)olitics of 
the time, he became |>ersonally acipiainted 
with m;my famous men. including General 
Corse, Governor Gear, and Judge Xewman. 
and was an intimate friend of Senator 
Harlan, who, after the removal of .Mr. 
Sweny to losva, secured for him ;m ap- 
pointment to a departmental office at Wash- 
ington, wluTf he >ervf(l diirititj .-| session of 
Congress. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Sweny have a beautiful 
home, one of the earliest in that part of the 
city, at 113 Clay .Street, built by Mr. Sweny 
in 1876, the year of the Centennial Exposi- 
tion at l'liila<le|)hia. wliicli they attended. 



and here they have resided ever since, the 
center of a generous and courtly hosi)itality. 
They have reared two children, the daugh- 
ter and son of Mrs. Sweny's sister, these 
Ix'ing Anna L. I'rowne, now wife of H. W. 
Huford, Chicago, who has one son, Joseph 
I'.rowne; lUiford and Harry G. Mrowne, 
the latter of whom, now conducting a suc- 
cessful commission business at r)maha. 
Nebr., married Miss Lena Xisscn, and has 
two children. Clarissa and Ward Livings- 
ton. 

Our subject retains many interesting and 
instructive memories of the early days of 
Burlington, and mentions especially that 
Prospect Hill, on which now stand many 
of the city's finest residences, was then al- 
most entirely covered with underbrush and 
woods, and having hut two dwellings upon 
its whole extent, was a favorite resort of 
picnic ])arties. For his part in her upbuild- 
ing and advancement along many lines, the 
city of Hurlington owes him much. He 
not only deserves the high credit which 
belongs to the title of self-made man, 
to which he has an indubitable right, 
but he is justly the recipient of much 
honor from all who know him because 
he has helped many others. I'tterly un- 
selfish in all tli;it he has done, he has 
never sought jirivate gain at ])ublic expense, 
but has i^roved himself an altruist by life- 
long devotion to the general welfare, seek- 
ing to confer U|>on all the material and 
s])iritual benelits which his broad human 
sympathy will not allow him to arrogate to 
his own use alone. Such a life is a blessing 
to any city, and is a credit to .American 
ideals of citizenship and Christian man- 
hood. 

That Mr. Sweny posses.ses business and 
executive ability of a remarkable order, the 



DES MOIiXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



I3y 



great success he has achieved is ample proof, 
for his accoiiipHshment in the field of prac- 
tical affairs is beyond all praise, and has 
elicited universal commendation. That such 
a man should have many true and devoted 
friends is almost a matter of course, and 
this pleasure he enjoys in an eminent de- 
gree. But when the facts of his life are 
sifted and weighed, it will be found that the 
most important thing of all is not the suc- 
cess he has achieved by reason of his great 
natural gifts and determined personality, 
not the friendship, admiration, and applause 
of his fellow-nien, not even the benefits he 
has directly conferred upon others, but the 
eternal potency for good which exhales 
from his life as a whole, the supreme benefit 
of his example to generations yet to come, 
the fact that he has been broad-minded, 
charitable, and self-reliant, — a cultured gen- 
tleman, a Christian, and a true man. 



WILLIAM VAUGHAN LLOYD. 

William Vaughan Llovu has had the 
honor of serving his city as councilman 
for two years, has been an esteemed 
member of the schoolboard for several 
terms, and is the valued cashier of the 
State P.ank of Mediapolis. He is the son 
of William H. and Cordelia (Tupper) 
Lloyd, and was born July 30, 1861, in 
Brooklyn, Queens county. New York. 
When he was quite a small lad his par- 
ents came West, and located in Washing- 
ton county, Iowa, where he first entered 
upon his school duties. After finishing 
the common schools of his county, he 
pursued his studies in a business college 
in Iowa, and obtained a full knowledge 



of all branches of business, doing justice 
both to himself and to his teachers. 

I-"or the next ten years he held the re- 
sponsible position of bookkeeper in the 
National Bank at Brighton, Iowa, giving 
great satisfaction to his employers, who 
were very fond of him. In 1891 the 
State Hank of Mediapolis was organized, 
and Mr. Lloyd was chosen as the honored 
cashier of the same, which position he 
has held ever since, reflecting great credit 
upon himself by the manner in which he 
has always conducted this office of trust 
in liehalf of his superiors. 

.\ug. 4, 1884, Mr. Lloyd was married 
to Miss Ella T. Parson, the bright and 
attractive daughter of R. F. and Lucinda 
(Aliddleton) Parson, of Brighton, Iowa. 
This happy union has been blessed with 
four children : Vaughan E., an assistant 
in the bank with his father ; Teressa, stu- 
dent in the high school ; Cordelia, a student 
in the grammar schools : and little Doris, 
at home. 

Mrs. Lloyd is a prominent and in- 
fluential member of the Presbyterian 
church, always contributing liberally to 
the support of the same. Mr. Lloyd has 
been a strong Republican ever since he 
was old enough to discriminate for him- 
self, in wdiich party he takes a very active 
interest : it, in return, has so appreciated 
his ability as to place him at the head of 
several positions of trust. He is now 
treasurer of the school board, of which he 
has been a member for one term ; has 
served as city councilman for one term of 
two years; and in 1889, he was elected to 
the responsible office of treasurer of the 
town, which he filled with great care and 
accuracy till 1808. Mr. Lloyd is also 
identified with the Media]iolis Lodge of 



I40 



HlUuK.ll'Jlli.lL RLl- JJ.II 



IndcpiiKknl Order (Kid I'elluws, Ix-ing a 
riS|KCti'd iiuiiil)i'r fi)r sonu- years. 

There is perhaps im man better knt>wii 
and hettcr acf|iiaiiited in tlie whole city 
of Mediapolis, or throiiphoiit the entire 
township, than is our subject. The vari- 
ous ini|Hiriant and responsible positions 
he has held fully denotes with what con- 
fidence and resjiect he is regarded. His 
courtcH)us, gentlemanly, and accommoda- 
ting manner to every one, young or old. 
rich or jmor. has made hini a long list of 
true friemls anil admirers of which any 
man might well be proud. His great suc- 
cess in life has been largely due to his 
own efforts, and his record for truth, u])- 
rightness. and constant activity will serve 
as a wiirthy example to the young. 



ULRICH ITA. 



Llkkii Ita. 1 'resident and Manager of 
the Embalming Burial Case Comi>any, of 
Burlington, was born in Stamheim, Switz- 
erland, a son of Melchoir Ita, a native of 
Switzerland, who for eighteen years ran a 
government stage between Stamheim and 
Frauenfeld, a distance of about twelve 
miles. The father of our subject died in 
1859. and the mother, who before marriage 
was Margaret Marthaler, in 1862. they 
Ix-ing survived by seven children, as fol- 
lows: l-'lizabeth. wife of Jacon Mueller, of 
Switzerland : Melchoir. who died in 1869 
at I'lirt Madison; Margaret, widow of F. 
Deutsch, of Switzerland ; I'lrich. the sub- 
ject of this review ; Conrad, who came to 
Uurlington with our subject, and is now 
associated with him in business ; Heinrich, 
of X'ienna. .Austria, who is a celebrated hat 



manufacturer. su])])lying his product to all 
parts of the worUl, and em])loying approx- 
imately two hundre<l peo])le : ami Godfrey, 
also of X'ienna. 

In his native city Mr. Ita was educated 
in the connnon and high sclnwls. and after 
the com])lotion of his formal training served 
an apprenticeship of two and a half years 
ti) the ti-atle of cabinet-making. He then 
worked as a journeyman for a perif)d of 
four years through .Switzerland and France, 
ami in i8^)8 arrived at a decision, which he 
immediately executed, to. come to -Vjiierica 
to take advantage of the broader o])|xirtu- 
nities of the New World. In the same year 
he located in Burlington, and for approx- 
imately four years worked as a cari)enter. 
He now relates, as a matter of interest to 
those who have since watched his great 
progress, and are cognizant of his present 
])osition. that during this jjcriod he assisted 
in the building of the residences of E. D. 
kand and Mayor .\dams. two of the finest 
in the city. Later Mr. Ita became foreman 
of the Daniel Winters jilauing mill, occupy- 
ing that place for about five years, or until 
he Ix-came associated with Mr. Robert Wolf 
in the furniture manufacturing business. 
This firm, known as Wolf & Ita. occupied 
the present locati<Mi of the Leopold Desk 
Com])any. where they erected the first brick 
building upon the site. In iSSi. Mr. Ita's 
health having suffered considerably from 
his close application to the exacting duties 
of business during the last few years 
previous to that time, he sold his interest 
in the manufacturing enterjirise to Mr. 
Wolf, and returned to Europe for a tem- 
))orary stay. His trip abroad ])roved ben- 
eficial, and on his return here in 1882 he 
again entered active business, becoming a 
stockholder in the Embalming Burial Case 




ULRICH ITA. 



DES sMOINES COUNTY. lOJl'A. 



14; 



Compaii}', a corporation dating from 1876, 
and assuming the management of its plant. 
On the death of Dr. Baile}- he was made 
president and manager, and the other offi- 
cers of the corporation are Conrad Ita, sec- 
retary and treasurer, and five directors, Ul- 
rich Ita, Conrad Ita, Helen Ita, and Win- 
field Bailey. 

The Embalming Burial Case Company 
are manufacturers and jobbers of all kinds 
of undertakers' su]jplies, and about thirty 
workmen and office assistants are employed, 
besides five traveling salesmen. Before the 
building of the present modern structure, 
the business was conducted in the stone 
building at the corner of Eighth and JelTer- 
son Streets, now occupied by the Iowa 
Grain and Provision Company. The pres- 
ent factory site, which has two hundred 
feet front, is located at 1105 Agency Street, 
and since the management was vested in 
Mr. Ita, the plant has been enlarged, com- 
prising a four-story brick warehouse 50 x 
120 ft., a machinery building and engine 
room 160x60 ft., of brick, and one story 
in height ; a frame drying house 18 x 40 
ft., and a lumber shed 50x60 ft. in dimen- 
sions. The business is one of the most suc- 
cessful in this line anywhere in the West, 
and it is almost exclusively to the faithful 
efforts and great ability of Mr. Ita that its 
large prosperity is due, he devoting his 
whole time to its advancement and welfare, 
and bringing to the performance of his task 
an energy that surmounts and overcomes all 
obstacles. The plant, which is a model one 
in every respect, was constructed in fulfil- 
ment of his ideas and plans. It has steam 
heat throughout, and is well lighted, ven- 
tilated, and cared for. 

In Burlington, in 1873, Mr. Ita wedded 
Miss Julia Shu]3ert, who died in 1874, and 



to them was Ijorn one child, I'. Ita, now 
of Chattanooga, Tenn. He has since re- 
married, having been united in marriage in 
1876 to Miss Carolina Bergman, of Bur- 
lington, and they reside at 1 107 Agency 
Street. To Mr. and Mrs. Ita have been 
born four children ; Helen, Arnold C, God- 
frey J., and Walter H., all of whom have 
been given the best of educational advan- 
tages, including the privileges of the public 
schools of Burlington and Elliott's Business 
College. The father of Mrs. Ita was by 
trade a stone-mason, but both parents, who 
were of German descent, are now deceased, 
although she has in Burlington one sister, 
Mrs. .Augusta Lippert. 

Mr. Ita is vitally connected with the 
springs of industry in his adopted city, and 
among his other activities is a stockholder 
and director of the German-American Sav- 
ings Bank. Fraternally, he is a member of 
Excelsior Lodge, Independent Order Odd 
Fellows, and his religious connection is 
with Zion Evangelical church, in whose 
work he takes a prominent part. He is 
one of the men to whom Burlington owes 
much in the way of industrial progress and 
conservative enterprise, so that his name 
stands high upon the roll of her benefactors, 
while his great personal worth has made 
him a host of friends. 

Mr. Ita in the summer of 1905 again Vis- 
ited his native land, accompanied bv his 
wife, and enjoyed a well-merited rest from 
business cares. 



LOREN B. BURNHAM. 

LoREN B. BuRNii.\M, who is engaged 
in the real estate and loan business, and 
was the organizer of the Republican Club 
of Burlington, was born in Paola. Kans., 



1+4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Fcl). 17, i8<^/j, and is descended from New 
Enpland ancestry. I'he history of the 
family at even a more remote period is 
ascertainal)le. for it is definitely known 
that there were four brothers of the name 
of Bnrnham who came from Enjjland to 
the New World in the seventeenth cen- 
tury, established their homes in this coun- 
try, ami founded families whose descend- 
ants are now found in various sections of 
the L'nited States. The preat-great-prand- 
father of Loren I!. I'.urnham was the 
owner of a vessel wiiich .sailed from New 
England in the Revolutionary War as a 
privateer, and was never heard of again, 
nor was any news ever received from the 
officers or the mcnd)ers of the crew, so 
that it has never been definitely known 
whether the vessel was destroyed by the 
enemy or was sunk in a gale. 

James liurnham. the great-grandfather 
of our subject, was a gifted man, a gradu- 
ate of Yale, an artist, and a scholar. He 
painted a jiicture of Yale College, which 
is now in |)ossession of Loren I'>. liurn- 
ham. Me resided in New l])swich. X. H.. 
and devoted his attention to the su]>ir- 
vision of his agricultural interests. There 
his death occurred. He left thirteen chil- 
dren, of whom John A. lUirnham. the 
grandfather of our subject, was the eldest. 
He became a machinist by trade, and for 
many years was in charge of a large cot- 
ton mill at Manchester. X. 11. lie gained 
a good business start in the ICast and after- 
ward went to Delaware. ( )hio, where he 
established a foundry, and in its con- 
duct became wealthy, but later he lost 
most of his fortune through endorsing 
notes for his friends. Subsecpiently he 
established a linseed oil mill at Delaware. 
Ohio, and prospering in its conduct, con- 



tinued in its operation from 1850 until the 
latter years of his life. His birth occurred 
in 1 "<)<>. and he passed away in Delaware, 
Ohio, in 1880. at the age of eighty-one 
years. His last wife was seventy-five years 
of age at the time of her death. He was 
three times married, his tirst wife being 
Mahitable Jenness, who died at the birth 
of her fourth child, who also died at that 
time. She left three children — John J., 
Emily, and James E. I'y his second mar- 
riage, to Miss Palmer, he had one child. 
By his third wife there are two daughters, 
Kate and .\da. Kate became the w ife of 
.\lfred -Vrlhur. founder of the Cleveland 
School of .Music, one of the leading edu- 
cational institutions of this character in 
the L'nited States. During the Civil War 
In- enlisted as a musician in the same regi- 
ment of whitl) William .McKinley was a 
member, and they became close |)ersonal 
friends, a connection that was afterward 
maintained. He was also a personal friend 
of Marcus A. Hanna. 

James V. lUirnham, father of Loren 15. 
r.uridiam. was born in X'ew I])swich. .X. 
II.. I'el). ,23. 1833. lie pursued a connnon- 
school education, but was a great reader 
from his early life, and became an excep- 
tionally well-informed man. He was a pat- 
tern-maker by trade, and when nineteen 
years of age he came to Iowa, making the 
trip westwaril by way of the Ohio and 
Mississippi Rivers, reaching I'.urlington 
on ilu- cl.iy on which Eranklin Pierce was 
elected |)residein of the l'nited States. 
Here he secured emi)loyment in the Ilen- 
drie I-'oundry. and after two week>" work 
his ability won recognition in promotion 
to the ])osition of foreman of the i)altern 
shoi)S. .About a year later he became ill 
with l\phoi<l fever, and when he was able 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



145 



to travel, he returned to Ohio. During his 
visit in that State he was married to Miss 
Kate Stailey, a daughter of Christian and 
Maria Stailey, natives of Pennsylvania, 
descended from German ancestors. After 
their marriage Mr. Burnham went with 
his bride to Kansas, and located on a 
claim near Paola. His wife's people also 
emigrated to that locality at the same 
time. Mr. Burnham acted as a scout for 
General Kearney and other military com- 
manders operating from Fort Scott, and 
was then in great personal danger at the 
time of the border troubles. He saw serv- 
ice until the close of the war, and was a 
notable figure in western military history 
at that time. He was also proprietor of 
a furniture store at Paola, Kans., during 
the period of the war, and after the ces- 
sation of hostilities he removed to Leav- 
enworth, Kans., where he took charge of 
the pattern department for Wilson, Estes 
& Fairchild, founders. He remained there 
for seven years. Later John F. Burnham 
and Frank B. Jagger purchased some of 
the machinery from the old oil mill in 
Ohio, and built the first oil mill in Iowa 
at Burlington, in 1856; and in 1874 James 
F. Burnham returned from Kansas to this 
State, and took charge of the oil mill as 
superintendent. There he remained until 
1880, when there occurred a great change 
in the ownership of the mill, and the firm 
style of J. R. Burnham & Company was 
assumed. At that time F. B. Jagger, 
Marcus Simpson, and James F. Burnham 
built a linseed oil mill at Third and Elm 
Streets, and conducted it until 1S87, when 
it was sold to the National Linseed Oil 
Company, and went into the trusts, Mr. 
Burnham accepting the superintendency 
of the manufacturing department, thus 



having supervision over fifty-six mills in 
the United States. He continued with the 
National Linseed Oil Company until 1897, 
when he resigned, and removed to a large 
stock farm west of Burlington, on which 
he remained until his death on the 27th 
of July, 1901. His widow still survives 
him. 

Mr. Burnham was president of the first 
park board of Burlington, being elected 
to that position by popular suiifrage, and 
acting in that capacity for two years. In 
politics he was a Republican. He was 
reared in the faith of the Episcopal 
church, and was once junior warden in 
that church in Burlington. He was noted 
for his charity, being a man of kindly 
spirit and generosity ; and yet. though his 
benevolences were many, his gifts were 
made so unostentatiously that often none 
knew thereof save the recipient of his 
bounty. He was one of the organizers of 
the first Odd Fellows' lodge in Leaven- 
worth, Kans., and was ever faithful to 
the teachings of the organization, which 
inculcates the principles of brotherly 
kindness and mutual helpfulness. In his 
family were two children : Charles F., a 
resident of Montrose, Iowa ; and Loren B. 

Now a well-known factor in the busi-. 
ness and political circles of Burlington, 
Loren B. Burnham attended the public 
schools of the city in his early boyhood, 
was afterward graduated from Elliott's 
Business College, and subsequently con- 
tinued his studies in the Baptist Uni- 
versity. Entering business life he spent 
one year with the Drake Hardware Com- 
pany, of Burlington, and in 1884 he en- 
tered the service of the National Linseed 
Oil Company, at Burlington, being con- 
nected therewith until 1889 as book- 



.46 



BJOUK.lFHU.iL KLI Ihll' 



keeper. In that year lie removed to Gro- 
ton, S. Dak., wlu-re he was manajjer of a 
mill for the National Linseed Oil Com- 
pany until Xovembcr, 1891, when he came 
to Burlington, and here apain represented 
the same company until i8<;8. when he re- 
moved to his farm, residini.; thereon for 
three years. He then sold that pro])erty, 
and bewail operatinfj in real estate and 
loans in lUirlingtoii, and to this field of 
business activity now ilirects his ener- 
gies, having a good clientage. He has 
thoroughly informed himself concerning 
realty values, and is thus enabled to ne- 
gotiate important realty transfers, and to 
place loans advantageously to those in- 
terested as well as to himself. 

On .\ug. 20, 1889, Mr. Burnham was 
married to Miss Mary E. Rickards, a 
daughter of Phillip H. and Rebecca A. 
(i'erry) Rickards. Mr. and Mrs. Burn- 
ham have one child, Ada A. Politically, 
Mr. I'.uridiam is a Republican, prominent 
m the work of the party ; and lie was one 
of the organizers of the I\e|)ul)lican Club 
of Burlington, in 11)04. wiiicli was found- 
ed upon lines making it a permanent or- 
ganization. He has been its secretary, 
and now is the vice-presi<lent. Fraternally, 
he is connected with the Independent 
( )rder of ( )dd I'ellows. the Woodmen of 
the World, and the .Modern Woodmen of 
America. Much of his life has been passed 
in P.urlington. and his fellow-citizens are 
familiar with his einiable record. 



JOHN ANDERSON. 

-Jr)iiN Ander.son, of Me<liai)(>lis, is 
numbered among the enter|)rising mer- 
chants of eastern Iowa, and his efforts 
along commercial lines ha\e always been 



productive of success in gratifying meas- 
ure. He is a son of Magnus and Johan- 
nah (l)aiiielson) .\nderson, and was bi>rn 
in Sweden. Ajiril 11, 1S50. He attended 
the schools of his home ])lace till he was 
seven years old, when he came across the 
great .\tlantic to .\merica with his par- 
ents, who located in Chisago county, 
.Minnesota. He went to the district 
schools of this county for a while, and 
later finished his education in the schools 
of Pepin county, Wisconsin. 

Soon after his school life was ended, 
he was married to Miss Sarah J. Hidden, 
Jul\ 20. 1871. .Mrs. .\nderson is a daugh- 
ter of .Milton and .Matilda ( Fuller) Holden. 
Mr. and .Mrs. .\nderson became the par- 
ents of five children : Mabel, married Dr. 
T. F. Cook, a prosperous dentist of Medi- 
apolis; Maude, assists her father in his 
general store; Xorman F.. a clerk: John 
Clarence, a student of the high school; 
and Ceorge Wesley, who died Jan. i.V 
i8<p. at the age of three and a half years. 

The three years prior to his marriage 
he clerked in a general store, and then for 
the ne.xt two years worked in the saw- 
mill which was conducted by his father 
and father-in-law. About this time he se- 
cured a good position at Reed's Landing 
with the Knap|) & .Shout Comi)any, hav- 
ing full charge of their store, and with 
whom he remained for some sixteen 
years. He then bought out this company, 
and became sole proprietor of the store. 
His ability, courtesy, and close ai)i>lica- 
tion to his business soon built him a pros- 
perous traile with all the ])eople, and he 
continued with great success in this store 
for nine years, when his store and goods 
were burned, and were a total loss. He 
then, on .\pril 15. i8i)(). move<l to Medi- 



DES MOINES COUXTY, IOWA. 



147 



apolis, where he purchased the general 
merchandise store of C. H. Parrott, and 
has since been conducting this large 
store, enlarging his stock until he now 
has one of the most extensive stocks of 
goods in the village. 

Mr. Anderson is a solid Republican, 
and, as e\'ery American citizen should do, 
keeps well posted on all the political 
questions and issues of the day. \\'hile 
he lived at Reed's Landing he held sev- 
eral offices of trust, being appointed post- 
master by President McKinley, which 
position he held for four months, when 
he resigned. He was also the treasurer 
of the town, as well as treasurer of the 
school board, both offices, being filled to 
the entire satisfaction of the citizens of 
Reed's Landing. In the spring of ii;o5 
Mr. Anderson was elected a member of 
the council of Mediapolis, which office he 
is now filling. He was at one time a 
member of the Ancient Order of United 
Workman for about ten years, but has 
now dropped his membership. 

In summing up this review, we find 
that Mr. Anderson has gradually ad- 
vanced from the position of a clerk to be 
the proprietor and owner of a large store 
which is filled with everything up-to-date 
that goes to make up the stock of a gen- 
eral store, and which is doing a fine busi- 
ness under the good judgment and busi- 
ness qualities that he possesses. Those 
qualities which have insured him success 
in the business world, as well as making 
friends, whose esteem and confidence he 
enjoys to a marked degree, are notice- 
able to the extreme, and his motto is : 
'"A square deal to one and all." 

Mr. Anderson and his family are con- 
sistent members of the Methodist Ejiisco- 



pal church, in which he is an active 
worker. For over twenty-eight years he 
has been a member of this denomination, 
and twenty-six years of this time he has 
served as superintendent of the Sunday- 
school ; and during his six and one-half 
years' residence in Mediapolis he has 
seven times been elected to this office. 



DANIEL KELLY. 

Amo.n'g the self-made, energetic, and 
progressive men of the village of Mediap- 
olis is Daniel Kelly, and his reputation is 
well deserved, for in him are embraced 
the characteristics of an unbending in- 
tegrity, unabating industry, and an en- 
erg^ that never flags. Mr. Kelly is a 
native of Pennsylvania, his birth having 
occurred at Brady's Bend, Aug. 15, 1848. 
His parents, Daniel and Elizabeth (Mac- 
Keever) Kelly, moved to Linden, Ind., 
near La Fayette, when our subject was a 
lad of seven years. They did not remain 
long in Linden, and soon took up their 
residence in Jasper county, Indiana, 
where Mr. Kelly was a prosperous 
farmer for two years. Moving again, 
this time to North Judson, Stark county. 
Ind., he engaged in the mercantile bus- 
iness, in which he continued until he 
enlisted in the Civil War, and served until 
its close. He enlisted as a member of 
the Twenty-fifth Indiana Regiment. Mr. 
Kelly was wounded in battle and was 
allowed to come home on a furlough to 
be cared for. After being honorably 
discharged from the war he moved to 
Galveston, Cass county, Ind., and again 
engaged in the mercantile business, con- 



1+8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tinning in the same till liis death, which 
occurred in March, i8<^,v His wife died 
about 1867. 

The schwil privileges of our subject 
were exceedingly limited, as he was only 
permitted ti) attend school for a very 
brief time; but his father took great pains 
to teach him in all the common studies, 
antl lie has gained a vast amount of 
kn«)wk<lge from his general reading: and 
to him the broad school of experience has 
really taken the i)lace of a cours^ in a 
higher school or a college, so that his 
own efforts have |)ractically graduated 
him. Mr. Kelly started his business 
career as an a])])rentice in a tin-shop, 
where he served three years, and then 
worked as a journeyman for the follow- 
ing four years. 

In 187.^ he located in Mediapolis, and 
o])ened a stove and tin store, together 
with a repair shop, in which business he 
continued for about twelve years. He 
then added a stock of hardware, and 
shortly after engaged in partnershi]) with 
Mr. 1'". i-"ry. wIkj w^as in the furniture 
and undertaking business. This firm con- 
tinued till 1801. when the partnershi]) was 
dissolved, and Mr. Kelly conducted the 
store alone till i8<^3. when he sold his 
stock to Welsh & Wilson. Mr. Kelly has 
had a very successful business life, and is 
now abundantly able to retire from active 
duties and enjoy the well-earned fortune 
accumulated during his younger days. 
He is now practically out of business. 

Mr. Kelly was married to Mi.ss Hannah 
Jane King, May 18. 1879. Mrs. Kelly is 
a daughter of James William and Malissa 
(Van Osdol) King. They are the i)ar- 
ents of five children: Mary ICditli, the 
wife of I. W. Cficavne. anil resides in 



W'averly. Iowa : Franklin Lloyd, Cather- 
ine May. William Walter, and Dale Mac- 
Keever. all at home. Mr. and Mrs. Kelly 
are faithful members of the Methodist 
church, in which the former has been a 
steward and trustee, and is now the ])resi- 
dent of the board of trustees. They have 
a hand.some and commodious residence 
on the main street of the village, which 
is also one of the attractive features of the 
village. Through the long years that Mr. 
Kelly has been engaged in mercantile 
business as a member of several firms, his 
accpiaintance in business and social circles 
has been continually broadened, while his up- 
right course has won for him the unqualified 
regard of his fellow-men, and his record 
is worthy of the emulation of all young 
men. 



CHARLES F. SCHRAMM. 

CnAR[,ES F. ScHR.vM.M. Starting out to 
make his own living at the age of thirteen 
vears. is now, a half century later, one of 
the most ])rosperous and prominent mer- 
chants of Burlington, having since 1863 
been connected with the large <lry-goods 
business, of which, conducted under the 
name of the Schramm & Schmieg Dry- 
goods Company, he is the vice-president. 
A large ])ercentage of the leading business 
men of this city are of German birth, and 
among those whose lifework has been cred- 
itable alike to the land of their birth and 
the land of their ado]>tion, Mr. Schramm is 
foremost. 

.\ native of Bavaria, Germany, he was 
horn in 1823. and when eleven years of age, 
acconi])anied his parents, J. C. and Mar- 
garet Barbara (Kiesling) Schranun. to 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1+9 



America. They were also natives of the 
Fatherland, and were there reared and mar- 
ried. In 1837 they started with their fam- 
ily for the New World, crossing the ocean 
in a sailing vessel, which was seventy-seven 
days in making the vo_\age. Mr. Schramm, 
as a member of the Prussian army, had 
served in the famous battle of Jena, in 1806. 
He followed both farming and merchandi- 
zing, and after emigrating to the United 
States engaged in the grocery business in 
Circleville, Ohio. Later he came to Bur- 
lington, arriving on the yth of May, 1849. 
He died the following day of cholera, being 
at that time sixty-seven years of age. His 
wife survived him until 1850, when she, too, 
died of cholera. A sister of Qiarles F. 
Schramm, Mrs. IMargaret Teuscher, resides 
in Burlington. Her husband, who was at 
one time engaged in the retail grocery busi- 
ness, and served as county treasurer of Des 
Moines county, is now living retired in Bur- 
lington. 

Charles F. Schramm had no opportunity 
to attend school after leaving the Father- 
land, and the education he has acquired, 
making him a well-informed man, has been 
gained through reading, observation, and 
experience. When thirteen years of age 
he began serving as clerk in the postofilice 
at Circleville, Ohio, and later engaged in 
clerking in the dry-goods store of S. & B. 
Olds, of that city, with whom he remained 
until 1843, when he came to Burlington, 
and accepted a position as salesman with 
the firm of Postelwaite & Craigen, dry- 
goods merchants. He afterward went to 
Fannington, \'an Buren county, where he 
clerked for his brother, George Schramm, 
who is now living retired in Des Moines, 
at the advanced age of ninety years. Charles 
Schramm remained in Fannington until 



1853, when he returned to Burlington, and 
entered mercantile life on his own account 
with J. S. Schramm as a partner, this con- 
tinuing until 1859. Having lost his wife 
and three children within a \ear, he went 
to Texas, where for one year he lived the 
open life of the plains for the benefit of his 
own health. Returning to Iowa, he joined 
Mr. Schmieg, in 1863, in the establishment 
of the business which has since had a con- 
tinuous existence. 

During the period between 1861 and 
1862, Mr. Schramm spent two months with 
the Second Iowa Regiment as clerk to J. T. 
Stewart, a lieutenant at Bird's Point, Ky., 
and Cairo, 111. He was also one month 
with the Seventh Iowa Regiment as sutler, 
and with J. R. Nelson as a clerk. 

Returning to Burlington, he joined Fred- 
erick Schmieg in the establishment of a dry- 
goods business on Jefferson Street, between 
Water and Main Streets, where they con- 
tinued for twenty years. They then estab- 
lished a wholesale house at no North Main 
.Street, and in 1903 the business was in- 
corporated with F. Schmieg as president ; 
C. F. Schramm, vice-president : and Arthur 
•Schramm, secretary and treasurer. They 
carry a large line of dry-goods, notions, oil 
cloths, and table furnishings, and occupy 
three floors and basement of the building. 
Five men are employed in the store, and 
the house is represented on the roa^ by four 
traveling salesmen. The business has con- 
tinually grown, expanding to large propor- 
tions, until the trade now covers a large 
territory. Throughout almost his entire life 
Mr. Schramm has been connected with the 
dry-goods trade, and his long experience, 
keen discernment, and business sagacity 
have been the foundation upon which he 
has built his success. The policy of the 



ISO 



lilOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



liousc lias over bci-n fair dealing antl good 
iiKTcliantlisc. and tin- rqiutatiijn wliicli they 
sustain in coniniercial circles is one which 
any man might \k ijroiid to possess. 

In 184S. in I'armington. Mr. Schranmi 
was married to Miss Charlotte Benson, a 
native of Ohio, who died July 23. 1858. 
They became the parents of four children, 
only one yet living: Arthur, of I'.urling- 
ton, who luarried Mary (iagc. and has 
three sons. I'red. Arthur, and Edwin. Mr. 
Schramm was again married in I'arming- 
ton. Iowa, in 1862. his second union being 
with Miss Jennie I'erry. They had eight 
children, five of whom reached mature 
years, hut all are now deceased. The wife 
and mother died in 1884, and was buried in 
.\s()en Grove cemetery. On the i6th of 
April, 1885. Mr. Schramm married Miss 
l-'lla Haskell, of Burlington, and they reside 
at 1 102 South Third Street, where Mr. 
.Schramm has made his home since 1858. 

Mr. Schramm is a member of Des 
Moines Lodge, Xi>. i. Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons. He gives his supjjort 
to tile Trinity Lutheran church. His wife 
is a very active worker in the Congrega- 
tional church, and along many benevolent 
and charitable lines. She belongs to the 
Ladies' Aid Society of the Burlington Hos- 
pital, to the auxiliary of the Young Men's 
Christian Association, is a teacher in a 
sewing school, and also belongs to a musical 
club. Her elTorts have been of a most 
])ractical and helpful character, and many 
have benefited by her labors. Mr. Schramm 
is a conservative gold-Democrat, and in 
matters of citizenship, relating to the wel- 
fare and improvement of I'urlinglon espe- 
cially, he is most jirogressive, contriljuting 
to many measures for the general good. 
His career demonstrates in the highest ami 



broadest sense that nationality or birth does 
not determine, in this country, either in 
si)irit or degree, the future standing of any 
one, either in finance, patriotism, or society 
— the American idea of the " common 
brotherh(X)d of man." 



HORACE PATTERSON. 

In the |)ioneer days of Des Moines 
county's tleveloi)ment the Patterson fam- 
ily w'as established within its borders, 
and from that time to the present its rep- 
resentatives have taken an active and 
helpful part in matters pertaining to the 
general ])rogress. They have been the 
champions of many measures for the pub- 
lic good, and none have been more help- 
ful in public work. Horace Patterson has 
won a foremost place in the ranks of the 
leading agriculturists of the county, and 
as the result of judicious investments is 
now one of the i)rosi)erous citizens of 
southeastern Iowa. 

Mr. Patterson is a son of John and 
Martha ( Darbysbire) Patterson, his birth 
occurring .March 17, i8f«, on the farm on 
which he now resides. His father, Hon. 
John Patterson, was a son of Charles and 
\'irginia (Dawson) Patterson, and was 
born ( )ctober, 1820, near Cumberland, 
Md.. in which ])lace he received a very 
limited education. His first occu|)ation 
in life was to drive the transportation 
wagon on the national road between Cin- 
cinnati and Baltimore. These huge wag- 
ons preceded the railroads which are 
stretched over the world so universally 
to-day. Hotels and boarding houses were 
verv scarce then ;ilso. and the two vears 



DES MOINES COUKrV, IOWA. 



151 



that Mr. Patterson made these trips were After the death of Mr. Darl)yshire, Mrs. 

full of hardships and privations. His Darbyshire lived with her daughter in 

mother died during the '30's, and his Burlington, and died in 1863. 

father came West and settled in Keokuk Hon. John Patterson and wife were the 

county. Iowa. ' parents of thirteen children — six boys and 

In 1840 Hon. John Patterson came to one girl living, and five boys and one girl 

Burlington, and his first few years were dead. They are: John William, lives in 

spent on the farm of the late Judge Ma- Kansas; Charles, died in infancy; Charles 

son and Alexander Hilleary. for whom he T., resides in Burlington, and was born 

worked by the month. In 1841 he mar- March 6, 1847, and always assisted his 

ried Miss Martha Darbyshire, daughter fathe^ on the farm till 1874. when he took 

of John and Jane (Barret) Darbyshire. charge of the Burlington street railway 

Her parents were English, and were for his father, which position he held for 



raised in the city of London. Mr. Darby- 
shire had a cabinet-shop attached to his 
home, and had on one occasion just fin- 
ished a very fine chair for the ruler of 
Austria when a fire broke out which de- 
stroyed shop, home, chair, and all. Mrs. 



eighteen years. May t8, 1871, he mar- 
ried Miss Fynetta Arrowsmith, and has 
one daughter, Laura .Almcda ; Frances 
Elizabeth Patterson, married Theodore 
Thompson, and resides in Burlington on a 
farm : Henry, died when young; Wallace, 



Patterson was then but a mere child, but died at the age of eight years ; Mary was 



distinctly remembered being carried out 
from the fire in her high chair. In 1833 
the Darbyshires came to America, and 
located near Bushnell, 111. They brought 
their own twelve children and two belong- 



two years and Henry D. was three years 
when they died ; Horace, of this review ; 
Edward, now in business in Des Moines ; 
Everett, died when two j'ears of age ; 
Weslev, lives at Patterson Station ; and 



ing to a friend with them. During 1835 George, in Burlington. 



the}' moved to Burlington, where another 
child was born, and where Mr. Darby- 
shire died. This large family of children 
are dead except the Reverend Mathew 
Darbyshire, who is the oldest settler in 
Washington, Washington county, Iowa. 
One of the Darbyshire girls married a 
gentleman by the name of Smith, and 



\\'hen the parents of our subject began 
life together, Mr. Patterson was in debt 
fifty clollars, and they had to begin house- 
keeping in very small quarters. They 
first rented the old house of one room on 
the Judge Mason farm, where they were 
very comfortable for a while, and later 
rented a part of the Hilleary farm ; and 



used to live on a farm which is part of in [846 he bought fifty-two acres of land 



Crapo park. In 1834 Mrs. Patterson came 
to visit her, and her sister ofifered her a 
half of this large farm if she would but 
stay one year with them. Mrs. Patterson 
did not accept this generous offer, but re- 



about two and one-half miles from the 
center of the city from the late Governor 
Grimes. He then farmed for many years, 
and became a noted stock man, introdu- 
cing the better grade of cattle and hog's 



turned to her home; however, she came in this part of Iowa. His labors were 
the next year to reside in Burlington, crowned with great success, and in a few 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



yi-.'irs Ik- jmrchasi-il a tariu of sonu- four 
luiiulrcd and lliirty acres from the late 
Dr. Cliambcrlin, wliich was located at 
Patterson's Station. He kept on invest- 
ing in farm land — bnyinp the Darbyshire 
farm and two from the l)arl)yshire hoys 
— till at the time of his death he owned 
over nineteen hundred acres of cultivated 
and swamj) land. I-'ortune truly smiled 
on him. as he rose from workinjj at fifty 
cents a day to he a ca])italist and stock- 
holder in many ililTerent enterprises. He 
was the president of the Ajjricultural So- 
ciety for years, umler whose direction 
this society was in a very flourishing con- 
dition, and was then always able to meet 
all i)reminms. He was a large stock- 
holder in the ( iernian-.Vmerican ami Mer- 
chant's .Xational and Iowa State liank, 
and also a director of the first bank men- 
tioned for years. 

The city of IJnrliiiglon is indebted to 
Hon. John Patterson and Judge Mason 
for the building of the water works. .Mr. 
Patterson was first vice-president and 
then ])resident of the water company. 
In 1873 the first street railroad was built, 
and John Patterson was one of the orig- 
inal founders. It was |)Ut into o|)era- 
tion Jan. 8, 1H74, and in 1883 the car barn 
with all of its contents and some of the 
])rivate ])roperty belonging to Mr. Patter- 
son was destroyed by fire, .\fter this he 
assimuMl entire control of the whole south 
hill line. In i8<;2 the electric cars were 
]nit into ojjeration. and Mr. Patterson sold 
out entirely to the Electric Com])any. 

In i^olitics he was one of the strongest 
Rei)id)licans, and served his township, 
county, antl State in several different of- 
fices. He was a man who believed in the 
publi'- •-■■III ml <\ vtiMn t(i a large extent, and 



was always hapjjy when he could pro- 
mote the etliicational interests in any 
way. His ability was ever of the best, and 
all trusts held by him were discharged with 
the greatest of care and accuracy. For 
.several years he was township trustee, 
county trustee, school director, and had 
charge of the ])oor in lUirlington township 
for several terms. In 1881 he was elected 
to the State Senate. 

.\s .Mr. Patterson advanced in years, 
his health became somewhat im])aired, 
and at times he was a great sufi'erer, so 
that some of his active pursuits of life 
had to be abandoned : but the great and 
universal interest he had taken in all i)ub- 
lic enterjirises was still maintained to the 
end of life. He was a large well-built 
man, with a kind word for all. and of a 
very generous nature, ever seeking to as- 
sist the ])oor and needy. He contributed 
the ground for the -Spring drove church, 
and also contributed largely towards the 
building of the same. .After a long and 
useful life he was compelled to lay down 
his burdens, and on .May 18, iSt/), jiassed 
])eacefully and <|uietly away, at the age 
of seventy-si.\ years. His loss was one 
greatly de|)lored by not only his imme- 
diate family and friends but by the whole 
community at large. His life was an 
upright one, his business principles were 
of tile highest, and the position he took 
in all ])ublic enterprises is equaled by 
very few. His name will ever be revered 
by one and all. His good wife, who also 
liad know II much of the early struggles 
and |)rivalions of (lioneer times, and was 
a woman of strong character, possessing 
all tile \irtnes that make an iileal wife 
and loving mother, survived him for some- 
vears. She did not remain in the countrv 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



153 



a great length of time after her husband 
died, but made her home with her sons, 
and passed away Dec. 13, looi, at the 
home of her son, George Patterson, of 
BurHngton. iMr. and Airs. Patterson sleep 
side by side in the beautiful Aspen Grove 
cemetery. 

Horace Patterson, of this review, re- 
ceived his early education in tlie public 
schools of Burlington townshij). and later 
attended the high school, after which 
he took a commercial course in Elliott's 
Business College. He first launched out 
in life as a traveling salesman and later 
as bookkeeper for Robert Donahue, with 
whom he remained for eight years, when 
he had a desire to return to the home 
farm. He rented this large place of four 
hundred and twenty-one acres, for one 
year, but this year he has the superintend- 
ency of the same, and raises stock and 
grain to a very large extent. His stock 
comprises horses, cattle, and hogs. 

His land is rich, and is close to the 
railroad station, which is a great advan- 
tage to him in handling the product of the 
farm. 

Oct. I, 1890, Mr. Patterson was married 
to Aliss Carrie Newman Acres, who was 
born and educated in Burlington. Her 
parents were Stephen and Sarah ( New- 
man) Acres, both old and highly re- 
spected citizens of liurlington, where for 
many vears Mr. Acres was identified with 
the firm of Acres & Ijlackmar, who dealt 
largely in paper goods. Mr. and Mrs. 
Acres were the parents of a large family, 
some of whom are dead. A more com- 
plete record of Mrs. Patterson's parents 
will be found in connection with that of 
Mr. Scott Wortring, who is a brother-in- 
law of Mrs. Horace Patterson. 



Mr. Patterson is a member of Excel- 
sior Lodge, No. 268, Indejjendent Order of 
( )ild b'ellows, of Burlington. His worthy 
wife is a member of the Methodist church. 
He followed in the political footsteps of 
his father in choosing the platform that 
he thinLs meets the requirements of the 
people. He conducts his business in a 
manly manner, and is always much inter- 
ested in any measure that will be for the 
promotion and general gooil of the 
county. The home of Air. and Mrs. Pat- 
terson is ever open to the hospitality of 
man}' friends, where many social and 
pleasant gatherings are held, and they 
are recognized as firm friends and good 
neighbors. 



GEORGE 'WALLENTIN. 

George Wallentin is the owner of a 
valuable and highly productive farm on Sec- 
tion 34, Franklin township, constituting the 
northwest quarter. He has resided in the 
county for a comparatively brief period, but 
has become well known here as an enter- 
prising agriculturist and stock-raiser. His 
birth occurred in Bavaria, Germany, July 
31, 185 1, his parents being Zachariah and 
Eve (Weiss) Wallentin. In the year 1871 
he crossed the Atlantic from the Father- 
land to Baltimore, Md., and made his way 
into die interior of the country, settling first 
at Delavan. III. He had at that time less 
than ten dollars. He then secured employ- 
ment on a farm six miles east of Delavan. in 
Boyington township, Tazewell county, and 
two years later he began farming on his own 
account, investing his savings in eighty 
acres of land in tliat locality. There he re- 
sided until February, 1891, when he came 



154 



lilOGRArHICAL REllliir 



to Dcs Moines county, Iowa, having dis- 
posed of his property in Illinois. Here he 
purchased one hundred and sixty acres of 
land on Section 34. of which twenty-five 
acres was covered with tiinl)cr. but he has 
since cleared fifteen acres of that tract. Ik- 
has also erected a pood hay barn, and other 
necessary outbuilding.s. and has continued 
the active work of the farm until he has a 
splendidly developed jiroperty. His is one 
of the fine residences of the township, and 
cverythiu}; about his place is neat, thrifty, 
and attractive in appearance. In addition 
to the tilling of the soil he has engaged quite 
extensively and successfully in stock-rais- 
ing, having a good herd of Shorthorn and 
Hereford cattle, and is a heavy raiser of 
Poland China hogs. In liis methods he is 
practical and enterprising, while his labors 
prove profitable. 

May II, 1875, -^'''- Wallentin was mar- 
ried to Miss Mary Hendricker. who was 
born in Mason county, Illinois, and pursued 
her education in the schools of Beardstown, 
that State. Her parents are Frederick and 
Elizabeth ( Kulil) Hendricker, both of 
whom were natives of Germany, the former 
burn in Hanover and the latter in Sa.xony. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wallentin have become the 
parents of four daughters and three sons : 
Carrie, now the wife of Jacob Fix, a farmer 
living in Cramer, Nebr. ; Bertha, the wife of 
Brick M. Moore, a farmer of Shelby county, 
Iowa ; Philip, who is living in Des Moines 
county ; Christian, Lydia, Hulda, and Fred- 
erick, all at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Wallentin arc members of 
the Methodist Episcopal clnirch. and in his 
political views he is a Re|)ublican. He has 
served as district supervisor and as school 
director for several years ; but is not a pol- 
itician in the sense of office-seeking, for he 



feels that his business affairs are worthy 
his best eflorts, and to his farming interests 
he gives his time and attention, with the 
result that he is prospering in his undertak- 
ings. 

In 1900 Mr. Wallentin took a trip back 
to Germany, and there visited his former 
home, where still reside some of his brothers 
and sisters, as well as other relatives. 



JOHN BOESCH. 

JniiN I'orscii. viewing the world, its 
iippnrtuiiitics and its duties, from a practical 
and also a humanitarian standpoint, so lived 
as to gain success in business and also win 
the regard and respect of his fellow-men. 
In his career, justice, kindness, and philan- 
thro])y went hand in hand with keen busi- 
ness discernment, indefatigable energ}-, and 
strong purpose, and his well-rounded char- 
acter, showing forth all the traits of hon- 
orable manhood, constitutes an example 
worthy of emulation, and should serve as 
an incentive and inspiration to those who 
knew him. 

John Bocsch was born in West Phalen, 
Germany, April 4, 1839, at what was the 
old family homestead, his father, Louis 
Boesch, there following the occupation of 
farming until i8.j6, when he came to 
.America. He came to New Orleans, and 
then up the Mississippi River to Burling- 
ton, and soon afterward settled in Tama 
township, Des Moines county, where he re- 
sumed agricultural pursuits, continuing the 
cultivation of his farm here until his retire- 
ment from active business life. He then 
made his home in Burlington until his 
death. 






^ ^x-e^(S^ 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



157 



A youth of seven years when his parents 
came to Iowa, John Boesch acquired his 
education through attendance at the dis- 
trict schools of Des Moines county in the 
winter seasons, while in the summer months 
he worked upon his father's farm until 
twenty-one years of age ; but not wishing to 
engage in agricultural pursuits as a life 
work he came to the city on attaining his 
majority and entered the employ of J. S. 
Schramm, with whom he learned the first 
principles of commercial life. He remained 
with that house for sixteen years, gradually 
working his way upward from one position to 
another of greater responsibility ; and finding 
in each advance step a broader outlook over 
the business world, with clearer knowledge 
of its demands and possibilities. Leav- 
ing the employ of I\Ir. Schramm about 1875, 
he formed a partnership with his brother 
under the firm style of C. F. & John Boesch, 
dealers in dry-goods, their store being lo- 
cated at the corner of Fourth and Jefferson 
Streets. The business was conducted suc- 
cessfully for seven years, at the end of which 
time John Boesch withdrew, and the fol- 
lowing year, 1884, he founded the business 
which is still conducted under the name of 
The John Boesch Company, at the corner of 
Fifth and Jefferson Streets. This location 
was by many considered too far from the 
then business center of Burlington to be an 
advantageous one, but the foresight of Mr. 
Boesch was demonstrated by this move, for 
from the time that he opened his store there 
the business center has gradually extended in 
that direction, until now many of the lead- 
ing commercial enterprises of the city are 
located in the immediate neighborhood of 
the house of The John Boesch Company. 
With his new enterprise Mr. Boesch at first 
occupied but a single room with his stock 



of dry-goods, but the business maintained 
a steady and healthful growth, and he 
soon had to' enlarge his stock to meet the 
growing demands of the trade and to in- 
crease his space in order to properly dis- 
play the stock. He became the first tenant 
of the Masonic Temple, and the business 
now occupies all of the storeroom of the 
building and also the double storeroom in 
the adjoining building, giving a frontage 
of ninety feet. With the expansion of the 
business The John 'Boesch Company is 
now controlling one of the largest dry- 
goods and millinery houses of this part of 
the country. Mr. Boesch established cer- 
tain commendable business principles, from 
which he never deviated. He conducted 
his store upon a strictly cash basis, and ex- 
emplified in his career the truth of the 
old maxim that " honesty is the best policy." 
His standing in business circles was unas- 
sailable, and among his associates of the 
commercial world he had not only an ex- 
cellent financial rating but was recognized 
as one who never made an engagement 
that he did not keep nor incur an obliga- 
tion that he did not fulfil. 

In politics he was rather independent, and 
was never an aspirant for office : but matters 
of citizenship having for their object the wel- 
fare and substantial progress of the com- 
munity received his earnest endorsement. 

Mr. Boesch married ]Miss Anna Deichert, 
of Burlington, w^ho was born in this city, her 
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Deichert, be- 
ing among the pioneer residents here. Mrs. 
Boesch died in November, 1872, leaving 
three children, while one died at the time 
of the mother's death, while later Frank L. 
passed away, being then eleven years of age. 
The others are George C. and Clara M., the 
latter the wife of P. IM. Smith, of Burling- 



158 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA'IEW 



ton. After tlie deatli of his first wife Mr. 
Boescli married Miss Sarah Buhrmaster, 
of Burlington, who is still living. Mr. 
Boesch died April 15, Kpi. after a resi- 
dence of more than four decades in Bur- 
lington and of almost two-thirds of a cen- 
tury in the county. He had long been an 
active member of the German Methodist 
church, and was for many years a member 
of its board of stewards and a priniioter 
of the various church activities, lie was 
a liberal supporter of many philanthropic 
measures, and thus he exem]ilified the hu- 
manitarian sjjirit which formed so .salient 
a characteristic in his life record. All men 
knew him to respect him. many to love 
him. l'"or many years he resided with his 
family in a beautiful home on North Fourth 
Street, and it was there that the best traits 
of his life shone forth most clearly, indi- 
cated by an untiring devotion to his family. 



GEORGE C. BOESCH. 

George C. Boesch, president and mana- 
ger of The John Boe.sch Company of Bur- 
lington, allying his forces with the great 
commercial movement which has made 
America pre-eminent in many lines of busi- 
ness activity, and which has continuallv 
promoted the upbuiUling and welfare of the 
city in which he resides, was born in i'.iir- 
lington, Aug. 24. 1866. a son of John 
Boesch, the founder of the dry-goods house 
now under the direct control of him whose 
name introtluces this review. 

George Boesch. having obtained his more 
specifically literary education in the schools 
of Burlington, afterward pursued a course 
in a business college, and then entered his 



father's store, having already become quite 
familiar with the business through the as- 
sistance which he had rendered in its con- 
duct while not engaged with the duties of 
the schoolroom. He became a permanent 
factor in the business ab<iut the time of the 
founding of the present store, and although 
not a partner, he became active in the man- 
agement, and, as the years advanced, more 
and more relieved his father of the heavier 
burdens and responsibilities of conducting 
the growing enterjirise. .After the death 
of John Boesch a partnership was .formed 
under the name of The John Boesch Com- 
pany, with tiie three heirs as owners, and 
George C. Boesch as manager. July i, 
i(p2. the business was incor])orated with a 
capital stock of seventy-five thousand dol- 
lars, of which George C. Boesch is president, 
and Mrs. C. M. Smith is secretary. The 
store was conducted along the original lines 
instituted by the father, and continued to 
be equally successful. In December, 1903, 
they bought the stock of the William Gus- 
hard Dry Goods Company, occupying the 
two adjoining stores, and thus doubled their 
floor space and largely increased their stock 
and facilities. They now have the largest 
street frontage of any retail store in the 
city, and do an extensive and profitable 
business, employment being furnished to 
more than fifty people. 

George C. Boesch, accorded by the con- 
sensus of public opinion a place among the 
foremost merchants and business men of 
the city and State, has displayed the quali- 
ties which have caused his co-operation and 
counsel to be sought in the ccmtrdl of ntlier 
enterprises. He is now interested in one 
of the leading shoe hou.ses of the city, — 
that of Hertzler & Boesch, whose place of 
business adjoins that of the dry-godds 



DES MOINES COUNTV. IOWA. 



159 



house, and is also connected therewith. 
This firm was organized in 1901. and en- 
tered upon an era of prosperity and growth 
which yet continues. 

Mr. Boesch was married, June 28, 1893, 
to Miss Leonora Heins. of Jordan, Minn., 
a daughter of H. H. Heins. They have 
three children: Melbourne H., Lenore J., 
and Marjorie M. The parents are members 
of the First German Methodist church of 
Burlington, and not only do they contrib- 
ute generously to its support, but give of 
their time and efifort for the furtherance of 
the cause, Mr. Boesch now serving as Sun- 
day-school superintendent, a position which 
he has filled for ten years. The family 
home on North Fourth Street is a most 
attractive residence, and one of its chief 
charms is the atmosphere of cordial hos- 
pitality which there prevails. 



PROF. CHARLES WACHSMUTH. 

Brightly emblazoned on the world's roll 
of famous names hs that of Prof. Charles 
Wachsmuth, who made his home in Bur- 
lington for a period of forty years and dur- 
ing that time acquired a high place among 
the scholars and scientists of the Western 
hemisphere. He was born Sept. 13, 1829, 
in the city of Hanover, Germany, of dis- 
tinguished ancestry, his father being Judge 
of the .Supreme Court of the Kingdom of 
Hanover. ( )rphaned by the death of his 
mother when still very young, he received 
the tenderest care from his remaining par- 
ent, who destined him for the profession of 
law. To his own and his father's great grief, 
however, he was obliged, at the age of six- 
teen years, to give up all studies on account 



of failing health. In 1832 he came to 
America, being sent to New York as agent 
for a Hamburg commercial house, but find- 
ing the climate of the latter city inimical 
to his health, he decided to try the West, 
and came to Burlington. Iowa was then 
a young and undeveloped State, but he had 
faith in its future, and here he resided dur- 
ing the greater jiart of his life. 

On first coming to Burlington, Professor 
Wachsmuth engaged in the grocery busi- 
ness, in which he continued for ten years. 
In 1855 he was united in marriage to Miss 
Bernhardine Lorcnz, who survives him. 
Finding that his life in the dry Western 
country did not afford the desired condi- 
tions for improvement in his health, he 
sought the counsel of a ]3hysician, who ad- 
vised him to spentl as much time as possible 
in the open air. and suggested the collec- 
tion of fossils as a suitable avocation. He 
at once adopted the idea, and from that time 
a new life began for him. That he himself 
then had no idea how important his achieve- 
ments would be, may be seen from the fact 
that at first he used a cigar box to contain 
his collected treasures. This soon gave 
way to a cabinet which he purchased, and 
at the end of a year an entire room was 
required. In later years he built a fire- 
proof house, which now contains the greatest 
collection of fossil crinoids in the world. 
The collections attained such dimensions 
that the celebrated Professor Agassiz, on 
his lecture tour through the West, came to 
see it, and commended it highly for its 
completeness, size, and the care and ac- 
curacy displayed in its cataloguing. 

In 1865 Professor \\'achsmuth closed out 
his business, and, accompanied by Mrs. 
Wachsmuth, made a trip to Europe. A 
vear later he returned to Burlington, re- 



i6o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



solved to devote liis life to scientific pur- 
suits — niainly tt) research in connection 
with crinoid fossils. In 1873 Professor 
Atjassiz paid a second visit to liurlinj^on. 
He found the collection greatly increased 
and improved, and expressed the wish to 
procure it, and that the owner mifjlit ac- 
company it and take charge of all crinoids 
in the Museum of Comparative Zoology 
in Harvard University. With this Pro- 
fessor W'achsnuitli complied, remaining in 
Cambridge until the death of Professor 
Agassiz. In 1874 he and Mrs. Wachsmuth 
made another trip abroad, visiting Euro])e, 
Asia, ant! .Africa, returning at the expira- 
tion of a year. Having relinquished his 
title to his collection in favor of the Uni- 
versity, he did not own, at the time of re- 
turning to this city, a single specimen : but 
he was soon at work again with his collect- 
or's hammer, spending every fine day in 
the (|uarrics, and it was there that he one 
day met and became accpiainted with Mr. 
Frank Sjiringer, with whom lie furnuMl a 
friendshi]) that lasted until the death of 
Professor Wachsmuth. Thereafter they 
were associated in collecting, and also col- 
laborated in the writing .'uul ])reparati<>n of 
their works. .\ few years later Professor 
Wachsmuth, with his wife, made a number 
of collecting tri|)s through Indiana, Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee, and .Alabama, bringing 
home manv Ix^autiful sjiecimens ; and he 
was not only fortunate in his quests, but 
these southern tours resulted in much ben- 
efit to his health, and he counted the time 
thus spent as among the hapi)iest days of 
his life. In 1879 Professor Wachsmuth 
and Mr. Springer published the first i)art 
of "Revision of Palaeocrinoidea ; " and 
after having finished the latter juirt in the 
fall of 1886, he began the preparation of 



his greatest work, " The North .\merican 
Crinoidie Camerata," at which he labored 
continuously for seven years, without in- 
terruption except from illness, which was 
all too frequent. That he did not live to 
see the publication of this moninnental work 
is one of the most profound regrets of all 
his friends. The last years of his life were 
a time of great Ixxlily suffering, one attack 
of illness succeeding another, but that for 
which he himself most grieved was the 
failure of his sight, which, of course, inter- 
fered seriously with his work. During all 
bis sufferings, however, he remained cheer- 
ful, and never uttered a word of complaint. 
He passed awa_\- on the seventh day of Feb- 
ruary, 1896, and was interred in Aspen 
(^irove cemetery, where his la.st resting-place 
is marked by a plain stone, on which his 
name is graven. 

Professor Wachsmuth was a member of 
the .Vmerican .Vssociation for the Advance- 
ment of Science, of the Geological Society 
of .\merica. of the Iowa Academy of 
.Science, of the Im[)erial Society of Natural 
Sciences of .Moscow, and corresponding 
member of the Philadelphia .-\cademy of 
.Science. He was a man of great mental 
))owcrs, jjossessed of a high and unselfish 
entiuisiasm for his work, and by the ad- 
mirable traits of his character won the 
regard ami respect of all. 



JOAB C. COMSTOCK. 

TiiK history of the Comstock family in 
the West properly begins with the career of 
Joab Comstock, of Connecticut, who was 
horn .\])ril 4, I7()8. and died .\pril 14. 1827. 
In iliat State lie married Eunice Willev, 



DES MO/XHS COUXT)'. IOWA. 



i6i 



and they decided to try their fortunes in the 
then new country of Ohio. Loading their 
household goods upon a two-wheeled cart 
drawn bv a yoke of oxen, they started on the 
long journey overland, traveling by short 
stages on account of their slow-paced team, 
occasionally halting to cook food or to rest 
bv the way, but always looking hopefully 
forward to their destination, and pushing 
on Avith high courage and resolution day 
after day, in spite of the hardships they 
were forced to endure. Thus they finally 
arrived in Hamilton county, Ohio, near the 
new city of Cincinnati. There they cleared 
a space in the virgin forest, established their 
humble home, and began the work of till- 
ing the soil and sowing the seed which was 
to bring forth rich harvests in due season to 
repay them for all their toil. 

At that early outpost of civilization the 
pioneers resided for a long term of years, 
and there on Feb. 9, 1804, was born to them 
a son, Joab, who was to become the father 
of our subject. As the boy grew unto the 
estate of manhood, he exhibited unusual 
abilities, and by hard study qualified him- 
self to enter the ranks of the profession of 
medicine. Shortly after he began medical 
practice he wedded Miss Jane Lemmon, 
who was a native of Ireland, whence she 
emigrated to America -with her parents at 
a very early date. They first settled in 
Alaryland, but afterward removed to Ohio, 
where she met and married Mr. Conistock. 
The young physician continued his profes- 
sional duties for a time after his marriage, 
but the heritage of his pioneer ancestry led 
him to look with longing eyes toward the 
vast new West that was then being opened 
to settlement beyond the Mississippi River, 
and he determined to ascertain for himself 
the measure of its possibilities. He there- 



fore set forth on horseback, rode through 
the trackless forests of Indiana, across the 
broad prairies of Illinois, and made his way 
to Iowa. He was much impressed with the 
country, and returned to Ohio with very 
favorable accounts of its natural resources. 
In consequence of this trip he brought his 
family to Iowa in 1839, coming by the river 
route, and arriving in April of that year, 
and at once purchased a farm in Section 20 
of Union township. Des ^Moines county. 

Having purchased a farm, Mr. Comstock 
set about the duties of his new life with his 
characteristic energy. He erected a com- 
fortable dwelling and a few necessary build- 
ings, and engaged in farming, which he 
continued for many years with remarkable 
success. He also gave special attention to 
stock-raising and fruit-growing, in both of 
which he was signally sviccessful. From 
time to time he purchased additional land, 
as opportunity offered, until he had increased 
his holdings to approximately six hundred 
acres of productive lands, comprising some 
of the most fertile soil in the Mississippi 
valley. He was a man of adamantine char- 
acter, and as an influential member of the 
Republican party was a number of times 
honored by election to the various township 
offices. He and his wife were throughout 
life devoted to works of religion and charity, 
and were faithful and active members of the 
Wesleyan Methodist church. He himself 
entered the ministry of that denomination, 
and by the eloquence of his oratory, the 
strength of his character, and especially by 
the purity of liis life, did much for the ad- 
vancement of public morals, a fact which 
entitles him to be especially remembered and 
honored among the pioneer ministers of Des 
Moines county. He was eminently public 
sjiirited, and was always ready by any lion- 



l62 



IUU.,RAI'HILAL KJ.l 11:11 



orahic mcaiis in his power to encourage any 
movement <>r assist any enterjirise designed 
to enhance the interests of tlie conniuniity 
in which he hyed. As a pioneer in a new 
and nndevclojied country he was necessarily 
called upon to endure many privations, but 
he ever lx)rc iiis part luanfully and well, and 
thus he earned for himself the respect and 
gratitude of succeeding generations. Among 
the men of his own day he ever enjoyed 
high honor, and everywhere his name was 
spoken with peculiar respect. Late in life 
he retired from the conduct of active affairs, 
and removed to I'.urlington. In that city 
the remainder of his days were ])assed in 
ease and comfort, and there his death oc- 
curred when he was appro.ximately seventy- 
eight years of age. His wife died when 
al)out seventy-three years of age, and both 
are buried in Union townshi]). They were 
the parents of twelve children, four of whom 
still survive. Mrs. Comstock was a woman 
of iKantiful Christian character, and ably 
seconded her husband in the many good 
works to which he devoted so much of his 
life. 

Joab C. Comstock, the subject of the pres- 
ent review, is a native son of Des Moines 
county, and was born l*"eb. 2, 1843. on the 
original farm purchased by his father. Joab 
Coiustock. in Section 20 of L'nion townshi]). 
His early knowledge of books -was gained in 
the rural district schools near his home, but 
desiring further advancement along educa- 
tional lines he later became a student in 
Knox College, at Galesburg, 111., and also 
for a tiiue attended business college at 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., thus securing an ex- 
cellent preparation for the actual duties of 
life. He has always been especially inter- 
ested in the cause of education, a taste which 
he shares with his brother, Milton L, Com- 



stock, who for many years occupied the chair 
of mathematics in Kno.x College, and is still 
a resident of ( ialesburg. 

< )n the conclusion of his formal education 
.Mr. Comstock returned to his iiarental 
home, where he assisted in the work of his 
father's farm until 1864. In that year, hav- 
ing gained his father's consent, he enlisted 
for the defense of his country in Companv 
I i, I-'orty-fifth Iowa Infantry, in which he 
served, being employed in guard duty, until 
the autumn of the .same year, when he re- 
ceived honorable discharge and was mus- 
tered out of the service at Keokuk, Iowa. 
His military record further includes his con- 
nection with the liurlington contingent of 
the Iowa State militia, in -which he after- 
ward received appointment as first lieuten- 
ant. After leaving the army he once more 
returned to the home farm, on which he has 
ever since resided, and once more. took up 
his task of mastering the principles and de- 
tails of agriculture. He did not confine his 
efforts to situple farming operations, how- 
ever, although always highly successful in 
liiis branch of his work, and on his large 
farm of one hundred antl tifty-four acres in 
Sections 16, 17, and 20 he now has an 
orchard of five hundred young apple trees, 
all of choice selected varieties, and promis- 
ing a very handsome profit in the near 
future, besides a large orchard of three hun- 
dred trees now in the full tide of bearing. 
These latter yield each year many times the 
cost of their planting and maintenance, and 
for his wide foresight and well-timed enter- 
prise Mr. Comstock deserves all praise, for 
his success has encouraged many others to 
imitate his worthy example, and thus the 
productive powers of the farm are being 
more intelligently exploited throughout this 
section to-tlav than ever before. In addi- 



DBS AfOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



163 



tion to farming and horticulture, he has had 
very flattering success in the raising of high- 
grade stock. All the improvements on the 
farm have been installed by himself at vari- 
ous times, and their perfection constitutes 
one of his chief claims to consideration. He 
has erected a large and substantial residence 
building, besides a large barn and other nec- 
essary structures, and modern machinery is 
used throughout. 

Into the life of Mr. Comstock there early 
entered an element of romance, which has 
tinged with its roseate hues the whole of 
his after years, and has no doubt been one 
of the most important influences in shaping 
his character. Near his boyhood home there 
lived another pioneer family, people of dis- 
tinguished ancestry and of the highest 
standing in the community, and one member 
of. that household was a little daughter, to 
whom he was attracted almost in infancy. 
The families dwelt less than a mile apart, 
and the two children were almost constantly 
together, being reared in an intimacy closer 
than that which often exists between brother 
and sister. Playmates in early childhood, 
they afterward became schoolmates and 
classmates in the little rural school, entering 
hand in hand, so to speak, upon the pleasant 
paths of learning, and remaining fond com- 
panions and playmates still. Happy in their 
school work and in each other's society, 
they failed to note the changes wrought by 
passing years, but more and more the boy 
came to admire his girl friend for her beauty 
of face and of character, while she learned 
to look upon him as the embodiment of her 
noblest ideals, and thus, at the dawning of 
that golden age called youth, they found 
that without their knowing it their child- 
hood comradeship had grown into a senti- 
ment of warmer and deeper regard, that of 



their first and only love. He knew that he 
could not claim her hand in marriage for 
many years to come, but, fearful lest they 
should become estranged, or that the prize 
should be won by another, he solicited her 
promise when she was but sixteen years of 
age, with full confidence that although they 
might be separated by circumstances unfore- 
seen, yet she would remain true to her 
plighted troth. It was not until the 26th day 
of April, 1866, that Miss Nancy A. Avery 
and Joab C. Comstock were united in bonds 
of holy matrimony, the ceremony being per- 
formed at the home of Rev. W. F. Baird 
at Burlington. 

Mrs. Comstock was born in Union town- 
ship, Des Moines county, Iowa, a daughter 
of Henry and Mary (Ogle) Avery. Her 
parents were among the early pioneers and 
leading land owners of this section, and as 
the family is descended from old Puritan 
and Revolutionary ancestry, and attained a 
position of prominence in Des Moines coun- 
ty, it has been deemed advisable to devote 
a separate article to its history and gene- 
alogy. To Mr. and Mrs. Comstock have 
been born four sons and two daughters, as 
follows : Henry Lewis, born April 9, 1867, 
now residing in Union township, where he 
pursues the trade of carpentering, married 
Miss Lizzie Delap, of Lee county, Iowa, 
and they have one child, Rolland : Ella, 
born Aug. 29, 1868, and educated at the 
University at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, re- 
sides at Lewiston, Mont., where she is en- 
gaged in teaching nuisic and dressmaking; 
Milton E., born May 9, 1870, now follow- 
ing the carpenter's trade in Union township, 
where he resides, married Miss Minnie Zim- 
merman ; Flora J., born Oct. 31, 1872, is 
the wife of Frank Roberts, a farmer of 
Henrv countv, Iowa, and thev have six 



164 



HIOC.RAl'llUAL RlillEW 



cliililRii. Kvirclt William, lx)rn Nov. 23, 
1895, Howard I'raiik, born Dec, 26, i.SyO, 
Mary Alice. iKirn Jan. 22. i8<;9. Flora Grace, 
born Sept. 13, lyoo. Opal licllc. born 
Sept. 18, 1902, and Elizabeth Klla, born 
March 5, ujos; Fremont I., born Sept. i, 
1878, who condncts a ranch at Lcwiston, 
Mont. ; and Jesse J., born May 3, i88ri. who 
is a member of the parental household. .\11 
the children of .Mr. and Mrs. Comstock en- 
joyed excellent educational advantages, and 
in the world oi i)ractical affairs have ex- 
hibited conuiiendable enterprise and marked 
ability. Mr. Comstock himself has devoted 
his talents almost exclusively to business, 
with what result is already well known. On 
the other haml. he has never been indifferent 
to the public welfare, being an active sup- 
porter of the Republican party in both local 
and national contests. For President Lin- 
coln he cast his first vote in the fall of "64, 
and has voted the straight Republican ticket 
ever since : and while he has consistently re- 
fused to seek the honors of high ])plitical 
office, he has at the urgency of his friends 
acce])ted the supervisorship of higlnvays and 
the direction of ))ul)lic schools at various 
times, being a director of his school for 
fourteen years, thus rendering very efficient 
service. In his fraternal relations he is a 
member of Matthies Post, No. 5, Grand 
.\rmy of the Republic, of Burlington. His 
integrity as a citizen and as a man have 
never been called into (|uestion, and he com-, 
mands the uniform confidence and gooil-will 
of all with whom he has been associated. 
His position among the substantial and jiro- 
gressive citizens of Des .Moines county is 
one of the very highest, and by reason of his 
successful career, his representative char- 
acter, and his wide ac(]uaintance, he is well 
<leserviiig of a prominent i)lace in a work of 



the ])resent nature. The names ol .\lr. and 
Mrs. Comstock are spoken with respect and 
esteem in innumerable homes, and their 
friends are legion. Long ami far have they 
journeyed together, their lives ever with 
truth and loyalty marked, and with .self- 
sacrifice and mutual helpfulness gloriously 
crowned. 



JOHN H. GIESE. 

.\ .\.\Tivii of Des Moines county, Iowa, 
who was born in Pleasant Grove township, 
and now resides upon his farm of two hun- 
dred and ninety-nine acres of rich farm 
land, is John H. (iiese. He is a son of 
John and Margarctta (Dcnghausen) Giese, 
and was bom New Scar's day, 1849. His 
parents were born in (jermany, near Han- 
over. The father came to .\merica when 
(|uite a young man. being only seventeen 
years of age, and after landing in New 
York, continued his journey west till he 
reached Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was en- 
gaged as a laborer for several years ; later he 
canu- to Iowa, and located at P>urlington. 
where he became a citizen of the I'nited 
States. June 14, 1847. After working in a 
brick-yartl there for one year, he moved to 
Pleasant Grove townshiji. where he pur- 
chased a farm afljoining the projjerty now 
owned by his son. John II. This farm of 
eighty acres consisted mostly of timber land, 
which he at once began to clear and prepare 
for a home. He was a very active and pros- 
perous man in his day. and as time ■went on 
he added to his first ])urcha.sc till he owned 
some three hundred acres of well-improved 
land, carrying on general farming and 
stock-raising to a large extent. He was al- 
ways a strong Democrat, but was more 




JOHN H. GIESE. 



DES .][OINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



i6- 



interested in educational matters than in 
politics, being a member of the school board 
for a number of years. He was a member 
of the German Lutheran church. He was 
born April 19, 1817, and died April 26, 
i8g6, about seventy-si.x years of age, and 
is buried in the cemetery in Pleasant Grove 
township. 

The mother of our subject came to 
America about the same time that her hus- 
band did, and also resided in ( )hio for a 
while, where she was married in Cincin- 
nati. Mr. and Mrs. Giese were the par- 
ents of eight children, five of whom are 
living. Our subject is the third child in 
age. Mrs. Giese is now about eighty-five 
years old, has ahvays been a very active 
woman, and still enjoys attending to some 
light duties. She was born Oct. 21, 1 81 8. 
She, also, is a devoted member of the Luth- 
eran church. Her declining days are spent 
at the home of her son. Dr. G. F. Giese. of 
Danville, Iowa, where he is practising his 
profession. 

John H. Giese, of this review, attended 
the common schools of Pleasant Grove dis- 
trict, and remained on the hon:e farm 
assisting his father till he was twenty- 
three years of age, and then took a trip 
to the Pacific Ocean, and located in Fresno 
county, California. He remained there for 
eight years, being engaged in general farm- 
ing, having taken uj) land from the gov- 
ernment — a homestead of one hundred and 
sixty acres, and a pre-emption of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres. He then returned 
to the home place in Iowa, and purchased 
a farm of two hundred acres adjoining the 
home place, and erected a beautiful large 
two-story frame house, a modern barn, and 
other buildings which are necessary for 
stock and grain. Success has crowned his 



every effort, and he has added to his orig- 
inal purchase till now he has one of the 
largest farms in the township, consisting 
of two hundred and ninet}-nine acres. He 
raises Poland China hogs ~ and Hereford 
cattle very extensively. 

When Mr. Giese was about twenty-five 
years of age he married Miss Minnie Howi- 
son, Dec. 31, 1874. Mrs. Giese is a native 
of Delaware county, Ohio, and a daughter 
of Edwin and .Sarah (Calvin) Howison. 
Her father was born in Prince William 
county, \'irginia, and moved to Ohio at an 
early date, where he was a prosperous 
farmer in Delaware county for manv years. 
He came to Iowa in 1857, and located in 
Des [Moines county, ■where he continued 
farming in Franklin township for several 
years : he also farmed in Pleasant Grove 
township some years, till 1873, when he 
moved to California, locating in Fresno 
county, where his death occurred when he 
was eighty-four years old. He reposes 
in the cemetery near Fresno, Cal. He 
was a Democrat, but never aspired to pub- 
lic recognition. When a very young man 
he joined the Methodist church. Mrs. 
Giese's mother survived her good husband 
some time, her death occurring in March, 
1905, in California, at the age of ninety-one 
years. She was born Sept. 25, 1813. 

Mr. and Mrs. Howison were blessed with 
seven children, of whom three are living, 
and all but ^trs. Giese reside in California. 
Mrs. Giese received her education in the 
district schools of Pleasant Grove township. 
To Mr. and IMrs. Giese have been born 
three children, all living: Charles was bom 
r)ct. 31, 1875, in California, near Fresno, 
and attended the medical college at Iowa 
City, Iowa, where he was graduated, and 
also the medical college at Columbia, l\Io. 



1 68 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



He also was graduated with great credit in 
1905 from the St. Louis Medical Cnllege. 
He is also a graduate of the Howe Academy 
at Mt. i'leasant, Inwa. Dr. lliese is now 
l()cate<l at Iloldrege. Nehr. Mary Ciiesc 
married Dr. larl K. Kitchey, a dentist, 
of Xew London, Iowa; Mrs. Ritchey was 
l)orn in Cahfornia, and eihicated at Mt. 
Pleasant, Iowa. Raymond C is atten(hng 
tlie schools of I'leasant (Irovc township. 

Mr. Giese followed in the footsteps of 
his father, as he has ever been a strong 
Democrat, holding the position of to\vn- 
ship trustee for some years, and has-been 
the trusted treasurer of the school board 
for several terms. Mr. Giese and his g(X)d 
wife are influential members of the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian church, where the former 
has been deac<in for fifteen years, louring 
the long \ears of .Mr. (iiese's residence in 
Des Moines county he has gained the con- 
fidence and good-will of the |)eople by his 
honesty and integrity, and as a citizen re- 
ceives the highest resjiect and esteem of all. 



HERMAN WEINRICH. 

Herm.vn W'Ei.N'Kien makes his home in 
Hurlington, but his labors have had di- 
rect effect ui)on the commercial activit\- 
and coiisr(nu-iit prosperity of Iowa and 
other States, for the boundaries of the 
city have not limited his cai)abililics. He 
is a typical re])resentative of the Ameri- 
can spirit which, within tbo jiast century, 
has ;icliieved a work that ;irouses at once 
the astonishment and admiration of the 
world. Hurlington is fortunate in that he 
allied his interests with hers, for his 
labor. ;iTid the lal)or he employs, have 



contributed s<j largely to its business de- 
velopment an<l substantial upbuilding. 
He is not so abnormally develo])ed as to 
be called a genius: but is one of the 
strongest Ix'causc one of the best-balanced, 
ihe most even and self-masterful of men. 
and he has acted so well his part in both 
|)ul)lic and private life that Hurlington 
has been enriched by bis example, his 
character, and his labor. 

.Mr. W'einrich was born in Cassel, Ger- 
many, in 1S45. a son of Carl Ludwig 
.\ugust \\ einricb. who died at the age of 
sixty-three years, while acting as an offi- 
cer in the department of the interior in 
the princii)ality of Hessen. The maternal 
ancestors of our subject were French 
Huguenots, who were driven out of 
I'Vance because of their religious belief. 
They settled in (iermany. but adhered to 
the l-"rench church; and .Mr. W'einrich. of 
this review, was taught to speak rrench. 
it being retained as the language of his 
people. During the Revolutionary War 
in America, certain of the princi])alities 
of Germany made contracts with Eng- 
land, whereby their soldiers should fight 
in the linglish army, in order to sulxlue 
the uprising among the colonists. August 
\\ einricb, grandfather of Herman W'ein- 
rich. was among this nundier. serving 
with the Hessian soldiers. While on a 
transport returning to his native country, 
the vessel was blown by contrary winds 
into the torrid zone, and there becalmed 
for many weeks, until the provisions- and 
water gave out. Many died as the re- 
sult, and Mr. W'einrich lost his eyesight. 
I-"inally, however, the ship was blown out 
to sea, and .\ugust W'einrich. with a few 
others, reached his old home, but he 
never recovere<l his sight. In tin- fainilv 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



i6q 



of Mr. anil Mrs. Carl Ludwit;- August 
\\^einrich were thirteen children, of 
whom Herman was the fifth. l*"ive are 
still living in (iermany, while Emma 
Weinrich is now living in lUirlingtun. 
The mother died when Herman was liut 
two \-ears old, and the father died when 
the son had reached the age of thirteen. 
At the usual age Herman Weinrich be- 
gan his education. In addition to his na- 
tive German tongue he early learned to 
speak French, then the Swedish and Nor- 
wegian languages, and later English. In 
his youth he served an apprenticeship in 
a dry-goods factory, and for two years 
he traveled for a firm, selling cassimeres 
and broadcloths to merchant tailors and 
wholesale dealers in Norway, Sweden, 
Finland, and Belgium, traveling in those 
days altogether by ship or cart. He after- 
ward traveled for a year, selling perfumes 
for L. T. Pivet, a Paris manufacturer. 
In 1865 he came to the United States 
on a side-wheel steamer, the " Bavaria," 
being eighteen days en route. A brother, 
Christian \\'einrich, had preceded him to 
Des Moines county, Iowa, and was en- 
gaged in farming here, and Herman 
Weinrich joined his brother, and began 
shucking corn : but he found his hands 
too tender for that kind of work. His 
English pronunciation being poor he 
started to school, in order that he might 
perfect his knowledge of the language, 
and when twenty-two years of age he 
"stood up and spelled down" with lads of 
eight or ten years. His perseverance, 
however, soon enabled him to overcome 
the disadvantage of unfamiliarity with 
the language, and to enter business life 
and make steady progress therein. He 
conducted a country store for foui; vears 



at Pleasant Grove, and held the position 
of postmaster under President Johnson, 
at a salary of twenty-four dollars per 
year. There were three mails each week, 
brought to the office on horseback. 

Coming to llurlington, Mr. Weinrich 
acted as traveling salesman for the 
Hawkeye Woolen Mills for a }'car. and 
then purchased a dry-goods store at 
Brighton, Iowa, where he remained for 
a year, during which time he became a 
member of the Masonic fraternity. Re- 
turning to Burlington, he was for six 
months proprietor of a grocery store on 
South Hill. He then again went u])on 
the road for T. W. ISarhydt, dealer in 
i;oots and shoes, for two years, after 
which he entered the commission busi- 
ness on Front Street, and was at the same 
time city wharfmaster, and the first agejit 
for the Diamond Joe line of steamers, 
which, however, had but one boat in the 
service. 

Mr. Weinrich was for a brief period en- 
gaged in bottling beer with A. G. Busch, 
and in 1876 he began the manufacture of 
vinegar and pickles on Front Street, be- 
ginning the business on a small scale. 
He was the pioneer in the pickle business 
in Iowa, being the first to manufacture 
pickles for commercial purposes. He put 
up two thousand bushels of pickles the 
first year, most of wdiich were cucumbers 
which he raised himself. He also manu- 
factured about five or six l^arrels of vine- 
gar per day. In the early development 
of the business Mr. Weinrich went upon 
the road to introduce his product, while 
four men were employed in the factory. 
The \'enture proved successful from the 
beginning, and has constantly grown un- 
til it has reached mammoth proportions. 



I70 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ht'ing now OIK- of tlic largest ciilcrprises 
of the kind in ilu- Lnitcil Slates, the 
honsc being represented In twelve travel- 
ing salesmen, wliilc fifty men are em- 
I)lo\e<l on an averajj^e in the plant at Bur- 
lington. There are branch houses at I'ort 
Madison, Iowa, and salting houses at 
Cedar Rajiids. Iowa, and New I'lm, 
Minn.: and for eighteen years a factory 
has been in o|)eralion at Kansas City, 
.\lo. There are ten receiving stations in 
Missouri, Illinois, and Iowa, with local 
agencies at Des Moines, St. Joseph, 
( )maha, and Council RlufFs, and the trade 
extends over Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, 
Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, South 
Dakota, and Kansas. .\s the business cx- 
))anded it was removed from the original 
location to more commodious cpiarters 
on Third Street — the building now occu- 
pied by Chittenden & Eastman's factory. 
In I line. iS<)8. a Second removal was ni;ule 
to the present location at the intersection 
of Central .\venue and .\gency and ()s- 
born Streets. The business was incor- 
porated in iS8i, under a ten-year's char- 
ter with 1'". A. Smith as president and H. 
W'einrich as secretary and general man- 
ager. The charter was renewed and the 
business re-incorporated in i<;04, with the 
following officers: II. W'einrich, presi- 
dent : Carl W'einrich. secretary and treas- 
urer: and II. K. and » '. 1.. W'einrich and 
I'. Richards, directors, in addition to the 
officers. In addition to vinegar and 
pickles the com|)any puts up chow-chow, 
Holland onions. mustar<I. catsuj). sauer- 
kraut, sweet cider. S|);inish olives, horse- 
radish, ]H'pper-sance. Worcestershire sauce, 
mincemeat, apjile butter, and preserves, 
and the quality of the product insures a 
ready sale for the outi)Ut. 



Mr. W'einrich is regarded as one of 
the most successful business men of 
I'.urlington, nor have his efTorts been 
confined to one line, for in addition to 
the develoi)ment of his extensive ))ick- 
ling business, he is now the president 
of the Northwestern Cabinet Company, 
which was incorporated for thirty thou- 
sand dollars ; the ])residcnt of the Hur- 
lington Basket Com])any; a stockholder 
in the Iowa .State Savings Bank, a 
stockholder in the pickle manufacturing 
business of Steinhors-Morrine Fickle 
Company, of Kansas City, Mo. ; the own- 
er of valuable improved and unimproved 
|)ro])erty in Uurlington : and the owner of 
one thousand acres of land near Kings- 
ton, Iowa, devoted to general farming 
purposes and the raising of hogs and cat- 
tle. In view of the fact that on landing 
in .\merica he clerked for a short time in 
the dry-goods store of Greenbaum- 
Schroeder and Company, and began life 
in Iowa at husking corn, his present pros- 
perity is all the more notable and praise- 
worthy, showing what can be accom- 
plished through determined puri)ose and 
honorable, unceasing efTort. 

Mr. W'einrich was married, in Musca- 
tine, Iowa, in i8"i, to Miss Emma Ober- 
mann, who was born near that city, a 
daughter of Karl V. and Marie ( Krehe) 
Obcrmann. lu-r f.ilher .-m eminent minis- 
ter of the Lutheran church, then located 
at Muscatine, Iowa, but now deceased. 
Her luother is still living, at the age of 
seventy-three years. For twenty years 
Mr. and Mrs. W'einrich have resided at 
408 Iowa Street. Tlu'v have six children: 
Carl; llcnnan: ()scar: Ilatlie. the wife 
of Ernest X'olger, of Chicago: .August: 
and Irma. .Ml who are old enough have 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOJI'A. 



completed the graniniar and liigh-school 
courses of Burlington, and attended the 
State University at Iowa City, August 
pursuing the law course there. Mrs. 
Weinrich has four sisters: Mrs. Gustave 



the development of the county worthv of 
most honorable mention in a historical work 
of this character. A prominent representa- 
tive of this class of estimable citizens in 
Des Moines county is Carl J. H. Bloom- 



Goppelt, of Chesaning, Mich.; Matilda. berg, of Yellow Springs township, where 

he resides on a large and highly improved 
farm in Section 17. and successfull)- con- 
ducts a business of general farming and 
stock-raising. 

Mr. Bloomberg is a native of Sweden, 



the wife of William Henniker, of Musca- 
tine ; Bertha, wife of Oscar Grossheim. 
of Muscatine; and I\Irs. Louise M. Baetz- 
ner, of Burlington. There are four broth- 
ers and two sisters of the familv now de- 



ceased, there having been eleven children having been born in Flisbv, Yonkopings, 



in all. 

Air. Weinrich is a member of the Ma- 
sonic fraternity, and of the Benevolent 
Protective Order of Elks, a director of 
the Commercial Exchange, a trustee of 
the Library Board, and a member of the 
Crystal Lake Club. In politics he is a 
Republican, and always advocates move- 
ments that tend to benefit the city and 
promote its substantial improvement. He 
is modest and unassuming, and indis- 
posed to attract attention either to his 
success in business or to his deeds of 
charity. 



CARL J. H. BLOOMBERG. 

In order to properly and fully under- 
stand the greatness of the country in which 
we live, it is necessary to make a study of 
the various sources from which that great- 
ness arises, to analyze its elements, and de- 
termine the importance of these elements. 
In such an inquiry we find that in Des 
Moines count}- a very great measure of 
.credit is due to families of Swedish ori- 
gin, and that the energy, enterprise, and 
dogged determination of this class of citi- 
zens have made the part played b\' them in 



S.vveden, Nov. 30, 1847. He was the son 
of J'ohannas and Sarah (Stehr) Johnson, 
lie was one of a family of eight children, 
of whom four, Gustave A., Carolina, 
Sophia, and Claus, are now deceased. 
Those still living are : Tena ; Matilda ; 
.\manda, the wife of Charles Adolphson, 
of Yellow Springs township ; and Carl 
Johan Helmer, the subject of this sketch. 
Mr. Bloomberg's father lived in Sweden 
until the time of his death, which occurred 
in 1880, when he was seventy-one )'ears of 
age. After that his mother came to Amer- 
ica, and made her home with her children 
till the end of her life. She died at the 
home of Mr. Bloomberg, Aug. 29, 1892, 
aged eighty-three years. 

Mr. Bloomberg received his early edu- 
cation in the public schools of his native 
land, and also learned the shoemaker's 
trade, thus following the example of his 
father, who pursued that trade. Mr. 
Bloomberg followed this occupation as long 
as he remained in Sweden, and for several 
years after coming to America. He came 
alone to America in 1870, landing at New 
York. He located first in Sheffield, Pa., 
May 3, 1870, and taking up his trade, re- 
mained there until the following 4th of 
July. At that time he went to Oquawka, 



172 



BIO'JRAI'HIC.IL REl lEll' 



Henderson county, 111., engaged as a farm 
hand, and remained there initil August, 
1872, wlun he went to Keithsburg, 111. At 
Keithsburg he again worked at his trade, 
being in the employ of Thomas Sauster, 
with whom he remained for about four 
years. By this time his health began to 
fail, as the result of his sedentary occupa- 
tion, and he decided that it was necessary 
for him to find work that would permit 
of his being in the outdoor air. Accord- 
ingly he again went to work on a farm, and 
has made farming his life work ever since. 

Jan. 21, 1884, Mr. Bloomberg came to 
Des Moines county, Iowa, and bought a 
part of his large farm of one hundred and 
twenty-one acres in Yellow Springs town- 
ship. Since taking possession of this place 
Mr. Bloomberg has fenced his proi)erty, 
improved all the buildings, built another 
substantial barn, added modern implements, 
and brought the entire place up to its pres- 
ent high degree of excellence. In 1903, 
he purchased an addition to the farm of 
two hundred and eleven acres, this land 
also lying in Section 17. Each year has 
seen additions made to the conveniences 
about the home, until now he has one of 
the most comfortable homes, as well as one 
lit tlic most efficiently cultivated farms in 
the entire community. 

In addition to his success as a general 
farmer, he has made a specialty of breeding 
.fine cattle and hogs, until he is recognized 
throughout the township as having done 
much to raise the standard of the stock 
kept in the county, and also much to ad- 
vance the material prosperity of farmers 
in general. He makes a specialty of the 
INjUed Angus cattle, kee|)ing on an aver- 
age about forty-two head of this breed. 
He has nvi-r eighty head of hogs, raising; 



the Poland China and Duroc Jerseys. The 
entire appearance of his home and the sur- 
rounding farm is a constant tribute to the 
great success that this man has made : and 
when it is remembered that all this has 
iDecn built up by his own efforts, starting in 
his youth without resources, none who see 
it can fail to honor and admire him for 
what he has accomplished. 

Mr. Bloomberg was married on Christ- 
mas day, 1874, in Gladstone, 111., to Miss 
Marie Louisa Peterson, daughter of Xels 
and Caroline (Johnson) Peterson, who 
was herself a native of Sweden, being born 
in V'immerby, Sweden, Sept. 24, 1855. She 
came to America when only sixteen years 
of age, coming with a friend who had been 
in .America and had returned to Sweden 
for a visit. To Mr. and Mrs. Bloomberg 
have been born eleven children, as follows : 
Henry Oliver, born Aug. 30, 1877, died 
March 22, 1879; Durward LeRoy, born 
Aug. 14, 1880: Mabel M., born Jan. 21, 
1883, and Myrtle R., born Dec. 7, 1884, 
have both become teachers, and have won 
excellent reputations in their chosen pro- 
fession by the thorough and efficient work 
that they have done in the district schools 
of Huron township, where they are both 
now engaged in this work ; Emma R.. horn 
Oct. II, 1886, is at home: Florence H., 
born Oct. 3, 1888, is a student in Elliott's 
Business College, where she is taking a 
course in stenography and typewriting; 
Hazel B., born Aug. 8, 1890, and Ethel C, 
born Oct. 29, 1892, are lx)th attending 
high school in Mediapolis; Ruby P., born 
Jan. 7, 1894; Carl L., born Sept. 8, 1896; 
and Louis Glenn, born Jan. 5. i8f)9. Mr. 
and Mrs. Bloomberg have a hai)py, genial 
family, that shows the result of the Chris- 
tian inlliience in the home, — a familv of 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



173 



which they have every reason to be proud. 
Mr. and Airs. Bloomberg are devoted 
members of the Swedish Lutheran church 
of Mediapolis, and have raised their family 
in that faith. Mr. Bloomberg has served 
the church faithfully and well as a trustee 
for over nine years. In his fraternal rela- 
tions, he was at one time a member of the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, hold- 
ing membership for about three years in 
the lodge at Keithsburg, 111. During this 
time he held the office of junior warden in 
the organization. Genial, ever courteous, 
he is justly popular, and his many friends 
rejoice at the measure of prosperity that 
has come to bless him in his home, and 
hope to see him and his estimable wife live 
many more years to enjoy the hard-won 
fruits of their toil together. 



JOHN CHRISTIAN SCHMIERS. 

One of the most successful and widely 
known representatives of the lumber inter- 
ests of Des Moines county is the subject 
of this sketch, who is at the present time 
sole proprietor of the West Burlington 
Lumber Company. Mr. Schmiers was born 
in Westphalia, Germany, Aug. 2, 1855, the 
son of Henry Bernard and Elizabeth 
(Kluster) Schmiers, and received his early 
education in the schools of his native land, 
this being followed by a course of instruc- 
tion in the science and art of architecture ; 
and after completing his education along 
theoretical and practical lines, he began his 
life work by taking up the trade of carpen- 
tering, which he followed with success until 
1876, when he enlisted in the German 
army, and followed its fortunes as a soldier 



until 1879. Enlisting as a private, he was 
promoted during his second year of service 
to the rank of corporal, continuing to hold 
that rank until his discharge. 

Following the termination of his military 
service, he resumed his trade of carpenter- 
ing, in which he continued for a number of 
years ; but the greater opportunities offered 
by America appealed to his desire for 
progress and spirit of enterprise, and on 
April I, 1884, he embarked for the New 
World, and landing at the port of New 
York, he proceeded directly to Waukegan, 
111., where he was engaged in the work of 
his trade until January of the following 
year, when he came to Des Moines county, 
Iowa, locating at Burlington. 

In the latter city he devoted his energies 
to carpenter work until 1897, when, in as- 
sociation with Lawrence Kemmig, he en- 
gaged in the lumber business at this place, 
under the firm style of the West Burlington 
Lumber Company. In 1898 George Riddle 
became a member of the firm, and this triple 
partnership was continued for one year, 
at the expiration of which period Mr. 
Schmiers purchased the interest of ■ Mr. 
Kemmig, and at the end of the second year 
he bought the interest of the remaining 
partner, thus becoming the sole proprietor 
of a large and rapidly growing business, 
and one in which his talent for managing 
enterprises of magnitude eminently fitted 
him for the attainment of success ; and it is 
along this line of activity that he has since 
devoted his abilities to the upbuilding of the 
community in which his useful career is 
being passed, while at the same time his 
enterprise, integrity, and ability are bring- 
ing him a substantial pecuniary reward. 
The annual volume of business transacted 
amounts to approximately $15,000, and in 



174 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



addition to lumber, all building materials 
are handled, including brick, lime, cement, 
and in fact all material necessary for the 
construction of high-grade dwelling houses 
of the most modern type. 

In his fraternal relations Mr. Schmiers 
holds membership in the Ancient Order 
of United Workmen, and has held all the 
principal official positions of the local or- 
ganization of the Woodmen of the World, 
and of the Loyal Mystic Legion of America, 
in both of which orders he is a member and 
valued worker, while he also sustains simi- 
lar relations with the Burlington X'olunteer 
Relief Department, and is local representa- 
tive of the Iowa Bankers' Life Insurance 
Company. He thus occupies a prominent 
position in fraternal and social circles, in 
which he is widely known and enjoys a 
gratifying degree of popularity. In his 
attitude toward political questions he is in- 
dependent, not being closely associated with 
any phase of strictly partisan activity, but 
using his influence on the side of good gov- 
ernment according to his individual estimate 
of candidates and measures. He has at 
heart the higher interests of the community, 
and is a member of the Catholic church, 
and a consistent supporter of its work. 

On March 25, 1881, Mr. Schmiers was 
united in marriage with Miss Christina 
Rumtch, daughter of Henry and Christina 
Barbara Rumtch, and to them have been 
born fourteen children, as foUorws : Mary, 
who is at home; Henry Bernard, also at 
home; Anna Christina, who was the wife 
of Harry Robert Wright, and died Nov. 
12, 1904, leaving one child (Marie .^nna) ; 
Joseph John: ( ecilia Kemila ; \'cvanclia 
Marie ; Jennie Louisa ; Mary Elizabeth ; 
Theresa Marie ; Henrietta, who died at 
the age of three months ; Edward Chris- 



tian ; Lena Anna, who died at the age of 
five months ; and William and Gertrude, 
twins, the former of whom died at birth. 
Miss Mary Schmiers acts as bookkeeper for 
the business, and as her father's secretary, 
and in these capacities renders valuable as- 
sistance in the complicated affairs that 
make up the large total of transactions. 

Our subject is a man of unusual executive 
ability, as is evidenced by the fact that dur- 
ing his earlier activities, and before he be- 
came his own employer, he never worked 
long in any position without being promptly 
promoted to a manager's or foreman's posi- 
tion. On leaving the army, he went to the 
city of Strasburg to take emiiloyment in 
the government shops, and there he was 
soon raised to the position of head foreman, 
while during his employment in the shops 
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
Railroad he had charge of all the plans, 
himself making plans from the blue prints, 
and laying out all the construction work. 
This valuable trait of character he carried 
with him through his whole business life, 
and to it he owes the major portion of his 
great success, in connection, of course, with 
his reputation for unfaltering integrity and 
honesty in every relation of life, and the 
genial and social disposition that has won 
for him such a host of loyal and admiring 
frienils. 



HORACE J. YALEY. 

When the aged fall before the scythe 
of Time, their end is looked upon as being 
in a certain sense the culmination and ful- 
filment of tlioir lives ; and while the coming 
of death is ever an occasion for sorrow, the 
natural human emotions are softened in 




HORACE J. VALEV, 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



such cases by the knowledge that tlie allotted 
tale of years has been told, the earthly 
destiny achieved ; but when the grim Reaper 
invades the greener fields, lays low our best 
and most promising, cuts off youth and 
young manhood in the full vigor of its 
power, the unexpected visitation is pecul- 
iarly sad. and we mourn with a sorrow 
that is not easily consoled. 

Horace J. Yaley, son of George Wash- 
ington and Jane (Harris) Yaley, was born 
in Burlington, Iowa, May lo, 187 1, and 
it was here in his native city that he re- 
ceived his early education in the public 
schools. He afterward removed with his 
parents, however, to Thayer, Kans., where 
he continued his studies in the high school. 
Not content with the equipment thus se- 
cured, he pursued a course of study in the 
business college here after his return to 
this place : and following his graduation 
he began his active life by engaging in 
school teaching, first in the public schools 
of the county, and later in the business col- 
lege for a period of three years, during 
which he was highly successful, and accom- 
plished results which were universally com- 
mended among educators of note, as well 
as among practical business men. He then 
became manager of the Business Exchange 
for a further term of three years, discharg- 
ing his new duties with signal ability and 
adaptability to conditions as he found them, 
and at the end of this time, feeling that the 
hour had arrived for him to begin the true 
work of his life, he resigned his position 
and entered the law school at Iowa City, 
from which he was graduated on the fif- 
teenth of June, 1893. He at once entered 
the law office of ex-Senator Harper, with 
whom he continued for a year, and then 
established himself in independent practice 



for a similar period, with offices, in the 
Tama Building, where he achieved success 
from the beginning, and in 1903 became a 
member of' the law firm of Huston, Holstein 
& Yaley. On the anniversary of this event, 
and just one year later, occurred his un- 
timely death, on July 29, 1904. Seldom, if 
ever, has the city of Burlington sustained a 
more grievous loss or one more generally 
and deeply realized as a public misfortune. 

On Aug. 15, 1893, Mr. Yaley wedded 
Aliss Ella DeHague, daughter of John L. 
and Elizabeth (Welker) DeHague, and 
there graced their union one child, Hor- 
acena Lenore, born three weeks after the 
death of her father. 

His political affiliation was with the Re- 
publican party, in which he was looked upon 
as a rising man, and one who would in a 
very short time attain to a position of in- 
fluence and power by reason of his great 
talents and the sterling qualities of his char- 
acter, combined with a genial and unselfish 
disposition which endeared him to all, and 
won for him the confidence of whoever 
came into contact with his engaging per- 
sonality. 

Fraternally, he was already prominent, 
being a member of Excelsior Lodge and 
the Encampment of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, and of the local lodge of 
the Independent Order of Foresters, hav- 
ing passed through the chairs of both 
lodges, and having acted as their represent- 
ative in their respective grand lodges. He 
was an attendant of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, to the support of which he contrib- 
uted, and was possessed of a keen and active 
interest in all movements calculated to en- 
hance the general welfare. He was a man 
of exceptional strength in his profession, an 
ideal citizen and husband, enjoved the close 



178 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



friendship of many of the city's Icatlers in "Vcar l!(X)k," H)Oi.of the Iowa Society of 

thought and action, was loyal to all his obli- the Sons of the American Revolution : 

gations of whatsover nature, and enjoyed "Alexander Blair is on the Pennsylvania 

great popularity, while among those who rolls as a j)rivate soldier in the Revulu- 

knew him well it was universally felt that tionary War, from Cumberland county, 

had he been sjjared he would have risen to having entered at Carlisle in 1778." 

heights of genuine and lasting eminence. William IMair, under age in 1778, 



Mrs. Valey is a woman of true culture 
and many social graces, and her pleasant 
home at 717 South Ninth Street is the cen- 
ter of a refined circle. 



WILLIAM BLAIR. 

\\'iLLi.\M IJl.mk was the son of Alex- 
ander Blair, son of John Blair, of County 
.\rniah. Ulster, Ireland. Alexander came 
to .America in the first quarter of the 
eighteenth century, making his home 
seven miles from Lancaster, I'a. There 
he grew to manhood, and married Eliza- 
beth Cochran, of Scotch- Irish lineage; 
and while they were still residents of 
that hjcality tluir son William was born, 
in 17^)0. Ten years later they were resi- 
dents of Cumberland county, near the 
mouth of the Juniata. The names of 
Alexander I'lair and his sons, John, 
Thomas, and William, are on the military 
rolls of Pennsylvania as soldiers of the 
American Revolution. 

In the office of the clerk of the county 
commissioners' court of Schuyler county, 
Illinois, under date of Sept. 3. 1832, is 
fouiKJ the "Declaration of William Blair, 
in order to obtain the benefit of the pen- 
sion act of Congress, passed June 7, 
1S32." This gives a detailed account of 
his services in the Revolutionary War. 
The matter is found lirietlv stated in the 



served as his father's substitute, under 
Ca|>tain (jeorge P.ell, two months at Bald 
Magle and I'enn's X'alley, Pa. He re- 
enlisted May, 1779, for five months in 
Captain Henry Dougherty's company, 
and served under General John Sul- 
livan in the campaign against Brit- 
ish, Tories, and Indians in Xew ^'ork, 
and was permanently disabled at the 
battle of Chemung, but rejoined and 
was mustered out with his regiment. 
Again he enlisted. June. 1780. in Caj)- 
tain (jill)ert McCoys Rangers, and 
served on the frontier until discharged in 
January, 1781. From this "declaration" 
we leafn that he was born in Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania, in i7r)o, and was 
seventy-two years old when application 
for ]>ension was made. .\lso that when 
enlisting as a "Pathfiniler of the Revo- 
lution" under Cieneral Sullivan, he re- 
ceived ten dollars bounty. Later he was 
l)aid for the entire service in depreciated 
currency. 

When he took his father's place in the 
service, twci lirntluis liail .ilready been in 
service. Lieutenant John Blair was under 
(ieneral Irvine, and a ])risoner at Quebec. 
Captain Thomas Blair was wounded at Gulf 
Mills, near N'alley I'orge, and carried an 
ounce ball in his shoulder for life. But 
before the Blairs were soldiers they were 
pioneers. .\t the close of the French and 
Indian war they left their Lancaster 
countv home and settled on the luniata 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



179 



River, and were tax-payers in Cumber- 
land county from 1770 until 1782. At 
the close of his Revplutionary service 
William Blair married, before he had at- 
tained his majority, Catherine, daughter 
of Thomas and IMary (Rutledge) Evans. 
Very soon thereafter they migrated by 
pack-horse over the mountains to West- 
moreland county, then including much of 
the western part of the State. A year or 
two later the removal to Kentucky oc- 
curred, floating down the Ohio from Fort 
Pitt to the mouth of the Limestone. At 
Cane Ridge, Bourbon county, Ky., a fort 
or station was built for protection against 
marauding Indians, in which the families 
of Alexander Blair, his son William, and 
his son-in-law James H. Manara found 
shelter for some years. Both Mr. Blair 
and his brother-in-law, Alanara. took 
active part in the forays into the Indian 
country in those troublesome days. And 
other trouliles followed — disturbances by 
ambitious party leaders, insecure land 
titles, and above all, the great influx of 
slaves and the attendant evils. 

In 1797 Blair and Manara removed to 
the Northwest Territory, making settle- 
ment near Chillicothe. Here Mr. Blair 
raised his family, and here his wife died 
in 1817, leaving ten children. Four of his 
sons took part in the War of 181 2. He 
removed to Flat Rock, Ind., in 1820, and 
remained two or three 3-ears, thence to 
Sangamon county, Illinois, and later to 
Schuyler county, j)erhaps in 1827. In the 
winter of 1837-38 he came to Iowa, mak- 
ing his home in the northern part of this 
county, and died there in 1840. He is re- 
membered by few of the present inhab- 
itants. He is not known to have visited 
Burlington after passing through to his 



Round Prairie home. In 1839 the citi- 
zens invited him to celebrate the Fourth 
of July with' them, and the late Hon. W. 
C. McCash went with a carriage for him, 
but he was unable to attend, though 
highly appreciating the profliered honor. 

He was a member of the Presbyterian 
church, and in ( )hio and Illinois, at least, 
was a ruling elder in that denomination. 
Although not permitted by age and 
feebleness to tlo much directly in the 
making of Iowa, his descendants have not 
Ijeen so limited. ( )f his nine children 
who reared families, each family has, 
sometime, somewhere, been represented 
here, and some of them remain. But this 
representation is not confined to Iowa. 
Descendants are to be found in at least 
twenty-three of the com moil wealths of 
our nation, reaching from Connecticut to 
California, \\'ashington city to the State 
of Washington, and from Minnesota and 
Dakota to Texas. His grave is about 
three miles northeast of Kossuth, and he 
was the first adult buried there. 

In recent years descendants of William 
Blair erected over his grave in Round 
Prairie cemetery a fine granite monu- 
ment, bearing the following inscription : — 

WILLIAM BLAIR. 

Born, Lancaster Co., Pa., 1760. 
Died, Des Moines Co., Iowa, 1840. 



A Soldier of the American Revolution. 
.\n Elder in the Presbyterian Church. 
A Pioneer in Pa., Ky., Ohio, Ind., 111., 
Iowa. 

His second son. Hon. Thomas Blair, 
legislator of Iowa when this State formed 
a part of the Territory- of \\'isconsin, and 
a pioneer whose labors proved a very im- 



,8o BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 

purtant cloment in tlu- uiibuilding of this John IJox. G. \V. Teas, Eli Reynolds, and 
section of tlie State, was l)orn in the fort David R. Chance. Major Jerry Smith 
in ISourhon county. Kentucky, May 5, ^^a^ a merchant ; .Major Hartlett Teas was 
I78<> Thomas IJlair hepan his pioneer- ^ lawyer; Colonel Ingram was a farmer, 
ing by walking all the way from the old and had been a member of the \irginia 
home in Kentucky to the new home in Legislature : Colonel Leftler was a farmer 
Ohio. In 1812 and 1813 he served his and lawyer, and had been the colleague of 
country as a soldier in the scconrl war |,,h„ Tyler in the United States Senate 
with Kngland, as did three of his broth- from Virginia, and with him resigned on 
ers. defending the northern frontier, account of the "expunging resolutions" 
.\fter the war was over, in 1K16, he mar- trouble; i'.lair was a farmer: Jenkins was 
rii-.l Miss .Margaret Job. who was born in a physician; so was (1. W. Teas, and also 
llaltimore. .M.I.. Oct. 13. 1788. and was a a Methodist preacher; Hox and Chance 
daughter of .Morris and l.ydia (I'.ond) ^vere Campbellite preachers; Reynolds 
Job. .Morris Job, was, with his father, ^as a physician. I'.lair served at Bel- 
.Xrchibald, and brothers, Daniel and ,„ont. at the a.ljourued meeting at I'.ur- 
Thomas, disowned by the Friends Meet- IJnjrton, at the called meeting at the same 
ing for participation in the Revolutionary place. June 1, 1838, and the first Iowa 
^^ •'"'• Territorial Legislature. After his retire- 
In 181.) Thomas I'.lair removed to Flat „ient from the Iowa Legislature Mr. 
Rock, Ind., and in 1821 to .Morgan county, \\\^\y took no prominent part in political 
Illinois. Later he crossed the river into affairs. He was originally an .\nti- 
I'ike county, Illinois, was a commissioner slavery Whig, and upon the organization 
for the organization of Schuyler county, ^f the new Republican party to prevent 
an.l was elected a mcTuber and chairman the further extension of slavery, he be- 
of the first board of county commission- came one of its stanch and stalwart advo- 
ers. Still seeking a better country, he c:ites. In religious faith he was a Pres- 
came to Des Moines county, Iowa, in hyterian, and for more than fifty years a 
i8,u. and in the following spring settled ,-uling elder in that church, lie was one 
in Round I'lairie, where he m.ide his of the first session of the church at Rush- 
home throughout his remaining days. He ville. 111. From the time of his retire- 
and his family are counted in the first cen- nient fr.)m jjublic life his attention was 
sus ( i8.V>) of the Iowa district of Wiscon- given in undivided manner to his farming 
sin Territory. In 18.^6 he represented Des interests until the infirmities of old age 
Moines county in the first W isconsin Ter- became too great for him to take an active 
ritorial Legislature, and two years later part in agricultural life. His later years 
was a member of the Territorial Legis- were spent (piietly in his country home, 
lature of Iowa. Members of the first ever striving for the best interests of his 
Legislature of Wisconsin were: Council, neighborhood, its churches and its 
Jeremiah Smith. Jr., Jesse I'.artlett Teas, schools. He died on a part of the farm 
an<I Arthur 15. Ingram: Ilou.se, Isaac Lef- which had been his first home west of the 
Her, Thomas I'.lair, Warren S. Jenkins, river, near Kossuth. Oct. ^K 1875. 



DES MOIXES COUXTV. IOWA. 



i8i 



David Evans Blair, was born March 
25, 1793. near Paris, Bourbon county. Ky. 
He was the fourth son of W'iUiani and 
Catherine (E\'ans) lUair, natives of 
Pennsylvania, who had migrated to Ken- 
tucky nine or ten years previously. W'hen 
he was between four and five years old, 
the family removed to Northwest Terri- 
tory, settlintj near Chillicothe. He "jrew 
to manhood here, and Sept. 9, 181Q, in 
Fayette county, Ohio, married Sarah Job, 
daughter of Morris and Lydia (Bond) 
Job, of Baltimore, Md., and immediately 
emigrated to Flat Rock, Ind., and two 
years later to Illinois. After a brief stay 
in .Morgan county he crossed over to the 
Military Tract, Pike county. In 1824, 
when Edward Coles made his great fight 
against a convention to legalize slavery, 
he, with his brother Thomas, traveled to 
.\tlas by canoe and on foot, camping out 
by the way, a round trip of one hunclred 
and twenty miles, to vote "no conven- 
tion." 

On the organization of Schuyler county 
he was elected the first county assessor. 
He was county treasurer in 1827, and as 
such entered the land for a county seat 
on which Rushville is built. He carried 
the sih'cr to Springfield, fifty miles, on 
horseback, and the records show he was 
paid two dollars and fifty cents for the 
service. 

He was a claim-maker in the "new pur- 
chase" as early as 1834, and brought his 
family here. May 8, 1836, while it was 
yet Michigan Territory. During claim 
days he was an "arbitrator." and aided 
much in enforcing claim laws in the 
region between Flint River and the Iowa ; 
and at the laud sales in 1838 was "bid- 
der," and as such bought all settlers' 



claims sold at that time in Huron and 
Yellow Springs townshijjs. 

He was a member of the Iowa Territo- 
rial House of Representatives in 1841 and 
1842, and also in the first (jeneral Asseni- 
l)ly of the -State of Iowa in 1846. He was 
alwa\'s \\ hig and Republican in politics, 
and was a member and office-bearer in 
the Presbyterian church. He died at his 
home, near Kossuth, Oct. <), 1874. 

Of the descendants of Thomas Blair 
there remain in Des Moines county. Mrs. 
Elizabeth Reed, ]\Iiss Margaret Rankin, 
]\Iiss Martha Catherine Rankin, grand- 
daughters, and Archibald Reed, a great- 
grandson. .\11 li\e in Kossuth. Of the 
family of D. E. ISlair, the youngest son, 
Alorris \\'illiam Blair, resides on the old 
homestead. According to tradition his 
uneventful career began in Pike county, 
Illinois, west half, southeast quarter of 
Section 35, Township 2 north, I west, 
fourth principal meridian. He was 

brought to Alichigan Territory May 8, 
1836. and two days later to his present 
residence, from which he has never been 
absent for ten months in the sixty-nine 
years since, having purchased the farm 
at his father's death. Here he worked, as 
farmers do, in summer and attended 
school in winter. He w^as a student in 
the academy at Kossuth in 1845 ^iid 1846, 
and in 1847-48 was in Des Moines Col- 
lege, an institution in \\'est Point, Lee 
county, short-lived, hut helping in the 
education of Re\'. \\". Wright, Kansas; 
Rev. Father Clement Lowry, Texas ; Hon. 
W. E. Hepburn ; the late Hon. Samuel M.' 
Clark, and others. Later he kept school 
se\'eral winters. He has long been con- 
nected with the official administration of 
the schools of the neighborhood. As town- 



l82 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl lEW 



sliip clerk for Yellow Sjjrinj^s he was ex- 
officio secretary of the townshii) I)oard, 
and when Kossuth became an indeiiend- 
ent district, became its secretary, later be- 
came its treasurer, and is be^jiiinin^ liis 
thirty-fourth consecutive term in that 
office. He was also treasurer of Kossuth 
Academy. In 1862 he was appointed di- 
vision assessor of internal revenue for 
Des Moines county on the recommenda- 
tion of Thomas Hetlge, Sr.. and endorsed 
by Senators (Crimes and Harlan, without 
solicitation or prior knowledge on liis 
part. He resigned March 31. 1865. his 
farming interests recpiiring his entire 
attention. 

He began \iitint; llie Republican ticket 
about 1854. :inil lias continued to do so 
"early and often " ever since, having 
missed but one election. He has no social 
or business affiliations except membership 
in the Society of the Scotch-Irish in Amer- 
ica. an<l that of the Sons of the .Vmerican 
Revolution, in the latter tracing eligibility 
to membership from every ancester liable to 
military duty at the time of the war for 
independence. 



FREDERICK ALONZO SMITH. 

Frederick Alonzo S.miiii. at one time 
a promoter of manufacturing interests in 
Burlington, and active also as an operator in 
real estate, is now living retired in the en- 
joyment of a handsome competence that lias 
come to him as the direct reward of labors 
unremitting and honorable. Recogizing 
that his opportunity had come, and utilizing 
his possibilities in the field of practical 
business endeavor, he made his labors at 



once a source of profit to himself and also 
of value to the city in the promotion of its 
commercial activity. 

Mr. Smith is a native of Massachusetts, 
his Ijirth having occurred in Otis. Berkshire 
county, on Dec. 31, 1828. his jiarents being 
Enos and Millie MofTatt (Shaw) Smith. 
His paternal grandfather, Curtis Smith, 
was a resident of Haddam, Conn., where 
he followed the occu|)ation of farming. He 
married .-\seneth Brainard. and in later 
years removed to Otis, where his son Enos 
was then living. He had served as a cap- 
tain in the State militia, and was prominent 
in community affairs, wielding a wide and 
beneficial inlluencc. 

ICnos Smith was reared to manhood in 
Haddam, Conn., and soon after attaining 
his majority removed to Otis, Mass., where 
lie followed the trade of blacksmithing, 
which he had learned in his native State. 
He was married, in Otis, to Miss Millie M. 
.Shaw, a daughter of Joshua Shaw, and sub- 
secjuently they removed to Stockbridge, 
.Mass.. where Mr. Smith owned a farm. 
Taking u]) his abode thereon, he lived in 
jjractical retirement from further business 
cares until his death, his remains being then 
interred in the Stockbridge cemetery. Suc- 
cessful in business, lie was also active in 
political and cluircli circles, and in con- 
nection with many concerns touching the 
varied interests and affecting the welfare of 
the State. He was a representative to the 
Cieneral Court or Legislature of Massachu- 
setts, and gave his allegiance to the Whig 
party until its dissolution, when he joined 
the ranks of the Republican ])arty. He held 
membership in the Congregational church 
of Stockbridge, and was a man who stood 
for advanced ideas and progressive thought. 

Frederick .Monzo Smith, having acquired 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



183 



his early education in the schools of Otis, 
continued his studies in the Lee boarding 
schools, of which Alexander Hyde was 
master. He afterward remained at his 
father's home until his removal to the West 
in the fall of 1852. He located first at Chilli- 
cothe, Ohio, and there had what was known 
as a Yankee notion wagon, from which he 
sold goods in the outlying settlements be- 
yond Chillicothe. Succeeding in that enter- 
prise, he determined to carry his labors into 
other frontier districts, and in 1855 arrived 
in Burlingfton, Iowa. Here he made ar- 
rangements to travel for Samuel Robinson, 
and thus became one of the early commer- 
cial travelers of the State. At that time 
there were no railroads, and he made his 
trips with his own team, visiting all of the 
settled portions of Iowa. Following that 
pursuit until the fall of 1859, he then em- 
barked in business on his own account, but 
still remained upon the road in connection 
with the cigar and tobacco trade, main- 
taining an office during this period in Bur- 
lington. In 1863 he opened a tobacco store 
and began the manufacture of cigars, also 
dealing in all goods of that line. His was 
one of the first extensive cigar manufactur- 
ing plants of Burlington. The business 
grew with the expansion of the city, and 
Mr. Smith improved every opportunity for 
broadening the scope of his business career. 
In 1866 he admitted George Scott to a 
partnership, and later the tobacco interests 
of Burlingfton were consolidated under the 
firm name of Smith, Scott & Company, an 
extensive plant being opened on Main Street, 
where employment was furnished to one 
hundred and fifty operatives. The firm 
added a general tobacco business, manu- 
facturing all kinds of cigars and other man- 
ufactured products from the tobacco plant. 



In connection with Mr. Scott, Mr. Smith 
purchased Mr. Bolton's interest in i868, 
and the business was continued successfully 
until the fall of 1869, when a fire destroyed 
their plant and stock, involving them in 
great loss. They however resumed opera- 
tions almost immediately, purchasing the 
large building at the corner of Valley and 
Third Streets, and equipping it for the con- 
tinuance of their manufacturing interests 
and trade. This building was sixty by one 
hundred and twenty feet, four stories in 
height, with basement, and was a brick struc- 
ture. ]\Ir. Smith also bought twenty feet 
of ground adjoining, on which he erected 
a four-story building for the firm of Acres, 
Blackmar & Company, which firm has since 
occupied it. Mr. Smith continued in the 
business until 1879, when another fire oc- 
curred. In the meantime Mr. Scott's in- 
terest had been purchased by Harry Cook, 
and the firm of Smith, Cook & Company 
was then formed. Following the fire of 
1879 they settled up affairs and closed out 
the business. 

Mr. Smith was also one of the promoters 
in the establishment of the Burlington 
Pickle factory, and the business was in- 
corporated in r88o with Mr. Smith as presi- 
dent. He occupied that position for a 
number of years, during which time the 
business expanded until it reached large 
and profitable proportions. It is still in 
successful operation ; and although Mr. 
Smith has severed his connection with the 
business, he still owns a half interest in the 
building in which it is carried on. He has 
invested quite extensively in real estate, be- 
ing at one time the owner of large farming 
interests. He also built a beautiful home 
on the bluff, comer of Eighth and Columbia 
Streets, where he has extensive grounds. 



1 84 



lilOGR. IPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Smith was married to Miss Lucy 
I'arkor, of Sandusky, Lcc county, Iowa, a 
dauphtcr of Itcnjamin I'arker, of Kinsman, 
( )liio. They have one daughter. Millie, now 
the wife of E. P. Eastman, of this city. 
Mrs. Smith died in December. 1895. She 
was a memlxT of the Presbyterian church. 
and .Mr. Smith has always been a contrib- 
utor to its sujjport and attends many of 
its services. In politics he has been a 
Republican through the years of the party's 
existence, but has had no |)oiitical aspira- 
tions, preferring to give undivided atten- 
tion to his business affairs, which, capably 
conducted. lia\i.' been resultant factors in 
the ac(|nireinciit of a liandsome and well- 
merited fortune. 



GEORGE M. WOODWARD. 

George M. Woodw.xrd. (jne of the 
prominent and well-known farmers of 
Union T(jwnship, was born ujxjh the farm 
where he now makes his home March 2, 
1866. He is a son of Erastus and Martha 
(Comstock) Woodward. His father was 
born -May 12. 1826. in Windsor. \'t., and 
is a son of Erastus and Sarah ((jilson) 
Woodward. The father of our subject had 
five brothers and four sisters. His mother 
died in 1870, aged eighty years, and his 
father in 1874, at the age of seventy-seven 
years. 

Mr. Erastus Woodwanl. Jr.. received 
his education in .Meriden, X. 11., where 
he took an academic course, graduating 
in the class of 1847, and in that \car 
he left home. He traveled about till 1850, 
when he went to California. Here he 
passed through some hardships and strange 



experiences, but remained till 1853. when 
he returned to his native State ; going to 
Indianapolis, Ind., he purchased a horse, 
and in this manner made the trip to Bur- 
lington, Iowa, buying two hundred and 
fifteen acres of land on Sections 11, 12, and 
14 in Union township. Scarcely any im- 
provements had been made upon this land, 
but he immediately began its cultivation, 
adding more acres till he had two hundred 
and ninety-three acres in extent, being one 
of the finest and best improved farms in 
Des Moines county, and all the result of 
his own labor. The rucle log cabin, in 
which, for a time, he lived in true pioneer 
style, has long since given place to a large 
stone dwelling, 34 x 50 feet, two stories in 
height. I'pon the land will be found all the 
necessary buildings for a well-regulated 
farm, and everything denotes thrift and 
energy-. 

In January. 1854. Mr. Woodward was 
united in marriage with Miss Martha J. 
Comstock, w^ho was born in Hamilton 
county. Ohio, Dec. 13, 1837, and is a 
daughter of Joab and Jane (Lemmon) 
Comstock, the father a native of Ohio, and 
the mother of Maryland. Mr. and Mrs. 
Comstock came to Des Moines county in 
1837, being among the early pioneers, where 
the death of the latter occurred May zy, 
1875. the husband surviving until 1881. 
Both were devoted members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church. 

Mr. and Mrs. Woodward were the happy 
parents of ten children, seven ol whom are 
now living: Vandoran. born Feb. 16, 1855. 
is now a merchant in Kansas City. Mo. : 
.Amy E.. born Sept. 10. 1856. became 
the wife of W. W. Gearhart. a farmer of 
Fair Field. Iowa : Sarah Jane, born ( )ct. 
7. 1859. died April 9. i860; Gideon, who 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



185 



was born Aug. 16, 1862, attended the high 
school of BurHngton, and was also a stu- 
dent of the State University of. Iowa City, 
Iowa, where he learned to be a civil en- 
gineer. He married Miss Isa Barnes, and 
they went to India as missionaries from 
the Methodist church and were very suc- 
cessful for a while ; but the climate did not 
seem to agree with Mr. Woodward's 
health, and he was called to his final home 
in 1901. He was a bright, active young 
man, always earnestly engaged in Christian 
work and was ever a dutiful son, a de- 
voted husband, and a kind and loving 
father. Though several years have come 
and gone since Gideon Woodward was 
among his associates, and time has scored 
three years since he bade adieu to his scores 
of friends, yet his memory is still tenderly 
enshrined in the hearts of all who knew 
him, and his life made a record that was a 
blessing to all. Martha H., born Sept. 15, 
1864; George M., born March 2, 1866, sub- 
ject of this review; Lucy C, born Sept. 27, 
1868; Joab T., born April 16, 1871, died 
April ig, 1873 ; Frederick A., born Nov. 
II, 1873; and Eunice E., born July 30, 
1874. The parents took great pains to edu- 
cate their children well. Mr. Woodward 
died the day before Thanksgiving, Nov. 
26, 1901, the same year his son Gideon 
died. Mrs. Woodward is still living, and 
makes her home in Davenport, Iowa. 

In all social, public or religious enter- 
prises Mr. Woodward took an active in- 
terest. In religious thought he was liberal, 
while his estimable wife is a member of the 
Methodist church. Politically, he was a 
Republican, and held various township 
offices ; for many years was township clerk 
and also a member of the County Board of 
Supervisors, and during his term of office 



the plan of the railroad bridge was sub- 
mitted. He was a school director for thirty 
years, and aided largely in the building up 
of educational institutions. He was presi- 
dent of the Des Moines County Farmers' 
Mutual Fire and Lightning Insurance 
Compau)- for ten years, which under his 
management was very successful. Among 
the representative farmers and respected 
citizens of Des Moines county none stood 
higher in the esteem of all than did Mr. 
Woodward, and we are pleased to record 
the sketch of so prominent a gentleman. 

Our subject received his education in 
the district schools, and later attended the 
school in Burlington for two years. He 
spent one year on the Pacific Coast, after 
which he was on the home farm with his 
father. Feb. 19, 1896, he married Miss Ber- 
nice Hathaway, daughter of Charles and 
Anna A. (De Lashmett) Hathaway, of 
Flint River township, but now of Burling- 
ton. Mrs. Woodward was born March 18, 
1872, in Burlington, Iowa. Her father was 
born in New York and when a youth was 
brought by his parents to Mt. Pleasant, 
Iowa ; before he had reached his majority 
he had served three years in the Civil War. 
After this he was in business in the city of 
Burlington, but soon bought a farm in 
Flint River and Union townships, and later 
in Flint River township, where he was a 
very successful farmer and where he lived 
till he retired from active life. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hathaway now reside at 134 South 
Central Avenue, in Burlington. He is a 
Republican, but not a politician. He and 
his good wife are members of the Presby- 
terian church. 

L^nto Mr. and Mrs. Woodward three 
children were born : Homer, Adna, and 
Maxine. 



1 86 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFAIFJI' 



About the time Mr. Woodward was mar- 
ried he bef,'an to farm for himself, and after 
his father's death he took the old home- 
stead and is one of the- practical, prosper- 
ous farmers of the township. He is a 
stanch Republican, but has never been an 
aspirant for any office, yet always ready to 
assist his party to the best of his ability. 
He and his worthy wife are devoted mem- 
i)ers of the Methodist church, ever willing 
to aid the cause of Christianity with time, 
money, or ability. Mr. W'oodward has in- 
herited many of the sterling qualities of his 
departed father, and he is universally re- 
spected in his comnnuiity. where his name 
is above reproach, and he and Mrs. Wood- 
ward enjoy the hospitality of many of the 
homes of the township and county. 



WILLIAM B. HUNT. 

WiLLi.\.M l!. Hunt, a farmer and worthy 
representative of one of the pioneer families 
of Des Moines county, now living in Bur- 
lington, was born in Union township, Oct. 4, 
1857. He is a descendant of Simon Hunt, 
a native of Liverpool, England, who came to 
America prior to the Revolutionary War, 
and settled in Maryland, being at that time 
thirteen years of age. He lived upon a 
farm, and eventually engaged in farming 
on his own account. He married and 
had five sons and two daughters : namely, 
Samuel, Joshua, John, Wesley, Abraham, 
Xackie, and Mrs. Sally Roberts. The chil- 
dren were all born in Maryland, but re- 
moved to Wasiiinglon county. Tennessee, 
and it is probable that the father also went 
to that State. 

John Hunt. »>ii oi Simon llunt, and 



grandfather of William P.. Hunt, was bom 
in Maryland, Feb. 2, 1776, and became' a 
resident of \\'ashington county, Tennessee, 
where he married Esther Rartlett, a native 
of that State, torn June 27, 1783. They 
were the parents of eleven children, four of 
whom were born in Tennessee, while 
Samuel was born in a blockhouse in Madi- 
son county. Illinois, and the younger mem- 
bers of the family were lx)rn in Piond county. 
-Many of the Hunts went to Illinois in 181 1, 
and were in Madison county at the time of 
the War of 1812. Considerable difficulty 
with the Indians was experienced about that 
time, and the Hunts, together with their 
neighbors, built a blockhouse, in which they 
sought protection against the invasions of 
the red men. Later John Hunt and his 
family went to Bond county, Illinois. He had 
served in the War of 18 12 as a teamster, his 
duty, however, calling him only a short 
distance from home. He took up consider- 
able land in Bond county, but later removed 
to McDonough county, Illinois, settling ten 
miles east of Macomb on the Quincy road. 
He had betwiiii four and five hundred 
acres of land there, and continued a resident 
of that county until 1836. living in true 
pioneer style; for that was then a frontier 
region, in which few settlements had been 
made, while the work of cultivating farms 
and otherwise improving the country had 
been scarcely begun. About 1836 or 1837 
he brought his children, who were not then 
married, to Des Moines county. Iowa, trad- 
ing his Illinois land for property here: and 
again he became a frontier settler. ai<ling in 
reclaiming this portion of the State for the 
uses of the white man. He secured a tract 
of land and developed a farm, becoming 
one of the leading agriculturists of his 
community. He died Feb. 21, 1850. when 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



187 



seventy-four years of age, and his wife died 
Sept. 10, 1858, when seventy-five years of 
age. Their children were as follows ; 
Lydia, who was born Aug. 23, 1803, and be- 
came the wife of Robert Coles ; Charles 
Wesley, born May 25, 1805, father of our 
subject; Jesse, born June 20, 1807; Mary, 
who was born Nov. 22, 1809, and became 
Mrs. McAdams ; Samuel, born March 25, 
1813; Nancy, born Aug. 10, 1815 ; William 
C, born Jan. 21, 1818; John B., born May 
25, 1820; Esther, who was born Feb. i, 
1823, and married Linus Delashmut ; 
Louisa, born July 21, 1825 ; and Sarah 
Almira, born April 8, 1832. Of this family 
Jesse Hunt was the first to come to Des 
Moines county, arriving in 1834. Samuel 
arrived about the same time, and they took 
claims together, after which Samuel re- 
turned to Illinois, but a year later again 
came to Iowa. Charles Wesley also came 
in 1835. They entered some land from the 
government, and also bought some : and 
at his death Jesse Hunt left four hundred 
acres, and Samuel Hunt between two hun- 
dred and fifty and three hundred acres. 

C. Wesley Hunt, son of John Hunt, was 
born in the vicinity of Nashville, in Wash- 
ington county, Tennessee, Feb. 2, 1776, 
and when the family removed to Illinois, 
he made the journey on horseback. He 
resided successively in Madison, Bond, and 
McDonough counties, in that State, and in 
1835 came to Iowa. He taught school in 
Des Moines county, being one of the earliest 
teachers of the State, and in other ways 
he contributed to the pioneer development 
of Iowa, aiding in laying the foundation for 
its present progress. He lived upon a farm 
about three miles west of Burlington, and 
prospering in his undertakings he left a 
farm of three hundred and fiftv acres of 



land, well improved with good buildings, so 
that its value was greatly enhanced thereby, 
as well as through the cultivation of the 
fields. He was married in 1840 to Miss 
Eliza L. Foster, a daughter of Constantine 
and Margaret (Sayre) Foster, who came 
from New Jersey to the West, Mrs. Hunt 
having been born at Cape ]\Iay, that State. 
They traveled in a covered wagon to Ohio, 
and afterward went to Sangamon county, 
Illinois, where Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Hunt 
were married. She was then the widow of 
a Mr. Berry, and had one daughter, Frances, 
who afterward married Frank Lodge, and' 
is now living in Bement, 111. While living 
in Illinois, C. Wesley Hunt became a soldier, 
of the Black Hawk war, enlisting from 
McDonough county, and in later years he 
received a pension in recognition of his 
services. He died Nov. 6, 1903, at the age 
of eighty-eight years, his birth having oc- 
curred May 25, 1805, while his wife, who 
was born May 13, 1820, died Jan. 28, 1895. 
They were the parents of nine children : 
Harriet, who married John H. Shepherd, 
of Fort Madison, Iowa ; J. Benton, who is 
living in Muscatine, Iowa ; Catherine, the 
wife of H. Woods Robinson, of Chicago ; 
Elbridge, who died at the age of twenty- 
eight years ; Charles, a resident of Atlantic, 
Iowa ; Joseph, who died at the age of 
twenty-three years ; Lee, who died at the 
age of three years ; William B. ; and Lou E., 
the wife of Charles E. Peasley, of Strong- 
hurst, 111. 

William B. Hunt obtained his early edu- 
cation in the public schools of Burling- 
ton, and afterward attended the old Baptist 
College, and also the Burlington Business 
College, being thus well equipped, by thor- 
ough mental training, for the practical and 
responsible duties of life. As soon as old 



1 88 



PlOCRAl'mCAL h'Jll J nil' 



enough to liandlo the jilow lie began work 
in the ficlils. and he continued to engage in 
agricultural pursuits. \\ lien twenty years 
of age he assumed the management oY the 
old homestead, where his father had settled 
in if'jlS. transfi>rniing a wild prairie tract 
into well-cultivated fields. Mr. Hunt ulti- 
mately came into possession of the old 
lumiestead, and is now the owner of three 
hundreil and twenty acres of land, on which 
are substantial buildings and many modern 
imj^rovements, constituting this a valuable 
I)ro]H'rty. He engaged in the raising and 
feeding of stock, making a specialty of cattle 
and hogs, anil he continued in the active 
management and ojjcration of his farm until 
iS()i, when he removed to Burlington, 
where he has since resided, his home being 
at 317 S. Central .\venue. 

Mr. Hunt is not only known as a leading 
agriculturist, but is also prominent and in- 
lluenlial in public alTairs. anil was called to 
represent his district in the State Legisla- 
ture, where he served for four years, attend- 
ing three sessions. He was elected in 1896 
upon the Democratic ticket, and took an 
active and helpful part in securing the 
passage of measures which he believed 
would ])rove benelicial to his district and the 
commonwealth. His public record is com- 
mendable, for he ever ])laced the welfare of 
the State before jiartisanship or self-ag- 
grandizement. I'Vaiernally, he is connected 
with Burlington Lodge, No. 84, Benevolent 
and Protective Order of Elks. 

On the 2.vl of December, 1885, Mr. Hunt 
was married to Miss .Mice M. Stewart, of 
Danville, this county, a daughter of W. H. 
and Sybil ( Higley) .Stewart. She is a great- 
great-granddaughter of William Messenger, 
who was a colonel in the Revolutionary 
War, enlisting In mi Massachusetts. Later 



the Messengers removed to Ohio, and the 
Higleys lived at W'indom, Ohio. The 
Stewarts were of Scotch descent, and Mrs. 
Hunt's father was born in Hamilton county, 
Ohio, and came to Iowa in 1839, with his 
father, James Stewart. The Messengers 
came at an earlier day, and both families 
were pioneer settlers of Des Moines county. 
Hiram Messenger, grandfather of Mrs. 
Hunt, owned a tavern at Danville and also 
a farm in the same locality, and both he and 
his wife died in Burlington, at an advanced 
age. W. H. .Stewart and his wife settled on 
a farm in the vicinity of IMnville. He died 
Feb. 9, 1904, but his wife is still living. 
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hunt have been bom 
two children, Clara Louise and Helen. The 
family have many friends in Burlington and 
throughout the county and Mr. Hunt, as 
one of its native sons, has made a life record 
which reflects credit upon the place of his 
nativity, for he has been found trustworthy 
in citizenship, faithful in friendship, and re- 
liable in all business transactions. 



GEORGE B. P. CARPENTER. 

George V>. 1'. C.\ki-enter, of Burlington, 
whose mercantile career, characterized by 
all that was straightforward and honorable, 
and in harmony with the highest commercial 
ethics, won for him the confidence and 
respect of his fellow-men. while his manly 
virtues and kindly, considerate sjjirit gained 
him warm and enduring friendships, was 
liorii in New Hollaii>l. I'a., Dec. ig. 1836. 
H.e was the son of .\iitlioiiy and C'atlierine 
C"ari)enter, who went to Pennsylvania as 
children, the father from (iermany, and the 
mother from Ireland. I'or nianv vears the 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



191 



father engaged in the jewelry business at 
New Holland, remaining a resident of that 
place until his life's labors were ended in 
death. He died about the time of the Civil 
War, but his widow lived many years 
longer, surviving all of her children except 
G. B. P. Carpenter, who was a most devoted, 
loyal, and loving son, never letting a year 
pass without returning at least once to the 
old home to visit his mother. She passed 
away about 1877. In the family were 
twelve children, of whom A. W. Carpenter, 
one of the pioneer residents of Burlington, 
was the eldest, while George B. P. Car- 
penter was the youngest. 

In his native town G. B. P. Carpenter 
spent the days of his boyhood and youth and 
acquired his education in the public schools. 
He learned the first principles of the jewelry 
and watch-making business with his father 
in New Holland, and later went to Phila- 
delphia, where he entered upon a regular 
apprenticeship to the watch-making trade, 
thoroughly mastering the business in every 
detail. He then came to Burlington, ar- 
riving in this cit}- in May, 1856. Here he 
entered the employ of his two brothers, 
Anthony W. and William Carpenter, who 
were engaged in the jewelry business, re- 
maining in that connection with the house 
until a few years later, when William Car- 
penter died, and George B. P. Carpenter 
was admitted to a partnership, under the 
firm name of A. W. Carpenter & Brother. 
The business had been establish by the senior 
partner in 1837, and was therefore one of 
the pioneer mercantile enterprises of the 
city. It was also soon recognized as the 
leading jewelry house of Burlington — a 
position which it has since maintained. 

Upon the death of A. \\'. Carpenter, the 
remaining brother admitted his nephew. 



E. H. Carpenter, son of A. W. Carpenter, to 
the firm, which became known as G. B. P. 
& E. H. Carpenter, their store being located 
at the corner of Third and Jefferson Streets, 
the firm owning the building. In this line 
of commercial activity Mr. Carpenter con- 
tinued with marked success up to the time 
of his demise, which occurred May 3, 1880, 
and since that time E. H. Carpenter & 
Son have conducted the store, which for 
almost threescore and ten years has been 
a factor in the business life of Burlington. 
In 1861 occurred the marriage of George 
B. P. Carpenter and Miss Sarah Stockton, 
a daughter of Judge L. D. Stockton, a 
prominent citizen of Burlington, now de- 
ceased. There was one child of this mar- 
riage,— Flora, the wife of C. E. Brooks, 
who is connected with the National State 
Bank of Burlington. Mrs. Carpenter died 
in 1863, and on the sixth of October, 1868, 
Mr. Carpenter married Miss Ella Harman, 
who was born in this city, a daughter of 
Phillip Harman, who died in California 
during her early girlhood. He was a con- 
tractor and builder of Burlington at an 
early day and went to California for the 
jjenefit of his health, but after three months 
died of heart trouble. His wife, who bore 
the maiden name of Eliza Hayden, is a 
native of Ohio. Following the death of her 
first husband, she married L. M. Runyan, 
a native of Kentucky, the wedding being 
celebrated in Burlington. Mr. Runyan 
conducted a grocery store in Burlington 
from 1857 until 1878, and for a long period 
lived retired in this city. He and his wife 
now make their home with her daughter, 
I\Irs. Carpenter, at No. 102 Polk Street. 
Mrs. Runyan came to Burlington in 1838, 
when it was a small town containing only 
two brick houses, and she has seen it develop 



1 



ig2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



to its present extensive propi)rtions, with all 
i>f the iinprovenients and e<|uipmcnts of the 
larger cities. Mrs. Carpenter is her only 
child. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter became the 
jiarents of throe children, of whom one died 
in infancy: l-llsie is the wife of William M. 
Davis, a practising attorney of Iowa City, 
Iowa: I'orter ilarman. who learned telcg- 
raj)hy in liurlington, is now with the Chi- 
cago, lUirlington & Quincy Railroad in their 
offices at Chicago. 

In his jiolitical aflilialinn .\lr. Caqjcnter 
was a Democrat. Me l)el«mged to the 
Methodist Episco])al church and took a very 
active and efficient part in its work, doing all 
in his power to promote its growth and 
extend its intluence. .Mrs. Carpenter also 
belongs to the same cluirch. and is a member 
of the Ladies' :\icl Society. .At the time of 
the Civil \\'ar Mr. Car|)enter, because of 
his Quaker principles, did not enlist in the 
army, but his sympathies were with the 
Xorth. He was always a jiublic-spirited 
citizen, doing everything in his power to 
promote the welfare of his adopted city and 
State. He built a fine home at loo Polk 
Street in 1878, but after his death, Mrs. 
Carpenter sold this property to Frank Mil- 
lard, and has since lived with her mother 
at 102 Polk Street, where they have a beau- 
tiful residence overlooking the Mississippi 
River. 

During his last two years Mr. Carpenter 
was in ill health and spent considerable 
time in travel, hoping to be benefited there- 
by. He went to Florida and Colorado, and 
was at Pueblo when he was taken suddenly 
worse, and was advised by his physicians 
to return home. He rallied under the treat- 
ment given him, and feeling nnich better, 
started for Burlington. Even at Ottunnva, 
Iowa, he said, " 1 am all right now," but be- 



fore the train had reached FairfieUl he had 
expired. His death caused universal sorrow 
in Burlington. .\n old-time friend said of 
him: ".As a young man no one in Burlington 
had more or warmer friends. The circle of 
his ac(|uaintance was large, and his cheerful, 
lively disposition, his cordial manner, and 
his thorough manliness made him one of the 
most ]X)pular young men in the city. He 
was very successful in business, his friendly, 
hearty ways contributing greatly to that 
result." .Ml through his life he had "the 
love and honor of troops of friends." There 
was nothing narrow or selfish in his nature ; 
on the contrary, he was kind, generous, and 
good, faithful to his friends, and having no 
enemies. In his business career he did not 
prosjier at the sacrifice of other men's for- 
tunes, — as is too often the case at this day, 
— but in the field of legitimate trade ac- 
cumulated his comjjetcnce as the result of 
diligence, enterprise, and honorable dealing. 
He was yet in the prime of life when called 
to the home beyond, but in the forty-four 
years of his earthly pilgrimage he accom- 
plished much g(X)d, his being such a life as 
awakens the faith and confidence of men in 
their fellow-men, and ins|)ires their ennila- 
tion of his noble example. 



WILLIAM C. CROSS. 

\\'n.Li.\.M C. Cko.s,'^, who is engaged in the 
insurance business in Burlington, and who 
is very prominent and widely known in 
.Masonic circles, was lx)rn in Georgetown, 
.Mass. His father, Cieorge G. Cross, of New 
England parentage, was a painter by trade, 
and conducted a paint store in connection 
with his brother-in-law, George P. Folson. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



193 



He was also proprietor of a hotel at Wolf- 
boro, N. H. At the time of the Civil War he 
went to the front with a regiment of artillery 
from Rhode Island, and dietl in 1867 as the 
result of concussion from cannonading. 
His wife, who bore the maiden name of 
Mary A. Hatch, is now living in Dover, N. 
H. In their family were five children, of 
whom William C. Cross was the second in 
order of birth, and the only one now living. 
In his early boyhood days William C. 
Cross accompanied his parents on their re- 
moval to Dover, N. H., where he was reared 
to manhood, and acquired his education in 
the common and high schools. After put- 
ting aside his text-books he accepted a 
clerkship in a dry-goods store, where he 
remained for five years, then removing to 
Michigan, settling at East Saginaw, where 
he entered railroad services, with which he 
was connected for a long period as a repre- 
sentative of the operators' department of 
several great railroad systems. He first 
engaged with the Flint & Pere Marquette 
Railroad as a brakeman on a passenger 
train, and later was the company's repre- 
sentative and handled a gang of men in 
construction work on the building of an 
extension to its line. He was for four years 
conductor on a passenger train on the three 
divisions of that line, going from Saginaw 
to Detroit, Toledo to Holly, and Saginaw to 
Ludington, Mich. He ran the first passen- 
ger train out of Ludington, and doubled one 
week after the Ludington extension was 
completed. In 1877 he resigned his posi- 
tion with the Flint & Pere Marquette Rail- 
road and came to Burlington, where he 
entered the service of the Chicago, Burling- 
ton & Quincy Railroad as brakeman on the 
freight run between Burlington and Ottum- 
wa, acting in that capacity through nine 



months. He was then put on a construction 
train as foreman of a gang working in the 
summer months, and was appointed a regu- 
lar freight run in the winter season. He 
laid the iron on the Red Oak-Griswold ex- 
tension of the O. system. He acted as clerk 
for trainmaster J. W. Working of the 
operating system for seven or eight years, 
and during the memorable railroad strike 
of 1888 he was appointed general yard- 
master of the Burlington system at Bur- 
lington. In 1890 he was made trainmaster 
of the east Iowa division, in addition to his 
other duties as general yardmaster. In i8g8 
he retired from railroad work and estab- 
lished himself in the insurance business, 
representing such companies as the Conti- 
nental German Alliance, Aachen-Munich, 
the .Etna Accident, and many other good 
hre and accident insurance companies, with 
offices in the Parson's Block, and during 
liis connection with the business he has 
secured a good clientage. 

Mr. Cross was married in 1873 in East 
Saginaw, ]\Iich., to Miss Maggie Landis, a 
native of Ohio, who was reared in Mich- 
igan. 

He is very prominent in lodge work, es- 
pecially in Masonry, and for long years has 
been a worthy exemplar of the craft. He 
belongs to Des Moines Lodge, No. i, 
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, and 
was made a Mason in Saginaw, Mich., Jan. 
2, 1884. He is now a pastmaster of the 
lodge, and in September, 1874, he took the 
degrees of the Royal Arch and now belongs 
to Iowa Chapter, No. i. Royal Arch 
i\[asons, of which he is the present high 
priest. On the fifteenth of November, 1900, 
he took the Knights Templar degrees in St. 
Omer Commandery, No. 15, Knights Tem- 
plar, and is past eminent commander. He 



194 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



is likewise a meniljcr of Zari-path Consistory 
of Davcni>ort, having attained the thirty- 
second degree of tlie Scottish rite in August, 
1886; wliile on the tenth of February. 1887, 
the thirty-third degree of Masonry was con- 
ferreil upon him — an honor to which few 
attain. He is also a member of Zerubbabel 
Council, of Burlington. f)f which he is thrice 
illustrious master. lie belongs to Burling- 
ton I^dge, \o. 84, Benevolent and Protect- 
ive Order of Elks, of which he was past 
most exalted ruler in 1900. and is past dis- 
trict dc])uty grand e.xalted ruler of Iowa. 
For eight years he has been trustee of the 
local lodge in Burlington. He is, perhaps, 
one of the best-known Masons in this sec- 
tion, thoroughly familiar with the teachings 
and tenets of the craft, and in iiis life 
exemplifying its beneficent si)irit. 

He was formerly a member and served 
on the executive committee of the order of 
Railway Conductors. In politics he is a 
Democrat, but has never sought or desired 
political preferment. Mr. and Mrs. Cross 
attend the Methodist Episcopal church, of 
which she is a member. 



EDGAR THOMAS JACKSON. 

In preparing a work of reference of 
this nature for the use of later genera- 
tions, the historian is proud to record the 
names and achievements of the brave 
pioneers who came when the countrv was 
new, and braved the hardships of frontier 
life in order to open the way for the civ- 
ilization, wealth, and prosperity that we 
now enjoy. E. T. Jack.son, whose name 
leads this article, is a worthy rei)resenta- 
ti\e of one of the pioneer families that 



have won distinction and respect in Des 
-Moines county. 

The founder of this family in Des 
Moines county was Xehemiah H. Jack- 
son, grandfather of our subject, who came 
to this region when it was government 
land, and homesteaded a large tract. 
Xehemiah Jackson, was born at .\ddison, 
.\ddison county, \'t., in the year 1801. and 
lived there till manhood. Some time after 
his marriage he went to New York State, 
near Oswego, where he remained for two 
years. From there he moved with his 
father, the great-grandfather of our sub- 
ject, to Illinois, w'herc he remained one 
year, and in 1834 came to Iowa. 

The trip from .\ew York to Illinois was 
made in a wagon drawn by an ox-team, 
six weeks being required to make the 
journey. On coming to Iowa, Nehemiah 
Jackson homesteaded a farm of three 
hundred and twenty acres in Section 19, 
Benton townshij). the present farm of our 
subject, his grandson, as well as the farm 
on which another grandson, Burton Jack- 
son, now resides. Here he built a log 
cabin, by his own labor even splitting the 
clapboard for a roof, and hewing a floor 
out of s])lit hickory with an adze. After 
lie had made the beginnings of the new 
lionie, he brought his family from Illinois, 
they arriving in June, 1835. 

They crossed the river at Burlington on 
a llatboat. Burlington was then a village 
of log huts, with only one frame building 
on the north side of the landing. Their 
first year's crop was five acres of small 
corn. Old Black Hawk, with one hun- 
ilred warriors, soon camped b}' their 
home, and wanted to "swap" some things 
tor salt. The country was unoccupied at 
this time, and Mr. Matthew Lattv was 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



195 



the only other settler in this part of the thoroughly informed on all the \-ital top- 
country for miles around. He had come ics of the day. 
as early as 1833. While he was receiving his education 

Nehemiah Jackson was the main pro- he was also assisting in the heavy farm 

moter of the cause of education in the work always to be found on a pioneer 

community. Whenever a settler came in, homestead. He always made his home 

he at once went to see him, and inquired on tlie place which his father had pre- 

if he had children, and if he was in favor empted, adding to it another forty acres, 

of schools. At first they were compelled Besides general farming, he carried on a 

to have subscription schools, but later he stock-raising business very successfully, 

aided in getting public schools. His ac- raising many Shorthorn cattle and Poland 

tivity in this and other lines pertaining to China hogs. He inherited part of the 

the public welfare made him practically home place, and to this he made-additions 

the foremost man of his neighborhood from time to time until he owned three 

until the close of his life. He died at hundred and forty acres of farm land, all 

the home place on Alay 26, 1853, and lies improved except a small tract of timber, 

buried in Loper cemetery, at Sperry. Alyron H. Jackson was a Republican in 

In early manhood, before leaving Addi- his political faith, throughout his entire 

son, Nehemiah Jackson was united in life, and was always active in politics, al- 

marriage to Miss Lucy Pond, who sur- though he preferred to be part of the 

vived him by twenty-five years, her death power behind the throne, rather than to 

occurring in 1878, when she was at the aspire to public office for himself. Al- 

age of sixty-six years. To them were though he was in the midst of a strong 

born several children, of whom two. El- Democratic community, his reputation 

Hot F. and Mrs. Melissa Howard, made for being a public-spirited citizen who al- 

their homes, in later years, in Malcolm, ways sought for the best interests of the 

Nebr. ; while Myron H., father of the sub- community, made him a very influential 

ject of this history, made his home on the figure in all political aiTairs. He served 

old homestead. as justice of the peace for a number of 

Myron Hull Jackson was born at Ad- terms, with credit to himself and satisfac- 

dison, Vt., April 25, 1828, and was only tion to his neighbors. He was also Re- 

five years old when, with his parents, he publican township chairman for many 

made the long overland journey to Illi- years, and an indefatigable worker for the 

nois, and seven when they came to Iowa, good of his party, at the same time being 

His schooling consisted of a few terms at broad and liberal in his views, 

the district schools of Benton township. In early manhood Myron H. Jackson 

supplemented by home lessons. The became a member of Pisgah Baptist 

home environment was such as^ to en- church, at Sperry, remaining an active 

courage him to add to his education by member till the end of his life. He was a 

his own efforts, and he became a great trustee and deacon in this organization 

student and reader, being throughout his for something like forty years. He al- 

mature years a man who was always ways took great interest in church mat- 



196 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tcrs, giving liberally to its support, and 
also taking an active part in revival ser\'- 
ices. His life was that of a Christian 
man and a good neighbor. Hesides his 
eflforts in church work, he was also an 
earnest worker in the cause of temper- 
ance. He was a power for good in the 
community to a ri])e old age, passing 
away at his home near I.atty, Jan. i, 1902, 
in the seventy-fourth year of his life. 

.\t the age of twenty-seven, Myron H. 
Jackson was united in marriage at Sperry, 
Iowa, on Jan. 18, 1855, to Miss Sarah 
Penny, whose home was near Latty. 
Mrs. Jackson was born in \\'estmoreland 
county, Pennsylvania. Jan. 30, 1830. the 
daughter of John and Rebecca (Wed- 
dell) Penny. The father, John Penny, 
was a native of Pennsylvania, born 
Scjjt. II. 1802, and came to Iowa in 
November. 1844, locating one mile 
east of I.atty. He was a farmer and 
miller, and was married Sept. 12, 1822, to 
Miss Rebecca Weddell. He took a prom- 
inent ])art in the politics of the new coun- 
try, following the fortunes of the Demo- 
cratic party, and was elected to the House 
of Representatives in the Territorial Leg- 
islature of Iowa, which met at that time 
at Iowa City. 

John Penny also lOiind lime to carry on 
active work in church matters, being a 
member of the Baptist church at Sperry, 
and acting as deacon for a number of 
years. He died Dec. 14, 1886. His wife, 
Rebecca Weddell, also came of an old 
1 Vnnsylvania family. She was btfrn Jan. 
30, 1805, and lived till Oct. i, 1880, when 
she died at the home place near Latty. 
She was a devoted Christian, holding 
membership in the Baptist church. Mr. 
and Mrs. Penny were the parents of a 



large family of children besides Sarah, the 
wife of Myron H. Jackson. 

Mrs. Myron H. Jackson, mother of our 
subject, is still living, and resides on the 
old home place, making her home with 
her son. To Mr. Jackson and her were 
born nine children, of whom seven are 
still living. Those living are as follows : 
Fremont, of .\ltamont, Kans., whose wife 
was Miss Mattie Hunt, and to whom have 
been born three children, Clay, Josephine, 
and Frances ; Hattie, wife of James 
Howard, of Danville, Iowa, to whom have 
been born three children, Murle, Grace, 
and Wallace; Denira, wife of Wallace 
.Miller, of Mediapolis, to whom have been 
born two sons and one daughter, Espey, 
Genevieve, and Burton ; Burton, of Latty, 
whose wife was Miss Idaho Pershing, and 
who has a little adopted daughter, Fthel : 
Fulgar. whose career is the special subject 
of this review; I-'rank. whose home is in 
Prosscr, \\'ash., where he has a farm ; and 
Sadie, who is at home. 

Edgar Thomas Jackson, the immediate 
subject of this history, was born on the 
home ])lace, .\ug. 3, 1868, and received 
his early education in the district schools 
and in the Burlington high school. After 
leaving high school, he spent a term in 
the Dixon Business College, at Dixon. 
111. Most of his time there was given to 
the stud,v of telegraphy, .\fter attaining 
a mastery of this profession he secured a 
position as operator and station agent for 
the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, at 
Kamrar, Hamilton county, Iowa. This 
l)osition he filled very satisfactorily for 
two and a half years. At the end of this 
time his father needetl his assistance so 
greatly that he returned to the home 
place and took the supervision of the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



197 



farm. At this work he has been very 
successful, making a specialty of stock- 
raising, raising high-grade cattle and 
hogs, and some sheep, besides carrying 
on general farming. 

On Sept. 16, 1903, E. T. Jackson was 
united in marriage to Miss Emma Jack- 
son, the daughter of William and Adeline 
(Wassom) Jackson, of this township. 
Mr. and Mrs. William Jackson came from 
Pennsylvania, and have always followed 
the business of farming. To Mr. and 
Mrs. E. T. Jackson one son has been 
born, William Herbert, born Oct. 14, 
1904. 

Following in the footsteps of his father, 
Mr. Edgar Jackson has shown his love of 
country by taking an active part in the 
political life of the community, affiliating 
himself with the Republican party. He 
has served for about five years as chair- 
man of the township central committee of 
his party, and has several times been a 
member of the county convention. In 
the midst of his other interests, Mr. Jack- 
son has always found time to advance 
the cause of right in the community by 
doing his share of church work. He is a 
loyal member of the Baptist church at 
Sperry, of which his father and mother 
and his maternal grandfather and grand- 
mother were members, the grandfather 
and father both being deacons for many 
years. Mr. E. T. Jackson has always 
worked in the Sunday-school in various 
capacities, and is also clerk of the church. 

Coming of an excellent family, genial 
by nature, and possessing a high degree 
of nati\e ability, Mr. Jackson enjoys the 
fullest confidence of all who know him, 
confidence in the soundness of his judg- 
ment, the absolute rectitude of his every 



act, and in his ability. Mr. Jackson is a 
man of such force of character that while 
achieving a private business success he 
can contribute in a material degree to the 
general advancement and upbuilding of 
the communitv. 



SAMUEL E. NIXON, M. D. 

Dr. Samuel E. Nixon, one of the 
prominent physicians and surgeons of Bur- 
lington, was born at Guyandotte, W. Va., on 
Aug. 9, 1849, his parents being Edward 
and Mary Ann (Phelps) Nixon. The 
Nixons, several generations remote, were of 
German birth, but persecution in their na- 
tive land drove them to Ireland, and from 
that country Alexander Nixon, the great- 
grandfather, came to America. Because of 
the non-emigration act of Great Britain, 
he had to leave Ireland secretly, and swam 
out two or three miles in order to reach a 
vessel bound for an American port. He 
then hid in the hold until the anchor had 
been lifted and the ship under way. He 
settled in Marietta, Ohio, then a wild fron- 
tier district, and was often engaged in 
fighting Indians, who still roamed over that 
section of the country. He was also a 
great hunter, and spent much time in the 
forests with his gun. At his death he left 
a large family. 

His son, who was also named Alexander 
Nixon, possessed many of his father's sa- 
lient characteristics, and lived a life very 
similar to his. He married, and by that 
union had eight children. Later, after his 
first wife's decease, he married a widow 
with eight children, and they had five chil- 
dren, making twenty-one children in their 
family. Alexander Nixon, Jr., died at tlT" 



I0» 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



age of sixty-five years, ami his wife passed 
away later, at the age of seventy years. 

Edward Ni.xon, father of Dr. Nixon, was 
born at Marietta. ( )hi(>, June 15. 1815. and 
became a merchant taii>>r: hut his health 
failed him. and accordingly he removed to 
West \irginia in 1840. He was a stanch 
Abolitionist and a very outspoken man. 
Because of his vie%vs concerning the slavery 
question he was obliged to leave the South, 
and came to Iowa in 1852. He was forced 
to make his escape secretly anil at iii^ht. 
and he took with him two horses and some 
of his clothing. He owned property to 
the value of thirty thousand dollars in West 
Virginia, but was obliged to leave this, al- 
though afterward through an agent he 
received five horses for his property. He 
came by wagon to Iowa, settling near 
Dubuque, where he' secured land at a 
dollar and a quarter per acre He was 
himself in ]ioor health and his wife was 
sickly. In West N'irginia he had iiiarrii-d 
Mary Ann Phelps, who had gone South to 
teach school. She "was born'in Cambridge, 
Mass., in 181 7, and was a daughter of 
Samuel Phelps. Her paternal grandfather 
was a soldier of the Rev>)lntinnary War. 
and served in the battles of Lexington and 
Concord. Her father was a carpenter and 
builder. Mrs. Nixon was educated in a 
young ladies' school in Cambridgi-, and 
afterward went to West X'irginia. where she 
had wealthy relatives living. After .Mr. 
and Mrs. Nixon came to Iowa they suffered 
many of the discomforts and hardships of 
pioneer life. Mr. Nixon had to go to 
Kentucky to get the horses that came to 
him from his West X'irginia property. 
There were great snowstorms the first win- 
ter, and although Mr. Nixon was a man of 
great energy and endurance, the exposure 



■which he suffered in a night, while going 
three miles from a neighbor's house to his 
own cabin, leading a horse through the 
crustecl snow, so exhausted him that he 
was confined to his bed for a year. As soon 
as possible, however, he resumed his labors 
and made two trips a day, thirty-two miles, 
hauling rails through the cold and snow, in 
order to fence his farm. An earnest Chris- 
tian man, he ])laced his faith and dependence 
in (iod, and in time was enabled to over- 
come all the early difficulties which at- 
tended his life in Iowa. He remained upon 
his fanii until i8<'i5, when he removed to 
Danville, where he engaged in merchandi- 
sing, but later he resumed agricultural pur- 
suits near Mount Pleasant, Iowa. 

Dr. Nixt)n, who was one of a family of 
five children, remained at home and as- 
sisted his father until seventeen years of age, 
when he started out ujion an independent 
business career. When hut thirteen years 
1 if age. however, he ran a header for weeks, 
cutting wheat, and made three dollars per 
day. When seventeen years of age he began 
teaching school in McDonough county, and 
s|)ent two years in teaching in or near Table 
Cinive, 111. His leisure hours were de- 
voted to study, and this greatly broadened 
his own education, giving him a good foun- 
dation for his professional learning when 
he entered Hahnemann Medical College at 
Chicago, from which he was graduated with 
the class of 1874. He read medicine in the 
office of Dr. W. T. X'irgin, of Burlington, 
and after his graduation was associated 
with him in practice for a year. He was 
then alone in practice for four years, after 
which he became the successor of Dr. \'ir- 
gin. who removed from the city. He has 
since prospered, and now has a large and 
continually growing practice. The con- 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



igg 



sensus of public opinion concerning his 
ability is most favorable, for he has many 
times demonstrated his skill and compre- 
hensive knowledge in the manner in which 
he has handled difficult cases. He belongs 
to the Iowa State Homeopathic Medical 
Society. 

Dr. Nixon was married, in 1878, to Miss 
Lucy Wilcox, who died in March, 1892. 
Their only child died in i88g. On the 30th 
of June, Dr. Nixon was again married, his 
second union being with Miss Mary Hill- 
house, who died July 26, 1900, leaving two 
children : Edwin Allen and Norman Ken- 
nett. On Nov. 25, rgoi, Dr. Nixon mar- 
ried Mrs. Mary A. Kunz, a daughter of 
L. Link, a retired merchant and capitalist of 
Burlington. She has a superior musical 
education, having received training under 
noted teachers in Germany and France. 

Dr. Nixon has advanced high in Ma- 
sonry, belonging to Malta Lodge, No. 318, 
Ancient Free and Accepted ^lasons, of which 
he is a past master: Iowa Chapter, No. i. 
Royal Arch Masons ; St. Omer Command- 
ery. No. 15, Knights Templar, of which 
he is a past eminent commander ; and 
Kaaba Temple of the Mystic Shrine, at 
Davenport. He is also a member of the 
Crystal Lake Hunting Club. A man of 
scholarly attainments and broad mental cul- 
ture, occupying a position of prominence in 
professional circles, he ajso enjoys the 
social life, which indicates a well-rounded 
nature. 



DR. WILLIAM HENRY RANDALL. 

Dr. \'Villi.\m Henry Rano-all was for 
thirty years a resident of Augusta, and 
during that period he occupied so high a 
position in the public esteem that no his- 



tory of Des Moines county would be com- 
plete which did not accord to his name 
and life a prominent place. Dr. Randall 
was born in Wilton, Me., on the 14th day 
of June, 1830, a son of Esek and Edith 
(I'ickens) Randall. The father, who was 
by trade a miller, was a native of Middle- 
boro, Mass., the date of his birth being 
1800, and was a son of Joshua Randall, 
whose wife was a member of the Hoar 
family of Massachusetts. Joshua Ran- 
dall, who was a minister of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, removed to Maine 
when his son Esek was in infancy, and in 
that State he passed his reinaining years. 
He became the owner of a farm near the 
town of Wilton, and while engaged in 
farming also continued his w'ork as a min- 
ister of the gospel, until he came into dis- 
agreement with his •congregation regard- 
ing some point of doctrine, when he ceas- 
ed preaching, and thereafter devoted him- 
self to farming. 

Esek Randall grew to manhood near 
\\'ilton, and having received a good edu- 
cation, became a teacher. He later pur- 
chased a mill at East Dixfield, Me. He 
v\-as the father of seven children, of whom 
our subject was the fourth, while he him- 
self was a member of a family of five 
brothers, two of whom were graduates of 
Bowdoin College, one. of these being a 
classmate of the poet Longfellow. Two 
of his Ijrothcrs followed the profession of 
law, while another embraced a business 
career as a merchant. 

The subject oi this memoir early be- 
came a student in the academy at Thet- 
ford. \'t., where he pursued a course of 
study, and on the completion of his work 
there he followed the paternal example 
and took \m teaching. He was teaching: 



200 



niOGR.U'UJt.lL REVIEW 



at Upton. Worcester county, Mass.. in 
1853 wlun Ik- met Miss Martha Fowlor, 
who afturward l)ccanK' liis wife. He 
taught there for a few years, ami then be- 
gan the study of nuilicine in the medical 
college at Castleton. \'t., from which he 
was graduated with the degree of M. D. 
aljout the year 1S57. A believer in the 
splendid future of the West, he at once 
removed to Illinois, locating at Ingraham, 
Clay county, where he rapidly built up a 
large practice. Meantime he had main- 
tained a corres])ondcnce with Miss Fowl- 
er, and in 18^10 returned to I'pton, Mass.. 
where on June 14 nf tiiat year they were 
united in marriage. They took up their 
residence at Ingraham. 111., but in i8<')3 
the perils of the great crisis through which 
the nation was then passing appealed so 
forcibly to Dr. RanJlall's patriotism that 
he returned to the Mast an<l enlisted in a 
Massachusetts regiment as a private. He 
was first stationed at Gallope Island, a 
training camp, and after a few weeks .Mrs. 
Randall visited him there, and carried 
him a commission as assistant surgeon in 
the Nineteenth Maine Regiment. She 
then went to the home of her father, 
where she remained during her husband's 
service with the ;irni\-. lie went at once 
to the front, where alxiut a year later his 
distinguished abilities brought him ap- 
pointment as surgeon with the rank of 
major. He continued with the Federal 
forces until the end of the war. when he 
was mustered out of the service with his 
regiment at Augusta, Me. Mrs. Randall 
was there to meet him, and shortlv after- 
ward they went to live at Rome, Richland 
county, Ohio, making that their home un- 
til their removal to Augusta, Des Moines 
county. Iowa, in 1869. 



Miss Martha M. Fowler, who became 
the wife of Dr. Randall, was born at L'p- 
ton, .Mass., a daughter of Hiram and 
-Anna (Whitney) Fowler. Her father 
was a native of Rohobeth, Mass., and in 
addition to his occupation of farming was 
very well known as a lecturer. The 
mother, born in Upton, belonged to that 
celebrated Whitney family which has for 
one of its members the famous Fli W'hit- 
ney, inventor of the cotton gin. She was 
a woman of ability and culture, and to 
her children were given the same advan- 
tages of excellent academic education 
which she herself ehjoyed. 

To Dr. and Mrs. Randall were born 
two children. Anna, born in Clay county, 
Illinois, married W. A. Murphy, and now 
resides in Denmark township, Lee county, 
this State. -She has three children : Mar- 
tha, a graduate of Denmark .\cadcmy and 
of the Husiness College at Dixon, III., and 
now a teacher in Lee county; .Annabel, at 
l)resent a student at Denmark Academy; 
and Randall, a ])upil in the grammar 
grades at Denmark. Osman, the second 
child of Dr. and Mrs. Randall, was bom at 
Rome, Ohio, in 1867. and died at .Au- 
gusta, Iowa, in 1874. 

While Dr. Randall was all his life 
greatly interested in |)ublic affairs and in 
all matters of politics, his professional 
practice was at all times so great in vol- 
ume that he was unable to give more than 
a modiciun of his time to partisan activi- 
ties. ISorn and reared a Democrat, he 
early allied himself with the Republican 
party, his first ballot being cast for Gen- 
eral Winfield Scott for the presidency in 
1852, and his second vote for John C. 
Fremont in 183'). He also ever evinced 
absorbing interest in the jirogrcss and 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



20I 



welfare of popular education, which he be- 
lieved to be thoroughly in concord with 
V his exalted ideals of American liberty. 
From a material point of view he was 
highly sirccessful, as his medical practice 
was very lucrative. He was a man of 
strong and resolute character, noted for 
the purity, integrity, and fearless up- 
rightness of his life, and was possessed of 
natural talents far beyond the ordinary. 
It was in no selfish spirit that he dedi- 
cated his powers to the service of human- 
ity, and he received his reward in the high 
respect and warm regard in which he was 
ever held by those who knew him. He 
died at Augusta on Dec. 23, 1899. A de- 
voted husband, a loving, indulgent father, 
and a strong, true man, he has left a mem- 
ory and an influence that shall long en- 
dure. Mrs; Randall is a lady of excep- 
tional ability, of pleasing presence and 
conversational powers, and inherits the 
instinctive culture of her many genera- 
tions of Puritan ancestry. She has a wide 
circle of acquaintance, and her home is 
the center of a refined hospitality. 



JOHN CALVIN McCLURKIN. 

The great Mississippi valley, with its 
broad prairies and rich lands, furnishes 
splendid opportunities to the farmer and 
stock-raiser, and Des Moines county is 
an attractive district of this great region 
for him who would win success in the 
raising of stock or in the cultivation of 
cereals. Mr. McClurkin is to-day a prom- 
inent representative of the former depart- 
ment of business, and has a valuable tract 
of land in Yellow Springs township. He 



was born in Louisa county, Iowa, Aug. 
29, 1846, his parents being Matthew and 
Eliza Ann (McClure) McClurkin. The 
mother died in Louisa county when her 
son John was only six years old. The 
father went to California during the gold 
excitement on the Pacific Coast, making 
his way to that far-off country in 1849, 
but he died within a day and a half's 
travel of the mines, his remains being in- 
terred there. 

After the death of his parents, John C. 
McClurkin went to live with an uncle in 
the paternal line, and remained with him 
until he attained his majority. He was 
educated in the district schools, was 
reared to the occupation of farming, and 
has always followed that pursuit. He 
came to Des Moines county about 1863, 
when a young man of seventeen years of 
age, and was here employed as a farm 
hand for some time, working persistently 
and earnestly in order to acquire a sum 
of money that would justify him in the 
purchase of land. 

Mr. McClurkin enlisted in Company H, 
Forty-fifth Iowa Infantry, at Morning 
.Sun, and was mustered into s'ervice at 
Keokuk. They went down the Missis- 
sippi River, and from thence to Corinth, 
where they were stationed to do guard 
duty at the railroad bridge over the river 
at Moscow. He served with his regiment 
until he received his honorable discharge 
from service at Keokuk, the time of his 
enlistment being for one hundred days. 

About 1875 he bought a farm of T 
Reed, and he now owns two hundred and 
forty acres of valuable land in Yellow 
Springs and Washington townships, 
eightv acres being in the former and one 
hundred and sixtv acres in the latter 



202 



lilOGRAl'llH. AL RIUIEU- 



township. Hero he raises and feeds from 
one to three car-loads of cattle each year, 
and he also has ii])on his place about sev- 
enty-five head of hops of the I'oland 
China breed. He is an excellent judge 
of stock, and is thus enabled to make 
careful ])urchases and profitable sales, 
lie finds that the l>ranch of business 
which he has chosen as a life work gives 
him ample op])ortunity for the exercise 
of his business talents and industry. 

March ii. iS<Sf). .Mr. .McClurkin was 
niarried to .Miss .Malxina Louisa Keed, a 
daughter of David and Helena Jane 
(Carithers) Reed, a native of Indiana. 
Si.x children have been born of this 
union: .\nna Jane, David R<n', .Mildred 
Eliza, Leila Myrtie, Lizzie Viola, and 
John Calvin.. Mr. McC'hirkin lias sjjcnt 
his entire life in Iowa, covering now a 
period of almost si.xty years. His atten- 
tion and interests have been concentrated 
upon agricultural pursuits, and he is now 
a prominent re])resentative of stock-rais- 
ing here. His business methods will bear 
(lie closest investigati(»n and scrutiny, 
and the extent of his operations have 
maile him ])rosi)erous. 



WALTER G. STEINGREABER. 

.\ \r.KV promiiK-nt resident of Des Moines 
county, Iowa, and one who is numbered 
among the most infiueiitial citizens of Ben- 
ton township, is Walter G. Steingrealjer, 
who was born in Saxony, Germany, Dec. 
2". 1S44, the son of Charles and Henrietta 
Steingreaber, both natives of Saxony. The 
father of our subject was by trade a glazier, 
an occupation which he followed until com- 



ing to .\merica, but after purchasing a farm 
here he devoted himself exclusively to its 
cultivation, and continued to reside upon it 
until his death, which occurred in 1889. in 
the seventy-ninth year of his age ; while the 
mother died in 1893, aged eighty-three 
years, lloth were faithful memlx-rs of the 
Lutheran church, and the father, who took 
an active interest in political affairs as a 
member of the Republican party, was very 
successful in a material way, becoming one 
of the notably prosperous and influential 
men of his day in this section. The mortal 
remains of both were laid to rest on the 
home farm, which is still owned by members 
of the family. To them were born six chil- 
dren, as follows : Charles, who died at the 
age of thirty-six years: Agnes, Hetwig, and 
Louise, also all deceased: .iinl Walter G. 
and William R., the latter of whom being 
the only one born in America. 

In Xovember, 1850, our subject came to 
.America with his parents, landing at .\ew 
Orleans, whence they proceeded ii|) the .Mis- 
sissippi River to Ijurlington, and located 
on an eight>-acre farm purchased by the 
father in lUirlington township, four miles 
north of lUirlington, on the Irish Ridge 
roail. Here Mr. Steingreal)er passed the 
days of his youth as his father's assistant in 
the work of the farm, and meantime ac- 
f|uirecl a good common-school education in 
the district schools of his township, which 
he later supplemented by a complete course 
of training in the Commercial College of 
.Burlington, thus evincing an unusual enthu- 
siasm for the cause of education, and at the 
same titiie acquiring exceptional |)rei)aration 
for the business and duties of his later life. 

On Dec. 2^, 1871, Mr. Steingreaber was 
united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Hunter, 
daughter of William and Rebecca (Givens) 




WALTER G. STEINGREABER. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



ao5 



Hunter, the father being a native of Ireland, 
whence he emigrated to the United States 
in 1838, setthng in Durhngton township, 
Des Moines count}-, in 1840, purchasing a 
farm there and engaging in farming very 
successfully. He died at the age of eighty- 
three years, while the demise of his wife 
occurred in her seventy-sixth year, and both 
are interred in the Wykert cemetery, in Bur- 
lington township. It may be here recorded 
as a matter of interest that the fathers of 
Mr. and Mrs. Steingreaber, respectively, 
were born on the same day ; namely, June 11, 
1810. To our subject and wife have been 
born seven sons and daughters, as follows : 
George, who resides at his father's home, 
and works the farm : Bessie A., wife of 
William I. Burkholder, of Wisconsin, who 
has four sons, Richard, W^alter, John, and 
Ralph : and Laura, William C, and Hettie 
R., who are still at home : while the third 
and fourth children in the order of birth 
died in infancy. W\ were born at the present 
home of the family, and here have received 
the best educational advantages as well as 
an excellent home training. 

Upon his marriage ^Nlr. Stemgreaber 
settled in Benton township, where in 1871 
he purchased his present large and valuable 
farm of two hundred acres of fertile and 
productive farming lands ; and here he has 
engaged in farming and stock-raising, plac- 
ing most of the land under cultivation, and 
by means of ceaseless and unflagging in- 
dustry, combined with sound business judg- 
ment, has secured from the soil in various 
forms a very generous return for the outlay 
of labor, capital, and ability Avhich has gone 
toward its development. It now bears the 
appearance of a modern establishment of 
the very highest class, and the owner has 
installed many up-to-date improveirents. 



among which might be included the large 
and impressive structure which serves as 
the family residence, and has become the 
center of a large hospitality. 

At the beginning of the Civil War our 
subject was still a very young man, but in 
P'ebruary, 1864, he enlisted for the service 
of his adopted country in Company E, 
Twenty-fifth Iowa \'olunteer Infantry, and 
proceeding at once to the front, received 
two serious gunshot wounds in the battle at 
.Vtlanta, Ga.. on account of which he was 
honorably discharged as unable to perform 
further military duty. As another and highly 
regrettable result of his wounds, he was 
compelled to sufl'er the loss of his left leg 
below the knee. The public spirit -which 
he showed in time of war by thus exposing 
himself to all its perils for the sake of the 
general welfare, has remained with him 
through life, and has been carried into other 
fields of endeavor where its usefulness has 
been no less in-iportant, for as an influential 
worker in the ranks of the Republican party 
he has borne a very important part in shap- 
ing the affairs of the community in which he 
resides, so that he has fully discharged the 
responsibilities belonging to the high station 
in which he is placed by the confidence and 
esteem of his fellow-citizens. Many public 
trusts have been his, as he has been at vari- 
ous times elected to the several township 
offices, and for six years was a member of 
the board of supervisors of Des Moines 
county. Fraternally, he sustains member- 
ship relations with the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows in Benton Lodge, No. 277, 
at Latta, Iowa, and is also an honored mem- 
ber of Matthies Post, No. 5, Grand Army 
of the Republic. He is widely known as a 
successful farmer of the most progressive 
type, while his political activities have made 



2o6 



BlOGR.U'lllLAL KLl ILlf 



his name familiar throughout the extent of 
Des Moines anil neightx^ring counties; and 
wherever he is known, he has made many 
friends by his genial traits of character and 
by the well-known facts of the honor, up- 
rightness, and fairness which have marked 
his w1k>1c career. 



A. J. SMITH. 



A. |. S-MiTH, a pioneer of Des Moines 
count V of 1837, remained a resident of 
Washington and Pleasant Grove townships 
for sixty years ; and while witnessing the 
development and growth of the county, he 
also rendered material assistance in its im- 
provement and progress, especially along 
agricultural lines, wherein he so directed 
his labors that he became one of the ex- 
tensive land owners and prosperous farm- 
ers of the State. He was born in Washing- 
ton county, Virginia, in 181 7, and was de- 
scended from old colonial families of the 
South, his ancestral connection with that 
portion of the countrj- dating back to an 
earlv epoch in its settlement. Robert 
Smith, Ixirn in N'irginia, espoused the cause 
of the colonies during the Revolutionary 
War, and after the return of peace con- 
tinued his farming operations in the Old 
Dominion uniler the rule of a republican 
form of government, which he had aided in 
establishing. His son, Daniel Smith, also 
a native of \'irginia, was reared there to 
the occupation of farming, and following 
the attainment of his majority was married 
to Miss Isabel Gilson. a native of North 
Carolina, and a daughter of William Gil- 
son, who was likewise an agriculturist, ;iiul 
was of Irish descent. In the spring of 



1818 Daniel and Isabel Smith emigrated 
westward to Washington county, Indiana, 
where for five years he engaged in the 
operation of rented land, and then re- 
moved to Rush county, Indiana, in 1823. 
.\ frontier district, he was enabled to 
purchase government land, and secured a 
tract of eighty acres covered with timber. 
There were many Indian settlements in that 
portion of the State, and the pioneers were 
just planting the seeds of civilization and 
improvement. Mr. Smith built a little cabin 
and began the difficult task of cutting down 
the trees, clearing away the brush and 
roots, and preparing the land for the plow. 
\\hen he had cleared a small portion, a 
crop would be planted ; and for twelve 
years he continued the work of improving 
his farm, in the meantime increasing its area 
by the purchase of an additional eighty- 
acre tract. He then sold his farm and 
removed to Hancock county, Indiana, where 
he ])urchased one hundred and sixty acres 
of land, continuing its cultivation until his 
life's labors were ended in death, Dec. 29, 
1848, when he had reached the age of sixty- 
five years, ten months and twelve days. 
His wife long surviving him, died Aug. 
15, 1864, at the advanced age of eighty-one 
years and twenty-three days. He was a 
Whig in his political views, and while living 
in Rush county, and again in Hancock 
county, he served as probate judge, and 
his efforts proved a substantial factor in 
iil)hi>ldiiig the political and moral status 
(jf the pioneer localities with which he 
was connected, while his labors advanced 
the material development. Both he and his 
wife were members of the Presbyterian 
church. They were the parents of sixteen 
children, and with one exception all reached 
adult age. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



20/ 



A. J. Smith accompanied his parents on 
their various removals until he reached the 
age of twenty-five years, and knew full 
well the difficulties and hardships which 
must be met in a frontier district ; for he 
experienced many of these in his youth as, 
living in a pioneer log cabin, he assisted in 
the arduous task of developing a new farm. 
He realized also that a frontier region of- 
fered good opportunities to the agricultur- 
ist, and accordingly, in 1837, he came to 
Des Moines county, Iowa, which was at 
that time a part of the Territory of Wis- 
consin, locating first in Pleasant Grove 
township, where he purchased one hundred 
and twenty acres of land on Section 10. He 
continued its improvement for twelve years, 
and then bought a farm on Section 11, 
which he made his home for ten years, 
removing, at the expiration of that period, 
to Washington township. After three 
years, however, he returned to Pleasant 
Grove township, settling on Section 15, 
where he remained for twenty years, when 
he took up his abode on Section 5, where 
he remained until retiring from active 
business and locating in Yarmouth. After 
the death of his wife, which occurred July 
14, 1897, he made his home with his chil- 
dren, Fredrick N. and Mary J. Redfern. 

His activity in business affairs mav be 
judged from the fact of his extensive in- 
vestments, his capital being secured entirely 
through his own labors. After giving to 
each of his children a farm, he still re- 
tained possession of fifteen hundred and 
eighteen acres of land in Des IMoines 
county. As his father was a poor man, he 
received no financial assistance at the be- 
ginning of his business career, but on the 
contrary worked for twenty-five cents per 
dav, when he started out in life. 



W'hen he came to the West,, he had sixty- 
four dollars in money and two ox-teams, 
and with these he began breaking prairie. 
As his financial resources increased he 
bought land from time to time, and through 
cultivation and the consequent rise in prop- 
erty values, incident to the settlement of 
the country, this property commanded a 
high market price. 

j\lr. Smith was ably assisted and encour- 
aged by his wife, who was indeed a faith- 
ful helpmate and companion to him on life'-s 
journey. On the i8th of April, 1847, he 
married Miss Jane Westfall, a native of 
New York, born June 20, 1829. They be- 
came the parents of twelve children : Fran- 
cis M., born March 20, 1848, a resident of 
Pleasant Grove township ; Frederick N., of 
Burlington : Isabella, bom Aug. 30, 1852, 
now the wife of David L. Davis, of Clinton, 
Mo. ; Asbury D., born March 17, 1854, liv- 
ing in Keokuk county, Iowa ; A. J., born 
"June I, 1856, of Colony, Kans. ; Mary J., 
born March 26, 1858, the wife of Ira Red- 
fern, a retired farmer of New London, Henry 
county, Iowa; R. A., born April 8, i860, 
now living in New London ; A. E., born 
Feb. 18, 1862, a resident of New London ; 
John H., born Oct. 30, 1864, residing in 
Des Moines county ; Minnie, bom Nov. 12, 
1865, the wife of George Overman, of this 
county : Squire, born Nov. 18, 1867, resid- 
ing in Washington township ; and Ira, born 
Feb. 23, 1870, and now living in New 
London. 

A. J. Smith, an advocate of Democratic 
principles, was elected on the party ticket 
to local offices of honor and trust. He 
filled several positions in his township, in- 
cluding that of trustee for several terms, 
and was also a member of the county board 
of supervisors for one temi. He accumu- 



208 



BiouKArmcAL NEriEir 



atcd wealth, yet there was no selfishness in 
the use which he nia<Ie nf it. To his family 
he was most kind anil generous, and he 
possessed a benevolent spirit that prompted 
ready and substantial assistance to those 
in need and to various charitable institu- 
tions. He was deeply interested in the 
cau.se of education, religion, and temper- 
ance, and in fact was the champion of all 
measures and methods which he believed 
would uplift humanity. His life develop- 
ment was like the substantial growth of the 
pioneer district with which he allied his in- 
terests at an early day — constantly broad- 
ening its outlook and its activities to meet 
the changing conditions of the times, and 
keeping abreast with the i^rogress of public 
till Plight as well as the business transitions 
that bronglit material results. There was 
in him a ilejith of character and a weight 
of purpose that transcended all shams, and 
that won the recognition of his fellow-men 
in the respect and confidence which they 
so freely accorded him. He died Dec. i6, 
KJ02, and the remains of his wife rest bv 
his side in Pleasant Grove township. 



JAMES ANDREW TOMLINSON. 

Jaaiics Amjri:w To.mijnson, who was 
for many years a respected and highly 
honored resident of I'.urlington. Iowa, 
was born in Marion county, Indiana, on 
.\pril 24, 1843. son of William Hughes 
anil .Martha Tomlin.son. His eariv edu- 
cation was obtained in the |)ul)lic schools 
of his native State, and later he attended 
a school in Chicago. On the comple- 
tion of his schooling in the Orchard City 
r.iisiness College he lugaii accpiiring the 



trade of car])entering, contracting, and 
Iniilding. which he followed very success- 
fully throughout the remainder of his life. 
He made a speciality of moldings and 
carvings, in the designing and execution 
of which he was an expert. He was also 
a stair-builder, which at that time was a 
trade of itself. 

He came to the West early in the his- 
tory of this, then undeveloped region, lo- 
cating in Burlington, and it was here that 
he was united in marriage Dec. 15, 1868, 
with Miss Dora .\ndress, daughter of 
Daniel S. and lilizabcth W'orden (Mit- 
chell) Andress. the latter of whom bore 
the name W'orden in honor of a relative, 
.\dmiral W'orden, of "Merrimac" fame. 
.Mrs. Tomlinson is a native of Ilurlington, 
having been born on lower Main Street, 
then very sparsely settled, Nov. 15, 1848, 
and her parents were pioneers who came 
to Iowa from Switzerland county, Indi- 
ana, about the year 1845. ' 'i"-' father 
was a contractor for brick work, which 
business he followed in IJurlinglon until 
the time of his death, Oct. 25, 183K. .Mr. 
and Mrs. Andress were the i)arents of 
eight children: Roell, now deceased: a 
son who died in infancy: Dora, widow of 
our subject : I'.ishop j. I. ; I )illoii X. S., an 
extensive stock-raiser of western Iowa; 
Mary Celia, deceased ; Mason, deceased ; 
and Martha .•\delaide, also deceased. His 
widow sur\ived him many years, she 
dying Feb. 24, 1903. Mrs. .\ndress was 
united in marriage with William K. 
I'rown as her second husband. Mr. 
Hrown was an old resident of Des Moines 
comity. 

Mr. Tomlinson enlisted in Comi)any G, 
Teiub Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and 
was with the ;irnu- of the Cumberl.ind. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. lOU'A. 



209 



and also with Sherman on his march to 
the sea. serving the full four years. He 
was wounded at Chickamauga, and never 
fully recovered, and also received a sun- 
stroke, which later was reall\' the cause of 
his death. 

Fraternally, our sul)ject was a member 
of the Independent Order of Good Tem- 
plars, and as a man of exemplary char- 
acter and unusual ability, was popular and 
highly esteemed. He was for many years 
an acti\-e member of the Methodist 
church, where he held all of the church 
offices, and was also Sunday-school su- 
perintendent and a teacher. He was also 
a fluent speaker, having on many occa- 
sions lectured on temperance, and did 
much efficient work for the cause. 

Mr. and Airs. Tomiinson remained in 
Burlington till 1877, when they moved to 
Wilson county, Kansas, where he went 
into business with his brother-in-law, but 
later engaged in farming. He did not 
spend all of his time on his farm, as he 
carried on contracting for several months 
in the year. 

March 9, 1883, he received a sunstroke 
while working on a contract near home 
which, connected with the effects left 
after his war infirmities, proved fatal. He 
is buried in Kansas. He was much re- 
spected, and left many friends and rela- 
tives to mourn his untimely death. Mrs. 
Tomiinson closed up her husband's estate 
and with her three children, all under five 
years of age, returned to Burlington. She 
is a lady of some conversational powers, 
possessing wide general information, and 
her pleasant home at 216 South Central 
Avenue is a center of social activity. She 
is a member of the Methodist church. 

Mr. and Mrs. Tomiinson were blessed 



with three sons and one daughter: Frank; 
Guy James: Grace Inez, who was a beau- 
tiful young woman, becoming the wife of 
Orson P. Johnson, and died in Elrick, 
Iowa, aged nineteen years; and Homer 
Watt. 

Guy James is the only remaining child. 
He was born in the State of Kansas, Jul)' 
10, i876,and received his education in the 
public and high schools of Burlington and 
Elliott's Business College of the same 
place, after which he read law in the of- 
fice of Attorney Fred Courts, of Morning 
Sun, Iowa. Rising rapidly he was ad- 
mitted to the bar on Jan. 17, 1901, when 
twenty-three years old. Soon after this 
he formed a partnership with Mr. Courts, 
with whom he has ever since been asso- 
ciated, and has from the first been un- 
usually successful, enjoying a very exten- 
sive and lucrative practice and marked 
popularit}' in his adopted city, where he 
is considered a rapidly rising young man 
and destined to attain many positions of 
distinction in his profession. When he 
was a mere boy he began to assist his 
widowed mother, assuming the duties of 
the man of the house. On Oct. i, 1902, 
he wedded Miss Cora E. Long, daughter 
of Nimrod Long, of Crawfordsville, Iowa, 
who before her marriage was a teacher in 
the public schools, and to them two chil- 
dren have been born : Eustace Worden, 
born July 24, 1903 ; and Grace Aline, born 
Oct. 12, 1904. 

Mr. Tomiinson is rapidly becoming an 
influential member of the Republican 
party in his community ; and in the frater- 
nal world he has a very desirable stand- 
ing, having been made a Mason, and also 
a member of the Chapter in 1903, and 
also holding membership in the Knights 



2IO 



niOGRAPniCAL RFJIEW 



of I'ytliias. Me is a leading iminhcr (if 
the Methodist Episcopal church; has held 
the office of president of the l-lpwurth 
League, as well as that of superintendent 
of the Suiula\ -school, and has for many 
years been prominent in the work of the 
church, in whicii he has always taken the 
deepest interest. As a type of energetic 
and consecrated Christian manhood, his 
character is well deserving of study by all 
the rising generatinii who cherish high 
and wortliv ideals. 



WILLIAM W. TURPIN. 

Mr. TuRi'iN is not one of those who be- 
lieve that distinguished ancestry confers a 
claim to special consideration, or that blue 
blood is superior to personal merit, but in 
common with all thinking men has neverthe- 
less realized that honorable traditions have 
their value, and has therefore taken some 
pains to preserve such frag^nents of family 
history as have ctime down to him. The 
name of Turpin originated in rierniany. but 
was early carried by emigration to Eng- 
lanil, where the family became quite numer- 
ous, and assumed a position of prominence 
in connection with many of the leading 
events of English history. The branch re- 
maining in Germany also attained to promi- 
nence, one of its members becoming a cele- 
brated general and ruler ; and another, who 
entered the service of the church, even ris- 
ing to the occupancy of the papal chair at 
Rome. During one of the earliest voyages 
of the " Mayflower," members of the Tur- 
pin family were aboard, and they settled in 
Massachusetts, to take up the difficult life 
of pioneers in an unknown land, clearing the 



forests, tilling the unfruitful soil, and bear- 
ing their part in the various Colonial, 
Indian, and British wars of the time. 

At the time of tlie War of the Revolu- 
tion many of their number were engaged on 
the side of the patriot cause. Later, a por- 
tion of the family drifted southward to 
Delaware, and still later to Virginia, while a 
brother of Mr. Turjiin's father, in an at- 
tempt to e.\plore the western wilderness 
witli a view to founding there a home, 
crossed the Alleghany mountains, and no 
trace of him was ever afterward found. On 
the maternal side Mr. Turpin is descended 
from the Driscoll and Moore families, 
prominent in early .\merican history as 
soldiers and statesmen. Later these families 
became scattered, so that during the Civil 
\\'ar some donned the blue and others the 
gray ; and on many a hard-fought field a 
brother sought a brother's life, or there 
was the unnatural spectacle of a father ar- 
rayed against his son, or a son against the 
author of his being, in fierce and deadly 
conflict. The Driscoll family is of Scotch 
extraction, and its history after settling in 
America is well known. 

William Turpin, father Df our subject, 
was born Dec. 27, \~<j^. in the State of 
Maryland ; and in Delaware he married 
Miss Sarah Elizabeth Moore, a daughter of 
Judge Moore, of ^\■ashington, D. C, who 
was a native of Delaware, and prominent in 
the commercial and political affairs of his 
time. To them were born four children, of 
whom William Wailes, the subject of this 
review, was the eldest. Alice is now the 
wife of Archibald Burgess, a native of 
Patterson, N. J., and at present a resident 
of the city of Washington. He is a veteran 
of the Civil War, having run away from 
home when quite yoimg to enlist in the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



Ill 



Union army. Levin Denvvood, the second 
son, died in 1858, as the result of an attack 
of rheumatism, caused by his accidentally 
breaking through the ice. Laura Virginia, 
the youngest child, is also deceased, her 
death having occurred in 1868. 

William W. Turpin was born Oct. 7, 
1849, at Salsbury, in what was then Somer- 
set county, Maryland, and there he obtained 
his early knowledge of books in the old 
Salsbury Academy, which he attended until 
his enlistment in the United States navy, 
with the exception of two years spent as a 
grocery clerk. In 1864 he entered the 
navy yard as weigher and receiver for the 
Bureau of Construction and Repair, with 
which he was identified in the same capacity 
for four years, at the end of that time com- 
ing to the West and locating at Hannibal, 
Mo., in 1869. Led to take this step by a 
worthy desire to achieve an independent 
position in the world, he decided to learn a 
trade as the means of acquiring a compe- 
tence, and therefore began work as a brick 
mason. As compensation for his services 
while learning the trade he received his 
board and for the first year $60, for the 
second year $100, and for the third $150 — 
a rate of payment that was small even in 
those days, and one which is proof of his 
strength and steadiness of purpose in pur- 
suing his chosen object regardless of diffi- 
culties. 

At Shelbyville, Mo., June 25, 1873, Mr. 
Turpin was united in marriage with Miss 
Emma Dobbin, daughter of Leonard Dob- 
bin, who for many years held the office of 
county clerk for Shelby county, Missouri. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Turpin have been born 
three children, one of whom died in in- 
fancy, another, Virginia, died in early child- 
hood, while one survives, this being Willie 



May, aged twenty-two years, who is at 
home with her parents. After his marriage 
Mr. Turpin removed to St. Louis, where he 
engaged as a brick mason, and removed a 
second time in 1876, coming at that time to 
Burlington. During approximately the first 
eighteen years of his residence in this city 
he was employed as a journeyman mason, 
but at the expiration of that period he be- 
came a contractor, erecting the Tama build- 
ing, acting as superintendent of construc- 
tion for the Federal building, and doing 
the brick work on the Charles Blaul resi- 
dence, the Derby mill, and many of the 
most substantial residence buildings of Bur- 
lington. For a number of years he was 
superintendent of the Pauly Jail Company, 
and by virtue of this connection acted as 
supervisor of construction of the jails at - 
Carmen, N. Y. ; Montpelier, Vt. ; Sonora, 
Texas ; Eddy county, N. Mex. ; Newton, 
N. J. : and many other jails and peniten- 
tiaries, including the United States peni- 
tentiary at Great Salt Lake. 

In 1889 Mr. Turpin was elected a super- 
visor of Des Moines county, but resigned 
the following year in order to accept an ad- 
vantageous offer from the Pauly Jail Com- 
pany, of St Louis, with which he continued 
until 1893, when he resigned to become 
superintendent of the Federal building in 
Burlington. Later he re-engaged with the 
Pauly Company, for whom he went to 
Montpelier, Vt., to build the jail at that 
place. Two years later he again resigned, 
and became traveling representative of the 
Merchants' Life Association, of Burlington, 
in which he now holds the office of treasurer. 

In his political affiliation he is a lifelong 
Democrat, and has always taken an active 
interest in public affairs, serving his party 
with conspicuous ability in many important 



212 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



capacities, and tlurcby acquiring a very 
gratifying pujuilarity and inlhicnce. In 1902 
he was elected by the voters of the city of 
Burlington as alderman-at-largc, an office 
which he occupied until 1904 with credit to 
himself and his constituents ; and in the 
autumn of igoo he was elected secretary 
of the Burlington I'loard of Education, an 
office which he still holds. Fraternally, he 
is a charter member of Lodge No. 84. 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks ; is a 
thirty-second degree Mason ; a member of 
the oldest Masonic lodge in the State of 
Iowa, of which he has been elected junior 
•warden, but declined the honor : and is 
identified with the local organization of 
the Ancient Order of United Workmen, 
through all of whose chairs he has passed. 
Mr. Turpin takes a just pride in his reputa- 
tion as a high-class mechanic, and his solid 
qualities have won him the esteem of the 
community in which he lives, for he is re- 
spected as a man, as a citizen, and for his 
thorough integrity and sound business judg- 
nunt, which has enabled him to acquire a 
competence. He has been higlilv successful 
in a material way ; and while his natural 
modesty has always preventc<l him from 
urging his own claims to recognition, he 
has many friends whose confidence in his 
ability has brought him bef.)re the public 
ill a very favorable light. 



CHARLES ENDE. 

.•\ \.\i.UKi) element in the development of 
I'.urlington has been largely su|i])licd by the 
Fatherland, and of this Charles Ende is a 
rei)resentative. He was torn in Schwarzcn- 
fels. Electorate of Hesse, Oct. 29, 1837, and 



came to the L'nited States with his father, a 
brother, and two sisters in the year 1851. 
His father, however, was not the first of 
the family to emigrate to .America : there 
were several precursors. A cousin of Mr. 
Ende's grandfather came over as an officer 
in the Hessian Au.xiliaries in 1776. He was 
severely wounded at the storming of Fort 
Washington, and taken prisoner at Trenton. 
During his captivity he married an .\mer- 
ican, and in 1783 took his wife with him 
to Cassel. It seems that after some time, 
becoming homesick, she induced her hus- 
Iwnd to take her back to her native land. 
.•\])parently he was easily prevailed upon to 
accede to her wish, having during his seven 
years' forced sojourn become quite attached 
to this country. In the cour.se of time cor- 
res()ondencc ceased between him and his rel- 
atives in Germany, and all efforts made in 
later years to trace their descendants were 
unsuccessful. 

In 1845 an uncle of Mr. Ende's, Carl B. 
.\lerz, emigrated to .\merica, locating near 
Beardstowii. 111. In 1852 he removed to 
r.urlington, Iowa, and for a time was the 
publisher of the first German newspaper 
in Iowa. Some years later he purchased a 
large farm near Sigoumey. Iowa, where he 
settled, and remained up to the time of his 
death in 1902, reaching the ripe old age of 
eighty-eight years. 

A cousin, Fritz von Ende, came to New 
( )rleans in 1847, and afterward located in 
( ireenville. Texas, where his widow and 
children still reside. 

.Mr. luide's grandfather. Carl von Ende, 
was a minister of the Reformed church, at 
.Vetra, a small town in Ilesse-Cassel. He 
had si.\ sons, Mr. Ende's father, Ferdinand 
von Ende, being the youngest. Two of his 
brothers were officers in the Hessian contin- 




CHARLKS ENDE. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



215 



gent of Napoleon's armies, and both fell in 
battle, one in Spain and the other in Russia. 
A third served in the campaign of 1815, as 
volunteer in a battalion of sharpshooters, 
largely recruited from the students of the 
School of Forestry, which he was attending 
at that time. 

Conrad Merz, the grandfather of Mr. 
Ende on the mother's side, born about 1775. 
completed his studies at the Catholic Sem- 
inary in Fulda, and later became private 
secretary to the bishop. In 1810, when 
Prince Carl von Dalberg was made grand 
duke of Fulda by emperor Napoleon, Mr. 
Merz received an appointment in the finance 
department of the new government. This 
position he held until 1815, when the great 
political changes of that period caused him 
to resign. He retired in his prime on a lib- 
eral life pension, granted by the Bavarian 
government, and became a gentleman of 
leisure. He died in i860. 

Ferdinand von Ende, Mr. Ende's father, 
was born in 1803, at Netra, where he was 
reared, and began his education in the com- 
mon schools. From there he went to a 
higher school at Eisenach, and subsequently 
graduated from the gymnasium at Cassel, 
the capital of the electorate of Hesse. Thus 
being properly qualified, he was matric- 
ulated as a student of law in the State Uni- 
versity at Marburg. After having obtained 
his degree of Doctor Juris, he prepared for 
and successfully passed the state examina- 
tion incumbent upon an aspirant for gov- 
ernment office. In due time he was ap- 
pointed to a position on the judiciary, which 
he retained until 1851. During his term of 
service he was repeatedly promoted, and at 
the close of his official career was associate 
judge of one of the higher courts. Political 
troubles, so prevalent all over Germany in 



those days, and from which the electorate 
of Hesse was by no means exempt, caused 
him to resign and emigrate to the United 
States, preferring t6 live in a land of liberty 
that promised a better future for his chil- 
dren. 

Ferdinand von Ende was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Nanny Merz, of Fulda, in 
1836. She died in the year 1847, leaving 
four children who reached mature years, and 
one who died an infant, soon after the 
mother. Mr. Ende's father spent the first 
winter near Beardstown, 111., and in the 
spring of 1852 moved to Des Moines county, 
Iowa, where he purchased a farm about two 
and a half miles from Burlington. There 
he resided until 1864, when, after about a 
year's sojourn in St. Louis, he took up his 
abode in this city, and lived retired from 
that time until his death, which occurred in 
1885. 

Charles Ende acquired a liberal education 
for his age in Germany, and was a youth of 
fourteen years when he came to the New 
World. He lived with his father, brother, 
and sisters on the home farm until 1855. 
From that time until i860 he worked out 
at various places. — Pittsfield, Quincy, and 
Galesburg, 111., and Des Moines, Henry, 
Lee, and Decatur counties, Iowa, being 
among the number. In the spring of i860 
he started from Burlington on the way to 
St. Joe, Mo., there to join a wagon train 
for the newly discovered gold region of Col- 
orado. Pike's Peak was the name it went 
by in those days. He was accompanied as 
far as Hannibal, Mo., by his brother Fred, 
who was bound for Greenville, Texas, where 
he is still living. They did not meet again 
until after the War. Mr. Ende then learned 
for the first time that his brother had been 
compelled to serve in the Confederate army 



2l6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



for nearly three years. The trip across the 
plains in those early clays, and the life in 
the mining camps, proved highly interest- 
ing, with a touch of the romantic that gave 
it an additional charm. The hardships and 
privations of travel were easily overcome by 
a robust body, and amply compensated by 
the delights of outdoor life. Game of all 
kind was plenty, even buffaloes could be 
seen in numbers. At Fort Kearny the outfit 
met the first Indians, and later on passed 
several of their villages, which were closely 
inspected by the members of the train. The 
Intlians. being perfectly peaceable, seemed 
to be pleased to have visitors, and accepted 
little gifts, such as tobacco, matches, and 
bread, with great avidity. In the hope of 
finding gold, however, Mr. Ende was sadly 
deceived, and accordingly returned to Iowa. 
Crossing the Missouri River at Omaha in 
December, i860, he arrived at Burlington 
about Christmas. From Burlington he went 
to Chicago for two months, and afterward 
found employment on a farm near Gales- 
burg, 111. 

On Sept. 7, 1861, he enlisted at Burling- 
ton as a private in Company F, Fifth Iowa 
Cavalry, and was mustered out of service as 
first lieutenant, Aug. 11, 1863. He was 
with the Western army, operating in Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and 
Mississippi. The regiment to which Mr. 
Rnde belonged left Benton Barracks, St. 
Louis, for Fort Henry, February. 1862. It 
remained stationary in the vicinity of I-'orts 
Heiman, Henry, and Donelson till June, 
1863. While stationed at the above-named 
places, the regiment was principally en- 
gaged in fighting bushwhackers and par- 
tisan rangers, and in scouting. Engage- 
ments during this period were as follows : 
August, 18^2, Rolling Mills, near Fort Don- 



elson : September. 1862, Clarkesville, Tenn. ; 
October, i8<i2, Wagner's Landing, Tenn. ; 
Xovembcr, 1862, Garrettsburg, Ky. ; Jan- 
uary, 1863, Waverly, Tenn.: February. 
1863, Fort Donelson. In May, 1862, when 
out on a scout, Mr. Ende was taken prisoner, 
and with a number of other comrades sent 
to Jackson, Miss., where they were paroled 
and brought into the I'nion lines near 
Corinth under a flag of truce, in charge of 
Major Thompson, ex-secretary of the in- 
terior under President Buchanan. General 
Halleck, ignoring the obligations of the 
parole, ordered the men to report for hos- 
pital duty at once, and when they refused, 
upon'the plea that such would be a violation 
of their parole, sent a platoon of infantry, 
with bayonets fixed, to drive them to work. 
In June, 1863, the regiment was transferred 
to Murfrcesboro, where it joined General 
Rosecrans' army. July 3, 1863, the regiment 
was again detached, and after a week of 
escorting trains to the front, ordered to Mc- 
.\linville. During the short stay with the 
main arin\ it had seen some hard service. 
October, 1863, the regiment participated, 
under General Crook, in the pursuit of 
Wheeler. I'pon this occasion, the battalion 
to which Mr. Ende's company belonged 
made a very successful charge on Wheeler's 
rear guard, at Sugar Creek, taking a num- 
ber of prisoners. Jan. 6, 1864, Mr. Ende 
re-enlisted, and returned from veteran fur- 
lough to Xashville. March 30, 1864. May 
26 he was detached with thirty men to 
garrison a blockhouse erected for the pro- 
tection of a railroad bridge over Richland 
Creek, near I'ulaski, Tenn. July 10, 1864, 
he joined, with his command. General Rous- 
seau at Decatur, Ala., and took part in the 
expedition to Montgomery. The regiment 
had barely returned when it was ordered out 



DES MOIXES COUA'TY. IOWA. 



again on the disastrous McCook raid. Here 
Air. Ende had a httle extra experience. 
Having lost his horse in crossing the Chat- 
tahoochee River, he was left behind, and it 
took him ten days to reach his command at 
Marietta, Ga. After the fall of Atlanta, the 
Fifth Iowa Cavalry, which at that time was 
attached to Kilpatrick's Division, received 
orders to proceed to Louisville to be re- 
mounted, and then return to Nashville. 
When Hood began his advance upon Nash- 
ville, the regiment was ordered to Columbia, 
where it soon encountered the enemy. After 
a short skirmish the command was relieved 
by infantry, and sent ten miles up Duck 
River to guard fords. The day following the 
regiment distinguished itself by cutting its 
way out through a vastly superior force that 
had surrounded the brigade. During the 
battle of Franklin the regiment was scouting 
on the right flank. 

Mr. Ende could not participate with his 
regiment in the battle of Nashville, since he 
had been appointed judge advocate of a 
general court martial convened by order of 
General Wilson, commanding the cavalry 
corps of the military division of the Mis- 
sissippi. It took about two months to try 
the cases which had accumulated. His task 
completed, Mr. Ende was relieved, and re- 
joined his regiment at Gravelly Springs, 
Ala., where General Wilson was assembling 
three divisions of cavalry, and making prep- 
arations for the last and most successful raid 
of the war. The Fifth Iowa Cavalry was 
assigned to Alexander's Brigade of General 
Upton's Division, After the cessation of 
hostilities the Fifth Iowa was stationed for 
some time at Macon, Ga. ; then at Atlanta, 
from whence it was ordered to Nashville; 
at which place, after having been mustered 
out Aug. II, 1865, the regiment embarked 



for Clinton, Iowa, and there was paid oiT 
and disbanded. 

A closing incident of Mr. Ende's military 
career worth mentioning is that while 
stationed at Atlanta, on May 14, 1865, he 
was detailed to take charge of a detachment, 
furnished by the regiment, to help guard 
Mr. JefTerson Davis from Atlanta to 
Augusta, where he was turned over to an- 
other command which took him to Fortress 
.Monroe. Strange to relate, Mr. Ende, al- 
though lie served during the entire war, 
and took part in a number of hard-fought 
engagements, was never wounded. 

Mr. Ende came back to Burlington in 
November, 1865, and made a permanent 
location here, joining his brother-in-law in 
the purchase of a brewery. The latter is 
located at 1307 ]\Jt. Pleasant Street, and as 
the years have gone by marked improve- 
ments have been made. With the exception 
of three years, the business was conducted 
continuously, and during the time mentioned 
the firm acted as agents for Lemp's St. 
Louis beer. The partnership was dissolved 
in September, 1902, since which time IVIr. 
Ende has conducted the business alone, and 
is having a good local patronage. The 
plant represents an investment of about 
twenty-five thousand dollars. 

Mr. Ende is a member of the Turnverein, 
and was a charter member of Matthies 
Post. G. A. R., which was organized in 
1866. He was elected alderman, and served 
as a member of the city council from the 
second ward for four years. He was chair- 
man of the police committee during both 
terms of his ofifice. 

On Oct. 3, 1869, in Liberty, Mo., Mr. 
Ende was married to Miss Thusnelda Louise 
Leopold, a native of Liberty, and of German 
parentage. Her father and mother came to 



2l8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



this country in 1834. She died in 1902. and 
her remains were interred in Aspen Grove 
cemetery. L'nto Mr. and .Mrs. Ende were 
born four children: Carl, who married Miss 
Alice Ankeney. and is now living at Iowa 
City, Iowa, is a graduate of the State 
University of Iowa, and also of the Gottin- 
gen I'niversity of Germany, the latter con- 
ferring the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 
Since 1899 he has been instructor in chem- 
istry at the State University of Iowa, and 
quite recently was promoted to an assistant 
professorship. The second son. August, 
is also a graduate of the State University of 
Iowa. At one time he entered Cornell 
L'niversity, of New York, taking special 
work in mathematics. After completing his 
university course he held the position of 
instructor in mathematics in the State Uni- 
versity, resigning to go into business. He 
is now assistant manager of his father's 
business. Marie, the only daughter, is at 
home, and the youngest son, Henry, was a 
student in the Burlington High School. The 
family residence is at 722 North Third 
Street, the old Starker home. Mr. Ende. 
having been endowed by nature with ex- 
cellent health and a vigorous constitution, 
has retained in a great measure the capacity 
for work and the enjoyment of the out-of- 
door sports (if his younger days. 



JOHN RENNER. 

Joiix Kenner, inventor, dealer in wall- 
jiapcr. paints, and artists' supplies, and con- 
tractnr in interior decorating, is controlling 
a business the extent and importance of 
which makes him a leading representative 
of industrial interests of the citv. while his 



inventive genius has gained him recognition 
far iK-yond the limits of liurlington. 

.\ native of southern Germany, he was 
born July 8, 1852, his i)arents being Johan- 
nas and Elizabeth ( Katz ) Renner. When 
he had obtained a fair education in the 
sciiools of the Fatherland, he began learning 
the trades of jiainting, paperhanging, dec- 
orating, ami ui)holstering, serving a full 
api)renticeshiij. « ithin which time he became 
an experienced and expert workman. He 
afterward served as a journeyman in a num- 
ber of the leading cities of his native land, 
and afterward in France and Switzerland, 
and in 1S81. thinking to enjoy still better 
business oi)|)()rtunities in .\merica, he saile<l 
for Xew York City, where he arrived on 
the first of March. There he remained until 
July 3, 1882, when he came to Burlington. 

For twenty-three years Mr. Renner has 
now been connected with the industrial in- 
terests of this city. He was first employed 
for three years by the firm of W'yman & 
Rand, in their u])holstering and carpet de- 
partment, and in Ai)ril. 1S85, he begati busi- 
ness on his own accoimt, under the old ])ost- 
office. I^ter he removed to the present lo- 
cation of Hefner's tinshop, where he re- 
mained for about a year, and then removed 
to his present ])lace of business, at 612 
Jeflferson .Street, where he ci inducted busi- 
ness for three years, after which he moved 
across the street to more commodious quar- 
ters, occuping 707-9-11 Jefferson Street. 
There he was successfid, and remained 
seven years, and in 1896 returned to his 
present location, at 612 and 614 Jeflferson 
.Street, occupying three times the sjjace he 
did the former time at this location. He 
carries on both a wholesale and retail busi- 
ness, dealing in all kinds of art goods, wall- 
paper, paints, and varnishes, and he also 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA: 



219 



employs a number of experienced workmen, 
who execute the contracts which he takes 
for interior finishing and decorating. He 
stands as one of the foremost representatives 
of this line of business in Iowa, his long 
experience, thorough training, and naturally 
artistic taste combining to make him a leader 
in the business. 

His attention, however, has not been con- 
fined wholly to his mercantile and industrial 
interests, for on the first of Alay, 1900, he 
bought a park of four acres, which he has 
since improved, and his inventions have 
many times been valuable additions to the 
mechanical world. He has wide knowledge 
along mechanical lines, and in fact possesses 
natural genius, in afldition to thorough scien- 
tific knowledge of mechanics arid architec- 
tural engineering and drafting. He can 
make his own plans, and can embody his 
ideas in tangible form. On the sixteenth of 
August, 1887, Mr. Renner got out a pat- 
ent on an ironing board, and in 1903 he 
secured a patent on his ball-bearing exten- 
sion window shade, having patents on this 
in the United States, Canada, and England, 
securing the same in England, .April 9, 1903, 
and in Canada, June 2, 1903. He has re- 
cently commenced the manufacture of this 
shade, and reserves the countries mentioned 
for his output. He has also patented, Jan. 
7, 1902, a device for locking the axle on 
shade rollers. It is dust proof, and can be 
applied to any mechanical contrivance of 
any size. He also has another lock patent 
for a window bracket, and is the inventor of 
a wire bracket for the correct adjustment 
of the window cord. This is known as a 
wire pulley, and gives an equal friction to 
both cords, thus making a perfect adjust- 
ment. His patent for a round axle for win- 
dow shades, carpet sweepers, etc., was se- 



cured Sept. g, [902, and he has another pat- 
ent on the table on which window shades 
can be made very rapidly and of any size. 

On the second of April, 1881, Mr. Renner 
was married to Miss Lena Xeff, a daughter 
of Johannes and Mary (Hellstern) Neff, 
bv whom he has two sons, John and Frank, 
twins, who are their father's assistants in 
business, John attended the German and 
public schools of Burlington, and in seven 
months completed a course in the Gem City 
business College at Ouincy, being the first 
student from the State of Iowa to complete 
the course in such a short time, or with such 
honors, for his scholarship gave him an 
average grade of ninety-si. x and two-sev- 
enths in seven studies, and a standing of one 
hundred in bookkeeping. Frank having atr 
tended the same schools in Burlington as 
his Ijrother. continued his education in El- 
liott's Business College, of this city. Both 
sons possess an artistic taste and tempera- 
ment, and have given nnich time to the 
study of oil painting and various kinds of 
decorating. They also possess considerable 
musical talent and ability, and in business 
have demonstrated the possession of those 
traits which insure success. They are able 
assistants of their father, and the parents 
have every reason to be proud of their sons. 
When ;Mr. Renner came to America he had 
a capital of six hundred dollars, but through 
illness this sum dwindled away until there 
was nothing left. When he arrived in Bur- 
lington he had only fifty dollars, but he 
possessed what is better than money — cour- 
age, determination, and good ability, sup- 
plementing intellectual force. These qual- 
ities have served as the foundation on which 
he has reared the superstructure of his 
prosperity and which has enabled him to 
build up a large business, until he now car- 



a2o 



lilOGRArmCAL REVIP.W 



ries a stock more complete than that found 
in any establishment of the kind in America. 
Mr. Rcnner is a member of tlie Court of 
Honor and of the Woodmen of the World, 
while politically he is independent, voting 
for the candidates rather than the party. 
He reserves for himself the right of form- 
ing an unbiased opinion and accords to 
others the same iirivilcge. He displays 
many of the sterling characteristics of his 
race, and moreover he has those qualities 
which in every land and clime command re- 
spect and confidence. 



JOHN SIEGMUND SCHRAMM. 

A FEW years ago the city of Burlington 
lost by the hand of death a citizen whom she 
could ill afford to spare from the activities 
of her commercial and social life; one in 
whose heart her interests ever held a first 
place, and one whose passing was deeply 
mourned by those who were familiar with 
the rare (|ualitics of his heart and mind, as 
well as the great ability which distinguished 
him and was known to all. Mr. Schramm 
was horn at Plech, Bavaria. Germany, a 
son of John Cliristo])her and .Anna Margaret 
(Kessling) .Schramm. His education was 
begun in the public schools oi I'lech, and at 
the age of thirteen years he went to Culm- 
bach, where he served an apprenticeship of 
five years' duration in a mercantile house, 
at, the same time taking lessons in Latin 
and French. The father discharged his 
seven years' term of military service under 
Frederick the Third, and was engaged in 
the great battles of Jena and .\uslerlitz, 
and others of less importance, after which 
he returned home and flevoted himself to 



mercantile business. For political reasons 
the elder Schramm resolved to emigrate to 
.\merica, crossed the ocean, and in Septem- 
ber, 1837, landed with his family at the port 
of New York. .\ few days later they started 
for Missouri, but on account of sickness 
were obliged to stop at Circleville, Ohio, 
where i)ur subject secured a position in a 
printing office, whidi he continued to occupy 
for five years, tlioroughly mastering the 
jirinting art anfl the English language. 

In Augu.st, 1842. Mr. Schramm arrived 
in liurlington, and two days afterward se- 
cured employment with the Gazette; but the 
paper was sold shortly thereafter, and as 
his services were no longer needed, lie made 
a trip to St. Louis, where he invested his 
savings in a small stock of groceries, with 
which he established himself in business in 
]*)urlin.gton. He gave the strictest atten- 
tion to business, and was successful from 
the beginning : but as he was a nnisician of 
pronounced ability, he spent at this early 
period of his career three evenings of each 
week in training a band which he founded, 
the first ever organized in Burlington. His 
musical tastes continued with him through 
life, and he long devoted a great deal of 
his valuable time to work of this character 
for the benefit of the public and his adopted 
city. On .March 15, 1843, he wedded Miss 
Harriet -Morgan, daughter of Jonathan Mor- 
gan, one of the earlier settlers of Des Moines 
county, but during the cholera epidemic of 
1850 Mrs. .'Schramm died, together with one 
child which hail been born to their union. 
The mother of Mr. Schramm al.so fell a 
victim to the ravages of this terrible plague, 
which desolated .so many homes through- 
out the length and breadth of the land, and 
her own demise had been preceded by that 
of her husband in 1849. ^^r. Schramm after- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



221 



ward remarried, having on March 24, 1852, 
been united in bonds of matrimony to Miss 
Ameha Williams, a daughter of Silas Wil- 
liams, and to them were born the following 
children, who survive him : Henry C, of 
Burlington, who married Miss Ida H. Copp ; 
Lucia L., of Burlington, now the wife of 
T. G. Foster; Frank E., of Burlington, 
who married Miss Carrie Ashe Higgason; 
Charles E., of Burlington, who married 
Miss Fannie G. Anderson; Walter S., 
cashier of the First National Bank of 
Burlington ; Ralph E., of Detroit, Mich. ; 
Anna P., now Mrs. J. E. Doane, of Thomp- 
son, Conn. ; and Miss Jessie. 

In 1854 Mr. Schramm formed a partner- 
ship with his brother, Charles F., to con- 
duct a dry-goods business. This arrange- 
ment was continued for five years, and then 
the partnership was dissolved on account of 
the ill health of Mr. Schramm's brother. 
He then assumed sole charge of the busi- 
ness, which he conducted at the store at 218- 
220 Jefferson Street, enlarging it with the 
growth of the city, and always meeting the 
increasing demand with a promptitude, 
thoroughness, and energy that indicated a 
strong grasp of changing commercial condi- 
tions and an appreciation of modern meth- 
ods. In this manner, and almost exclusively 
by his individual efforts, he built up the 
great business known as the J. S. Schramm 
Company, now for the most part owned and 
managed by the heirs of his estate. Three 
of his sons are now active in the firm, these 
being Henry C, Frank E., and Charles E. 
The mother and her daughter Jessie have 
their home in the large and handsome resi- 
dence at 616 Columbia Street, where they 
dispense a generous but quiet hospitality. 

The political faith of Mr. Schramm was 
that of the Democratic party, to which he 



gave his allegiance after long and careful 
consideration, and to whose tenets he was 
ever loyal. Fraternally he was for thirty- 
two years identified with the Masonic order, 
being a Knight Templar and a member of 
Malta Lodge of this city. He was also a 
member of the Commercial Exchange, and 
took an active part in its work. In his re- 
ligious connection he was a member of the 
Lutheran church, although during the latter 
years of his life he attended the Presbyterian 
church, of which he and his family are mem- 
bers, while he himself, many years ago, 
assisted materially in the work of its choir. 
For a long term of years he was a member 
of the board of directors 'of the independ- 
ent school district of Burlington, and was 
a stockholder, director, and vice-president of 
the German-American Savings Bank, as 
well as being financially interested in va- 
rious other leading corporate institutions and 
enterprises of Burlington. He gave freely 
of his time and substance to the conduct and 
promotion of public affairs, assisting every 
movement that had for its object the up- 
building of Burlington, among other things 
lending substantial encouragement to the 
establishment of the public ferry, which 
he regarded as especially important. No 
form of pledge or subscription paper hav- 
ing that end in view ever passed him with- 
out his signature ; no church or charity ever 
appealed to him in vain, and for the needy 
he was always a refuge. As an employer he 
was respected and beloved by those con- 
nected with his business during all the years 
of his mercantile activity in Burlington, 
where the greater part of his life was 
passed ; and he was an ideal citizen ; so also 
was he a model head of his family, — kind, 
considerate, self-sacrificing, cheerful, affec- 
tionate, and loval. To few men have been 



222 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



vouchsafed so many of the graces and vir- 
tues that go to the making of a beautiful 
character. He ilit<l I\'l). 17. iS(»8. imivcr- 
sallv mourned. 



WILLIAM ALBERT KENDALL. 

Till-; name which appears above is a 
famihar one in Burhngton in business cir- 
cles, as he has been connected with the rail- 
road life of the town for over thirty years, 
during wliich lime he has accomplished 
much fur the interests of the road, and at 
the same time has become one of the best 
citizens of the city. W. A. Kendall is a 
son of .\lbert and Sarah Cornelia (Higley) 
Kendall, and was lx)rn in .Marion, Iowa, 
April 4, 1847. His father was born in West 
Granby, Conn., and was a wagonmaker by 
trade. His mother was the second child 
of Abiel and Prudence (Crane) Higley, 
and was born at West Granby, Conn., May 
2\. 1S22. 

The parents of our subject were married 
Nov. 9, 1840, in Granby, and in the follow- 
ing spring they removed to Bloomington, 
111., going westward wMth Mr. Higley's 
family. .Xfter residing several years in 
Bloomington, they located in Marion, Iowa. 
Mr. Kendall did a profitable business at his 
trade in both Bloomington and Marion, 
making sales tliroughout the State in its 
early history. Ik- was afterward engaged 
in the hardware business. Mr. Kendall died 
Jan. 19, 1877, and ]\Irs. Kendall survived 
him about eleven years, her death occur- 
ring Dec. 8, 1888. Their home was an ideal 
one in the truest meaning of the term, and 
on many occasions was the center of large 
family gatherings. The domestic life of Mr. 
and Mrs. Kendall was brightened bv three 



children : Flora, who is dead ; W. A., of this 
review ; and Wellington Jerome, who mar- 
ried Miss Emma E. Braucht at Findlay, 
Ohio, and died at Marion, Iowa, leaving 
three children, Carl, Alberta, and Ralph. 
Mr. and Mrs. Kendall are buried at Marion, 
Iowa. 

W. A. Kendall received his education in 
the common schools at Marion, and at the 
age of seventeen or eighteen years he worked 
for the express company at Cedar Rapids, 
Iowa, for two years, which fairly initiated 
him in business. After running as express 
messenger between Farley and Cedar Rap- 
ids for awhile, he went to La Porte, and 
worked for a year for the Cedar Rapids & 
Xorthern Railroad. The next two years 
he was employed ii) Waterloo by the same 
road. He also worked for the Burlingjton, 
Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railroad for 
several years while living in Waterloo. 

Mr. Kendall displayed much ability as a 
railroad man. and in the early '7o"s he was 
|)romote(l to be agent, hohling also the ticket 
and freight agency of the liurlington. Cedar 
Rapids & Northern, with headquarters in 
Burlington, Iowa, where he has since re- 
sided. Several years ago this road was 
bought by the Rock Island, when Mr. Ken- 
dall became the commercial agent of the 
same, and also of the Chicago, Rock Island 
& Pacific, having his office on Jefferson 
Street. 

Nov. 18, 1875, Mr. Kendall wedded Miss 
Jane Elizabeth Frantz. who was born in 
Annville, Pa., Nov. 3, 1848. Mrs. Kendall 
is the oldest daughter of John and Lucy 
.Ann ( I'relingheusen) I'rantz. whose inter- 
esting sketcli may Ix^ found in this botik. 
Mrs. Kendall received her education in the 
public schools of Burlington. Iowa, and 
later was a valued teacher in the same 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



223 



schools for a short time. This union has 
been blessed by two children, both of whom 
were born in Iturlington : Leslie, a graduate 
of the high school ; and Reginald W., born 
Sept. 3, 1884. The latter was a student at 
St. Albans, Knoxville, 111., and also took 
a course in St. John's military academy at 
Delafield, Wis. Rex, as he is familiarly 
called, is now a student in the scientific de- 
partment at Ames. He and his sister Leslie 
are both devoted members of the Episcopal 
church. 

Mr. Kendall is a leading Democrat, but 
can not be induced to hold office, preferring 
to assist his chosen party in the capacity 
of a private citizen. He is a great reader 
on all subjects, and his beautiful home at 
803 North Eighth Street is well stored with 
books of all kinds. They also have in their 
possession a copy of Dr. Martin Luther's 
Bible in German, which is prized very 
highly by them. 

During all the long years that Mr. Ken- 
dall has been in the employ of the railroad, 
he has ever discharged his many duties in 
a faithful and honorable manner. He is 
pleasant and jovial, and always courteous 
and accommodating. He and his faithful 
wife have aided many in times of distress, 
and their friends are numbered all through 
the State. 



JOHN FRANTZ. 



John Frantz, deceased, was a man 
whom to know was to honor and respect, 
for in all life's relations he was true to up- 
right principles, and from his fellow-towns- 
men he received the esteem and friendship 
which is everywhere accorded genuine 
worth. He was a son of John and Elizabeth 



(Cleigh) Frantz, and was born in Annville, 
Pa., Sept. 3, 182 1. His father died when 
Mr. Frantz was only five years of age, and 
the lad was adopted by a Mr. Hostetter, 
who was a farmer. There were four chil- 
dren in his father's family, all of whom are 
now dead. His mother died in 1873. He 
received his substantial education in the dis- 
trict schools in the neighborhood of his 
adoption. Soon after bidding adieu to his 
school books, Mr. Frantz learned the trade 
of a carriage-trimmer with the well-known 
firm of John Allwein, and after the com- 
pletion of his trade he remained in Mr. All- 
wein's employ till 1864, when he came to 
Burlington, Iowa. 

Sept. 24, 1844, he was married in Jones- 
town, Pa., to Miss Lucy Ann Freylingheu- 
sen. Mrs. Frantz was born in Jonestown, 
Pa., Jan. 24, 1827. Her father was born in 
1791, and served through the War of 1812, 
and her grandfather was a warrior in the 
Revolutionary War. Mr. Freylingheusen 
was a field physician in Pennsylvania for 
years. He died Sept. 15, 1834, aged sixty- 
two years. Mrs. Freylingheusen survived 
her husband some ten years, her death oc- 
curring m 1864. They were the parents of 
seven children, of whom three are now liv- 
ing: Maria married ^^'illiam Woomer, and 
their son, Ephraim. served through the Civil 
War, and lost a leg in the great conflict. 
Mr. Woomer was later LTnited States Sen- 
ator from Lebanon county, Pa., for two 
years, and died a few years ago. Peter, who 
served all through the Civil War, being in 
the battle of Gettysburg and manv other im- 
portant battles, now lives at an advanced 
age in Jonestown, Pa. He sang in the Lu- 
theran church in Jonestown for forty-two 
consecutive years. Sarah married Thomas 
Miller, of Lancaster county. Pa., who was 



224 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



a jlriiinimT l>iy in the Civil War at the many men in the different departments, 
battle of Shiloli. FroylinRheusen Miller, Mrs. I*"rantr was a home-loving and a home- 
known as I'Veylie, was a drummer lx)y in making woman, and was greatly beloved 
one of the Ohio regiments. Mrs. Miller re- by all who knew her. She was a lifelong 
sides in Uayton, Ohio. George Washington member of the Lutheran church, as were the 
Freylinghcusen also served all through the most ai her large relationship. Mrs. Frantz 
Civil War, and died in 1903. Lucy .\nn was called to her final rest Dec. 18, 1890. 
was the wife of our subject. Elizabeth .Mr. Frantz survived his wife about four 
Freylingheusen lives in Lebanon, I'a. Ella years, his death occurring Jan. 14, 1894. 
marrieil John L. Saylnr. the present owner Mr. Frantz was always a stanch Demo- 

an<l proprietor of the .Mlwein carriage fac- crat. and was postmaster in .Annville, Pa., 
tory, in Annville, Pa. Mr. Savior has served for fcnir years, during Buchanan's admin- 
in the Legislature of Pennsylvania. istratioii. He was a quiet, conscientious 

Mr. and Mrs. I'rantz were blessed with man, who made duty before pleasure his aim 
nine children: Jennie A. married William in life, lie early established a high grade 
A. Kendall, whose sketch appears on an- oi j)rinciples ujion which to shape his busi- 
other page in this volume ; Rebecca is the ncss career, and though many times he had 
wife of James Simpson, of Petersburg, V^a. ; much to endure, still he was never even 
Lucy is the wife of E. D. Morgan, foreman tempted to swerve from the straight and 
of the freight house of the Rock Island narrow course. Mis affection for his fam- 
Railroad, with headquarters in P)Urlington, ily and home was strong, and his friendships 
Iowa; John C. is also connected with the were deep ;m(l lasting. 
freight department of the Rock Island Rail- 
road, and lives in Burlington : Elizabeth ■ 

married Andrew Anderson, who died in 
1902. Mrs. .Anderson conducts a grocery 
in Burlington. Iowa : .Mhcrta became the 
wife of Dwiglit Stevens, and died in Seattle, 
Wash., Dec. 25, 1892, and is buried in .Aspen 
Grove cemetery, in Burlington, Iowa ; Dr. 
Charles P. Frantz is the youngest child. 
and is a pros|)erous eye. ear. and throat 
specialist in Burlington, Iowa. 

.After coming to Burlington Mr. l-'ranlz 
entered into partnership with Jedidiah Ben- 
nett, opening up a carriage factory on the 
corner of Third and Columbia Streets. 
They continued in business over thirtv-five 
years, shipping many carriages and buggies 
to all parts of the Northwest. Their work 
was always of the best, and the factory was 



F. A. ROE, D. D. S. 

Dr. Frf.dickk k .Ai.i;i;kt Rok. who was 
well settled in the practice of his profession 
at Madrid in 1896, illustrates in his own 
experience what nia\ be accomplished in 
a few years by a young man of courage and 
determination of purpose, in the way of 
higher instruction and adequate prepara- 
tion for discharging the duties and sur- 
mounting the difficulties of a professional 
career. 

He was born at Swan Creek, 111., Sept. 
28. 1868, and received his early education 
in the graded schools of Burlington. .After 



comjileting his work in the public schools, 
a great benefit to the town, as they employed he took a commercial course in the Orchard 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



225 



City Business College, on completion of 
which he entered the employ of Kant & 
Kriechbaum, retail dealers in stoves and 
hardware, remainintj there some time with 
credit to himself and satisfaction to his 
employers. In 1888 he accepted employ- 
ment in the station department of, the St. 
Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway 
Company, — now the Great Northern, — con- 
tinuing with it till 1889, when he entered 
the State University of Iowa. While in 
the employ of the Great Northern, he began 
reporting for the papers, and continued 
this connection during the eight years 
spent at the University. He graduated 
from the classical course in the Iowa City 
Academy, preparatory to proper classifica- 
tion in the University Department of Lib- 
eral Arts. 

He visited the World's Fair at Chicago 
in the interests of a Minnesota paper, and 
in the fall of 1893 entered at the University 
for the dental course. He completed this 
course, and received his degree of Doctor 
of Dental Surgery in March, 1896. In the 
meantime he had passed the examination 
before the State Board of Dental Surgery, 
and had been licensed to practice. In the 
spring of 1895 ^^ went to Madrid and 
opened an office, since which time he has 
been regularly engaged in the practice of 
his profession, with a success that vouches 
for the thoroughness of the University's 
course in fitting graduates for their life 
work. 

Sept. 17, 1895, Dr. Roe was married in 
Burlington to Miss Flora May Samson, 
A. M., daughter of Professor William J. 
Samson, A. M., of the Burlington schools. 
She is a graduate of the Iowa Wesleyan 
University, and was professor of Greek 
and Latin in the Burlington Institute for 



two years preceding her marriage. The 
\oung couple spent the school year of 
1895-96 in Iowa City, where Mrs. Roc took 
a course in the Musical Conservatory, and 
pursued literary and post-graduate courses; 
and on Dr. Roe's graduation, they went to 
Madrid to commence housekeeping, and re- 
mained happily settled in that bright and 
prosperous little city until September, 1898, 
when they moved to Burlington. Here Dr. 
Roe has continued his professional work 
in the Tama building, with a constantly in- 
creasing practice. He has one of the best- 
equipped offices in this part of the State, 
having modern apparatus and electrical 
equipment throughout. That he is a close 
student', keeping up with all the latest dis- 
coveries of value in his profession, is evi- 
denced by the recognition that his contem- 
poraries in the work have accorded to him. 
In 1905 he was in attendance at the Iowa 
State Dental Convention, in session at Des 
Moines, and was named as a delegate from 
that body to the National Dental Conven- 
tion meeting at Buffalo, N. Y. 

Dr. Roe, as well as his talented wife, has 
decided musical ability, and he has for the 
past six years been a member of the choir 
of the First Methodist Episcopal church, of 
Burlington. 

The point that we wish particularly to 
make, as an encouragement to young men 
of ambition and small means, is that from 
the time Dr. Roe left the commercial school 
in 1887, until his final graduation from the 
Iowa State University in March, 1896, he 
received no financial aid from any source 
other than his own efforts yielded, yet he 
was able in these years, step by step, to 
climb the ladder of scientific and practical 
knowledge to the point we have seen ; and 
now, still a young man, he .finds himself 



226 



BIOCKAl'lllLAL REllEW 



well started in a prosperous career. It is 
worth while, now ami then, to call atten- 
tion to the hcneticence of institutions of 
learning, the laws, and the conditions of 
society in a free land, all of which make 
these thiufjs possihle. In view of these 
things, let no young man, struggling to 
obtain an education such as will fit him to 
enter the walks of professional life, despair 
of reaching his goal. 



ALBERT JAMES ROE. 

Albert J.\Miis Rok, who faithfully 
served his country in the Civil War, and 
who was for sixteen years a resident of 
Burlington, was horn in Oneida county, 
.\. v.. Oct. 8. 1842. When a young lad 
he came to Iowa with his parents, Elisha 
C. and Alinira ( Merihue) Roc, the family 
Ikmik- being established in ndaware county. 
In the sch(K)ls of that locality he acquired 
his education, and in April, 1861, he re- 
sponded to the first call of the president for 
troops to aid in crushing out the Rebellion. 
He was then but nineteen years of age, but 
the flame of |)atri()tism burned brightly in 
his breast, and he at once ofTered his aid in 
defense of the L'nion, enlisting as a member 
of Company F, Twelfth Iowa regiment, 
which was assigned to the .\rniy of the 
Potomac. 

Mis first enlistment was lor three years, 
or during the war, and he participated in 
many important engagements, including 
the battles of I-'ort Henry, I-'ort Dnnelson, 
Shiloh, the •siege and capture of \'ick.>;burg, 
etc. He was honorably discharged in Janu- 
ary, i8()-], but re-enlisted in Ajiril of the 
same year, and served uulil the close of 



the war. Because of ill health he was ap- 
])ointed to the position of hospital steward 
at Sedalia, Mo. Mrs. Roe also went to 
Scdalia, and became the matron of the 
hospital there, acting in that capacity for 
nine months. Mr. Roe was finally ordered 
back to his regiment in the South, again 
becoming a memlxjr of his old company. 
He was with Sherman on the celebrated 
march to the sea, and was also in the grand 
review in Washington, being honorably 
discharged in June. 1865, in the capital 
city, where he was also mustered out of the 
service. 

While home from the war after his first 
discharge, Mr. Roe was married, April 13, 
1864, at Ilelleview, Iowa, to Miss Sarah 
Louisa Dunn, a daughter of Peter and 
Anna (Lenahan) Dunn. They became the 
|)arents of six children : Charles E., a 
machinist of Burlington, living at 816 Or- 
chard St. : Etta K.. who became the wife 
of Dr. C. L. Paisley, a [)racticing physician 
of I'^armington, died Se])t. 2, 1894, leaving 
a daughter, Etta Roe ; F. A., who is en- 
gaged in the practice of dentistry, in Bur- 
lington : Nellie .M.. the wife of John R. 
Ping, an attorney of the State of Washing- 
ton : and two who died in infancy. 

Mr. Roe was a resident of Muscatine. 
Iowa, until 1874, when he came to Des 
Moines county and settled in Burlington. 
Soon afterward he |)urchased the pro])erty 
now occupied 1)\' bis widow, lie engaged 
in the wood and coal trade, and had a good 
business, which enabled him to provide a 
comfortable living for his family. His 
energy and earnest labor were leading fac- 
tors in his business life, and his home, now 
occu()ied by .Mrs. Roe. stands as visible 
evidence of his thrift and industry. 

He died Sept. 9, i8yo, respected by all 



DES AIOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



227 



who knew him. He was a member of the 
Masonic fraternity, and of the Grand Army 
post of Burlington. In his poHtical views 
he was a stanch Republican, but never as- 
pired to office, preferring to concentrate 
his energies upon his business aiTairs. He 
was never remiss in the duties of citizen- 
ship, however, but gave stalwart support 
to each progressive measure, just as he had 
upheld the integrity of the Union when 
threatened by the disloyalty of the South. 



ROBERT J. BURDETTE. 

Robert J. Burdette, humorist, lecturer, 
and preacher (for in that line of progres- 
sion has he won his way to the hearts of 
the American people until his name is a 
familiar one in almost every household of 
the land), was for many years a resident 
of Iowa, and first became known to fame in 
connection with the Burlington Haivk-Evc 
He was born July 30, 1844, in Greensboro 
county. Pa., a son of Frederick E. Burdette, 
of Virginia, who was of Huguenot lineage, 
while his mother was of Welsh and German 
ancestry, and through her he inherited from 
a long line of Welsh ancestors his Christian 
name of Robert Jones. When he was two 
years of age, his parents removed to Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, and in 1852 made their way 
by the water route to Peoria, 111., for the 
era of railroad transportation was then un- 
known. In the public schools of Peoria he 
received his intellectual training, being 
graduated from the high school with the 
class of 1861, but his entire life has been 
a school in which his mind has constantly 
broadened and his perceptions deepened. 
He has been a student of human nature 



more than of all else, giving deep and 
earnest consideration to the questions 
which aflfect the race, its welfare and its 
progress. 

He had hardly left the schoolroom when, 
in July, 1862, about the time of the eight- 
eenth anniversary of his birth, he enlisted 
as a private in Company F, Forty-seventh 
Illinois Infantry, and thus served until the 
close of the Civil War. He left the military 
for the civic department of the government 
service, becoming a mail agent, and in 
1869 he entered upon what proved the ini- 
tial step of his journalistic career, becom- 
ing proof-reader on the Peoria Daily 
Transcript. Eventually he was made night 
editor; and, ambitious to enter upon an in- 
dependent venture in the journalistic field, 
he began the publication of the Peoria Rc- 
z'iciu, an evening paper, about 1871. This 
did not prove successful, however, and in 
1872 he became city editor of the Burling- 
ton Hazi'k-Eyc, where he rapidly rose to 
fame through his humorous articles pub- 
lished in that paper. In the winter of 1876 
he went upon the lecture platform in con- 
nection with the Redpath Lyceum Bureau 
of Boston, and his fame on the platform 
became international. 

Robert Jones Burdette, with a chivalry 
that has always been typical of his nature, 
accredits his success in life in very large 
measure to the influence of the two ladies 
upon whom he has conferred his name. 
His first wife, Caroline Garrett, was born 
and reared in Peoria, a daughter of the late 
Auren Garrett, one of the pioneers of that 
city. Fler father, whose death occurred 
July 13, 1905, had for seventy-two years 
been a resident of Peoria, where he located 
in 1833, when it contained a population of 
little more than five hundred. His father. 



228 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Auf^ustus ( ). (Jarrctt, was the pioneer hotel 
proprietor of that city, and at one time a 
prominent factor in public affairs there. 
He continued liis identification with the 
business inti-n-;is nf I^c.ir!.i imiil l)i< di-aih 
in 1867. 

Auren Garrett was born in Litchfield, 
Conn., Sept. 29, 1818, and his boyhood days 
were passed at Honcoye I-'alls, X. V., until 
he was fourteen nr fifteen years of age, 
when he accompanied his parents to the 
great West. They embarked on a sailing 
vessel at BufFaKj for Chicago, but Auren, 
the eldest son, traveled overland with a 
valuable team of horses and wagon, reach- 
ing I\'oria in the early part of August, 
1833. The parents and other members of 
the family bad arrived but a few days be- 
fore, after completing the trip by water. 
.\uren Garrett for many years followed 
steaniboatiug on the Illinois River, acting 
as pilot for more than two decades ; and 
when his diligence and economy had 
brought him a little capital, he invested 
in a stock of merchandising, and eventually 
became extensively engaged in dealing in 
crockery and wall pajier, continuing in 
trade until his retirement from active busi- 
ness cares in the evening of life. His last 
years were s])enl in the home of his daugh- 
ter, Mrs. David .Muir, at 1115 North Glen- 
dale Avenue, Peoria, and there he passed 
away, survived by but one daughter of his 
first marriage, Miss Medorah Hall Garrett, 
of Rosemont, Pa. Three daughters of the 
second marriage are living: Mrs. David 
T. Muir, of I'eoria ; Mrs. A. B. Humphrey, 
of Santa Monica, Cal. ; and Mrs. E. E. 
Newman, of Los .\ngeles, Cal. Mr. Gar- 
rett belonged to that class of splendid ]>io- 
necr settlers who recognized and improved 
the op|)ortiuiili('s of the great West, .-unl 



while advancing individual success, con- 
tributed in substantial measure to the de- 
velopment and growth of his adopted city. 

It was in Peoria that Robert Burdette 
and Caroline Garrett were married, and 
after residing for several years in Burling- 
ton they removed to Philadeljjhia, Pa., and 
later to .\rdmore, a suburb of that city. 
It was the influence of .Mrs. Burdette that 
led her husband into his humorous writing, 
and, as he said, "gave him strength, cour- 
age, hope, and good sense ;" contendiivg 
that in everything she told him to do he 
prospered, and that every time he went 
again^st her advice he failed. She was a 
lady of scholarly tastes and habits, recog- 
nized her husband's talents, and ambitious 
for his recognition, because of his power, 
inspired him to put forth his l>est effort, and 
gain a place in the world for which nature 
intended him. Those who know aught of 
Mr. and Mrs. Burdette in their home life 
recognize its close approach to the ideal. 
For many years an invalid, he was most 
ilfvoted to her care and welfare. 

They had but one son, Robert, Jr., who 
is now on the reportorial staff of the Ihnck- 
Eyc. He was born at Burlington, .\]iril 10. 
1877, and attended the Haverford College 
Gramniar .'school, of Haverford, Pa., and 
also Haverford College, .\fter a year spent 
abroad with his parents, he began news- 
paper work on the Philadelphia livening 
Bulletin, and is now with the Hawk-Eye. 
Well known in the city of his birth and 
residence, he is ])articularly active outside 
of business circles in the work of the Bap- 
tist church.* Mrs. Burdette passed away in 
the month of May, 1884, and not long after- 
ward Mr. Burdette removed to Bryn Mawr, 
Pa., where he lived with his sister-in-law. 
Miss Medorah H. Garrett. 



DES MOfNES COUNTY, IOWA. 



229 



Mr. Burdette continued for some years 
his active literary work in the East, writing 
for papers and magazines and going upon 
his lecture tours in the winter seasons un- 
der the management of the Redpath Lyceum 
Bureau. He has been a well-known con- 
tributor to the Ladies' Home Journal, 
Brooklyn Eagle, Philadelphia Press, Lip- 
pincott's Aiagasiiie, Life, and other publica- 
tions. Among his writings, aside from his 
articles for the magazines and journals of 
the country, are : "Chimes from a Jester's 
Bells," "Sons of Asaph," "Modern Temple 
and Templars, or Life of Russell H. Con- 
well," "Smiles Yoked with Sighs ;" while 
his lectures cover the following subjects: 
"Rise and Fall of the Mustache," "Advice 
to a Young Man," "Home," "Move On," 
"The Woman with the Broom." His latest 
production is "Rainbow Chasers." 

In 1898 Mr. Burdette was married to 
Mrs. Clara B. Baker, of Pasadena, who, 
like his first wife, has been a constant 
source of inspiration and encouragement 
to him in his work. In her maidenhood 
she was Miss Clara Bradley, a native 
of Wisconsin. She married Professor 
Wheeler, of the university of that State. 
In those early years Mr. Burdette formed 
the acquaintance of Professor Wheeler and 
his wife, and a strong friendship sprang up 
between them ; but later the Wheeler fam- 
ily removed to California, where Professor 
Wheeler died, leaving a young son, Roy 
Bradley, the latter now at Pasadena, Cal. 
He was graduated from HarVard Univer- 
sity with honors in June, 1904. Mrs. Bur- 
dette lived in California for some time, and 
then married Colonel Baker, an e.x-Confed- 
erate cavalry officer, and later a lawyer of 
considerable reputation on the Pacific 
Coast. Following his death, Mrs. Burdette 



occupied her handsome residence on Orange 
Grove Avenue in Pasadena, living there 
for several years with her son Roy. In 
1898 she became the wife of Robert Jones 
Burdette, and they maintained their resi- 
dence in Pasadena. 

It is there that Robert Jones Burdette 
entered upon the work of the ministry, sup- 
plying for one summer the pulpit of the 
First Presbyterian church, after which he 
became pastor for the newly organized 
Temple Baptist church of Los Angeles, 
Cal. He has for many years been a firm 
believer in the doctrines of the Baptist 
denomination, and having been ordained 
to the ministry, he is devoting his time to 
the upbuilding of the church there, which 
in 1906 contemplates the erection of a 
structure valued at a million dollars, to 
contain an immense auditorium reserved 
for the church, while the other rooms will 
be used for office purposes. 

Mrs. Burdette, who is famed for her busi- 
ness ability throughout California, is one 
of the leaders in this enterprise. Under 
all the humor that has brightened the lives 
of the thousands throughout the land who 
have been interested readers of all that has 
come from his pen, there is in Robert J. 
Burdette a depth of character and humani- 
tarian spirit that are manifest in every writ- 
ten and spoken utterance. He has broad 
himian sympathies ; and while he frequently 
treats of the harmless little foibles of human 
nature, the prejudices in which it indulges 
and the foolish actions which it perpetrates, 
his fun is kindly, tender, and considerate. 
Without special educational privileges, he 
has become a scholar through deep reflec- 
tion. He has gained an intimate knowledge 
of the trend of the world's progress, the 
possibilities for human development ; and 



230 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in all of his work there has been a spirit 
of hiimanitarianisin that, like his humor, 
has been a radiating influence for good. 



DR. JACOB S. CASTER. 

Dk. J.\c.ob Sylvk.ster C.\ster, Mayor of 
Burlington, called to the office in 1904, by 
the largest vote ever given in the city to 
its chief executive, stands as a high type 
of our American citizonshi]) — a man whose 
business success is tho direct outcome of 
consecutive and honorable effort, and whose 
political career has been actuated by high 
principles and lofty patriotism, as exempli- 
fied in his tangible and practical labors for 
the public good. 

A native of Iowa. Dr. Carter was born in 
Franklin Mills, DecatUF county, Sept. 15, 
i860, his parents being Dr. Paul and Nancy 
(Hatfield) Caster. His paternal grand- 
father, John Custer, for so the name was 
then si)elled, was of German lineage, of an 
ancestry that was represented in Pennsyl- 
vania at an early day. He removed from 
the Keystone State to Hagerstown, Ind., 
becoming one of the pioneers of that lo- 
cality, and there Dr. Paul Caster was born 
and reared. The latter, subsequent to his 
marriage and the birth of their eldest child, 
came with his family to Iowa, settling in 
Decatur county, where he early followed 
the wheelwright's trade and also engaged 
in tJK- milling business, being one of the 
pioneer representatives of industrial inter- 
ests there. In 1866 he took up the profes- 
sion of magnetic healing, and gained wide 
and lasting reputation by his skill and 
efficiency. Removing to Ottumwa. Iowa, 
be erected a building there, in iSfK), at a 



cost of eighty-six thousand dollars — now 
the Ottumwa Hospital. There he treated 
people from nearly all parts of the world, 
patients coming to him from distant sections 
of this country, as his fame spread abroad 
and his power was demonstrated by the 
practical residts that attended his efforts. 
He died in .\pril, 1881, while his wife 
passed away when her son Jacob was but 
two years old. Paul Caster married, second, 
Mrs. Sarah Ferl, a widow of a soldier who 
was killed at Lookout Mountain, Tenn. 

To the first marriage were born five chil- 
dren : Mary Ann, wife of Samuel Gilbert, 
both dead ; John L., Samuel L., both of 
whom live in Ottumwa; Sallie, wife of 
( ieorge Rutter, of Chicago ; and our sub- 
ject. 

To the second marriage were born three 
children: Lizzie, who died in childhood: 
W'm. : and Ella, wife of Seneca Cornell, 
County Attorney of Wapello county, Iowa, 
and Xettie. now Mrs. Bangs, of Ottumwa. 

.Vccomiianying his parents to Ottumwa, 
Iowa, when about eight years old. Dr. Cas- 
ter continued his education in the public 
.schools of that city, and later entered the 
Commercial College, from which he was 
graduated. During the last five years of 
his father's life he was associated with him in 
practice as superintendent of his infirmary. 
It was the father's earnest desire that the 
son should take up his profession, but Dr. 
J. S. Caster refused because of the close 
confinement necessitated in the conscientious 
performance *of the duties involved. In- 
stead he turned his attention to the ma- 
chinist's trade, and for nearly nine years 
was in the service of the Chicago, Burling- 
ton & Quincy Railroad Company, in that 
ca|)acity. He came to I'urlington while so 
eniploved, and while •^tijl in the railroad serv- 



1 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



233 



ice he treated a number of charity cases here, 
his sympathy being aroused and his broad 
humanitarian principles prompting his ready 
aid in behalf of those who had not the 
means to secure other professional treat- 
ment. The cures he effected drew to him 
the attention of many of the citizens of 
Burlington, and many pleaded with him to 
treat members of their families. Thus, 
without effort on his part, he gradually 
worked into a practice that made heavier 
and heavier demands upon his time and 
attention, until he resolved to direct all his 
energies into the channels of magnetic heal- 
ing, and in 1889 he opened his office. Since 
that time patients have come to him in Bur- 
lington from forty different States and Ter- 
ritories, extending from Maine to California, 
and from the Canadian border to the Gulf 
of Mexico. Since the third of September, 
1 89 1, he has kept a record of his business, 
having given eighty thousand treatments, 
of which thirty-four thousand were to resi- 
dents of Burlington — showing his high 
position in the public regard in his adopted 
city. 

In his political views Dr. Caster has al- 
ways been a Republican, and the questions 
and issues of the day have claimed his ear- 
nest consideration and careful thought. He 
has come to be recognized as a leader in 
the ranks of his party in Burlington, and 
in 1897 was chosen alderman, being the 
first Republican elected to that office in the 
third ward in many years. In 1904 named 
as his party's canidate for the highest office 
within the gift of the city, he was elected 
mayor of Burlington by a plurality of 1992, 
the largest received by any mayoralty candi- 
date in Burlington. Thus, with the en- 
dorsement of public opinion, he entered the 
office, and the favorable regard evinced in 



the ballot has been in no degree set aside 
or modified as he has discharged the onerous 
duties which devolve upon him. When he 
took the office after a Democratic adminis- 
tration, there was an indebtedness for com- 
pleted contracts amounting to $108,992, and 
yet Dr. Caster has been enabled to do a 
large amount of paving, repairing, and 
other practical and beneficial work. The 
fines from the police department have aver- 
aged over eight hundred dollars per month, 
against less than one-half that amount in 
previous times. His administration of the 
aff'airs of the city is conducted along strictly 
business lines, appealing to the sound judg- 
ment and keen discernment of the citizens, 
and his course is winning high encomiums. 
He was elected president of the Iowa 
League of Municipalities, at the convention 
held at Burlington in October, 1905. 

Dr. Caster has attained high rank in 
Masonic circles. He is a member of Des 
Moines Lodge, No. i. Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons, of Burlington, has taken 
the thirty-second degree of the Scottish rite 
in the consistory at' Davenport, and also 
belongs to Kaaba Temple of the Mystic 
Shrine, at Davenport. He is likewise a 
member of Excelsior Lodge, No. 268, In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, of which 
he is a past noble grand, and Eureka En- 
campment, No. 2, together with the auxil- 
iary — the order of Rebekah, belonging to 
Paul Caster Lodge, No. 348, which was 
named in honor of his father. He is like- 
wise connected with other fraternal organi- 
zations, and is in full sympathy with the 
beneficent spirit which forms the basis of 
all these organizations. 

On the 23d of March, 1880, Dr. Caster 
married Miss Mary Biederman, formerly 
of Ottumwa, Iowa. They had four chil- 



234 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



drcn, but the tirst born dii-d at the age of 
cigliteen months. The others are Charles 
E., of Burlington, who married Anna E. 
Stoerzbach ; Mable R. and Mary E., at 
home. Dr. Caster is a member of the First 
Methodist Episcopal church, while his wife 
and daughters arc members of the Christian 
Science church. They have a beautiful 
home at the corner of High and Fourth 
Streets, in one of the most attractive resi- 
dence portions of the city. 

Through the open door of oi)piirtunity, 
which is the ]jride of our .\nierican life, 
Dr. Caster has made his way to profes- 
sional, social, and political prominence, and 
in the light of public criticism, whereby 
every individual is judged, his course will 
bear the closest investigation, and can not 
fail to awaken admiration. A blending of 
geniality and dignity in his manner, of 
courtesy and kindliness in his deportment, 
of big purpose and honorable action in his 
political career, he stands among the rep- 
resentative men of Burlington — an honor 
to tlie city which has honored him with 
high oflicial preferment. 



HENRY JOHN DUSTMAN. 

Henry John Dustman, known in busi- 
ness as J. H. Dustman, who, becoming an 
independent factor in business life in Bur- 
lington in 1877, has since made continuous 
advancement in commercial circles until he 
is now one of the leading grocery mer- 
chants of the city, controlling a trade, which 
in its extensive dimensions, is an inde.x to 
his ability and enterprise, was born in Prus- 
sia, Germany, a son of H. J. and Mary 
(Bcrksteigle) Dustman. When four years 



of age he was brought to America by his 
parents, who located first in St. I^niis, Mo., 
and after a few years came to Burlington, 
where he continued his education in the 
public and private schools, having already 
mastered the elementary branches of learn- 
ing in St. Louis. Leaving school, he as- 
sisted his father in the further development 
and improvement of the home farm until 
seventeen years of age, when he went to St. 
Louis, Mo., where he learned the cabinet- 
maker's trade, which he followed until 1877. 
He then engaged in business for himself as 
a furniture dealer on North Hill, his store 
being located at the corner of North and 
Seventh Strefcts, where he remained for a 
year. He then removed to his present loca- 
tion, continuing in the furniture business 
alone for about two years, when he joined 
his brother, .\ugust J. Dustman, in a part- 
nership, and they dealt in both groceries 
and furniture. When two years had thus 
passed he ])urchased his brother's interests, 
and has since confined his attention ex- 
clusively to the grocery trade. The broth- 
ers erected the buildings which now stand 
at the corner of Eighth and North Streets, 
— a visible proof of their enterprise and 
executive ability. I'nder the capable guid- 
ance of Mr. Dustman his trade has steadily 
increased until it is hardly surpassed in the 
grocery line in the city. The tasteful ar- 
rangement of the store, the carefully selected 
stock, the straightforward business methods 
employed, combine to make his career a very 
prosperous one. In connection with gro- 
ceries he also handles hay, grain, and feed. 
Mr. Du.stman, in matters relating to the 
city's welfare and progress, is deeply inter- 
ested. For two years he has served as a 
member of the school board and has also 
been a member of the board of trustees of 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



235 



the Ikirlington Hospital since 1900. His 
political allegiance is given the Democratic 
party. Fraternally, he has been connected 
with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows 
since 1872, always holding membership with 
the lodge in Burlington, in which he has 
filled a number of offices. He has mem- 
bership relations with the Zion German 
Evangelical church and is at present vice- 
president of the board of trustees and has 
also served as deacon. He is thus deeply 
interested in the intellectual and moral de- 
velopment of the community, and possesses 
a benevolent spirit which has been manifest 
in many acts of charity. 

On the 14th of October, 1875, Mr. Dust- 
man was married to Miss Paulina Paule, 
a daughter of Jacob and Christina (Wehrt) 
Paule. She died Sept. 22, 1882, leaving 
three children: Ida C, Phillip H., and 
Lydia Mary. On the fifth of June, 1884, 
]Mr. Dustman was again married, his second 
union being with Emma Paule, by whom 
he has one child, Selma D. His obligations 
to his family, his fellow-men and his city 
have always been conscientiously discharged, 
and by reason of his close application 
strong purpose, commendable ambition, 
and unflagging perseverance, he has gained 
a creditable place among the reliable and 
successful merchants of Burlington. 



JOHN BAPTIST RITZMANN. 

John B,\pti.st Ritzm.\nn, with one ex- 
ception the oldest merchant of liurlington, in 
years of continued connection with commer- 
cial pursuits here, was born in Shefifhouser, 
Switzerland, ^larch 12, 1834, his parents 



being Casper and Margaretta (Deuber) 
Ritzmann. He jnirsued his education in 
the public schools, and afterward learned 
the blacksmith's trade, which he followed 
until his immigration to America in 1854. 
He crossed the Atlantic in a sailing vessel, 
which completed that voyage in forty-two 
days, dropping anchor in the harbor of New 
York. ' He afterward went to Toledo, Ohio, 
and in 1856 he came to Burlington, where 
he secured a situation in a machine shop, 
being thus employed until after the outbreak 
of the Civil War. 

In September, Mr. Ritzmann, in response 
to the call of his adopted country for aid, 
enlisted in the army, becoming a member of 
Company F, Fifth Iowa Cavalry, with 
which he served for three years. He was 
stationed at or near Fort Donelson, and did 
actual duties for scouting parties in that 
portion of the country. In July, 1863, he 
went with General Cook on a scouting expe- 
dition to Huntsville, Ala., after which he 
returned to Pulaski, Tenn., reaching that 
place on Christmas Day of 1863. He was 
in many skirmishes, and was for a time on 
detached duty, serving with the Michigan 
Cavalry, on account of having no commis- 
sioned officers in his own company, because 
of re-enlistment of the men of the regiment. 
He was then sent with the non-veterans to 
Chattanooga, and was attached to General 
Thomas's courier line, and had command of 
Post No. I, going with him as far as At- 
lanta, after which the regiment returned to 
Nashville with General Thomas. It was at 
that place, on Oct. 30, 1864, that Mr. Ritz- 
mann was honorably discharged, his term 
of service having expired. While with Gen- 
eral Thomas he was wounded in the head 
by a rebel ball, but he continued in the ranks, 
not losing anv time. He was alwavs a faith- 



236 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ful soldier, true and loyal to his duty, and 
with a creditable record he returned to his 
home in Iowa. 

Again locating in Burlington. Mr. Ritz- 
mann embarked in the grocery business, and 
is now the second uklfst business man, being 
located at 875 Jefferson Street, where he 
has remained continuously since 1867. He 
has for many years enjoyed a large patron- 
age, handling a general line of groceries, 
and also dealing in hay, grain, and feed. 
His business has had a steady and healthful 
growth, and its extent is now such that he 
annually receives a good income, which 
supplies him with all of the necessities and 
many of the comforts of life. 

Mr. Ritzniann was married Sept. 21. 
1861, to Miss Mary .\. Mischler, a daughter 
of Baptist Mischler. They have six chil- 
dren, namely : Rosalie, the wife of J. C. 
Kimball, a resident of Burlington township, 
Des Moines county, where he follows farm- 
ing ; Adel and Clara, both at home ; John X., 
who is living in Pike coimty, Missouri : and 
Matilda and Mary, at home. 

In his political views Mr. Rilziiiaiiii is a 
stanch Republican, and is interested in llie 
growth and success of his party, but has 
not .sought or held office, save that he served 
on the relief commission f>f the county. 
He is a prominent and valued member of 
the Grand .\rmy jmst in Burlington, in 
which he has held all of the offices. He 
takes great pleasure in this association with 
his old comrades-in-arms, and in recalling 
the signals and events of the war. He has 
ever been /progressive in citizenship, desires 
the progress and improvement of his city. 
•State, or nation, and dnring his long resi- 
dence in l>urlin'.jtnn he has made a most 
creditable record as a reliable business 
man. 



JOHN T. BECKMAN. 

John T. Beck.man, secretary and treas- 
urer of the Moehn Brewing Company, of 
Burlington, was bom June 7, 1854, in 
Franklin township, Des Moines county, and 
is a son of Theodore and Berdine (Nie- 
mann) Beckman. The father was born in 
Westphalia, Germany, in 1821, and came to 
the United States in 1848, crossing the At- 
lantic to New Orleans in a sailing vessel, 
which left the port of Bremen. After reach- 
ing the Crescent City he proceeded up the 
Mississippi River to Fort Madison, Iowa, 
where he secured employment at eight dol- 
lars per month. He thus worked f(jr two 
an<l a half months, his day extending from 
eight o'clock in the morning until ten 
o'clock at night. He afterward came to 
I'urlington, and spent a year and a half in 
the Postlewaite distillery, and during that 
period he earned enough to take him to Cal- 
ifornia. Attracted by the discovery of gold 
i>n the Pacific Slope, he determined to make 
his way to the I'^ar West, with the hope of 
rapidly realizing a fortune there. He bought 
a ])air of oxen and a wagon, and proceeded 
across the country, going by way of the city 
of Council Bluffs up the Platte River and 
across the Rockies to Sacramento. He there 
engaged in mining for others until he was 
enabled to make a start for himself. The 
journey across the plains was made in coiu- 
pany with Fred Diercks and James Murj^hy. 
Mr. P.eckman remained on the Pacific Coast 
for about two years, and met with fair suc- 
cess in his undertakings there, bringing back 
w ilh liim enough money to enable liim to |)ur- 
chase eighty acres of land, where he now 
lives. .Xs his financial resources increased 
he added to this property, until his realty 
holdings now aggregate one thousand acres. 



i 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



237 



Following his return to Iowa Mr. Beck- 
man was married in Burlington to Miss 
Berdine Niemann, who was born in Ger- 
many, and came to the United States about 
1850, sailing from Bremen. She was four- 
teen weeks on the voyage, and after reach- 
ing the shores of the New World made her 
way direct to Burlington. She was accom- 
panied by her father, John Niemann, three 
brothers, Clement, Bernard, and John, and 
her sister Elizabeth, who afterward mar- 
ried Fiedal Hartman, of Burlington. The 
brothers settled in Burlington, and died leav- 
ing families. Mr. and Mrs. Beckman had 
become acquainted prior to his sojourn in 
California, and they were married in 1853, 
settling on his farm, where they have since 
lived, he becoming one of the most pros- 
perous and extensive agriculturists of this 
part of the State. Nine children were born 
unto them, John T., Sylvester, Mary, Frank, 
Matilda, Henry, Annie, Theodore W., and 
Frances. 

John T. Beckman pursued his education 
in the common schools, and in his youth 
assisted in the operation of the home farm, 
becoming familiar with all the duties and 
labors that fall to the lot of the agriculturist. 
He remained with his father until nearly 
twenty-seven years of age, and was then 
married and began farming on his own ac- 
count, being associated with agricultural 
interests until 1892. He then devoted his 
attention between farming and general mer- 
chandising, and he still conducts both busi- 
ness enterprises, with the assistance of those 
whom he employs for the purpose. In No- 
vember, 1904, he removed to Burlington, 
although he had been associated with busi- 
ness enterprises of this city for some time 
previous. In February, 1902, he became 
secretarv and treasurer of the Moehn Brew- 



ing Company, which position he still fills, 
and is a stockholder in the Citizens' State 
Bank, of Mediapolis, and in the Danville 
State Bank. His business enterprise, laud- 
able ambition, and strong determination have 
led him out of the field of limited endeavor 
into broad activity, and he is to-day a rep- 
resentative business man of this city and 
county. His progress has been made con- 
tinuously and along safe lines, and while ad- 
vancing his individual interests he has also 
contributed to the growth and improvement 
of business conditions of the county. 

On the 20th of April, 1880, Mr. Beckman 
was married to Miss Theresa Ritter, a 
(laughter of John Ritter, of Fort Madison, 
and they had six children, of whom three 
died in infanc}'. Those living are Edward 
J., Mary, and Theresa. The wife and 
mother died in 1892, and on Feb. 12, 1895, 
Mr. Beckman was again married, his second 
union being with Julia Walz, at Burlington, 
a daughter of Dennis Walz. There is one 
child of this marriage, Theodore. 

In his political affiliation Mr. Beckman is 
a Democrat, and he has held several town- 
ship offices, including those of trustee and 
assessor: In matters of citizenship he is 
always public-spirited and progressive, and 
his co-operation has proved a valued factor 
in promoting many measures for the public 
good. He is a man of distinct and forceful 
individuality, who has left and is leaving 
his impress upon the business world. 



JEROME EDWARD HEDGES. 

Jerome Edward Hedges represents a 
prominent pioneer family of Des Moines 
county, as he has been a resident of this 



238 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



county for sixiy-tivc \cars, liis birth liav- 
ing occurred July 12, 1S40. on the farm 
where he yet resides. His parents, Joash 
and Ehza (Stage) Hedges, canie to Des 
Moines county about the year 1836, when 
this was largely an unimproved wilder- 
ness. Burlington was but a small town, 
and the country round about was unim- 
proved, only a few settlements having been 
made here and there over the firairies and 
along the streams. 

Joash Hedges located in Huron town- 
ship. wluTc he established a pioneer home 
and remained for in;iny years. He was 
born in I'ickaway county. Ohio, in 1808. 
and departed this life in December, 1875. 
while his wife's death occurred in June 
of the same year. They were the par- 
ents of si.x children: Joshua, Richard. 
and Benjamin, all deceased; Sarah, liic 
wife of Dr. Antrabus, who is living in 
Kansas: Jerome E. : and one that died in 
infancy. 

The taniily shared in all the liar(lship> 
and privations incident to frontier life. 
and as the years passed by devcloi)e(l 
there an excellent farm. It was upon this 
])lace that Jerome E. Hedges was born 
and reared, and he retains vivid recollec- 
tions of pioneer conditions and environ- 
ments, his mind forming a connecting 
link between the primitive past and the 
progressive present. His education was 
obtained in the early subscription schools. 
The schoolhouses were built of logs, with 
puncheon floors and slab seats, while a 
rough slab laid upon wooden pins driven 
into the wall served for desks. Greased 
paper was used for windows, and the 
methods of instruction were almost as 
[)rimitive as the schoolhouse. 

One of Mr. Hedges' teachers, whom he 



well remembers, was .Mrs. Lizzie Ripley. 
He had the privilege of attending school 
only through the winter months, for in 
the summer seasons he worked upon the 
home farm from the tiuie his age and 
strength permitted. He also early learned 
the blacksmith's trade under Xels Brown, 
and established a shop of his own about 
1SO5. I"or thirty-hve years he continueil 
;it this trade, doing the blacksmithing for 
the i)cople of his locality, his excellent 
workmanship securing him a good ])at- 
ronage in that line. 

He has also followed farming through 
many years, and is to-day the owner of a 
valuable tract of two hundred and sixty- 
three acres, of which one hundred and 
thirty-three acres are a part of the old 
homestead farm which his father pur- 
chased of a Mr. W'estphal on arriving in 
this county. In his farming operations 
Mr. Hedges disi)lays business ability and 
executive force, which have been strong 
elements in his ])rosperity. 

iiis home is on Sections 13. 14. and 18. 
antl he has placed most of the improve- 
ments upon his farm. His residence is 
one of the most modern and attractive 
homes in this section of the county, and 
in the rear stand good barns and out- 
buildings, which in turn are surrounded 
by highly cultivated fields. In addition 
to the raising of the cereals best adapted 
to the soil and climate, he also raises 
some cattle and hogs. 

Mr. Hedges has likewise been an active 
participant in public affairs. He has 
served as school director for many years, 
and was treasurer of the school board for 
about twenty-two years, still serving in 
that office. He was postmaster of the 
village of Huron for thirty years, and re- 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



239 



signed his position in 1903, having 
throngh that long period discharged his 
duties with promptness and fidelity. His 
co-operation can always be counted upon 
to further any movement for the general 
good, and his worth is widely acknowl- 
edged by all who know him. 

On March 8, 1866, Mr. Hedges was 
married to Miss Vina Luckenbill, a daugh- 
ter of Benjamin and Mary (Myers) Luck- 
enbill, and a native of Huron township, 
born April 28, 1842. Mr. and Mrs. Hedges 
have two children, Eliza and Benjamin, 
both at home. The family are well known 
in the county, I\Ir. Hedges having a partic- 
ularly wide acquaintance because of the 
long years of his residence here. His 
memory is stored with many of the his- 
tone annals of the county, and he relates 
in an interesting manner many anecdotes 
of the early days when pioneer conditions 
existed. 



JOHN PETER GINGRICH. 

John Peter Gingrich, of Burlington, 
Iowa, now leading a retired life at his pleas- 
ant home, 1720 South Street, was born in 
Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, in June, 
1826, a son of Jacob and Catherine (Miller) 
Gingrich. He was educated in the common 
schools of his native State, and his father 
being a captain and owner of a freight boat 
on the canal, he also entered that employ- 
ment, at which he was engaged from the age 
of nine years to his eighteenth year. He 
then began working on a farm, so continuing 
until 1862, when, on September 12, he en- 
listed at Harrisburg, Pa., in Company E, 
Seventeenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and 



served until July 5, 1865, when he received 
honorable discliarge at the city of Cincin- 
nati. Mr. Gingrich was a member of the 
Army of the Potomac, and was in battle 
shortly after enlistment, the occasion being 
an attack by the Confederate forces near 
Washington. The attack was sudden, and 
he accompanying his captain in a hasty rush 
to the skirmish line, the officer made his way 
along a small valley, while Mr. Gingrich 
took the higher ground, and being visible to 
all the hostile forces scattered over a vast 
expanse of surrounding country, became the 
central target of a heavy musket fire. Hun- 
dreds of bullets whistled and hummed about 
his ears, but he arrived at the scene of action 
untouched. Afterward he took part in the 
attack on Washington which was led by 
Early, the Southern general, and in many 
other skirmishes and fierce engagements, but 
received no wound. He was one of the body 
guard of Abraham Lincoln at Washington, 
D. C, for six months acting as guard during 
Lincoln's trips in the country, where he 
spent many nights. 

Mr. Gingrich has been twice married, 
first to Miss Mary Ann Galbach, daughter 
of Gabriel and Marian (Marquardt) Gal- 
bach. Mrs. Gingrich died in 1861, survived 
by one child, Clara Ann. On Dec. 17, 1868, 
he wedded Miss Margaret Applegate, 
daughter of Robert and Rebecca (McMoni- 
gle) Applegate, and to them have been born 
four children, as follows : Elizabeth ; Ida ; 
Coretta, wife of Andrew Phillip Mesmer ; 
and Minnie May, wife of Emil Zimmer; 
Mary Ada died at age of one year and nine 
months. 

Mrs. Gingrich was born in Brown county, 
Ohio, April 19, 1836, and removed with her 
parents to Burlington in 1848. Her father, 
who was by trade a cooper, and also did 



240 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



farming, died May 15, 1852, and her mother 
March 27, 1852, botli aged forty-two years. 
Mrs. Gingrich had a brother, Andrew, who 
enHstcd at Keokuk in the Civil War in the 
Second Iowa Infantry. He was in the bat- 
tle of Corinth and with Sherman on his 
grand " march to the sea." After serving 
to the end of the war, he was honorably 
discliargcd. Mr. Aj)i)legatc ii.sed to be pilot 
on the Mississippi, but later passed away. 
The name of John Peter Gingrich is one to 
which high honor attaches for his faithful 
service to the nation in time of her peril, and 
for duty conscientiously performed in days 
of peace. 



ALBERT HACKER. 

A WIDELY known citizen of Des Moines 
county, Icrsva, and one who for many years 
has been a prominent representative of the 
business interests of this portion of the State, 
is Albert Hacker, now residing on his farm 
in Section 20, of Burlington township. Mr. 
Hacker is a native of Germany, the date of 
his birth being June 25, 1837, and it was 
there that he received a good and permanent 
grounding in the common branches of edu- 
cation in the public schools. He is the son 
of Carl and Louisa Hacker, both natives of 
Germany, where the father passed his life as 
a successful farmer, and where both died 
at an advanced age, and were buried, they 
never having visited this country. 

In iiis native land our subject attained to 
years of maturity, and began the active work 
of his life by taking employment in a flour- 
ing mill, in which he continued until about 
his thirtieth year, when he resolved to avail 
himself of the greater and more abundant 
opportunities awaiting his enterprise and 



abilities on this side the Atlantic, and taking 
passage to New York, came directly to Iowa, 
locating temporarily at Burlington. He 
remained in that city for only a short period, 
however, before taking work by the month 
on a farm, a -work in which he spent the 
ne.xt three years, during which time he be- 
came familiar with the language and cus- 
toms of the country, and by the practice of 
industry and frugality was enabled to ac- 
cumulate a sufficient cajjital to embark in 
independent business. With this he pur- 
chased a remunerative dairy route in Bur- 
lington, and by careful management and 
unceasing attention to the needs of the pub- 
lic, as well as by making at all times the 
fullest and best use of his resources, he 
achieved a substantial success — one which 
has well repaid nim for the time, labor, and 
executive ability which he has expended 
in its promotion. For the first ten years he 
rented his present farm for dairy purposes, 
at the end of that time buying it outright, 
it then consisting of one hundred and fifty 
acres of fine land, to which he afterward 
added twenty acres ; and here for many 
years he kept never less than fifty, and often 
as many as one hundred cows, himself con- 
ducting the enterprise until about four years 
ago, when he sold the business, and since 
that time he has been leading a retired life 
at his farm, enjoying in ease the fruits of 
his long and successful career. Having 
never given more than a passing attention 
to agriculture, and now having no further 
use for his land for his dairy, Mr. Hacker 
has recently sold one hundred and t^venty 
acres of his valuable farm land as an addi- 
tion to the city of lUirlington, receiving pay- 
ment therefor at the rate of somewhat more 
than one hundred dollars an acre. 

Mr. Ilackcr has been twice married: first 




ALBERT HACKER. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



243 



to Miss Louisa Ries, by whom he had two 
children : Albert, who died at the age of 
six months ; and Louisa, who became the 
wife of George Fetsher, a street-car con- 
ductor of Burlington, and has two children. 
The demise of the mother of this family 
occurred at the home farm, and she is in- 
terred in Burlington. The second wife of 
our subject was Mrs. Rose Sleter, now also 
deceased, who was the widow of William 
Sleter, by whom she had four children : 
Anna, deceased ; Charles ; William, de- 
ceased ; and George. To her and Mr. 
Hacker were born six children, as follows : 
Albert, a farmer of Des Moines county, 
who married Miss Emma Fildi, and has 
one son, Carl ; Edward, who resides at his 
father's home ; Caroline, now deceased, who 
married Fred Hadley, and was the mother 
of two children, Ralph and Eva ; Laura, 
who married Frank Hardley, of Burlington 
township, and has one child, Florence ; Os- 
car, who died at the age of six months ; 
Emma, who died at the age of six and one- 
half years ; and Helene, who is a member 
of the paternal household. To all his chil- 
dren Mr. Hacker has supplied the advan- 
tages of an excellent education, thus dis- 
charging one of the highest obligations of 
citizenship in the land where he has attained 
such great and well-merited success as a 
result of his own unassisted efforts ; for his 
achievements are indeed his own, and the 
energetic, honorable, and upright course he 
has always pursued has made him many 
friends, who admire his character and 
greatly value him for his social qualities. 

A fine portrait of Mr. Hacker appears at 
the beginning of this article, which will 
he fully appreciated by his many friends, 
not only in his own township, but through- 
out the whole county. 



ANDREW FRENCH CARITHERS. 

The pleasant memories which cluster 
around the names of those who were ac- 
corded a representative place among men 
during life are to be perpetuated only in 
history, and it is both the duty and the 
pleasure of the historian to record the life 
record of Andrew French Carithers, who 
in pioneer days became a resident of Des 
Moines coullty, and for many years fig- 
ured prominently in agricultural circles. 
Moreover, his labors were of direct and 
permanent benefit in the moral develop- 
ment of the community, through his 
activity in the church. In all life's rela- 
tions he was found so honorable and up- 
right that his name came to be a synonym 
of integrity in his adopted county, and 
he was best loved by those by whom he 
was best known. 

Andrew F. Carithers was born near 
Fairville, Tenn., June 19, 1823, his par- 
ents being John and Elizabeth (Clark) 
Carithers. The family in the paternal 
line is of Irish lineage, the grandfather of 
our subject being Andrew Carithers, who 
came from Ireland to America. He wed- 
ded Esther French, who had also come 
from the Emerald Isle early in the decade 
between 1740 and 1750, being at that time 
nine years of age. From a notice in a 
local paper at the time of her demise it is 
found that she was a centenarian when 
called from this life. 

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew (French) Carith- 
ers, grandparents of our subject, lived in 
Pennsylvania, and there their four chil- 
dren, Mary, John, Andrew, and Rebecca, 
were born. The parents were members 
of the Seceder church, but became Cove- 
nanters after their removal to Tennessee, 



2+4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



where Andrew Lariilurs died Sept. 2, 
1827. His widow siil)se(|uently removed 
with her family to Princeton, Ind.. and 
died there in 1846. (This would make her 
more than one hundred years old if she 
came to America in 1740, at the age of 
nine.) 

The maternal grandparents of Andrew 
French Carithers were John and Isabelle 
(McCaleb) Clark. The former was born 
Oct. 31. 1767, and died Apl<l 29, 1838, 
while his wife was born March 16, 1767, 
and died Oct. 29, 1797. They were the 
parents of four children : Mrs. Elizabeth 
Carithers, John, William, and Mathcw 
Clark. The parents came from Ireland 
about 1792, when their daughter was but 
three years of age. They settled in South 
Carolina, and afterward removed to east- 
ern Tennessee, locating on the Holston 
River, near Knoxville, where John Clark 
remained until his removal to Princeton, 
Ind., in 1837. There his death occurred 
the following year. He was a ruling 
elder in the Reformed Presbyterian 
church, and was connected with the New 
Side after he came to Princeton. He was 
extremely well read, being especially 
familiar with the Scotch authors. In all 
life's relations he was a man of genuine 
worth, of kindly, affectionate nature, and 
very faithful to his family .-ind friends. 
He was twice married, and had two sons 
that remained in eastern Tennessee. 
There is but little known concerning his 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Isa- 
belle McCaleb. for she died many > ears 
ago. Her daughter and grandchildren, 
however, remember her most kindly, so 
that she must have been a lady possessed 
of many excellent traits of character. 

John Carithers, the father of .Andrew 



F. Carithers, was born Aug. 7, 1788, and 
was married to Flizabeth Clark of Knox- 
ville, Tenn., April 10, i8io. Soon after- 
ward they removed to Lincoln county, 
Tennessee, where their family of nine 
children were born. They were there 
connected with the Hepziba Congrega- 
tion of the Reformed Presbyterian 
church, of which Mr. Carithers was 
elected ruling elder in 1822. In 1836 he 
removed to Princeton, Ind., purchasing 
about two hundred acres of land in Gib- 
son county, upon which he and his wife 
spent their remaining days. In the year 
of their arrival there the Princeton Re- 
formed Presbyterian church was re- 
organized, and John Carithers was elected 
ruling elder. He died in 1864, having for 
a number of years survived his wife, who 
passed away in 1846. 

He was over six feet tall, erect, 
straight, and of dignified appearance. 
Moreover he possessed superior intellect- 
ual endowments, had a fine voice, ex- 
pressed his thoughts fluently and easily, 
and at all times his life was actuated by 
principles founded upon Bible truths as 
taught in the Westminister- confession of 
faith. He was a power for good in the 
church and in his neighborhood. He en- 
gaged in teaching school in the districts 
in which lie li\e(l. and among his scholars 
was the gentleman who is now editing the 
Princeton Clarion, and who said of Mr. 
Carithers : "This father, who died thirty 
years ago, was noted in the neighborhood 
in which he lived for his integrity and 
eminent Christian ch.-iracter. and was 
careful to train his household in the 
truth. The efTects of this training are 
yet seen, — ' he being dead yet speaketh ' 
in the generations- that follow him." 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



24.-^ 



His wife is remembered to have been farm work, and he thus assisted his father 

rather stout, of about medium height, and for a number of years. Sept. 12, 1848, he 

of bright, sunny disposition, endearing was united in marriage to Miss Mary 

herself to all who knew her. The follow- Louisa Reid, a daughter of \A'illiam and 

ing is the record of their family : Isabelle .Vnna (Work) Reid. She was born in 

Rebecca, born Oct. 26, 1814, married Washington county, Indiana, July 7, 

James Wilson, Aug. 9, 1838, and three 1831, in which county she was also edu- 

children were born to them : Mary E., cated. Her father, a native of South 

who died in infancy ; John C, who died in Carolina, resided in that State during 

the Union army; and Isabelle, who mar- early manhood, and in 1798 removed to 

ried T. J. Scott in 1867, and is now living Clark county, Indiana, where he followed 

in Princeton, Ind. Esther Aseneth, the farming. Because of slavery he lived at 

second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John various places for about two years, first 

Carithers, was born Sept. 9, 181 7, married in Washington county, Indiana, where he 

J. \V. Paul in 1839, '^'''d died near Garnet, became acquainted with, and married, 

Kans., Jan. 6, 1897. Mary Lizada, born Miss Anna Work, with whom he returned 

April 15, 1819, was married in 1853 to to Clark count}-. Her father was one of 

William Stormont, and died Jan. 19, 1894. the leading millers of Clark county, being 

Andrew French is the next of the father's owner of what was known throughout the 

family. John C. Carithers, born Sept. 20, State as the Tunnel Mills. 

1825, married Anna Mclntire July 4. 1865, About two years after their marriage 

and died Feb. 20, 1903. Josiah E., born Mr. and Mrs. Carithers came from Iowa 

•Nov. 19, 1828, was married Dec. 2, 1850, to Des Moines county, arriving here in 

to Elizabeth Lockhart. Helen J., born 1850, at which time Mr. Carithers entered 

April 13, 1831, became the wife of David one hundred and sixty acres of fine land 

Reid, of Rush county-, Ind., and they re- on Section 7, Yellow Springs township, 
moved to Morning Sun, Iowa, where Mr. 
Reid was ruling elder of the Reformed 
Presbyterian church at the time of his 
death. Melvina L., the youngest meni- 



As he was ill at the time, his good friend 
and neighbor, Samuel McElhiney. carried 
money to the land office and had' the land 
entered in his name, but upon returning 



ber of the family of John and Elizabeth home made the deed over to Mr. Carith- 
Carithers, was born Nov. 30, 1833, and in ers. Many hardships and trials were to 
1863 became the wife of William Peoples, be borne in those early days, and the 
who died April 2/, 1896, leaving four chil- financial resources of the young couple 
dren, who reside in Princeton, Ind. were limited ; but they struggled onward 
Andrew French Carithers began his and upward persistently and energetic- 
education in the schools of Tennessee, ally, and as the years passed prospered in 
and later attended the common schools of their undertakings. There has never 
the Hoosier State, for he was but thirteen been a cent of mortgage upon their beau- 
years of age when his parents removed to tifnl farm. Mr. Carithers placed his de- 
Indiana. After putting aside his text- pendence upon the safe and substantial 
books his entire attention was devoted to qualities of indefatigable energy and per- 



246 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



severance. He raised liis first crop 
where the brick business block in Morn- 
ing Sun now stands, his wife dropping all 
of the corn for that crop. Year by year 
the work of inijjrovement was carried for- 
ward, and the farm is now one of the most 
attractive in the township, the home be- 
inp surrmuuled by beautiful shade trees, 
wiiicii are greatly admired by all. 

The journey to the country was made 
with an old team and wagon, which con- 
tained all of their earthly possessions. 
On account of the swampy condition of 
.the country at that time, their travel was 
fraught with many difficulties and hard- 
ships. The horses tired soon because of 
the condition of the roads, and finally had 
to stand a few days in order to rest. 
They stop])ed in an old deserted log 
house, but after cleaning it out it became 
(|uiU' comfortable, and proved a nnicli 
l)otter shelter than they had enjoyed 
while camping along the way. Soon, 
however, they traveled on, selected the 
land for their future home, and built a 
siuall log cabin twelve by fourteen feet. 
To this primitive home additions and iiu- 
provements were made as such became 
necessary, and finally the cabin was re- 
placed by a modern frame residence, 
which stands to-day as one of the beauti- 
ful and substantial homes of the town- 
ship. The im])rovements on the farm 
were all placed there by Mr. Carithers. 
who set out many walnut trees around 
his residence, and otherwise beautified 
the property and added to its value. He 
was thoroughly jirogressive and enter- 
prising ill all lliat he did. and prospered 
as a farmer and stock-raiser. 

Mr. and Mrs. Carithers had a family of 
four children: .Mice, born March 23, 



1852, was graduated an the completion of 
the classical course at Geneva College, in 

1877. She then went as a missionary into 
the Indian districts, in 1870, where she is 
still engaged. Work, born, Dec. i<^ 1854, 
was graduated froiu (jeneva College in 

1878, and from .\llegheny Seminary in 
1883. He was then licensed and installed 
as ])astor of W'ilkinsburg congregation by 
the I'ittsburg I'resbytery, June 20, 1883, 
and was aijpointed missionary to the 
Indians in 1888. There he is successfully 
laboring still. He married Miss Klla 
George, of \'enice. Pa., May i, 1883. and 
they have a tlaughter, Mary. .\nna 
Carithers, born .May 2y, 1861, is the wife 
of Rev. Thomas Patton, who is pastor of 
the Reformed Presbyterian congregation 
at Coldenham, X. V., and they have a 
son, Ernest. Isaiah Reid, the other mem- 
ber of the Carithers family, is represented 
elsewhere in this work. 

.\ndrew l-'rench Carithers departed this 
life Jan. 8, i<)03, and his family lost a kind 
and loving husband and father, while to 
the comiuimity, which was made better 
by the life of this good citizen, his death 
was also the occasion of deep and wide- 
spread regret. He possessed many ster- 
ling traits of character that were well 
worthy of emulation. .\ lifelong member 
of the Reformed Presbyterian chiirih. he 
served for fifty years as an elder in the 
church in Des Moines county, with which 
he was so long connected, and in which 
he was a most active, influential, and help- 
ful worker. On the fiftieth anniversary 
of his eldershi]) a celebration was held by 
all those who had serveil with him as 
elder in the church in Sharon and in 
Morning Sun. The occasion was a de- 
lightful surprise to .Mr. Carithers, who 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



247 



was presented by his friends with a gold- 
headed cane bearing the inscription : — 

From Sharon R. P. Church 

A. F. C. 

From Session Sept. 9, 

1852-1902. 

In his life he, exemplified the golden 
rule, doing unto others as he would have 
them do unto him. In all business rela- 
tions he followed the idealistic principle 
of making his business afifairs of service 
to his fellow-men, as well as a source of 
profit to himself. As a pioneer he took 
a very active and helpful part in the early 
improvement and progress of the county, 
and his influence was ever on the side of 
right, substantial development, and moral 
advancement. He was honored by all 
who knew him for the success which he 
achieved, for the straightforward methods 
he followed, and for the good which he 
did in the world ; and left behind him a 
memory which is as a blessed benediction 
to all who knew him. His widow, now 
in her seventy-fourth year, is an ideal 
mother and a lady respected and loved by 
all who have the pleasure of her acquaint- 
ance. She is still living on the old home- 
stead which her husband entered so many 
years ago, and with her daughter still 
presides as hostess over this hospitable 
home. 



ROBERT G. ROBB. 

Among the highly honored and re- 
spected farmers who claim A\'ashington 
county, Pennsylvania, as their birthplace, 
one who has carefully noted all the vast 
changes in llurlington for over forty 



years, and now is quietly enjoying some 
of the results of the many hardships he 
was obliged to undergo in his younger 
days, is Robert G. Robb, whose life rec- 
ord we are pleased to place before the 
many readers of this review. 

Robert G. Robb is a son of George and 
Jane (George) Robb, and was born in 
Washington county, Pennsylvania, Oct. 
14, 1832. He received a good, substan- 
tial education in the district schools of 
his native township, after which he en- 
tered upon the farm duties that generally 
fall to the lot of a farmer's son. He was 
a very industrious boy, and very handy 
with the saw and hammer ; between times 
with his farm work he would practice us- 
ing them, and soon became a carpenter 
of much ability. He worked at both 
farming and building for many years. 

In 1874 he located in Des Moines 
county, and his earnings of the past en- 
abled him to purchase one hundred and 
sixty acres of land, which is the farm he 
now resides on, and was formerly owned 
by Joseph McElhiney. He later sold 
forty acres of this place to his son. Be- 
sides engaging in general farming, with 
the best of results, he raises a number of 
pure Short Horn cattle. He had one ani- 
mal of this breed at the World's Fair, 
which took the fourth prize. ' When Mr. 
Robb moved onto this farm it was in 
need of many improvements, and he at 
once began the erection of several neces- 
sary buildings. He has also repaired and 
remodeled the house, and now his farm, 
with its substantial improvements, is con- 
sidered one of the finest in the township. 

Oct. 13, 1859, Mr. Robb joined heart 
and hand with Miss Mary S. McLough- 
lin, who was a daughter of Samuel and 



248 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Margaret (May; Mcl.oiiphlin. This 
union was blessed with six cliiltJren. as 
follows: George M., formerly located in 
New York, is a minister, now residing in 
Philadelphia, where he works with much 
success; Samuel Edmund, a bright young 
man with many friends, departed this life 
at the early age of twenty-five years ; 
John J. is a prosperous farmer of Yel- 
low Springs township ; Thomas C, also 
tills the soil to a large extent, in the same 
township with his brother John ; Jennie 
E., the beloved widow of Robert F.dgar, 
married Robert M. McFarland, and will 
live on Mr. Robb's home place: Margaret 
May is em|)loycd in one of the large mil- 
linery stores in the city of Des Moines. 
.\lter sharing the joys and sorrows of 
married life for some seventeen years, 
Mrs. Robb was called to the home be- 
yond the skies July 30, 1876. 

Nov. 8, 1878, Mr. Robb married Miss 
Susan K. Kilpatrick. a daughter of Dan- 
iel and .Mary Kilpatrick. and they arc the 
parents of (^ne st)n. William .M., who has 
taken a theological course in Allegheny 
City, Pa., in prejiaration for the ministry, 
and is now at home. Mrs. I^obb was born 
in|Monroe county, Indiana, March 2. 1845, 
and moved to N'ellow .S])riiigs township 
with her ])arents many years ago. .\ 
sketch of John Kilpatrick will lx> found 
on another page in this review, which will 
speak more nt length of Mrs. Robb's 
fatiu-r. 

.Mr. and .Mrs. Kobb are devoted and in- 
fluential members of the Reforni Presby- 
terian church, where he has been elder 
for many years : tlicy also belong to the 
Reform .Association. Mr. Robb has led 
a busy life, his strenuous nature being ut- 
terlv o])posc(l 1<) indoli'iici' ;ind idleness. 



and through his perseverance and dili- 
gence, and his careful management of 
business affairs, he has won creditable 
success, being now one of the substantial 
and valued citizens of Yellow Springs 
township, where his family is accortled 
an enviable position in social circles. 



JOHN GARDEN. 

John Garden is a self-made man in 
the truest, fullest sense of that term, for 
he started upon his business career with 
no money. P>y working in a saw-mill, and 
renting land for some time, he accumu- 
lated a sum sufficient to enable him to 
purchase a small tract of land. His lab<:>r 
has been unremitting, and his careful 
management antl enterprise have resulted 
in making him to-day one nf the largest 
land holders of the county. He now re- 
sides on a farm in Danville township, 
about a hall a mile from Middletown. 

He was born in Haiuilton county, Ohio, 
July 27, 1824. his parents being William 
and Sarah (Radcliff) Carden, both of 
whom were natives of England, whence 
ilu'v came to the I'nited States, settling 
in Hamilton county, Ohio, in the year 
iSiy. There they resided for a long pe- 
riod, the father being engaged in farming 
until the year 1857, when he came to 
Iowa, locating in Danville townshij), Des 
Moines county. Here he made a home 
for himself and family, continuing to re- 
side upon his fariu until his life's labors 
were ended in death at the age of eighty- 
six years. His wife passed away at the 
age of eighty years, both dying in the 
house now occupied by John Canlen. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



2+9 



They were the parents of eight children, July 20, 1848, Mr. Garden was married, 

of whom three are still living. in Hamilton county, Ohio, to Miss Mary 

When he was thirty-three years of age Cornick, who was born in that State, and 
Mr. John Garden bought eighty acres of is a daughter of John and Susan (Baugh- 
prairie land, and thirty acres of timber, in man) Gornick, both of whom died in 
Danville township, on which there was a Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Garden have become 
small frame house, but he has since the parents of seven children, six of 
erected a large and attractive building, whom are yet living: John, a farmer, re- 
He has also built an extensive and sub- siding at Los Angeles, Cal., married Miss 
stantial barn and other out-buildings, and, Jennie Long, and they have four children, 
in fact, has made his property a model Grace, Harry, .Albert, and Afary; Mar- 
farm. Here he has since lived, engaged garet is the wife of John Sellers, a farmer 
in general farming pursuits. He has also of Flint River township, and they have 
added to the property until he now owns one child, Glara ; Clara is the wife of J. S. 
five hundred acres of land in Des Moines Hanna, a farmer, of Las Animas, Golo., 
covmty, and with the exception of twenty and they have two children, Bessie and 
acres, the entire amount is in Danville Walter; George is a druggist, residing at 
township. His farms in this county are Long Beach, Cal.: Ella is the wife of 
rented, and bring him a good income. In Maurice Utter, of Danville township, Des 
addition to his realty interests here he is Moines county, and they have two chil- 
the owner of four hundred eighty acres of dren, Leslie C., twelve years of age, and 
improved land in Dawson county, Nebr. Frank AL, five years old: Charles C. oper- 

Alr. Garden has always been a public- ates the home farm in Danville township ; 
spirited and progressive citizen, being an and Frank died at the age of four years, 
advocate of everything that tends to im- Mr. Garden ha,s become a respected, 
prove his community, and the champion valued, and worthy citizen of Des Moines 
of every means for public progress. On county, where he has now lived for many 
questions of national importance he votes years. He has figured prominently in 
with the Democratic party, but at local local affairs, and his influence is for every 
elections, where no issue is involved, he measure that tends to progress and im- 
casts his ballot for the candidate whom he provement. The success of his life is 
thinks best qualified. He was elected due to no inherited fortune, no happy suc- 
county supervisor for three terms, or cession of advantageous circumstances, 
nine years, being chosen to that office in but to his own sturdy will, steady applica- 
1887, and serving until 1896. Many im- tion, and tireless energy, 
provements were made during the period William Garden, deceased, brother of 
of his incumbency, including the building John Garden, was born in Hamilton 
of the county jail, the Weaver bridge, and county, Ohio, in 1829. He married Miss 
many other bridges. Two large build- Isabella S. Aliller, daughter of William 
ings at the county poor farm were also and Elizabeth (Reed) Miller. Soon after 
erected, and one hundred acres were their marriage they settled near "Jim- 
added to this farm. town," this county, where they resided 



2 50 



BIOGRAPHICAL REV 1 EH' 



for two years. In i860 Mr. Garden 
bought a home in Danville township, and 
it was here that his death occurred Feb. 
14, 1866, in the prime of life, when all 
seemed brightest and most attractive, and 
when his business career, which had been 
so successful, was continually commented 
on by his friends and neighbors. He and 
his devoted wife were members of the 
Congregational church. 

Mr. and Mrs. Garden had eight cliil 
dreii. These all received the best of edu- 
cation, and with the exception of two, 
were all teachers for a time. Mr. Gar- 
den was one of the most energetic of 
men, the best of husbands and kindest of 
fathers, and was never known to do an 
unkindness to a single person. His loss 
was a sad blow to his friends and the 
communitv. 



SAMUEL A. FLANDERS. 

Samuel .\. Fl.anders, in whose life rec- 
ord there is much that is worthy of emula- 
tion, and whose memory is dear to the hearts 
of a large circle of friends who knew and 
honored him during his active life, was one 
of the noble figures in the history and de- 
velopment of this section of Iowa, being 
known throughout Des Moines county as 
one who was singularly devoted to all that 
might conduce to the moral and ethical ad- 
vancement of mankind, as well as being 
always among the fir.st to aid any movement 
for the material upbuilding of the com- 
munity in which he made his home. He was 
bi>rn in ("oncurd. X. H.. May 23. 1832, a 
son of Jacob and lluldah (.Abbott) Flan- 
ders, his grandparents being Richard and 
Mary Ghandler (West) Flanders and Sam- 



uel and Mary (Story) Abb«itt. Richard 
Flanders was a soldier of the patriot army 
in the war of the American Revolution, and 
the rille which he carried through that early 
conflict is still in the possession of the family, 
being now in the keeping of his great-grand- 
son, Daniel J. Flanders, son of the subject 
of this review. 

Samuel A. Flanders entered the schools 
of Goncord at the usual age and was well 
educated, he fitting himself for the profession 
of teaching, which he followed for some time 
after completing his studies. At the age of 
twenty-two, however, he felt an ambition to 
enter into the larger life of the West, then 
first opening to the world its magnificent 
field of o])i)ortunity, and came to Burling- 
ton. Here he taught for a time in district 
schools near the city, and here on Oct. 24, 
1854, he was united in marriage to Miss 
Martha A. Hilleary, who was bom near 
r.iirlingtnn April 12, 1837, a daughter of 
Alexander and Sarah (Morgan) Hilleary. 
Alexander Hilleary was a native of Virginia, 
whence he emigrated when a young man to 
Ohio, and later to Burlington, entering gov- 
ernment land here in Burlington and Union 
townshijjs, where he acciuircd- almost seven 
hundred acres of the finest agricultural 
lands in the Mississijjpi valley. After com- 
ing to Iowa he spent the remainder of his 
life on these farms ; and as he had been a 
fanner all his life, he still continued this 
occupation, in addition devoting much at- 
tention to fruit growing on an extensive 
scale. He was born in Virginia, May, 1808, 
and died .\pril 3, 1891. Sarah (Morgan) 
Hilleary, mother of Mrs. Flanders, -was 
hnrn in 1S18, and died .\ug. 29, 1877. She, 
like her husband, was a prominent member 
of the Baptist church, and was of distin- 
gnisli^'d family, being the daughter of Will- 




SAMUEL A. I'l.ANDKRS. 




MRS. SAMUEL A. FLANDERS. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



255 



iam Morgan, who was a native of Virginia, 
and came westward, first to Illinois and later 
to Burlington, near which he entered a large 
tract of government land, on which he con- 
ducted farming operations, and as a promi- 
nent and substantial citizen and a man of 
ability and exalted probity became the first 
judge in Burlington. He was a soldier of 
the War of 181 2, and was ever_animated by 
true patriotism and a desire to add to the 
public welfare. He and his wife died at 
Middleton, Iowa, and are there buried. 
Their names are inscribed upon the honored 
and honorable roll of the pioneers of Iowa, 
that hardy and valiant race of men and 
women who made the commonwealth what 
it is to-day, and theirs is a firm and lasting 
place in the history of the West. They en- 
dured many hardships, and at one time were 
driven from their home by hostile Indians, 
husband and wife being forced to flee. They 
escaped from the Illinois side by walking 
across the Mississippi River on the ice. Mr. 
Morgan's real estate holdings comprised 
much of the present area of Burlington, and 
he at one time had planted in corn the site 
upon which the union depot now stands. 
Mrs. Flanders is one of a family of ten who 
grew to maturity, while there were thirteen 
children in all, as follows : Eliza, now de- 
ceased ; Martha A., wife of our subject ; 
Elizabeth, deceased ; John J., killed while 
in service in Missouri in the Civil War; 
Mary J., now a resident of California, 
is the widow of Albin Parsons ; William 
C, resides in southern California ; Ma- 
tilda, married John Martell, and is now 
deceased ; the eighth and ninth children in 
order of birth were two daughters who 
died young; Lewis N., a physician, and 
is located in California ; Ida Emma, wife 
of Oliver Van Winkle, resides at Mount 



Pleasant, Iowa ; Frances, widow of H. B. 
Moore, resides in Denver, Colo. ; and Clara, 
wife of Foss Slingloff, lives in South Bur- 
lington. 

Wlien the Civil War broke out, Mr. Flan- 
ders enlisted in Company D, First Iowa 
Cavalry, and was wounded in Lafayette 
county, Missouri, Sept. 24, 1861, for which 
he drew a small pension. March 11, while 
at home, Mr. Flanders was besieged by non- 
imion men for taking a copperhead pin from 
one of their number. These nonunionists 
threatened to mob him if he did not give up 
the pin. This Mr. Flanders refused to do, 
telling them he looked upon the pin as he did 
upon a rebel flag. When Mr. Flanders's 
L^nion neighbors heard of these threats, they 
came at once to his home, and offered to 
stand-by him to the very last. The mob did 
not venture to come themselves, but sent 
an officer to speak for them ; but when he 
saw Mr. Flanders was so well protected, he 
retired at once, and advised the mob to be 
off as soon as possible. Mrs. Flanders has 
the pin in her possession to-day. 

In 1866 Mr. Flanders was elected to the 
House of Representatives for one term, and 
also served as clerk of the same body. In 
1868 he was a correspondent of the Yearly 
Hawk-Eye. 

Upon his marriage Mr. Flanders pur- 
chased a farm of one hundred and thirty 
acres in Augusta township, where he devoted 
his time to farming for a period of fifteen 
years, at the expiration of which time he 
sold it and removed to Union township, 
where he bought a farm of fifty acres. This 
he made his home during the rest of his life, 
and as he had learned the trade of car- 
pentering in his boyhood, working at it in the 
intervals of teaching school, he built on the 
land a fine home, doing the work himself. 



256 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



To Mr. ami Mrs. Flanders were born seven 
children, six of whom survive, as follows: 
Sarah .Mice, born Oct. 27, 1855, married A. 
15. Finney of Sharon. V't. ; Hulda Viola, 
born Jan. 21, 1858. married Charles N. 
.Morgan, of Concord, N. H.", and they have 
one (laughter. Eslclla ; Daniel Jacob, bom 
.March 6, i8(^>i, a resident of Des Moines 
county, living on the old homestead ; Mary, 
born July 31. 1865. married P>ank Hunter, 
of Cedar Ka])ids. Iowa, and they have two 
^■ons, Milo F, and Daniel F. ; Matilda H., 
born Oct. 23. 1870, married W. F. Segner, 
■who resides at Lake City, Iowa, and they 
have a son. Robert W.. and a daughter, 
Marjorie E. ; Martha Pearl, torn May 28, 
1874, married Sylvester S. Merrill, of Con- 
cord, N. H., now residing in Pasadena, Cal., 
and they have two daughters, Martha Pearl 
and Mary Elizabeth. 

Mr. Flanders was very successful as a 
farmer and in a material way. but he did 
not allow his mind to be absorbed by the 
pursuit of business to the exclusion of 
higher interests, and was a faithful member 
and worker in the llaptist church in Augusta 
township, for .several years holding the office 
of deacon. Mrs. I-'landcrs is also identified 
with the r.aptist church, holding her mem- 
bcrshi]) in lUirliiigton, and since the death 
of her liusliand lias shown herself a woman 
of ability in matters of business as well as 
a lady of most estimable character, she hav- 
ing purchased an adilition of forty acres to 
the fariu, from which she draws a handsome 
revenue. The portion devoted to fruit grorw- 
ing she manages jjcrsonally, and the re- 
mainder she rents, fler home is the center 
of a profuse hospitality, and she has many 
friends who value her for her social gifts 
and fine personality. Mr. Flanders died 
June 28. 1887, and his remains repose in 



.\spen Grove cemetery, Burlington. His 
death was the occasion of deep and wide- 
sjlread regret, for he was an upright and 
honorable man in every respect, and won the 
esteem of all and the love of many. In his 
family he was a kind and devoted husband 
and father, his best characteristics being re- 
served for those of his own household ; and 
yet he was broad and humane in his sym- 
pathies, charitable, kindly, and ever devoted 
to the performance of duty as he saw it. Of 
him it may be truly said that none knew him 
but to love him, none named him but to 
praise. 



DANIEL J. FLANDERS. 

A I'ROsriiROf.s and progressive farmer of 
I'nion township. Des Moines county. Iowa, 
is Daniel J. Flanders, who was born in this 
township March 6. 1861, a son of Samuel 
and Martha (Hilleary) Flanders, and re- 
ceived his jireliminary education in the dis- 
trict schools. Later he entered Elliott's Busi- 
ness College at P.urlington. Iowa, where he 
engaged for a time in a course of commercial 
study, comprising a mastery of business 
forms and principles, and after the comple- 
tion of his education he remained at his 
father's home until attaining his majority. 
In 1S82, at the age of twenty -one years, he 
Went West as a fireman on the Burlington. 
Cedar Rapids & Xorthern Railroad, and 
about 1887 was promoted to the position of 
engineer, which he occupied until 1899, 
when he resigned and began farming opera- 
tions. In the year 1900. however, he again 
Avent West, becoming an engineer on the 
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, running out 
of Pueblo. Colo., the route including the 
famous Grand Caiion and the " hanging 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



257 



bridge." After a stay of several months he 
returned to Iowa, and purchased a tract of 
eightj-three acres of fine agricultural land 
in Union township, southwest of Burlington. 
A portion of this he aftervyard sold, and pur- 
chased a farm of seventy-one acres, but to 
the latter he has added until he now owns 
in all ninety-three acres, largely timber lands. 
Here he carries on general farming and the 
usual amount of stock-raising. In 1892 he 
was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Law- 
son of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They have one 
child, Nellie Alice. 

Mr. Flanders maintains an abiding inter- 
est in public affairs, but is strictly nonpar- 
tisan in his political views, giving the sanc- 
tion of his ballot to the man he esteems best 
fitted for public office, regardless of narrow 
lines of party affiliation. His fraternal re- 
lations connect him with Aldebaran Court, 
Tribe of Ben Hur, at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 
and he is also identified with the Brotherhood 
of Locomotive Engineers at Cedar Rapids, 
Lodge No. 159. As an engineer he has an 
enviable record for efficiency, and is widely 
known among railroad men throughout the 
West ; while as a man and a citizen he takes 
high rank in the community in which he now 
resides, and in which he has always been 
known. 



JOHN L. KELLEY. 

The middle western section of the 
American L'nion is essentially the home of 
progress, and throughout all the States 
composing this section the name of John L. 
Kelley, of Burlington, is well known as that 
of a leader along lines of steady and ener- 
getic advancement. For many vcars he has 



been engaged in the wholesale and retail 
trade as the principal member of the firm of 
J. L. Kelley & Company, dealers in agri- 
cultural implements and vehicles, and also 
maintaining storage and transfer depart- 
ments. 

]\Ir. Kelley was born near Steubenville, 
Jefferson county. Ohio, a son of James and 
Jane (Keen) Kelley, the father a native of 
Pennsylvania and of Scotch-Irish descent, 
the grandfather having emigrated from Ire- 
land to America, and the mother. Jane 
Keen Kelley, being a native of Ireland. 
The parents of our subject celebrated their 
marriage in Jefferson county, whence they 
removed to Carroll county and remained for 
some years. They then decided to locate in 
the West, and descending the Ohio River to 
its confluence with the Mississippi, ascended 
the latter stream, landing, Oct. 29, 1849, 
at Keokuk, intending to travel overland to 
Van Buren county, Iowa, where the father, 
who was a farmer, had purchased land. 
They traveled by wagon as far as Primrose, 
stopped at that place overnight, and while 
there the father was seized with sudden ill- 
ness and died the following day, survived 
by a family of ten children, eight of whom 
were young, our subject being at that time 
only about ten years of age, although two 
were older and were married. Thus left 
alone in a strange land and with the sole 
care of a large family, the widow kept the 
children together on the farm, living there 
until 1870, when she removed to Birming- 
ham, where she resided' until the time of * 
her death. Feb. 12, 1887. She is buried 
in Birmingham, as is also her husband. Of 
the ten children, the first five, Mary Ann 
(Davis), William. James H., Sarah Jane, 
and Matilda (Eccles), are now deceased. 
Our subject is the si.xth, and the others in 



258 



BIOuR.irHlCAL REVIEW 



the order of birth are as follows: Eliza C. 
(Robinson), also deceased; Samuel S., 
who is living retired from active life, being 
a resident of Santa Rosa,' C al. ; Frank F., 
a farmer and stock-raiser near Phillipsburg, 
Kans. : and Rolx?rt R.. retired, of Colorado 
Springs. 

Mr. KcUey was reared in the work of 
agriculture mi the home farm, at the same 
time beginning his education in the dis- 
trict, schools and later entering the collegi- 
ate institute at Birmingham. Enthusiastic 
in the cause of self-improvement, he also 
became a student at Jacksonville, 111., in 
Berean College, at that ti'me a denomina- 
tional institution under the care of the 
Christian church, but not now- in existence. 

His pursuit of education, however, was 
cut short by the beginning of the Civil War, 
for in that momentous crisis he felt that 
his su|)rcme duty was to his country, and 
in iS()i he enlisted at Mount Pleasant, 
Iowa, in the Fourth Iowa Cavalry under 
Col. A. B. Porter and Capt. A. R. Pierce. 
He became (luartermaster sergeant and 
company clerk, having charge of the camp 
equipment and making out the payrolls, but 
in addition did constant duty on the skirmish 
line all through the States of Mississippi, 
Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Ten- 
nessee, serving under the command of Gen- 
erals Grant and Shermaii at V'ickburg and 
Memphis, and with the latter through some 
of his later campaigns ; with General Wil- 
son on the famous " Wilson's raid : " and 
with other noted generals of the rnion 
army. He also participated in tlie cajjlure 
of Atlanta, and accomj)lished appro.ximately 
four years of hard, faithful, and useful serv- 
ice during the most precious period of his 
vigorous young manhood, thus dedicating 
himself wholly to his country and his coun- 



try's cause in the hour of her direst need. 
Fortunately, he received no wounds in bat- 
tle, but he suffered at one time a severe 
injury to the shoulder and a broken collar 
bone by a fall from his horse, and the 
southern climate seriously affected his 
health, he being in a hospital at Memphis 
for as much as two months with a grave 
attack of malarial fever. His military serv- 
ice terminated at .\llanta, Ga., and he made 
final settlement of his official accounts at 
Davenport, Iowa. 

On returning to this State Mr. KcUey re- 
sumed farming for a time on his mother's 
farm in \'an Buren county, and also taught 
school in both Iowa and Illinois, about six 
years in all. For two seasons he traveled 
in northern Missouri as sales agent for the 
implement firm of Elliott & Thompson, of 
Birmingham, and meeting with great suc- 
cess in this line of endeavor, entered the 
business for himself at Burlington in 1870. 
Here for twelve years he continued in the 
same line in partnership with William El- 
liott, and D. Mc.Millen, under the firm style 
of Elliott, Kelley & Co., Mr. McMillen not 
being active in the management. Mr. Elliott 
retired in 1882, and while the name "of the 
firm remained unchanged for two years, it 
has been known since 1885 as J. L. Kelley 
& Co. Originally conducted at Valley and 
Front Streets, for the last sixteen years the 
business has occupied its present location 
at the corner of Fourth and Market Streets, 
where a fine brick structure. Tki x no ft. has 
been erected especially for the use of this 
firm, having an adjoining lot 20 x no ft. 
used as yards for .storage, etc. Mr. Kelley 
is one of the pioneers of the wholesale im- 
])lement business in the West, and from 
the first has met with large success in the 
rich agricultural States of Iowa, Missouri, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



259 



and Illinois, where his numerous traveling 
agents have done much to introduce the most 
modern and approved machinery and thus 
popularize its use in what is perhaps the 
greatest and wealthiest farming territory in 
the United States. This is a work of which 
he mav well be proud, and certainly one 
which is worthy of his best and most ener- 
getic endeavors. Viewed in its proper light 
of a public benefaction, the success which he 
has thereby achieved becomes a cause for 
self-congratulation on the part of all who are 
interested in the development of the Middle 
West and of the nation. 

Mr. Kelley owns a number of building 
lots in Burlington and a pleasant home at 
1 108 South Fourth Street, where he resides 
with a nephew who is in his employ, 
William A. Eccles, who married Miss Fan- 
nie Augutta, of Burlington, and has one 
child, Jane. Another nephew, W. W. Rob- 
inson, who married Miss Caroline Holstein, 
is also in Mr. Kelley's employ. Our sub- 
ject has been connected with various other 
enterprises than that which he now directs, 
having been a stockholder in the Embalm- 
ing Burial Case Company and in the North- 
western Transportation Company. In fact, 
he has borne a prominent part in the city's 
activities, for he was a charter member of 
the Commercial Club, and was a member 
of the Burlington Board of Trade, since 
merged with the Commercial Exchange, 
and acted as its president, a position in 
which he was able to exercise an active and 
stimulating influence. Although long affili- 
ated with the Republican party and feeling 
an intense interest in public affairs, he has 
never been an aspirant for office. He was 
a charter member and assisted in organiz- 
ing Matthies Post, No. 5, Grand Army of 
the Republic, having attended the State En- 



campment at Des Moines as representative 
of the Post, and having also served as a 
member of the committee to meet Gen. 
Ulysses S. Grant at Omaha and escort him 
from Council Bluffs to Burlington at the 
the close of his celebrated tour around the 
world. 

Mr. Kelley has always lent his heartiest 
aid and personal encouragement to relig- 
ious movements, and since about the year 
1872 has been a helpful member and worker 
in the First Presbyterian church of Bur- 
lington, in which he holds the office of dea- 
con, and whose present handsome and im- 
pressive church structure he assisted in 
erecting. Among all who appreciate purity 
of private character and a high standard 
of commercial integrity, his name is held in 
especial honor, for in his career are these 
virtues especially exemplified, and it may 
be said without extravagance of language 
that an examination of the facts of his life 
reveals nothing to condemn and much that 
is worthy of the highest praise. And herein 
he has won the highest form of success, for 
while right actions carry their own com- 
pensation, the good-will of friends is an 
extra reward that makes them more than 
worth while, and Mr. Kelley enjoys in an 
eminent degree the respect, admiration, and 
warm reeard of those who know him. 



JOHN WAITE. 

Hon. John Cas.san Wait, of New 
York City, civil engineer, counselor at 
law, and author, has in preparation a 
large volume, "The Wait(e) Family in 
America," from which, by permission, 
material is drawn for this genealogical 
record of John Waite, of Flint River 



26o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



township, deceased. The authdr traces 
the English lincaRc. The word "Wait," 
anciently spelled Wayghte, W'aiet, Wayte, 
and with other variations, is derived from 
the Old High German Wachten (to keep 
watch ), and, in the sense of guard or watch- 
man, is ciiiiimcin ti> all the Tintunii- lan- 
guages. 

The original W'aytes were found in 
England, immediately after the Xorman 
Conquest, only among the retainers of 
the king, princes, and great barons : and 
among their other functions was that of 
music and minstrelsy. The name fre- 
(|uently occurs in the British records. In 
.\. I). 1075. William the C(3nqucror gave 
the earldom, city, and castle of Norwich, 
in England, to "Ralf de Waiet." who mar- 
ried Emma, sister of Roger, Earl of Here- 
ford, cousin of the Conqueror. 

The earliest record found, and the 
source from whence all hy the same name 
seem to trace their origin, was Ralf de 
Waiet. There is no question among 
genealogical gleaners but that Ricardus 
Le Wayte. of County Warwick, who was 
in 131 5 escheator of counties Berkshire, 
Wilts, Oxford, Bedford, and Bucks, was 
a lineal descendant of Ralf. Thereafter 
the name was written Wayte almost ex- 
- clusivcly until others of the name came to 
New England, when that was discarded 
and Wait, or Waite. used insteacl. 

The Wayte families were ])rctiy well 
distributed over the central portion of 
.Southern England, extending thence to 
Northern Wales, and from there some of 
them migrated to New England. Among 
these were three brothers: Richard, the 
eldest, born in 1596; Gamaliel, in 1598; 
and Thomas, in 1601. They were cousins 
(if 'I'liomas Wavte. who was a member of 



parliament, and one of the judges who 
signed the warrant in 1649 for the exe- 
cution of Charles the First. The late 
Morrison Remick Waite, chief justice of 
the United States, traced his lineage to 
Thomas Wayte. the Regicide. Col. John 
Wait, the fifth justice of the supreme 
court of Rhode Island, was a great grand- 
son of Thomas. 

The three brothers arrived in Boston 
in 1634. Richard, who becainc marshal 
of the colony, and Gamaliel, remained in 
Boston. Thomas settled in Rhode Island. 
The third son of the latter was Sergeant 
ISenjamin Wait (1644-1704), a soldier 
and scout, who lived at Hadley in 1665, 
at Hatfield in 1668, in western Massa- 
chusetts. He was engaged in various In- 
dian wars, and was slain in the battle be- 
tween the colonists and the French and 
Indians at Deerfield in 1704. The New 
England Historical and Genealogical Reg- 
ister, Marshall Field's Genealogy of the 
Field Family of Conway, Craft's History 
of Whately, and numerous local records, 
tell of the exploits and heroism of this 
intrepid Indian fighter. One of the most 
interesting of his experiences, recounted 
in prose and verse, is the storj' of the 
Indian attack upon Hatfield, Sept. 19, 
1677, the capture of Benjamin Wait's wife 
and children by the Indians, who took 
them to Canada, his long and determined 
|)ursnit. and final recovery of them. The 
mother gave birth to a daughter while in 
captivity, who was named "Canada," and 
one of whose descendants founded Smith 
College, at Northampton. !\Iass. 

Several generations of the family re- 
mained at Hatfield, Whateley, and vicinity, 
varintis members serving in the colonial 
wars and the War of the Revolution. 



DBS MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



261 



Each of the descendants of Benjamin, 
in the line of this local sketch, bore the 
name of "John" in succession: John, born 
at Hatfield, Mass., 1680, died there in 
1744. He. like his father, was a sergeant 
and commander in many excursions, and 
was in the fight with the French and In- 
dians at Deerfield when his father was 
slain. John, born at Whateley, Mass., 1703, 
died there in 1776. John, born in 1743, 
served in the War of the Revolution, and 
died at Norwich, N. Y., in 1801. John, 
born at \Miateley in 1777, lived at Nor- 
wich and Oaks Corners, N. Y., and Ches- 
terfield, Mich., and died at the home of 
his son at Ravenna, Ohio, Nov. 5, 1863. 
He served in the War of 1812. He mar- 
ried Abigail Cranson, who was born May 
7j 1781, and died at Chesterfield, Feb. 11, 

1854. 

John ^Vaite, the seventh in the line 
from Thomas, of Rhode Island, was the 
third in a family of ten children, and was 
born at Oaks Corners, New York, where 
he was employed in farming, and later 
learned the cooper trade. He removed 
to Ravenna. Ohio, when a young man. 
and established himself in his trade. He 
married, April 9, 1835, Miss Martha 
Amelia Clark, daughter of Ephraim and 
Ala Amelia (Sperry) Clark, who were 
among the early immigrants from Con- 
necticut upon the "Western Reserve," 
that portion of Northeastern Ohio orig- 
inall\- belonging to the State of Connecti- 
cut. 

Later in life Mr. ^^'aite engaged in the 
marble business, and also took contracts 
for the construction of railway water- 
tanks. In 1867 he remo\ed to purling- 
ton, Iowa, and engaged in the retail gro- 
cery trade the senior member of the firm 



of Waite, Trenor & Co., and later in 
the commission business under the firm 
style of Waite & Leebrick; After a few 
years in the city, Mr. Waite bought a 
farm in Flint River township, which he 
inipro\'ed and where he lived for many 
years, until advancing age and failing 
eyesight compelled him to retire from 
the active management of the farm. 
While visiting his daughter in Peru, 
Kans., he died, June 11, 1894, and was 
buried in Aspen Grove cemetery. Bur- 
lington, Iowa. 

Mr. \\'aite and his family were mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church. 
For many years he was trustee and stew- 
ard of the church a,t Ravenna, to which 
he was a liberal contributor. In politics 
he was a Whig, with free-soil proclivities, 
and became a member of the Republican 
party at its birth, and was always a faith- 
ful adherent of its principles and policies. 
Strictly temperate in his habits, he was 
a consistent advocate of the temperance 
cause. Conscientious, fair-minded, > and 
scrupulously honest in all his dealings, 
tolerant of the opinions of others, Mr. 
\A'aite was imiversally respected as a 
man of probity and honor, and held in 
friendly esteem by all who knew him. 

Mrs. Martha Amelia (Clark) Waite 
was born in Tallmadge, Ohio, Feb. 1, 
1819. Both of her parents were natives 
of Connecticut, and descendants of earl}' 
settlers of Xew Haven. The Clark gen- 
ealogy is as follows : James Clark came 
from England and settled in New Haven, 
Conn., in 1638. His son, Samuel Clark 
died in New Haven in 1729 ; Samuel 
Clark. Jr., New Haven, 1673- 1754; Heze- 
kiah Clark. Southington, Conn., born 1710: 
Ephraim Clark, Southington, 1748-1828, 



262 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



was a soldier in the W ar of the Revolu- 
tion, and is buried at Mesopotamia, Ohio; 
Ephraim Clark, Jr., born at Southington 
in 1777, removed to Ohio, and settled 
first at Burton, i/'K). an<l later at Tall- 
madge, where Martha, the fifth of a fam- 
ily of seven children, was born. Mr. 
Clark removed to Ravenna after the 
death of his wife, in 1833, where he died 
March 3, 1858. 

Martha married Joiin \\ aitc at Ra- 
venna. Ohio, in .-Vpril, 1835. Her ma- 
ternal ancestry is traced from Richard 
Sperry, who came from England and 
settled at Xcw Haven, Conn., in 1640, 
and died 1698. Ebenezer Sperry, born in 
New Haven 1663; Isaac Sperry, New 
Haven. 1703-1 751 ; Hezekiah Sperry, born 
1746, removed with his family to Meso- 
potamia, Ohio, where he died in March, 
1850. His daughter, .Ma Amelia, who 
married Ephraim Clark, Jr., was a native 
of W'oodbridge, Conn., and traveled on 
horseback to the new home of her par- 
ents in Ohio, lived at Mesopotamia until 
her marriage, and then settled in Tall- 
madge, where she died Oct. 2. 1833. Mrs. 
Waite was a devoted wife and mother, 
whose home was her delight, and to 
whose hospitalities friends were always 
welcome. .\ lifelong member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, lu-r last 
audible words were: "Jesus, receive my 
spirit." 

Mr. and Mrs, W'.iite were buried in 
Aspen Grove cemetery, at Burlington. 
Their children arc: .\melia. died in 
childhood ; John L. Waite, of Burlington : 
Mrs. Mary Ella Hartzell, Peru, Kans. ; all 
born at Ravenna, Ohio. 

Mary Ella, born March 22, 185 1, mar- 
ried (i) John Monroe Eads, who died 



Nov. 12, 1880. Their two children are: 
Alma Weston Eads, born July 31. 1877, 
at Burlington, died July i, 1894, at Peru, 
Kans. ; and John Dale Eads, born at 
i'.urlington, Nov. 15, 1880. Married (2) 
Nov. 10, 1885, to Randall Mc.\llister 
Hartzell. who was born at Newport. Pa., 
Nov. 9, 1838. They had four children: 
Max Waite Hartzell, born .\ug. 28, 1886, 
at Peru, Kans. : Dwight McAllister Hart- 
zell, born Dec. 4, 1888, at Peru, and 
died Jan. 3, npi ; Harold Clark Hartzell, 
born -Aug. i, i8f)r, and Dorothy Waite 
Hartzell. born .Nov. 18. 1894. 



JOHN L. WAITE. 

The genealogA- of the Des Moines 
county descendants of Thomas Wait, who 
came from England and settled in 
Rh(j(le Island in 1639, and his son Ben- 
jamin, of Hatfield, Mass., 1644-1704, is 
outlined in the sketch of John Waite, of 
Flint River township, of the sixth genera- 
tion. His son, John Lenian Waite, who 
came to Burlington in 1862, was born at 
Ravenna. Ohio, Aug. 29, 1840. and edu- 
cated in the Ravenna public schools, sup- 
plemented by instruction in a private 
academy and a commercial school in 
Chicago. 

When seventeen years old he took up 
telegraphy as a temporary employment, 
serving at Lebanon and Cleveland, Ohio; 
Chicago, 111.; and Burlington. Iowa; in- 
cluding the su]x-rinten(lency of the Bur- 
lintrton iK: Missouri River telegraph line, 
1863-64. Retiring in 1869, he engaged in 
his favorite employment, newspajier 
work, beginning on the I'urlington 





CU CK.,i}iz^ 



DBS MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



26s 



Hawk-Eye (then published by Edwards & 
Beardsley), as city editor and market re- 
porter. Later, with a number of citizens 
interested in the A. T. Hay Electrical and 
Metallurgical discoveries and inventions, 
Mr. ^^'aite devoted three years to their 
development. 

In 1874 he resumed work on the Haivk- 
Eye, as associate editor undeY Mr. Frank 
Hatton, who had bought the paper. When 
Mr. Robert J. Burdette retired from the 
staff in 1876-77, to enter the lecture field, 
Mr. Waite succeeded him as managing 
editor, resigning in 1882 to accept the 
postmastership of Burlington, to which he 
was appointed by President Arthur, serv- 
ing one term of four years. On July 2^, 
1885, he assumed the management of the 
Hawk-Eye as editor and publisher, in 
which work he continues. In 1898 he 
was appointed postmaster by President 
McKinley, and was reappointed by Presi- 
dent Roosevelt in 1902. 

Mr. \\^aite was married Sept. 21, 1864, 
to Miss Letitia Caroline Williams. Mrs. 
Waite is a native of Burlington, editor of 
the Woman's Department of the Hawk- 
Eye, and author of a booklet of religious 
themes, "By The Thorn Road." They 
have three children: Clay Milton Waite, 
business manager of the Hawk-Eye, who 
married Miss Ida May Southwell, March 
9, 1892: ]\Iiss Jessie Benning Waite, who 
married \\'illiam Henry Davidson, man- 
aging editor of the Hazvk-Eye, April 15, 
1902, and who have one child, Barbara 
Waite Davidson ; and Miss Lola Waite, — 
all residents of Burlington. 

In politics, Mr. Waite is a Republican. 
He and his family are members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, and actively iden- 
tified with church and philanthropic work. 



JOHN BLAUL. 

Prominent among the energetic, far- 
seeing, and successful business men of Iowa 
is John Blaul. His life history most happily 
illustrates what may be attained by faithful 
and continued effort in carrying out an hon- 
est purpose. Integrity, activity, and energy 
have been the crowning points of his suc- 
cess, and his connection with various busi- 
ness enterprises and industries has been a 
decided advantage to this section of the 
State, promoting its material welfare in no 
uncertain manner. He is one of the fore- 
most representatives of commercial inter- 
ests in Burlington, and with advancing 
years has broadened the scope of his labors, 
finding in each stage of his career oppor- 
tunity for further advancement. 

The Blaul family is of German lineage. 
The grandfather, the Rev. John Blaul, a 
native of Germany, was a minister of the 
Evangelical Lutheran church. His son, 
John Blaul, who became the founder of the 
family in the New World, and the promoter 
of the important business enterprises of Bur- 
lington now conducted under the name of 
John Blaul Sons' Company, was born in 
Hesse-Darmstadt, Dec. 18, 1826, and was 
educated for the profession of school teach- 
ing. He came to America in 1850 upon a 
sailing vessel, and between three and four 
months had passed before he reached his 
destination. He went first to Norwich, 
Conn., afterward to Bangor, Me., later to 
Boston, Mass., and thence came to Burling- 
ton, where his remaining days were passed. 
He continued a resident of Bangor until 
1856, working at first for sixty cents per 
day, for he was unacquainted with the lan- 
guage of the people, and had to take any 
position that offered until he was better 



266 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



qualified to meet trade conditions in the New 
World. He worked for a time in a machine 
shop in IJanpor. and later in Boston, but 
finally was induced to ccimc to Burlington by 
an old frield, August Poehler, who was also 
a mechanic, and employed in that capacity in 
this city. Mr. Blaul. making his way west- 
waril, obtained a [Kisition in a tinshop, where 
he remained until 1857. -when he embarked 
in a retail grocery business as a partner of 
Theotlore I'ochler, on Front Street, Mr. 
Poehler having established the store some 
time previous. These gentlemen were also 
closely associated because of the fact that 
they had married sisters. 

This partner.ship continued for many 
years, when Mr. Poehler withdrew and 
joined his brother .August in business, while 
Mr. I'.laiil continued alone in the retail gro- 
cery trade iinti! tlie close of the Civil War 
in 1865. Mr. Blaul then sold out to his 
former partner, and in 1866 he opened a 
wholesale and retail business at 113 Jeflfer- 
son Street. In 1867-68 he was associated 
with f'hilip 1 locrr in a wholesale and retail 
grocery business, one being upon the road, 
while the other managed the business in Bur- 
lington. In 1869 Mr. Hoerr sold out, and 
established the first cracker factory in Bur- 
lington. 

From that time until 1882 Mr. jllaiil was 
alone in business, but at that time admitted 
his oldest son and later his other sons to a 
partnership. .\t that time the name of John 
Blaul & Sons was assumed, and the busi- 
ness became exclusively wholesale. The 
father remained a partner and the controlling 
head of the house until his death, which oc- 
curred Jan. 2~. 1885. He war; a prudent, 
conservative man, whrtse advancement came 
through his own untiring efforts, keen dis- 
cernment, and the careful husbanding of his 



resources. He concentrated his energies 
upon his business afTairs, and his name be- 
came a synonym for hon<jrable dealing and 
connncrcial success. He was plain and un- 
ostentatious in manner, but possessed the 
worth of character that won him the confi- 
dence of the entire business community. 

John Blaul, Sr.. was married first in Ger- 
many to Miss Maria .Anna Neufeld, who 
died in Boston, Mass., in December. 1854. 
The children of that marriage died in in- 
fancy, with the exception of John Blaul, who 
is now at the head of the grocery house. 
In 1837 John Blaul, Sr., was again married, 
his second union being with Katherine 
Knoener, a daughter of Charles and Kathe- 
rine Knoener, who were natives of Germany, 
and came to Burlington early in the '50's, 
from Lippe, Detmold. Her father was a 
school teacher and taught in the parochial 
schools of Burlington, in connection with the 
carrying on of agricultural pursuits. His 
daughter. Mrs. Blaul. died in .August, 1902. 
The children of this marriage are Charles ; 
Theodore; Lewis; Amelia; Pauline, who 
died in 1901 ; and two who died in child- 
hood. 

John Blaul, Jr., whose name introduces 
this record, was born in Boston, Mass.. Feb. 
II, 1853. and was brought to Burlington in 
1857. He pursued his education in the 
grammar and high schools of this city, and 
in his boyhood spent all his spare time in his 
father's store, so that he gained thorough 
anil practical knowledge of the business. 
.P'rom the age of sixteen years all of his time 
was devoted to the grocery trade, and he 
remained an employee of the house until 
1882, when he was admitted to a partnership, 
lie was married May 13. 1877, to .Miss 
Louise Dewein. of Burlington, a daughter 
of Jacob and Catherine (Meier) Dewein, 



DES MOIA'ES COUNTY, IOWA. 



267 



who came to Burlington in 1841, her father 
becoming a shoemaker of this city. His 
daughter Louise was born April 13, 1853, 
and unto Mr. and Mrs. Blaul were born 
seven children : Milton, Mark, Robert, and 
Selma, who are living, and Clara, Louise, 
and John, who died in childhood. Mr. Blaul 
has the pleasure of having his two oldest 
sons employed in the firm, and he hopes to 
make grocerymen out of them. John Blaul 
is a Democrat in his political affiliation, and 
served for two terms, or four years, as alder- 
man of the city. He is deeply interested in 
public progress and improvement, and has 
been a co-operant factor in many measures 
for the general good. He belongs to the 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the 
Business Alen's Association, and is a finan- 
cier of marked ability, strong purpose, and 
unflagging energy. 

Charles Blaul, our subject's brother, was 
born in Burlington, July 28, i860, was edu- 
cated in the public schools, and like his 
brothers received his business training under 
the direction of his father. He became a 
partner in 1882. He spent eight years upon 
the road as a traveling salesman, and he now 
has charge of the coflfee and spice mills of 
the company. He was married in Wapello, 
Iowa, to Miss Jessie Stephen, a daughter of 
Levi and Jane (Dickeson) Stephen. They 
have one child, Jessie Marie. 

Theodore Blaul, born Feb. 23, 1862, was 
educated in the public schools, and became 
a member of the firm in 1882. while the fol- 
lowing year he -went upon the road as a 
commercial traveler for the house, but since 
1886 has had charge of the canning plant, 
which is -worked in connection with the busi- 
ness of the firm. He was married Oct. 14. 
1886, to ?^liss Emma L^terkircher, a daugh- 
ter of P. F. Unterkircher. 



Lewis Blaul, born Oct. 16, 1863, was a 
public school student until 1879, when he 
entered his father's store, and has since been 
in the counting house. He was admitted to 
the firm in 1885, and was head bookkeeper 
and cashier for a number of years, but in 
1902 he retired to his farm south of Burling- 
ton. He has never resumed active work in 
the store, although he retains his interest 
therein : and he also has other extensive in- 
vested interests in commercial enterprises 
of Burlington. 

After the admission of the sons to the 
business, the extent and scope of the trade 
was greatly enlarged. The elder sons be- 
came partners in 1882, the younger in 1885. 
Not only have they conducted a wholesale 
grocery business, but they have also made 
a special feature of the importation of coflfee 
and spices, grinding their own spices and 
manufacturing flavoring extracts and bak- 
ing poAvder. They have also established a 
canning factory in connection with the busi- 
ness, putting it in operation in 1895, and have 
since canned tomatoes, pumpkins, hominy, 
and apples, and expect soon to can baked 
beans. In the manufacturing department 
one hundred people are employed, in the 
canning defiartment fifty people. Altogether 
there are five hundred people dependent 
upon the business of this firm, including the 
families of proprietors and employees. The 
business was at first conducted at 113 Jeflfer- 
son Street, where John Blaul, Sr., purchased 
property, which the family still own. In 
1880 he built a store at 113 N. Third Street, 
between V'alley and Market Streets ; and in 
1892 the brothers erected the ]5resent fine 
structure now occupied by the company, to 
which the addition was built in 1903. The 
lower story is of stone and the two upper 
stories are of brick. There is fine trackasre 



268 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in the rear. The ])resent canning factory 
occupies the site of tlic old Sunderland mill, 
and in fact the old building' still stands on a 
corner of tiie lot. On the tirst of February, 
1903, the business was incorporated under 
the name of John I'laul Sons' Company, with 
John Ijlaul as president : Charles P.laul. vice- 
president ; Theodore Blaul, treasurer ; E. G. 
Koonz, secretary. John, Giarles, Theo- 
dore, and Lewis Blaul, together with W. H. 
Ripley, A. J. Riepe, and E. B. Kerns, 
constitute the board of directors, several of 
whom arc traveling salesmen. They now 
have eighteen traveling salesmen on the road, 
covering much of the West and Northwest, 
besides a portion of Illinois, and the volume 
of their business is indicated by the fact that 
so many commercial travelers are now em- 
ployed. From a small retail grocery trade 
the enterprise has developed until it has 
reached extensive proportions, covering 
many brandies, each one supplying a large 
jjatntnage. The annual business has reached 
a very large figure, and the house has ever 
maintaine<l an unassailable reputation, the 
straightforwanl policy inaugurated by the 
father being maintained by the sons. They 
are men of resourceful business ability, who 
have found in the business conditions of the 
present opportunity for advancement and 
successful accomplishment, and their posi- 
tion in commercial circles of Burlihgton is 
second to none. 



THEODORE BLAUL. 

TiiEOiX)RE Bl.mil, jvho in his utiliza- 
tion and recognition of business ()])])nr- 
tunity and his close application and well- 
directed efforts has contributed to the de- 
velopment and success of one of the lead- 



ing commercial enterjjrises of Burlington, 
was born in this city, Feb. 23, 1862, and is 
of German <lescent, his grandfather, the 
Rev. Juhn IJlaul, having been a minister 
of the Evangelical Lutheran church in 
Germany. His son and namesake, John 
Blaul, was bom in Hesse-Darmstadt, 
Dec. 18, 1826, and was educated for the 
teacher's profession. Imt in 1S50 crossed 
the Atlantic on a sailing vessel, and from 
that time forward the whole course of his 
life was changed. lie spent a brief period 
in Norwich, Conn., and was afterward 
employed at mechanical pursuits in Ban- 
gor, .Me., at first working for sixty cents 
])er day until he had mastered the English 
language and rendered his labors of more 
value. He was afterward employed in a 
similar ca])acily in Boston, Mass., and 
then, through the influence of his old 
friend, .\ugust Poehler, he came to Bur- 
lington. .\ year's .service in a tinshop here 
was followed by his entrance into the re- 
tail grocery trade, and tliis was the begin- 
ning of the extensive wholesale business 
of John Blaul Sons Company. 

Theodore Blaul, educated in the com- 
mon schools and in a business college of 
this city, i)ractically grew ui> in the busi- 
ness, and at the age of eighteen took a 
permanent place in the store, acting as 
sjiippiiig clerk for tw'o years. Later he 
went u])on the road as a' commercial 
traveler, thus re]irescnting the house 
for five years; an<l after being admitted 
to a partnership in 1885, he took charge 
of the coffee-roasting departijient, which 
was then added to this business, and for 
five years renuiined at its head. The 
succeeding five years were spent by 
him as city salesman. He assumed 
the management of the business of the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



2bg 



Burlington Canning Company, a branch 
of the business of the firm, which was 
established in 1895. Here tomatoes, 
pumpkins, hominy, and apples have been 
canned, and after a year a pickling de- 
partment was added, and olives, catsup, 
and other goods in the pickle line, were 
put up. Theodore Blaul now has charge 
of the canning department and of special 
lines of goods in the house, including 
syrups and cigars, and also has charge of 
the buildings. The present commodious 
building occupied by the firm was begun 
and the east side completed in 1903. The 
original building is sixty by one hundred 
and forty feet, and the L is forty by one 
hundred and twenty feet. The brothers, 
each having charge of some special 
branch of the business, have developed 
one of the leading commercial enterprises 
of the State, with a trade that is increas- 
ing each year, and the policy of the house 
is one that commends itself to their many 
patrons. 

In 1886 Mr. Blaul, of this review, was 
married to Miss Emma L. Unterkircher, 
a daughter of P. F. Unterkircher, of 
Burlington. They have four children : 
Phoebe C, Theodore F., Emma Louise, 
and Arthur Philip. Mr. and Mrs. Blaul 
are members of the Presbyterian church. 
Socially he is connected with the Burling- 
ton Boating Association, the Burlington 
Golf Club, and the Crystal Lake Fishing 
Club. His political allegiance is given to 
the Republican party, and he keeps in 
touch with the questions and issues of the 
day, although never seeking political pre- 
ferment. He is a genial, courteous gen- 
tleman, a -pleasant, entertaining com- 
panion, and has many stanch and admir- 
ing friends among all classes. As an en- 



ergetic, upright, and conscientious busi- 
ness man and a gentleman of attractive 
social qualities, -he stands high in the esti- 
mation of the entire community. 



LOUIS BLAUL. 



Louis Bl.\ul, of Burlington, Iowa, oc- 
cupying a prominent position in the pro- 
gressive business circles of the city as 
vice-president of the Schmidt Hardware 
Company, was born in Burlington, Oct. 
16, 1863, a son of John and Catherine 
Blaul, a full account of whose lives and 
ancestry will be found elsewhere in this 
volume. Mr. Blaul is indebted to the 
public schools of this city for his early 
education, but after leaving the work of 
his preliminary studies he entered El- 
liott's Business College of Burlington, 
and pursued a course of training in busi- 
ness principles and commercial forms. 
Thus equipped for practical endeavor he 
entered his father's business, in which he 
continued until attaining manhood's es- 
tate. This training under the paternal 
direction has since proved of great value, 
and has played an appreciable part in his 
later successes. 

On April 17, 1895, Mr. Blaul wedded 
Miss Bertha Paehler, of Lawrence, Kan- 
sas, a daughter of Theodore and Sophie 
(Tappe) Paehler, and four children grace 
their union, these being Sophie C, Bertha 
P., Laura L., and John Louis. Mr. and 
Mrs. Blaul are prominently identified with 
the work of the Congregational church, 
of which they are members and generous 
supporters ; and in a social way. Air. 
Blaul is a member of the Burlinsrton 



I 



2 70 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Boating Association. Politically, he is 
allied with the Republican jiarty, but de- 
votes his attention |)ricii)»lly to matters of 
business rather than to i.artisan activity. 
His rise has been steady and his success 
marked, and he enjoys a decree of popu- 
larity which is bright with promise for 
the future, as well as being the best possi- 
ble testimony to the strength, u])right- 
ness, and integrity of his character. 



P. A. ANDRE. 



Every great, monumental success con- 
tains lessons of infinite value for the be- 
ginner in business or any chosen line of 
activity, and the commercial and indus- 
trial leaders of the rising generation can 
do no better than to apply themselves to 
the study of the careers of men whose 
integrity, industry, self-reliance, and sin- 
gleness of purpose have elevated them to 
commanding positions in the wofld of af- 
fairs, and won them reputations for al)il- 
ity and exalted character which neitlu r 
time nor ill-fortune can mar or destroy. 
Such a success anil such a life arc those 
of P. A. Andre, of Burlington, Inwa, ])ro- 
prietor of the Green Horn shoe store, and 
for half a century one of the leading mer- 
chants of that prosperous city, which 
numbers him among its early pioneers, 
and owes him much for his part in its uj)- 
building and marvelous development. 

Mr. Andre was born .\ug. 22, 1830, in 
the duchy of Xassau. Prussia, and emi- 
grated to .\merica with his father's fam- 
ily in 1848, stopping for a time at Xew 
Orleans, later at Louisville, 1\\-.. and com- 
ing to I'lUrlington in 1S31. lie is one of a 



family of three brothers and one sister, 
these being as follows: Christian, now liv- 
ing retired at 1604 Summer Street, Bur- 
lington ; ( ieorge, for many years a grocer 
in Burlington, later entering the ministry, 
and on the failure of his health going to 
England, whence he returned, and be- 
came interested in banking at Pckin, III., 
amassing wealth, and residing at that 
place until his death, greatly regretted by 
all who knew him for his high personal 
character and great scholarship; P. .\., 
the subject of this review ; Catherine, who 
is unmarried, and resides at iTno South 
Fourteenth Street, lUirlington. 

All the sons acquired the shoemaking 
trade, but for about si.\ years after com- 
ing to Burlington I'. .\. .\ndre was va- 
rioii>ly employed, carrying a hod as ma- 
son's hel]ier. doing farm work, clerking in 
a grocery store, and similar occupations — 
whatever offeretl ordinary remuneration. 
In 185J lu- wedded .Miss Catherine 
.Scheurs, a native of Albany X. V.. and of 
I'ennsN Ivania Dutch parentage. 

The first connection of Mr. .\ndre with 
I lie shoe business in this city was as clerk 
in the shoe store of J. M. Caflfrey. whose 
employ he entered in 1857, aiid in which 
he continued for five years. :ind was then 
taken into the business as a partner, hav- 
ing demonstrated himself to be the pos- 
sessor of unusual talent for business man- 
agement. I'our years later, up<in the de- 
parture of Mr. CalTrey for the State of 
Xew 'S'ork, he purchased the business 
ujion very favorable terms, -and has ever 
since conducted it with signal success, 
there having been no time during the last 
fifty years at which it has not enjoyed a 
fair degree of prosperity. The store has 
alwavs been located on Jefferson Street, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



271 



and Mr. Andre is the oldest merchant en- 
gaged in continuous business on that 
thoroughfare, while the name of the 
Green Horn shoe store has become a 
household word throughout a vast ex- 
panse of territory. In addition he has 
extensive real estate holdings in this city, 
and has made many real estate loans, hav- 
ing by virtue of his extraordinary ability 
and aptitude for practical affairs, built up 
an ample fortune. To his credit also 
stands the Andre Building, erected by 
him, which is one of the substantial busi- 
ness blocks of Burlington, and is now oc- 
cupied by the J. S. Schramm ilry-goods 
store. His entire active life has been de- 

' voted to business exclusively, and the 
persistency with which he has refused to 
allow any other interest to distract his 
attention may be shown by the fact that 
although he visited Philadelphia and Chi- 
cago during the periods of the Centennial 
and Columbian Expositions, rcspecti\-ely. 
he did not attend either of them, fccliii^i;- 
that other matters were more important, 

.and that his individual responsibility re- 
quired another and different use of his 
time. One exception must be cited, how- 
ever, namely, his earnest and devoted 
work for the church, the only organization 
of whatsoever nature in which he holds 
membership. 

The circumstances leading up to the 
naming of the Green Horn shoe store are 
interesting in the light of past events and 
significant facts of American history. It 
is related that during the days of the 
great transcontinental rush of pioneers to 
the unoccupied territorj' of the Far West 
for purposes of settlement, in which the 
long journey was commonly made over- 
land l)v wagon, a familv of these travelers, 



on their return, disappointed and penni- 
less, from the new country to the East, 
stopped at the Andre store and traded a 
pair of deer horns for a pair of shoes. 
These were nailed over the door, and 
later were painted green, hence the name. 
This shoe store is no doubt the oldest 
anywhere in this portion of the West. 
Its original number was 44 Jefferson 
Street, but is now 218, a fact which illus- 
trates forcibly the remarkable growth and 
expansion of the city since the days of its 
foundation. Mr. Andre divides his time 
between the store and his outside affairs, 
but is usually to be found at his old place 
of business. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Andre were born three 
sons and two daughters, John H., Ed- 
ward, P. Henry. Lulu, and Lydia. Mrs. 
Andre died Jan. 18, 1881, and lies at rest 
in the Andre mausoleum in Aspen Grove 
cemetery, — a magnificent structure with 
solid cement foundation, granite Ijase, 
and superstructure of Joliet limestone, 
constructed at a cost of $7,000, and 
requiring a year for its completion. It 
was erected by Anderson, -of Chicago, 
who constructed the Grant monument at 
Riverside and the Douglas monument in 
Chicago. 

Mr. Andre has been a lifelong member 
of the Washington Street German Meth- 
odist church, in which he has ever been 
and still is a very faithful and helpful 
worker, acting as class-leader and in other 
positions for many years. He was closely 
associated with the late Mr. John Burg in 
the building of the present house of wor- 
ship, and their names are chiseled in the 
corner stone. He gave two years of his 
time to soliciting for the building fund, 
besides making a mbnev dbnation of verv 



272 



BIOGRAPHICAL REI'IEIV 



generous proportions. In 1887 he erected 
a palatial home at the corner of Eighth 
Street and Maiden Lane, at a cost of $18,- 
000. and it is there that he resides, with 
his two daughters. 

Mr. Andre has always been identified 
with the Kepuhlican party since its for- 
mation, and at one time received nomina- 
tion for member of the board of super- 
visors of Des Moines county, although 
the usual Democratic majority was too 
large to be overcome. His place in the 
esteem and regard of his fellow-townsmen 
and of all his personal acquaintances is 
exceedingly high, for he commands that 
res])cct which rests on cluiractir and nota- 
ble and worthy achievement, and is one 
of those rare personalities upon whom the 
confidence of the public is bestowed as it 
were by natural right. Self-made, the 
architect of his own fortunes, he has made 
his way upward resolutely and b\' his own 
merits to a height which few attain and 
for which few are so well fitted as he. 



JOHN H. ANDRE. 

Burlington claims among her native 
sons John II. Andre, wlio for three dec- 
ades has been a cons])icuous figure in her 
commercial life, and stands to-day in the 
forefront of progress. Mr. Andre was 
born March 2, 1853, the son of P. A. and 
Catherine (Scheurs) .^ndre, and is in- 
debted for his early training to the jniblic 
schools of his native city. On comple- 
ting his preliminary schooling, however, 
he decided in favor of a broader prejiara- 
tion for future contingencies, and matric- 
ulated in Brvant & Stratton's Business 



College, in which he pursued an extended 
and careful course of study in commercial 
forms, methods, and principles, thus mak- 
ing a thorough i)rovision against the de- 
mands of practical life, which he has since 
met. in all their modern comi)lexity. 

.\Ithough the senior .Andre was himself 
engaged in business, he desired that his 
son should become a railway engineer, 
and this career was mutually decided up- 
on. Circumstances rendered his assist- 
ance necessary in the father's shoe store 
for a time, however; arrd having once en- 
tered upon this line of work, the earlier 
project was abandoned, and he has now 
been engaged in tin- retail shoe business 
continuously for a ]>eriod of thirty-five 
years. He retains numerous memories of 
early business conditions in Iowa, and re- 
lates a variety of reminiscences in a most 
interesting manner, mentioning among 
other things, that formerly the farmers 
were accustomed to travel to Burlington 
from great distances, and as a result us- 
ually spent the greater part of the night 
in making their |)urchases, in order to 
make their absence from home duties as 
brief as jiossible. On these trips, which 
were made no oftener than was necessary, 
bundles of sticks were brought to town 
as measures of boots and shoes to be 
bought for those members of the family 
who remained at home. 

Mr. ,\n(lre at the present lime acts as 
buyer for the store, as bookkeeper and 
cashier, and has charge of the firm's ad- 
\-ertising. being virtually in the position 
of manager, which he has occupied for 
many years, and in which by the exercise 
of tact and executive ability he has mate- 
rially added to the reputation and pros- 
l)erity of the establishment. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



At Wapello, Iowa, May 22, 1881, he 
was united in marriage to Miss Emma 
Griebel, of that place, who was formerly 
prominent in church work as Sunday- 
school superintendent and church organ- 
ist, and for twenty years they have occu- 
pied a pleasant home at the corner of 
Eighth and Division Streets, where they 
are the center of a devoted circle of 
friends, and enjoy an environment of re- 
finement and culture. As feeling a gen- 
uine solicitude for the general good, Mr. 
Andre takes part in public affairs as a 
member of the Republican party, but has 
never sought political office, confining his 
activities to private business and the use 
of his influence in the interest of good 
government. 



EDWARD ANDRE. 

Edward Andre, son of P. A. Andre, 
was born in Burlington, June 20, 1856, 
and has been connected with the Green 
Horn shoe store in a clerical capacity for 
the major part of the last thirty years, 
during which time he has formed a large 
circle of acquaintance in this city and 
vicinity. He wedded Miss Anna Rom- 
key, and one child graces their union, 
this being a son, Dale. The family re- 
sides at Seventh and Maple Streets. Mr. 
Andre has won general respect and con- 
sideration, and has many friends. 



the trade of carriage blacksmith; but 
after the failure of the large factories at 
this place on account of eastern competi- 
tion, he entered the shoe store, in which 
he has been engaged as a clerk for 
twenty-three years. 

On Dec. 24. 1882, he married Miss 
Clara Glendy, of Omaha, Nebr., and they 
have one daughter, Pearl, who is organist 
of the First Baptist church of Burlington. 
Their home, built in 1897, is located at 
the corner of Division and Gunnison 
Streets. The family are earnest Sunday- 
school workers, and Mrs. Andre is also a 
member of Whatsoever Circle of the 
King's Daughters, in whose work she 
takes a prominent part. 

A large measure of popularity has 
come to Mr. Andre, and in 1902 he re- 
ceived the honor of nomination for the 
ofifice of county clerk of Des Moines 
county at the hands of the Republican 
party, although he was subjected to de- 
feat, as the county is strongly Demo- 
cratic. His religious connection is with 
the First Baptist church, to which he has 
Ions: sfiven his services as usher, while he 
has also been a member of the official 
board for a long term of years. Frater- 
nally, he has membership relations with the 
Woodmen of the World, in which he has, 
at various times, held the several offices. 



THOMAS CARGILL ROBB. 



,^ ^„„,,„,, . ,,„„„ Thomas Cargill Robb, a breeder of 

P. HENRY ANDRE. ^, , , ,. . • ^r „ c ■ 

Shorthorn cattle, livmg m Yellow Spruigs 

P. Henry Andre was born in Bur- township, was born in Washington county, 

lington, Iowa, June 21, i860, son of P. A. Pa., Jan. 7, 1867, his parents being R. G. 

Andre, and after leaving school learned and ^lary (McLaughlin) Robb. He is in- 



274 



lilUiuRAI'UKAL REriRU' 



debtee! to the district-school system of Iowa 
for the greater part of the education he ac- 
quired, although for three years he was a 
student in the schools of Indiana. He was 
reared as a farm lad. and early took his 
place behind the plow, assisting his father 
in the various departments of farm labor 
until he began farming on his own account. 
In the fall of 1898 he purchased eighty and 
one-third acres of land from the heirs of 
Dr. Robinson, in Section 18, Range 3, west, 
and in 1903 he bought an adjoining eighty- 
acre tract on the north from the children of 
Theron Robinson. I'or this he paid a little 
more than ninety-four dollars per acre. He 
now has a beautiful place, well tiled, and im- 
]irovcd with all modern conveniences. None 
of the accessories of a model farm of the 
twentieth century arc lacking, and lie takes 
just ])ri(le in tlic tine appearance of his 
place. 

Mr. Robb has purchased to some extent 
imported Shorthorn cattle, but has never 
made exhibition of his stock but once, when 
in 1904 he exhibited a young calf at the 
Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, 
winning thereon a prize of eighty-two dol- 
lars. He has long been known as a breeder 
of Shorthorn cattle, and at this writing he 
has about thirty-five head of fine registered 
stock of that grade upon his place. He has 
held a number of sales, some of his stock 
bringing very high prices. On one occasion 
he sold a two-year-old heifer for ten 
hundred and thirty-five dollars. He now 
has two imjjorted cows upon his farm, one 
of which has given him a calf every ten 
months. 'Hie sales have netted him about 
four hundred dollars each. In addition to 
tile raising of cattle, .Mr. Robb is also (juite 
extensively engaged in raising and feeding 
Poland China hogs. 



The home life of Mr. Robb is very pleas- 
ant. He was married, Feb. 12, 1895, to 
Miss .\nna E. McElhinney, a daughter of 
Robert A. and Margaret Jane (McGurk- 
in ) McElhinney. She was born in Wash- 
ington township, June 30, 1870, and there 
is one child by this marriage, Mar}- Mar- 
garet, whose birth occurred Nov. 14, 1901. 
The parents are members of the Reformed 
Presbyterian church. Mr. Robb has long 
resided in Iowa, and has witnessed many 
changes here. At the same time his busi- 
ness career has kept pace with the uniform 
growth, and he is to-day controlling ex- 
tensive and profitable stock-raising interests, 
while his property is the visible evidence of 
his life of well-directed labor and business 
discernment. 



ROBERT A. LOMAX. 

Progress has always centered in the 
towns and cities, and civilization has been 
advanced, not by the individual, but by the 
concerted effort of many, directed b\- the 
mind of one who possesses keen sagacity 
and appreciative understanding of possi- 
bilities, and an adaptability that enables him 
to utilize the means at hand and to combine 
forces so as to produce new possibilities. 
It is along such lines that all business 
activity has been secured, and it has been 
through the direct efforts of Robert A. 
Lomax that business enterprises have been 
built up which have been of marked benefit 
to the community in ■which they are located, 
as well as a source of wealth and profit to 
himself. He is now a promirient capitalist 
of Burlington, Iowa, where he has resided 
for the past six years. He has largely re- 
tired from the active world, giving his 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA: 



275 



supervision merely to his invested interests. 
A native of Ohio, Robert A. Lomax was 
born in Wilmington, Clinton county, Jan. 
31, 1842. His parents were William P. 
and* Mary (Rankin) Lomax, the former 
being born in Gilford county. North Caro- 
lina, in December, 1801, and came to Ohio 
with his parents when nine years of age, 
remaining on their farm till 1853. He then 
moved to Henderson county, Illinois, where 
he bought a large farm, and after the rail- 
road was bulk, opened a general store. The 
station of Lomax was located on his farm. 
The father of our subject died Sept. 7, 1878, 
aged seventy-seven years. He was a Repub- 
lican, and was commissioner of Henderson 
county for several terms, and served as 
justice of the peace for years. The mother 
of our subject was a daughter of William 
Rankin, who was born in Ireland, and who 
came to America when a boy ten years of 
age. Mr. Rankin's folks settled in Port 
William, Clinton county, Ohio, where they 
bought large farming interests, and where 
Miss Rankin met and married Mr. Lomax 
in 1834. Mr. Rankin died in 1855, and his 
daughter, Mrs. Lomax, passed away Jan. 
16, 1888, at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Besides 
Mr. Robert A. Lomax, of this review, his 
parents had one daughter, Elizabeth, who 
was born in Ohio, and married Adam 
Foggy, and passed away on. Easter Sunday, 
April 23, 1905, in West Point, Iowa. 

Mr. Lomax received his early education 
in the common schools of Henderson county, 
Illinois, and later attended the academy at 
Denmark, Iowa, where his studies were of a 
substantial nature. He then assisted his 
father on his farm of four hundred acres 
till about 1870, when he engaged with his 
father in conducting a general store in 
Lomax. After his father died he conducted 



the business for several years, and then sold 
the store and turned his attention to his 
farm property, where he raised the finest 
kind of stock to a very large extent, and has 
from time to time added to the original 
farm, until to-day he is in possession of some 
twelve hundred acres of improved, rich farm 
land. He has always been a stanch Repub- 
lican, and held the office of postmaster at 
Lomax from 1870 to 1888, and was also 
county commissioner for six years, both of 
which offices of trust he filled with much 
care and attention. In the fall of 1899 Mr. 
Lomax moved to Burlington, Iowa, and 
took up his abode in a handsome residence 
located at 211 Polk Street, which is one of 
the attractive streets of Prospect Hill. Here 
he lives in ease and luxury, while his im- 
mense farms in Illinois are in the hands of 
responsible and trusted tenants. 

March 22, 1871, Mr. Lomax became the 
life companion of Miss Armina D. Paul, 
daughter of Melzar and Mary Ann 
(Wescott) Pavil. Airs. Lomax was born in 
Plessis, Jefferson county, N. Y., June 6, 
1842. Her father was born in Vermont, 
Nov. 3, 181 1, and conducted a hotel at 
Plessis, N. Y., for thirty )ears. He finally 
located in Terre Haute, Henderson county, 
111., for his health, where he died Feb. 20, 
1889. During his short residence in Terre 
Haute, Mr. Paul was a commissioner of the 
county. Mrs. Paul was born in Syracuse, 
N. Y., and died in Terre Haute, 111.. April 
17, 1 89 1. They were members and liberal 
supporters of the Methodist church. 

L'nto Mr. and Mrs. Paul six children 
were born, all of whom are dead but Mrs. 
Lomax and Melzar A. Paul, wiio has been 
an active farmer since boyhood, and resides 
in Terre Haute, 111., and has one daughter, 
Alice, who is the wife of Percy Penny of 



276 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Stronglnirst, 111. Alvah Paul, brother of 
Mrs. Lomax. enlisted in Torre Haute, 111., 
in Company 13, Ninety-first Regiment Illi- 
nois \'olunteer Infantry, anil served all 
through the Civil War as lieutenant. After 
the war was over, he returned to Illinois, 
where he soon died, as he lost his health 
while serving his country in this national 
conflict. May 8, 1876. the oldest sister of 
Mrs. Lomax married Dr. j. .A. James, of 
Terre Haute. 111., who also enlisted in the 
same comjjany with her brother Alvah. and 
held the position of captain with much dig- 
nity. Rhoda Paul, another sister of Mrs. 
Lomax. married J. (J. Anderson, who was 
sherifli of Henderson county for thirteen 
years, served all through the Civil War, and 
also represented Henderson county in the 
State Legislature. He now resides in 
Chicago, where he holds a responsible posi- 
tion in the revenue office. Fraternally, Mr. 
Lomax is a Mason of the thirty-second 
degree. 

Besides the hundreds of acres of valuable 
land in Illinois and the ideal home in P>ur- 
lington, mentioned above. Mr. and Mrs. 
Lomax have a pretty place in southeastern 
Texas, which contains a fine orchard of 
twenty acres, upon which he raises all kinds 
of fruit but apples and cherries. For the 
last thirteen years they have spent the win- 
ters on their property in Texas, and have 
thus escaped much of the cold of the long 
Northern winters. They spend the summers 
in Burlington, and are the owners of a 
beautiful automobile, from which they de- 
rive much pleasure. 

Mrs. Lomax is a devoted member of the 
Methodist church, where her husband also 
attends, although his mother was a Cumber- 
land Presbyterian antl his father a member 
of the Giristian church. Mr. Lomax has 



always been a man of resourceful business 
ability, and his success may be attributed, 
in part at least, to his ready recognition of 
opportunities, his understanding of public 
neefls, and his ability to meet these. What- 
ever he has undertaken in his business 
career has been carried forward to success- 
ful completion along lines of activity that 
command the highest respect and confidence 
of the public. His methods have ever borne 
the closest investigation and scrutiny, and 
while splendid success has attended his 
labors, he owes his prosperity to traits of 
character that all might envy. 



SAMUEL SMITH. 

S.XMUEL S.MiTii, deceased, was a repre- 
sentative of one of the oldest pioneer fami- 
lies in Des Moines county, and was himself 
an honored citizen of the county for many 
years : but it is not these facts alone that 
entitle him to mention in this volume, but 
because of his activity in agricultural cir- 
cles, his honor in business life, his loyalty 
in citizenship, and his devotion to all that 
pertains to the welfare and progress of his 
town, townshi]). and county. He also 
served his adojited country with much brav- 
ery and fortitude. Mr. Smith was born at 
Cleckheaton, Yorkshire, England, Oct, 26, 
1826. His parents, Peter and Martha (Elli- 
son) Smith, were also natives of England, 
his father being born in Yorkshire, Mav 13, 
1795. His mother was born in Sutton, Jan. 
22, 1800, and was the eldest of five children. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith were married, when 
very young, in England, where the former 
was engaged in farming and milling till 1835, 
when the declining pros|)ects of business led 




SAMUEL SMITH. 





PETER SMITH. 



MRS. MARTHA SMITH. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



279 



him to lease his comfortable home and cross 
the great Atlantic, in order that his eight 
children might have a better chance in life. 
They left Liverpool, April, 1835, the second 
Sunday after Good Friday, and came by 
way of New York direct to Sangamon 
county, Illinois, where Mr. Smith intended 
to locate ; but hearing of the "Black Hawk" 
purchase, he turned his attention to Iowa. 
On their way by teams across the country 
they lost their youngest child, Albert, aged 
eight months, near Rushville, and his re- 
mains were brought on and buried at their 
new home. Aug. i, 1835, they crossed the 
Mississippi River, and from thenceforth 
were prominently identified with the young 
and growing city of Burlington. He bought 
three hundred and seventy acres of fine land 
on the ]\Iason road from a gentleman by 
the name of Bullard, upon which there was 
an old cabin, with ten acres under cultiva- 
tion. Mr. Smith at first had considerable 
trouble with squatters, who tried to jump 
his claim, and at one time was assisted by 
the settlers, — two hundred or more, — who 
peaceably removed from his land a man 
whom he had warned off, and burned his 
cabin. In about four years this land came 
into the market, and Mr. Smith secured a 
title from the government. They were also 
more or less troubled by the Sac and Fox 
Indians, who wanted mostly food and cloth- 
ing; and it was in this way that the children 
learned much of the Indian dialect. He was 
engaged in general farming, raising wheat 
very extensively for the markets, and be- 
came a prosperous stock-raiser also. In 
1 84 1 he began to burn lime, being one of 
the first and largest dealers in this article. 
As time went on he built a very large and 
comfortable stone house and erected a mod- 
ern barn, and his jjlace, known as "Rock- 



wood Grange," was one of the most beauti- 
ful and best-cultivated farms in Burlington 
township. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith were blessed with 
fifteen children, of whom ten grew to man- 
hood and -womanhood: Ann is the wife of 
Claiborne W. Hunt, of Burlington, Iowa ; 
John, deceased ; Ellison was a prosperous 
farmer of Danville, and died July 5, 1893 ; 
Samuel, of this review; William, a lumber 
merchant residing in Richland, Iowa ; Ed- 
ward, died in Des Moines county Aug. 12, 
1898; James, was actively engaged in agri- 
culture in western Iowa, where he died Nov. 
29, 1889; Jane, married- William Finch, of 
Macoupin county, Illinois ; George, a farm- 
er, lives near Leon, Iowa ; Sarah, lives at 
1610 South Street, Ikirlington. Besides, 
these, five died in infancy. On Jan. 21, 
1869, fifty years from the day that this 
youthful couple stood up in the quiet Eng- 
lish church and joined their hearts and 
hands for life, they again stood up before 
their children and children's children to cel- 
ebrate their golden wedding. In rehearsing 
the joys and sorrows of the past, their te- 
dious struggles up, and peaceful passage 
down, the hill of life, and in thanks, con- 
gratulations, and good cheer, the day was 
spent. Before night closed this beautiful 
and impressive scene, the fervent words of 
that grand old hymn (Mr. Smith's favor- 
ite), "Before Jehovah's aAvful throne," 
united all hearts and voices in praise to the 
Almight}-, and thus this anniversary was 
ended. In a little over a year from this joy- 
ous time a sorrowful family was gathered 
under the same roof, for the kind husband 
and loving father was cold in death. He 
died Jan. 25, 1870, in the seventy-fifth year 
of his age. Mr. Smith was a fine old gen- 
tleman, possessing those noble characteris- 



28o 



BIOCRAl'lilCAL REVIEW 



tics that make the true man and loyal citi- 
zen, and his sudden deatli was a blow to 
friends in all stations of life. His wortliy 
wife survived him many years. s|>ending the 
evening of her peaceful life on the old home- 
stead with her sou Samuel, of this review, 
and her dau>,'liter Sarah, who both rendered 
their mother every kindness in her widow- 
hood. Mrs. Smith passed away April 25, 
1 88 1, in the eighty-first year of her age. 
She, t<To. had experienced many hardships, 
but had struggled on and u]war<i, and was 
of a very happy and cheerful dis])osition, 
possessing a warm and loving heart espe- 
cially for those in distress. Mr. and Mrs. 
Smith are both buried in the shade and c(xil 
of .'\spen Grove cenu'tery. 

Mr. Samuel Smith, of this review, re- 
ceived his early education in the schools of 
his native ])lacc, and was about nine years 
of age when his parents came to .\merica. 
He remained upon his father's farm till 
1850, when he decided to go West, and 
started over the i)lains with an ox-team, be- 
ing three months and twenty days on the 
way. Arriving in Hinggold, Cal., he was 
very successful in digging gold. In the 
summer of 1851 he made a visit to his old 
home, where he reiuained till the following 
spring, when accompanied by his brother 
William, he again made the trip to Cali- 
fornia, crossing the plains with a team, and 
engaged in mining and tending water works. 

When the Civil War broke out, Mr. 
Smith at once gave proof of his allegiance 
to his adopted country, and enlisted in the 
Fourth California Infantry, in which he 
served for three years, having charge of a 
scouting party for about half of the time, 
the regiment doing duty in .'\rizona. New 
Mexico, and Washington Territory. He 
was a brave and gallant soldier. :m<l was 



honorably discharged at the close of this 
great rebellion at I'ort Juiiia, Cal. He then 
spent a few months in the mountains to re- 
cruit his health, and in 1865 left Santa 
Cruz county for his old home in Iowa, 
where he took charge of the farm. He was 
actively engaged as an agriculturist and 
stock-raiser till 1887. when he and his sister 
Sarah rented the old homestead and moved 
to Rurlington in 1888. This same year he 
was a])pointed to fill the une.xpired term of 
W. E. Woodward as justice of the peace, 
and was re-elected three terms. The first 
of June, 1896. he was appointed overseer of 
the poor, which office he filled to the satis- 
faction of all till his death. These offices 
were bestowed u|)on him by the Democratic 
party, of ■which he was a strong and hearty 
supporter. He was a member of Des 
Moines Lodge, No. i. Ancient Free and 
.\cceptcd Masons: Iowa Chapter, No. i, 
Uoyal .\rch Masons; and St. Omer Com- 
mandery. No. 15, Knights Templar. He 
also belonged to Matthies Post, No. 5, 
(irand Army of the Republic, and Wash- 
ington Lodge. No. I. Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, all of Burlington. The last 
years of his life were sjjent at his pretty 
home on South Street, where his faithful 
and devoted sister Sarah ke[)t house and 
.idministered to his wants. Miss Smith is a 
lady of great refinement, and was educated 
in the Deniuark .Academy. She has traveled 
a great deal in the United States, and has 
also made a trip of a year to the home and 
birthiilace of her parents beyond the sea. 
She still resides on .South Street, sur- 
rounded by many friends and kind neigh- 
bors. After several luonths of suffering Mr. 
Smith was called to join those near and 
dear to him Sept. 17. 1901. in the seventy- 
fifth \'ear of his age. His (le.ith brought 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



281 



universal sorrow, and the county lost a good 
citizen, a man whose greatest pleasure was 
found in doing good in his quiet, kindly 
way ; a citizen whose first thought was for 
the welfare of his country and the commu- 
nity in which he resided. He was conscien- 
tious in all things, and usually attended the 
Baptist church, but his mind was unbiased 
by any particular creed. His life is a fitting 
example to many starting out on the rough 
voyage of life, as he began at the very bot- 
tom round of the ladder ; but by great activ- 
ity, honesty, and uprightness he was en- 
abled to accumulate a comfortable compe- 
tence. His memory will long be cherished 
in the hearts of his many friends and rela- 
tives. 



EDWARD W. ROMKEY. 

Edward W. Rom key, assessor of Union 
township, Des Moines county, Iowa, and at 
the present time residing on his farm in 
Section 16, belongs to the younger element 
of progressive and conservative men whose 
influence is proving valuable to the commu- 
nity. Mr. Romkey was born July 3, 1869, 
at the home where he now resides, the son of 
Conrad D. and Catherine (Klaus) Romke\-. 
Conrad Romkey was a native of Berlin, Ger- 
many, at which jjlace he was born in the 
year 1804, and whence he came to America 
at thirteen years of age. Taking passage in 
a sailing vessel, he landed at Baltimore after 
what was probably one of the most remark- 
able voyages in point of length ever re- 
corded in the annals of ocean travel for a 
similar distance, as the trip occupied all told 
163 days. Proceeding to Pennsylvania, he 
remained' in that State for some time after 
landing, but later removed to the city of 



Defiance, Ohio, where he engaged in the 
building of canal boats, and also ran a dry 
dock. This line of activity he pursued until 
1866. at which time he again decided to re- 
move westward ; and coming to Iowa, he 
located in. Union township, Des Moines 
county. There he purchased the fine farm 
of 160 acres on which his son, Edward W., 
now resides, and one year after his arrival 
erected a large and substantial dwelling- 
house. He engaged in general farming with 
signal success, and continued to make this 
place his home until the time of his death, 
which occurred Jan. 5, 1880. The element 
of religion was a strong factor in his life, 
and as a member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church of Burlington he gave gener- 
ously of his means for the support of Chris- 
tian work, while his conduct was faithfully 
modeled upon the highest moral and spirit- 
ual ideas. Public affairs absorbed much of 
his attention, and to questions of politics he 
devoted much deep and conscientious study. 
His partisan allegiance was in the main 
given to the Republican party, in whose 
general principles he was a firm believer ; 
but he sometimes supported the Democratic 
ticket, and a significant fact is that he never 
voted for a candidate for the presidency of 
the United States who was not elected, thus 
proving that on great questions of public 
policy his judgment was always in accord 
with the general consciousness of the nation. 
Certainly he could in no way have shown 
more effectively that he was an American 
of the Americans. He was a man of sound 
practical judgment and unusual business 
ability, while the finer phases of his char- 
acter were such as to win universal admira- 
tion, so that he enjoye'd in an eminent degree 
the esteem of those who knew him. 

It was while making his home at Defi- 



282 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ance, ( )lii<i, that Conrail Ronikcy wedded 
Miss Catlierine Klaus. She was born in 
Germany, and as a young woman came to 
the United States, landing at New Orleans, 
whence she came North and went to live 
in Ohio just prior to the Civil War. She 
still survives, at the age of seventy-six years, 
and is now a resident of the city of Burling- 
ton, Iowa. Like her husband, she early be- 
came identified with the Methodist Episco- 
pal church. She is the mother of nine chil- 
dren, eight of whom arc now living, and to 
the welfare of her family she has ever given 
the most devoted care, rearing them in true 
reverence for religion and for ethical \n\n- 
ciples. 

Edward W. Romkey, subject of this re- 
view, who is the eighth child in order of 
birtli of Conrad and Catherine Romkey, re- 
ceiveil a good common-school education in 
his native township, but desiring some fur- 
ther and more adequate preparation for the 
work of his life, also matriculated in the 
llusiness College of I'.urlington, in which 
institution he accomplished much that has 
since proved of decided value to him. On 
the conclusion of his course of study at 
Burlington, he returned to the parental 
home and resumed the work of the farm, 
and this he has ever since continued, with 
the exception of a period of three years, 
during which time he resided at Stockwood, 
Clay county, Minn., engaged in farming. 
.■\t that ])Iace he purciiased a farm, which 
he afterward sold, however, and returned to 
this ])la(.-f. 

In L'nion townshi]) on Dec. 27, 1894, Mr. 
Romkey was united in marriage to Miss 
Nellie R. Staff, daughter of John and Rachel 
(Ramsey) StafT. Mf. Staff is a native of 
Sweden, from which country he emigrated 
to America as a young man ; and Mrs. 



Staff, who was born in Scotland, crossed 
to this side of the Atlantic at twelve years 
of age. They were among the pioneer set- 
tlers of Iowa, early locating on their farm 
in Union township, where they still live, and 
their part in the development and upbuilding 
of this portion of the State is one for which 
they deserve credit, for the hardships of 
pioneer life on the Western frontier were 
very real and very formidable, requiring 
courage and unfaltering determination to 
endure. They enjoy an enviable standing in 
their community. To Mr. and Mrs. Rom- 
key has been born one child, a daughter, 
Nellie Ruth, born at Stockwood, Minn., 
Dec. 29, 1895. 

Mr. Romkey is essentially a man of prac- 
tical affairs and business tendencies, and 
while he has of necessity given his ]irincipal 
care to his farm, on which he maintains 
first-class buildings and equipment, and into 
the management of which he has introduced 
the most modern and up-to-date ideas and 
methods, he has also taken a leading part in 
.some of the broader movements of the times. 
In 1902 he was one of the incorporators of 
the Burlington Rural Telephone Company, 
organized with a capital stock of $5,000, 
which was subsequently increased to $25,- 
000, and was elected first president of the 
company, an office which he occupied until 
January, UJ05, thus giving to the infant or- 
ganization the benefit of his executive abil- 
ity during the critical perifxl of its existence. 
During his administration and under his 
cart- two luimlrcd and fifty instruments were 
installed, with contracts on hand for approx- 
imately fifty additional. In January, 1905, 
he was elected secretary and treasurer of the 
company, to whose interests he is at present 
devoting the major portion of his time, and 
the prosperity of the organization is becom- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



283 



ing more pronounced and rapidly increasing 
in many ways. It is safe to say that no 
single enterprise ever inaugurated within 
the confines of Des Moines county has con- 
ferred greater benefits upon the farming 
communities, or has been equally beneficial 
in such a variety of ways, while the future 
of the movement is pregnant with possibil- 
ities as yet not dreamed of. The promotion 
and supervision of such a great undertaking 
requires a union of business qualifications 
which is indeed rare, and that Mr. Romkey 
has achieved so marked a success in so brief 
a time is a matter for congratulation to all 
concerned. Mr. Romkey is also actively 
interested in local politics as a faithful 
worker in the ranks of the Republican party. 
At the same time, he has never been rabidly 
partisan in his views, and has always be- 
lieved that honesty and, fairness are just as 
necessary in politics as in private life, and 
that no party is justified in using question- 
able means to secure the triumph of its views, 
as the right to rule belongs to the majority 
and not to the skilful manipulator. In recog- 
nition of the confidence reposed in his ability 
and integrity by his fellow-citizens, he was 
elected when quite a young man to the office 
of trustee of Union township, which he oc- 
cupied for a number of years with credit to 
himself and his constituents, and at the pres- 
ent time he holds the office of township as- 
sessor. While immersed in the multifarious 
afifairs of public and business life, however, 
he has at no time lost sight of the higher in- 
terests or been unmindful of his duties to 
religious and humanitarian movements. 
He is a consistent member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church of Union township, to the 
various departments of whose work he lends 
substantial encouragement and support in 
generous measure. A man of genuine mod- 



esty, he has never been disposed to call at- 
tention to his own merits, rather preferring 
to let his work speak for itself. Quiet and 
unassuming, he is nevertheless of a genial 
disposition, and has the gift of winning and 
keeping friends. He enjoys unbounded 
popularity in Union township, and is in 
touch with many of the leading business and 
public men of Des Moines county, who 
respect him for the solid qualities of his 
character. 



MICHAEL HENRY GAHEGAN. 

Michael Henry Gahegan, at the pres- 
ent time the oldest representative of the 
business and commerical interests of West 
Burlington, Iowa, was born in Rochester, 
Monroe county, N. Y., Aug. 24, 1846, the 
son of Michael and Alary (Follen) Gahegan. 
His early education was begun in the public 
schools of Rochester, but in 1856, when 
ten years of age, he removed with his par- 
ents to Burlington, and here his education 
•was completed in the public schools of the 
city, and in Saint Paul's Catholic parochial 
school. 

On the completion of his formal training, 
he began his independent career by taking 
a position in the Putnam mill, driving the 
first delivery wagon that was ever driven in 
the city of Burlington, and thereafter do- 
ing all the hauling from the mill. His first 
work at this mill, however, which was done 
in i860, was the marking or branding of 
barrels, and during the twelve years that he 
was in the employ of this institution, he 
worked his way from the most humble posi- 
tion to the highest, — that of general miller, 
— ■ thus proving himself possessed of true 
executive ability. He was at various times 



284 



BIOGRAPHICAL RlUlllU- 



engaged in the work of every department, 
acting in every capacity, and achieving suc- 
cess in all ; but in 1875 he decided to re- 
sign, and accepted a position in Mr. H. E. 
Hunt's grocery .store, where he remained for 
two years, acting as clerk : after which he 
was employed as clerk in the steam bakery 
of Phillip Hare for two years, and then 
returned to the mill for one year. 

He next formed a partnership with 
George Moran, changed to the firm style 
of Gahegan & Smith, and for a year they 
conducted a grocery business on South 
Ninth Street, at the end of which time he 
purchased, individually, a portion of the 
firm's location, and embarked in an inde- 
|)i-n<k'iit grocery enterprise. This was con- 
tinued until 1883, when he came to West 
Burlington and started a general store, and 
in 1884 sold his interest in the grocery store 
at Burlington to his partner, Henry Andre, 
who had been associated with him for a 
time. In 1890 he engaged in the commis- 
sion business in Burlington, locating first 
on Main Street, and later on Valley Street, 
and this was continued, in connection with 
his grocery business on the corner of Ninth 
and Maple Streets, for a pcridd of approxi- 
mately three years, with considerable suc- 
cess, yielding very satisfactory returns. 
He then returned to West Burlington, as- 
suming his ])resent business. 

On May 30. 1860. Mr. Gahegan was 
united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Col- 
gan, daughter of Charles Colgan, and to 
them were born eight children, of whom 
two died in infancy, and four died later, of 
consumjjtion, as did also the mother of the 
family, the date of her death being April i, 
1887. in the forty-first year of her age, she 
having been born in i84r). Of the children, 
Marv and Sadie died in infancy : Harrv 



died at the age of thirty-three years; Ralph 
at the age of eighteen years ; Ruth, born 
in 1882, died in 1896; Charles, born in 
1872, died in 1904; while those living are 
Frank, born Sept. 6, 1875, ^nd William, 
born March 10, 1885. On Oct. 18, 1888, 
Mr. Gahegan was again married, his second 
wife being Miss Mary E. Carl, and they 
are the parents of five children, as follows: 
Leo, born Feb. 9, 1891 ; Maranica, bom 
Feb. 2, 1892: Leander, born Nov. 13, 1894; 
Michael, born Dec. 26, 1895; and Harry, 
born May 12, 1897. 

Mr. Gahegan's religious faith is that of 
the Catholic church, to the support of which 
he is a generous contributor ; and fra- 
ternally he is a member of the West Bur- 
lington Lodge of the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen. His political allegiance 
he gives to the Dcniocratic party, in which 
lie has been a very prominent worker for 
many years, and has received at the hands 
of his fellow-citizens many public trusts, 
which are evidence of the high esteem and 
confidence •which he enjoys from those who 
know him. In 1883 he was elected to repre- 
sent the fifth ward of Burlington in the city 
council, and in 1885 he was elected trustee 
of Flint River town.ship; while under each 
of the two administrations of President 
Cleveland he received appointments as post- 
master, and discharged the duties of that 
highly responsible jmsition with great effi- 
ciency and to the entire satisfaction of the 
public. Thus his whole career has been 
successful to an unusual degree and in every 
particular, for he is in the best sense of the 
word a self-made man, having begun at the 
bottom of the business ladder, and by his 
own industry, care, foresight, and good 
judgment attained his present desirable posi- 
tion among the substantial interests of the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



285 



community. At the same time he has 
proved himself to be the possessor of busi- 
ness talents of most diverse character, and 
has made many friends, who hold him Kn 
honor and esteem as an excellent example of 
thorough integrity and high-minded citizen- 
ship. 



JOHN DIETRICH BERGES. 

Rev. John Dietrich Berges, for many 
years a minister of the German Evangel- 
ical church, and now living retired in Bur- 
lington, was born in Prussia, Germany, Jan. 
28, 1838, his parents being Herman Henry 
and Louisa (Ellerbrok) Berges. He was 
a student in the public schools of his native 
land until fourteen years of age, and when 
a young man of seventeen years he came 
alone to America and began preparation for 
the ministry as a student in Eden College, 
in Warren county, Missouri, from which 
institution he was graduated on the com- 
pletion of the regular course with the class 
of 1866. He was ordained to the ministry 
in June of the same year, and soon after- 
ward began preaching, his first charge be- 
ing at Strausburg," Tuscarawas county, 
Ohio, where he remained for about two 
years. He was afterward at Ackerville, 
Washington county, Wis., where he con- 
tinued for four years, after which he spent 
a similar period at Primrose, Lee county, 
Iowa. His pastorate at Wheeling, Minn., 
covered nine years, and then after a year 
spent in Missouri, he had to leave that field 
on account of ague, and removed to Switzer, 
Ohio, where he remained for nine years. 
He spent four and a half years at Vienna, 
Dorchester county, Md., where he did some 
colonization work, founding a German 



colony. Later two years were passed at 
Troy, 111., and he afterward removed to 
Farina, that State, remaining in Fayette 
county for two and a half years. That was 
his last charge, for, on account of impaired 
hearing, he gave up the active work of the 
ministry, and in 1903 removed to Burling- 
ton, where he is now living retired. He had 
devoted thirty-seven years of his life to 
active pastoral duty as a minister of the 
German Evangelical church, and in many 
places where he was located the churches 
with which he was connected enjoyed great 
growth and spiritual awakening. A zealous 
worker, an earnest speaker, and one whose 
life exemplifies his faith, he has not been 
denied the harvest that follows the sowing 
of the good seed. 

Mr. Berges first visited Burlington in 
1856, and remained here until i860. Fol- 
lowing his retirement he again took up his 
abode in this city, where he is now perma- 
nently located. He was married, April ^29, 

1867, to Miss Elise Moery, who died July 14, 

1868, leaving a daughter, Emma Lydia, born 
Jan. 23, 1868. On the fifteenth of April, 

1869, he married Elizabeth Guth, and the 
only child of that marriage died in infancy, 
while the mother's death ocurred in 1870. 
A.ugust 3, 1871, Mr. Berges married Wil- 
helmina Guth, a sister of his second wife, 
and they became the parents of eleven 
children : Anna Catharine, born April 14, 
1872; Herman Lorenz, who was born Jan. 
23, 1874, and died April 10, 1899, while his 
wife, whom he married April 22, 1897, and 
who bore the maiden name of Emma Wittig, 
died Jan. 7, 1898, at the age of twenty-two 
}ears ; Ludwig Johannes, born Dec. 6, 1875 ; 
Ludwig Edward, born Dec. 24, 1878 ; Anna 
Maria Sophia, was born Aug. 16, 1881, 
and <licd April 23, 1904: Martha Emma. 



286 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



born Nov. 30, 1883 ; Karl Arthur, horn July 
18, 1886: Hcinriih Oscar, born Oct. 29, 
1888; Adolph rhillip. Iwrn May 22. 1891; 
Paul Theodore, lK>rn .Nov. 17, 1893; and 
Kmil Guth, lx)rn July 4, 1898, and died 
July 28. 1899. 

Politically, .Mr. Jlerges is independent, 
although he usually supports Republican 
princi])les. He cast his first presidential 
vote for Abraham Lincoln, and has gen- 
erally exercised his right of franchise in 
support of the candidates of that party. He 
was at one time postmaster at Wheeling, 
.\Iinii., for four years, but otherwise has 
held no political office, preferring to give his 
undivided attention to his church work. He 
yet occasionally fills a pulpit in the absence 
of a regular pastor, but is jiractically living 
retired at his pleasant home at 2020 Sunny- 
side Avenue. 



JOHN HENRY BERGES, SR. 

JoiI.N Hii.XRV i'.ERGKS, Sk.. wllO is HOW 

living a retired life in Burlington, where 
many years ho labored persistently and in- 
defatigably in the acquirement of the com- 
petence which he now enjoys, was born in 
E.xetcr, Prussia, Germany, Nov. 3, 1829, 
his parents being John Henry and Louisa 
(Ellerbrok) Picrges. He obtained his edu- 
cation in the public schools, and when in 
his fifteenth year he began working on a 
farm for three dollars and a half per year, 
together with his clothes and laundry. 
When seventeen years of age he began 
.learning the slnx'maker's trade, which he 
followed in the Fatherland until the fall of 
1853, when he made arrangements to come 
to America. 

In October of that year, bidding adieu 



to home and friends in his native country, 
Mr. berges took passage on a sailing vessel, 
which after si.x weeks reached the harbor 
of New Orleans. He at once started u]) the 
river to Hurlington, but the ice in the river 
impeded progress, and he was forced to lay 
over for days at diflferent places, lieing ob- 
liged to remain at Quincy for three weeks, 
so that it was not until the seventeenth of 
March, 1854, that he reached his destina- 
tion. 

Upon his arrival in iSurlington, Mr. 
Berges secured work at, a dollar a day on the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, 
which was then IxMug Iniildcd, being em- 
ployed in that way until July, 1855, when 
he began work fur the Burlington & Mis- 
souri Railroad. After a short time he 
worked by the month for a .Mr. l'"letcher 
in the Barrett House, and then again en- 
tered the service of the railroad company, 
working for three months on the line west 
of Burlington. In the winter months he 
engaged in sawing wood wherever he could 
gel work to <lo. and in the following sum- 
mer he .secured a position in the Gilbert 
Lumber Yard. He again sawed wood in 
the following winter, and in the spring 
wcjrked in the Henry foundry, where he 
remained until the spring of 1859, when he 
became a hand at threshing. Later, in the 
railroad service, he was engaged in load- 
ing ties and wheels until the fall of 1859, 
after which he was employed at the gas 
works until the s]iring of 1884, covering a 
period of twenty-three and a half consec- 
utive years, during which time he won pro- 
motion through capable service, acting as 
foreman for fifteen years. During one 
year, on account of ill health, Mr. Berges 
engaged in no active business save the 
building of a residence adjoining his pres- 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



287 



ent home. In the fall of 1859 he had pur- 
chased his present comer site, on which 
was a little two-room coUage, to which he 
afterward added, until, with the many im- 
provements he has made, he now has a 
pretty home at 1301 Corse Street. In 1886 
he accepted the position in charge of the 
improvements at Aspen Grove cemetery, 
continuing in that place for thirteen years, 
when, in June, 1900, he resigned his position 
and retired to private life, enjoying the 
fruits of his former toil. His life has been 
a very active and busy one, and although 
he came to America empty-handed, he had 
the energy and determination that enabled 
him to make the most of his opportunities, 
and in due time gain success. 

On the tenth of September. 1854, Mr. 
Berges was married to Miss Louisa Wal- 
dorf, a daughter of Charles and Louise 
(Castrup) Waldorf. .They have six chil- 
dren : Herman Conrad, born March 4, 1855, 
lives within sight of his father's home ; 
John Henry, born Jan. 12, 1857, is clerk- 
ing in Schramm's store ; Christina Louisa 
born Sept. 20, 1859, and living at the cor- 
ner of McLane and Bartlett Streets, is the 
widow of John Loose, who was killed on 
the railroad in 1882; Mary Magdalene, 
born Jan. 10, 1862, is the wife of William 
J. Swigart, a farmer ; Anna Maria Fred- 
erica, born March 3, 1865, died at the age 
of three months ; Wilhelmina Sophia, born 
July 6, 1868, is the wife of William Kuer- 
ger, who is clerking in his brother's' grocery 
store ; Edward Deidrich, born April 16, 
1871, completes the family. Mrs. Berges 
died Dec. 16, 1900. 

Mr. Berges is a member of the German 
Evangelical church, with which he has been 
identified since his arrival in Burlington. 
Politically, he was a Republican until 



Grant's election, since which time he has 
held himself free from party ties, although 
he voted for McKinley and Roosevelt for 
the presidency. In 1882 he was elected a 
member of the city council and served for 
one term. He has been a resident of Bur- 
lington for more than a half century, and is 
therefore a witness of much of its growth 
and improvement, and has taken just pride 
in what the city has accomplished. His 
own personal career has also been marked 
by steady progress, and the poor young man 
who came to America is now one of the 
respected citizens of Burlington, with a 
comfortable competence for his old age. 



NILS ANDERSON. 

Nils Anderson, long known as a highly 
successful business man and leader in 
public life of Des Moines county, was 
born in Christianstad, Sweden, Nov. 10, 
1848, a son of Sven and Lucy (Tufveson) 
Anderson. He was one of a family of 
seven children, of whom only one other 
now survives, this being Anna, wife of 
Anders Nilson, of Sweden. The father, 
who was an architect, died in Sweden 
about the year 1833, ^.gcd forty-four 
years. He was survived for a few years 
by his wife, her demise occurring in Sep- 
tember, 1857, in the thirty-ninth year of 
her age. Both were members of the 
Lutheran church, by whose teachings 
they guided the course of their lives. 

A paternal grandfather of our subject, 
Anders Lock, was in the regular army, 
and later took part in the war of the Al- 
lies against Napoleon I. Born in 1775, 
he died in 1880, having attained to the 



288 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



remarkable age nf alnmst ».>ne hundred 
and five years. lie Mirvived a iininber 
of his own children. i)f whom there were 
twelve. The maternal grandfather Tiif- 
vesun likewise reached old age. and died 
in his native land at the age of seventy 
years. 

Mr. .-Xnderson's parents having died 
when he was but a mere boy. he was left 
to shape his own career, and with oply a 
small anu^unt of financial resources. 
This he em])loyed in gaining an educa- 
tion, first c(>mi)leting the work of the 
common schools, and later taking a i)ar- 
tial course of study in the " Kristianstads 
Elemcntar Laroverk." On leaving school 
he a])prenticed himself to a shoemaker, 
learned the trade, serving for that pur- 
pose a term of three years without ])ay 
except board and lodging. 

In 1870, having definitely decided to 
try his fortune in .\merica, he emigrated 
to this country, and coming West, located 
in I'.urlinglon. where he embarked in the 
boot and shoe business. This enterprise 
he afterward discontinued, and took em- 
ployment in the A. Kaiser clothing house 
as a clerk. In 1878 he entered the em- 
l)lov of the Chicago, ISurlington & Oiiincy 
Railroad Company as a clerk in the land 
de])artment, remaining in that position 
until January, 1887. 

.Meantime, Mr. Anderson, by reason of 
his steady career of strict integrity, his 
genial manner, and his Sdci.il dis|)osition. 
had made hosts of friends; and having 
joined the ranks of the Democratic party, 
by whose principles of political e(|nality 
he was strongly attracted, he became 
very prominent in its work, taking a 
leading part in its counsels, and by his 
zeal and ability contributed largely to its 



success, serving as delegate to various 
conventions. 

In recognition of his work he was nom- 
inated by the i)artv. in i88<), for the office 
of county recorder of Des Moines county, 
and was elected, entering ujion the official 
duties Jan. i, 1887. Mis first term was 
marked by such uniform and high effi- 
ciency that he was re-elected, and in fact, 
he developed such a considerable degree 
of popularity by his careful and con- 
scientious attention to iluty at all times, 
that he received four re-elections, serv- 
ing in all five terms, in i8<;7 he was the 
nominee for county treasurer, and was 
elected : but after serving one term he 
refused to become the nominee for re- 
election. In 18178 he was nominated by 
the Democratic i)arty for State treasurer, 
but his nomination occurring m such a 
strong Kejniblican State, he was defeated. 

Since returning to private life he has 
been engaged in the real estate business, 
in which he has been very successful, and 
now holds the responsible position of 
treasurer of the Swedish Lutheran Mu- 
tual Fire Association. This Association 
embraces all the churches and parsonages 
of the I'nited States and Canada of the 
Swedish Lutheran denomination, with 
risks outstanding oni' million ti\e hun- 
dred thousand dollars. 

In 1875 Mr. .Anderson was married to 
Miss Matilda Thornquist, who died two 
years after marriage, her death occurring 
Dec. i~, 1877. This union was blessed 
with one child, who is also dead. . On 
Nov. 6, 1883, he married Miss .Vugusta 
Thornquist, a sister of his first wife, and 
to them have been born three children, 
as follows: Carl I'lato, Lillie .Matilda, 
and Roscoe Isedore. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



289 



Mr. and Mrs. Anderson arc botli con- 
sistent members and among the princi- 
pal supporters of the Swedish Lutlieran 
church, in which the former has held the 
responsible position of trustee for many 
years. Mr. Anderson is of a very pa- 
triotic family, having had two uncles who 
defended their adopted country through- 
out the Civil War. One, Gustaf Ander- 
son, was killed at the battle of Shiloh ; 
and the other, Carl Boja, was fatally 
wounded, and died in a hospital near 
Gettysburg. As a business man he stands 
among those who have achieved notable 
success. He is a man of broad and lib- 
eral views, public-spirited, quiet, and un- 
pretentious, one whom it is a pleasure to 
know, and an honor to count among one's 
friends, and stands high in the confidence 
and counsels of his fellow-men. 



. CHARLES W. RAND. 

As junior partner in the firm of Wyman 
& Rand, Mr. Rand was numbered among 
the best-known younger business men of 
this section of the West, and was regarded 
as one destined to attain a high plane of 
usefulness and distinction. A native of Bur- 
lington, he was a member of a pioneer fam- 
ily of this city, his parents having settled 
here as early as 1839. The date of his 
birth was Feb. 12, 1855, and he was the son 
of Hon. E. D. and Carrie (Sherfey) Rand. 
Charles W. Rand received an unusually 
thorough and fitting preparation during his 
early years for the duties of the brilliant 
career which he stibsequently achieved. 
After completing a course in the public 
schools of Burlington, he entered the high 



schools of the city, completed the work of 
the curriculum, and was graduated ; thence 
passed to a Business College, of Burlington, 
where he pursued a course of study lasting 
two years ; and, as the final phase of his 
apprenticeship, went to Chicago and took 
employment with the famous commercial 
house of Marshall Field & Company. -There 
he remained for a period of five years, fa- 
miliarizing himself with the actual details 
of commercial method and practice, and at 
the expiration of that time in 1879. he be- 
came the partner of Mr. Wyman in the 
wholesale and retail carpet and furniture 
business. This enterprise had at that time 
attained the annual volume of $150,000, and 
under the name of the Wyman-Rand Carpet 
Company maintained branch houses at Keo- 
kuk and ( )ttumwa. Iowa, and Carthage, III, 
thus constituting one of the chief commer- 
cial institutions of Burlington. 

Mr. Rand's business activities were always 
extensive, and he was instrumental in the 
incorporation in May, 1886, of the North- 
western Manufacturing Company, of Bur- 
lington, with a working capital of $26,000 
and a surplus of $14,000, employing an aver- 
age of one hundred and ten workers 
throughout the year, and having an annual 
output of $100,000 worth of stock. Of this 
company he was president, and he was also 
president of the Rand & Leopold Desk Com- 
pany, its successor; while in addition he was 
identified with the Duncan & Schell Furni- 
ture Company, of Keokuk, the Wyman & 
Rand Carpet Company, of Keokuk, and was 
a member of the Keokuk Mercantile Asso- 
ciation, which erected the building occupied 
by the last two firms. This is one of the 
finest business blocks of Keokuk, and the 
plans for the structure were the personal 
work of Mr. Rand. He was connected with 



2 go 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



various local corporations, being a director 
of the National State Bank and of the com- 
pany owning the Ijurlington Opera House. 
In C'hicagK, on Sept. 4, i8Xf), he wedded 
Miss Lilian C. lliggins, who was born at 
Mendota, 111., a daughter of Hiram Higgins, 
of Chicago, and to them were born three 
ciiildren. who survive. ICldridge D.. Charles 
\\'.. and Lilian. Mrs. Rand now resides 
with her father, who has a palatial home in 
Los .Vngeles. Cal. Mr. Kand gave his po- 
litical allegiance to the Republican party, 
but he was a broad-minded student of pub- 
lic affairs, and as such was rather indejiend- 
ent in his modes of thought. To him the 
truths of Christianity appealed in their 
si)iritual and humanitarian aspects, and he 
devoted much time and moncr to the work 
of the Congregational church, of which he 
was a member and which he served in the 
office of trustee. He was a man generally 
beloved by those who knew him intimately, 
and he won the regard of all by the nobility 
of his character — by his strength, upright- 
ness, great ability, which made him emi- 
nently successful in the incc])tion and con- 
duct of gigantic enterprises, and for his 
thoroughly ]ihilanthropic spirit. He died 
March 6, 1900. 



JOHN VOGELGESANG. 

ITiGii in the honorable roll of names 
which represent the early .settlers of Des 
Moines county. Iowa, stands that of John 
Vogelgesang. greatly esteemed for those 
traits of character which have made him a 
successful farmer and business man. and 
an ideal citizen. Mr. X'ogelgesang. who 
resided on his fine farm of one hunilred and 



si.xty acres in Section 20, Burlington town- 
ship, was born in Germany, June 9, 1833, 
anil there received his education in the pub- 
lic schools ; but believing that greater oppor- 
tunities for self-advancement awaited the 
young and ambitious man in the New World 
across the .\tlantic, he early decidetl to leave 
his native land and seek his fortune in 
America. Pursuant to this project, in 
March. 1852, when he was only twenty 
years of age, he took passage in an old-time 
sailing vessel, and after a long and tedious 
voyage of forty-three days" duration, landed 
at the port of Xew ( )rleans. whence he pro- 
ceeded up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers 
to Cincinnati. 

.•\s the beginning of his new and inde- 
])endent career, he there entered the employ 
of a gardener, engaging in that -work for 
the space of one year, at the end of which 
time he resolved to push farther westward, 
and traveling again by way of the Ohio and 
Mississippi Rivers, ascended the latter 
.stream to lUirlington, Iowa, where for a 
time he was cmi)loyed as a day laborer, 
while looking about for more suitable work. 
Later he learned the trade of coopering, 
in which he thenceforth engaged continu- 
ously for about eighteen years, ^vith much 
profit : but he then decided to seek a wider 
field of labor, and rented a farm in Burling- 
ton township, engfaging in agrictdture for 
some years, at the expiration of which time 
he was enabled, as a result of his previous 
frugality, care, and industry, to purchase 
a farm of one hundred fifty-five acres just 
north of his present residence, for a dairy 
site — in which he immediately launched 
his spare capital. From this venture he 
received very gratifying returns, as he 
always maintained a large and fine herd, 
and in a short time built up an extensive and 




JOHN VOGr.LGKSANG. 




MRS. ELIZABETH VOGELGESANG. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



295 



profitable business. On that farm he had 
his home for about ten years, and then pur- 
chased an adjoining ten acres on which he 
erected his present residence, a large and 
handsome stone structure, for which the 
material was quarried by Mr. Vogelgesang 
on his own farm, and which is known as 
one of the finest dwelling houses in Burling- 
ton township. Here he resided until his 
death, which occurred on May 29, 1905, 
beloved by all who knew him. 

The parents of Mr. Vogelgesang emi- 
grated to America about one year after his 
own coming, and located in the city of Bur- 
lington, where they conducted a boarding- 
house. The father, John \^ogelgesang, was 
drowned in the Mississippi River while re- 
turning from a visit to his daughter, and 
this sad occurrence was followed, about a 
year later, by the death of the mother, who 
was unable to recover from the shock of 
her husband's untimely end, and whose grief 
was rendered especially bitter by the fact 
that the body was never recovered. 

Our subject was twice married, his first 
wife being Miss Mary Mossfield, a native of 
Germany, and to them were born three chil- 
dren, as follows : Mary, wife of Adolph 
Schaenar, now conducting a soda-bottling 
works in Burlington ; John, who died at 
three years of age ; and Minnie, who died 
when but six weeks old, and at whose birth 
the mother's death occurred. All the de- 
ceased are buried in the Catholic cemetery, 
at Burlington. 

In 1865 Mr. Vogelgesang wedded, as his 
second wife, Miss Elizabeth Wiedmann, 
who was born in Germany, and in 185 1, 
when in the eighth year of her age, came to 
America in company with her grandmnthor, 
her father having previously emigrated to 
this country. To Mr. and Mrs. Vogelge- 



sang have been born six children, all of 
whom are living, as follows ; Herman, who 
is a farmer of Henry county, married Miss 
Ellen Stratman. and has three children, 
Walter, Ada AL, and Emma; Theodore, 
who is an expressman, residing in Burling- 
ton, Iowa, married Miss Fredric Hagenber, 
and has two sons, Arthur and Ralph ; Lewis, 
' residing in Burlington, has three daugh- 
ters, Mabel, Bertha, and baby unnamed ; 
Paulina, now the wife of Charles Meller, a 
farmer of Burlington township, has four 
children, Gertie, Rachel, Mark, and Hilda; 
John E., who resides with his mother ; and 
Otilla, also at home. All these children 
were born in Burlington township, and here 
have received the inestimable advantage of 
excellent education and home training, and 
have always taken a prominent place in 
the social circles of the community. Mr. 
Vogelgesang was, in fact, able to give his 
children a better and more thorough equip- 
ment for the work of life than he himself 
enjoyed at the beginning of his long and 
useful career. A believer in modern ideas, 
he was ever actuated by the most progress- 
ive principles, and the success he attained 
is ample proof of the wisdom of his course. 
A member of the Catholic church, he con- 
tributed liberally to the support of the cause 
of religion, while his interest in public affairs 
and the welfare of his adopted country and 
of future generations made him a member 
of the great Democratic party, in whose doc- 
trines he was a consistent believer. Hon- 
orable his course always was, and fair the 
name he left to his children, for he is a man 
whose every act bore the stamp of upright- 
ness and strictest honesty, and his reward 
is the profound respect and high regard of 
his fellow-men. We present the portraits 
of Mr. and Mrs. Vogelgesang. 



2q6 



BIOGRAPHICAL RhnHV 



SIMEON RUSSELL. 

Ln- the history uf Simeon Russell there 
is iinich that should serve to inspire and 
encourajje young men, for liis record 
proves that success is not a matter of 
genius nor the outcome of fortunate cir- 
cumstances, \n\\. may i>e gained through 
strong determination, ambition, and ear- 
nest labor, Practical industry, wisely and 
vigorously applied, never fails of success: 
it carries a man onward and upward, 
brings out his individual character, and 
acts as a ]»>worfnl stimulus to the efforts 
of others. 

The greatest results of life are usually 
obtained by simple means and the exer- 
cise of the ordinary qualities of common 
sense and ])erseverance. The every-day 
life, with its cares, necessities, and duties, 
affords ample opportunities for acquiring 
e.xpeiience of the best kind, and its most 
beaten paths provide a true worker with 
abundant scope for effort and for sclf-im- 
prcjvement. It was along such lines that 
.Mr. Russell won a place of ])rominence in 
business circles. It is, therefore, with 
])leasure that we present to our readers 
his life history, for he well deserves men- 
tion among the representative men that 
in the past days or at the jiresent time 
have been closely connected with the 
business development of Des Moines 
county. 

Simeon Russell, son of Christopher and 
Jane ( liowmanj Russell was born Jan. 25, 
1825, in Xew Castle county, Delaware. 
His parents were natives of Pickering, 
Yorkshire, England, coming to Delaware 
in early pioneer times and locating on a 
farm. They were tiie i)arents of seven 
sons, six of wlioni grew to inanliood : 



Christopher; John; Robert; William; 
Stephen, who died when a babe, and was 
i)uried at sea; Thomas; and Simeon, of 
this review, who is the sole survivor of all 
these brothers. Christopher Russell, 
father of these sons, was called to his 
final home April 12, 1847, at the age of 
sixty-eight years, his wife i)receding him 
to the unknown world many years, dying 
in 1826, when Simeon was but one year 
of age. They are both buried in N'ew- 
port, Delaware. 

Mr. Russell spent his boyhood days 
with his father on the farm, attending 
school at the Richardson district school. 
Cut his school days were of short dura- 
tion, and his education has been largely 
derived from extensive reading and the 
daily experiences of life. Being blessed 
with an extraordinary memory, he ])OS- 
sesses a rare mind equaled by few. 

In 1 84 1 he went to Maysville, Mason 
county, Ky., and though l)Ut sixteen years 
of age, he began to learn the trade of a 
bricklayer. lie spent four years in learn- 
ing this trade with his oldest brother, at 
whose home he resided. In the fall of 
1845, he returned to Delaware, where he 
worked at his trade till March 3, 1849, 
when lie went to Cincinnati, Ohio. .Vfter 
a year's residence there, he went again to 
Maysville, Ky., and in the spring of 185 1 
he decided to come West, and chose lUir- 
linglon as the scene of his future home. 

-At this time the North Hill school, 
which was the first public schoolhouse 
in Burlington, was under erection, and it 
was upon this building that Mr. Russell 
did his first day's work in Burlington; 
and two days after he began to work his 
employer recognized his ability as a 
skilled mechanic by jiaying him twenty- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, /OffV/. 



297 



five cents a day more than any other 
journeyman. I'he following spring, he 
Isegan contracting for himself, and has 
erected many of the finest buildings in the 
city. He built the South Hill school in 
1852; the South Boundary in 1861 ; the 
Germania in 1866; the Hibernia, now 
known as the Washington, in 1875 ; the 
Prospect in 1871;; and superintended the 
building of the Saunderson and the pres- 
ent Sunnyside in i8gi. In 1855, the Cum- 
berland Presbyterian church was erected 
uiKler his guidance and direction, and St. 
Paul's church the following year. Many 
residences have been built by him, and, 
in fact, in no direction can one look with- 
out seeing grand Ijuildings which stand 
as testimonials of his skill and labor. 

During the last year or two that Mr. 
Russell was in active business, i\[r. Frank 
Orm. now deceased, was in partnership 
with him. They erected the German 
P>ank block in 1883 and a number of other 
buildings. In addition to the above, when 
brick paving was first introduced in the 
city of Burlington on Jefferson Street 
from Main Street west to Seventh, Mr. 
Russell was chosen by the city engineer 
to superintend the same. 

Pie was not only one of the best 
mechanics in the State, where his rare 
ability and sound judgment were recog- 
nized by all. but he was a man who was 
exceedingly careful in everything he un- 
dertook. It ccrtainl}' must be a great sat- 
isfaction to him to know that in all tlie 
forty years he was in active business he 
nevei' had an accident befall any of the 
hundreds of men in his employ. He 
thoroughly believed that what was worth 
doing at all was worth doing well, and 
many of the prominent business men of 



the city to-day point with pride to the 
fact that they l)egan their business career 
by working for Simeon Russell. 

He has always taken a great interest in 
all movements or enterprises that would 
be of sulistantial benefit to the city or the 
community at large. We know of no 
one who has taken more~ interest in edu- 
cational lines, firmly advocating that a 
good ])ractical education is the best legacy 
that a parent can give to his children. 

Sept. 19, 1854, Mr. Russell and Miss 
Elizabeth- Whitaker were married, at the 
home of her parents, on the " borders of 
Canaan" township, Henry county, Iowa. 
The Reverend Henry Wilbur, of Mount 
Pleasant. Iowa, performed the ceremony. 
Mrs. Russell is a daughter of (George and 
Jane (Wood) Whitaker, and was born in 
Leeds. Yorkshire, England, Nov. 23, 1832. 
Her father was born in Armley, near 
Leeds, Yorkshire, England, Nov. 20. 1808, 
and her mother was born in Wortley, 
Leeds, Yorkshire, England, Julv 31. i8o8. 
They came to America in 1849, coming 
by the way of New York in one of the 
old-style sailing vessels known as the 

Fidelia." which made the trip in twenty- 
eight days. They settled first in Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, but did not remain long, com- 
ing to Burlington, Iowa, March 3, 1850. 
In England, Mr. Whitaker was a white- 
smith and bellhanger. which trade he fol- 
lowed for a number of years after coming 
to 15urlington. Later he bought a large 
farm in Henry county, where he lived till 
1857, when he and Mrs. Whitaker took 
the three younger children atid made a 
trip to the land of their birth. 

They remained in England about a year 
and a half, when they again returned to 
Burlington, and purchased a farm in 



208 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEIV 



Franklin township, whi're he \\.i> en- 
gaged in gt-neral farming till 1867. when 
he sold his place and moved to the city, 
and took up his residence at 1013 South 
Fifth Street. A few years after coming 
to the city to live, he retired from active 
business. 

Mr. and Mrs. W'hitaker were married 
when only a little over seventeen years 
of age, and became the parents of nine 
children, who all grew to maturity but 
one: .\ngcla. died in England; James, 
passed away in lUirlington ; Elizabeth, 
wife of Simeon Russell, of this review; 
Joseph, died in .\rkansas; Mary Jane, 
died in lUirlington ; William, a resident of 
Jefferson county. Iowa: Emma, died 
when a babe in England ; Sarah, resides 
in Odessa, .\Io. ; George F., one of the 
oldest conductors on the Wabash Railroad, 
with headquarters in Detroit, Mich. 

Mr. Whitaker died at his home very 
suddenly, March 26, 1887, being in his 
seventy-ninth year. Ills good wife, who 
had been his faithful companion in life 
for over sixty-one years, was separated 
from him but four short weeks when she 
too was called home. Her death occurred 
at the Iionie of her daughter, Mrs. Simeon 
Russell, April 23, 1887. and she was also 
in her seventy-ninth year. They sleep 
the sleep that knows no waking 'neath 
the shady trees in .\spen (irove cemetery. 

Mr. and Mrs. Russell have been blessed 
with seven children: .Angela, who died on 
her first birthday, Sept. 12. 1856; George 
S., married Miss Mary Mulligan, of Chi- 
cago, Jan. 23, 1883. and they have five 
children, who were all born in Cedar Ra])- 
ids, Iowa, but the oldest, George S., Jr., 
was born in I'.urlington. Inwa, at the 
home of his grandparents, Oct. 17, 1883; 



Emma I-ouise, born July 19, 1885 ; Co- 
rinne X., born Oct. 2, 1888; Hortense E., 
born Sept. 17, 1891 ; Mary XaDeane, born 
.\ug. 22, 1893. 

George S. Russell and family reside in 
Meini>his. renn., where Mr. Russell is 
general manager of the Standard Car 
Record C"ompany and also chief clerk in 
the freight de])artment of the Illinois 
Central Railroad. Emma J., the third 
child, resides at home with her parents; 
\\ illiam C, is train dispatcher on the 
Great Northern Railroad, and lives in 
I'.reckenridge, .Minn. He married Miss 
Sarah. Russell, of \'olo. Lake county. III., 
Se])t. 19, 1888. They have four children: 
Edith \'irginia, born in Burlington, Iowa, 
Sept. 4, 1889; William C, Jr., born in De- 
troit. .Minn.. Feb. 21, i8<>7; Frank .\., born 
in I'roctorknolt, Minn., May 27, 1900; 
Alice Lucile, born in Livingston, Mont., 
A])ril 10. 1903. Clara E., the fourth child 
was one of the most capable teachers in 
the city schools of lUirliiigton for many- 
years ; S. Lillian, the youngest daughter, 
is a successful teacher in the South Hill 
school, in her home city ; John Byron 
died Sei)t. 8, 1872, aged thirteen months. 

.Mr. and .Mrs. Russell spared no pains 
to give all of their children good and sub- 
stantial educations, and all but William 
are graduates of the Burlington high 
school. William virtually took the 
course, but quit just before the year 
closed. George S. is also a graduate of 
the Baptist College, and was a student in 
Mr. Graff's and Professor Gordon's 
schools. 

Politically, .Mr. Russell is a Democrat 
of the old school, and though never solic- 
iting office, his skill and (|ualifications 
won for him the position of city building 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



299 



commissioner during the years of 1885 
and 1886. ^^llile possessed of the cour- 
age of his convictions, he has the happy 
faculty of dififering from one and yet not 
antagonizing his opponent. 

Although our subject has been in very 
delicate health for over thirty years he is 
always cheerful and happy, loving to tell 
the younger people of "the good old 
times," and enjoying jokes to their fullest 
extent. Mr. Russell has been retired 
from active business for the past fifteen 
years and is spending the evening of his 
well-spent life at his pleasant home at 
521 North Seventh Street, on which lot 
he and Mrs. Russell have lived for over 
fifty years. 

Mrs. Russell is one of the oldest mem- 
bers, both in age and membership, of the 
First Baptist church, where her husband 
also attended in his younger days. Sept. 
19, 1904, the golden wedding of this 
worthy couple was celebrated at the 
home place, when all the children (except 
William, who was detained on account 
of sickness) and five grandchildren 
gathered around the family board ; and 
during the afternoon and evening two 
very pleasant informal receptions were 
held, when throngs of friends of the past 
and present, in all stations of life, called 
to extend congratulations and good-will 
on this rare and happy occasion accorded 
to but few. The success with which Mr. 
Russell has met in life is not all entirely 
due to his own efforts, for it can be truth- 
fully said that man never possessed a bet- 
ter or more devoted helpmate. Her love 
for husband and children can he likened 
to nothing less than the love of Christ 
to fallen men. Wherever there are bur- 
dens to bear, she bears them, or sacrifices 



to make, she makes them, ])erforming 
deeds of love and charity and comforting 
hearts. She does not consider rest, ease, 
or toil, so long as she can minister to 
those she loves, and can lighten their bur- 
dens. Such a life spent in apparent ob- 
scurity, "far from the crowd's ignoble 
strife," is as beautiful as sunlight and 
sweeter than the dews of heaven. Mr. 
Russell has ever lived a life which has 
borne testimony to an honorable char- 
acter, sterling purpose, and to upright 
principles. He has always done well 
whatever he undertook, and in all that 
goes to make up a strong and unfaltering 
manhood, worthy of the highest respect 
of his fellow-citizens, he "is ever_\- inch a 
man." 



ORA JACKSON GOULD. 

The name which appears above is a 
familiar one in the business and social 
circles of Burlington, for he has been con- 
nected with the commercial life of the 
city for fifteen years. He has also ap- 
peared before large audiences on several 
occasions as a lecturer, in which capacity 
he has become very popular. He is a son 
of Archibald C. and Elizabeth (Parker) 
Gould, and was born in Crawford county, 
Illinois. Aug. 2-/. 1862. His ancestors 
were originally from Scotland, coming to 
America in early pioneer times and set- 
tling in Tennessee. His father, who was a 
farmer, and always followed this pursuit, 
was born in Maryville. Tenn., in 1835. 
His grandparents on his mother's side 
were natives of ]\Iaryville, Tenn., going 
from there to Crawford county. Illinois, 
where his mother was born in 1844, and 



JOO 



BIOGRAPHICAL KEIIEW 



who I-. h..u ihc oldest livinjj relative of 
former |)resi<lent Andrew Jackson, mak- 
ing her home at Arkansas City, Kans. 

After attending the public scho<}ls in 
Crawford county, Mr. (iould entered the 
De Pauw LInivcrsity, of Indiana, where he 
was a student for four years, obtaining a 
thorough education. In 1887 he i)egan 
tile life of a newspaper man, engaging 
first with the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 
and the St. Louis Republican for a year, 
and later reported for the Daily Traveler, 
in Arkansas City, for two years. .Vbout 
this time .Mr. Gould entered upon the 
career of a humorous lecturer, engaging 
with the Slayton Lyceum Bureau, of Chi- 
cago, for a term of four years. It was 
during this time that he delivered his lec- 
ture on " Smiles " to one of the largest and 
mo-it refined audiences ever gatherer] to 
listen to a lecture in llnrlington. and who 
all e.\])ressed themselves well pleased 
with the speaker, and proud to claim him 
as a citizen of the Orchard City. Sever- 
ing his connection wilii the I'.ureau. .Mr. 
Gould took up a ])erm;ineiU residence in 
Burlington, and for the past twelve years 
has been engaged with Mr. Conrad Lutz 
in the printing business, being the pro- 
prietor of the Des Moines County Direc- 
tory, which he has i)id)lished every two 
years. He has also been associated in the 
land department of the Santa Fe Railroad 
under the management of the Southwest- 
ern Land Com|)any since Feb. H). i<)04. 

Mr. ( iould was marrii'd Sept. 11. i88g, 
to Phoebe Z. Swan, daughter of John and 
Caroline (Bonar) Swan, her birth occur- 
ring in Henry county. Iowa. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gould are the i)areiUs of three chil- 
dren : .\lfen S.. born in .\rkansas I'ily. 
K,in~ . Inl\ 2(y iSiio. ;i student in the pub- 



lic .schools: Helen Kevelle. born .\ug. 6. 
1893: Howard Kennedy, born March 18, 
i8<)7. .Mr. (lOuld and his wife are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian church. Politic- 
ally, our subject was reared in the Demo- 
cratic faith, but he voted for McKinley 
;ind Roosevelt. I-'raternally. he is a mem- 
ber of the Knights of Pythias in Burling- 
ton, and has held all the high offices in liis 
lodge. He is also a memlxT of the \\'oo<l- 
nien of the World and" of tiie .Modern 
Woodmen of .\merica. 

His strong and ui)right manhood, his 
relial)ility in business transactions, his 
loyalty to the tenets of the different so- 
cieties with which he is connected, all 
make a man whom to know is to respect 
and honor, hnbued with the progressive 
spirit of the West, he has advanced to a 
creditable position in social circles, and 
is none the less prominent in community 
affairs along fraternal and political lines. 



J. KEN MATHEWS. 

J. Kkn Matiikws, postmaster at Medi- 
apolis. Iowa, is well known in financial 
circles, and his business and executive 
force have made him one of the repre- 
sentative citizens of this part of the 
county. He is a son of James and .M;ir\- 
Fllen (Itariiard) Mathews, and was born 
in Martinsburg. lierkley county, W. Va.. 
March 23. 1855. His ancestors on both 
sides were formerly from Wales. His 
]iarents both died in Martinsburg. W. \'a.. 
his father dying .\ug. 1. 1888. at the age 
of seventy-one years, and his mother 
|)assing away in May. i88<). aged seventy 
\'ears. This X'irginia cou])le \"ere the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



301 



parents of tliirteen children: Anna M.; 
Wilber F. ; \'irginia B. ; Florella A. ; 
Sarah P.: Alary E. ; Daniel H.; Matilda, 
who died in infancy: J. Ken, of this re- 
view; Lavinia C. ; Francis A.; \\'illiani 
and Charles both dying in infancy. 

After taking a course of study in the 
common schools of Martinsburg, our sub- 
ject worked in the grocery store of his 
father for a short time. His aspirations 
were to be a jeweler, and he apprenticed 
himself to this business for three years, 
being a part of this time in his native vil- 
lage and a part of the time in Cumberland 
and Frothburg, Md. At the expiration of 
this time he was a competent jeweler, and 
returned to his home place, entered a jew- 
elery store and learned the mercantile 
part of the business, and remained for 
four years. He then became a traveling 
jeweler through Pennsylvania, with head- 
quarters at New Bloomfield, Perry 
county. Pa. 

After being on the road three years, 
and meeting with much success, Mr. 
Mathews located in Unadilla, in eastern 
Nebraska, where he established a busi- 
ness for himself, continuing in it four 
years. Selling out his store he moved to 
the western part of Nebraska, where he 
took up one hundred and sixty acres of 
land in Chase county. Also, in the village 
of Champion, he and Silas \V. Kelly 
bought out a printing establishment, and 
began publishing a news sheet called the 
Cliasc County Champion. During the 
five years that they published this paper, 
Mr. Mathews was appointed postmaster 
under President Harrison, and held this 
office for two and a half years, his wife 
acting part of the time as his assistant. 
He now sold his printing interest to his 



partner, and moved to Colorado Springs, 
Colo., and engaged in the commission 
and grocery business. At the end of one 
year he wound up his store in Colorado 
Springs and spent a number of months in 
traveling through the country. In 1892 
he located in the city of Mediapolis, Iowa, 
where he was established in the jeweler's 
business, doing a prosperous business 
until 1899, when he sold his store to D. 
A. Dale. He is now postmaster of the 
city, having been appointed to this re- 
sponsible position in 1897, ^"^ which ap- 
pointment meets with the approval of the 
citizens of jNIediapolis. 

While living in Nebraska he joined the 
Knights of Pythias, later transferring his 
membership to Colorado Springs, and 
was again given a card of transfer when 
he left there that he now holds. Polit- 
ically, he is a strong Republican, - being 
elected b\' this party as a councilman and 
a member of the school board. 

June 6, 1894, Mr. Mathews became the 
husband of Miss Alargaret C. Davis, 
daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Adele 
Mary (Selders) Davis. The wedding 
took place in Stuttgart, Ark. Mrs. Math- 
ews' father's family was also from Wales, 
and her mother's family was from Ire- 
land. Her father in his younger days 
was a carpenter and contractor, but had 
always lived on a farm as a farmer until 
he was married. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are 
botli living and reside in Iowa City, Iowa. 

Mr. and ^Irs. Matliews are the parents 
of three children : Glenn Davis, born 
March 17, 1896; Mary Elizabeth, born 
May 2, 1899, '^"fl 'l'*^'! ^^ Iowa City. Iowa. 
July 30, 1905, from a severe surgical oper- 
ation : and James Howard, born Dec. 26, 
1901. 



302 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. and Mrs. .Mathews arc devoted 
members of the Methodist church, where 
the former is an esteemed steward. They 
are both popular and inHuential people 
of Mediapolis, having a large circle of 
friends in the village and in other parts 
of the county. He is a man well versed 
on all the issues of the day, and one who 
has learned much from travels and ex- 
perience, and has always lived the life of 
a just man. 



JOHN WEBSTER GILBERT. 

John Wkhster Gilbert, whose energy 
and genius for the promotion and conduct 
of extensive business interests left their 
impress upon the industrial and commercial 
life of Burlington, so directed his efforts as 
lumberman, manufacturer, and merchant 
that he is well entitled to the term " captain 
of industry." Throughout his entire busi- 
ness career he was connected with ilic lum- 
ber trade. THs birth occurred near Louis- 
ville, Ky., Dec. lo, 1824, his parents being 
Samuel and Philotheta (Parker) Gilbert. 
When he was three years of age his parents 
removed to Prairie du Chien, Wis., and the 
father operated a saw-mill in the pineries 
at Menominee. The son acquired his edu- 
cation in the public schools of Prairie du 
Chien, and in his youth was much wMth his 
father, so that from early life he was more 
or less familiar with the lumber business. 
His education comjileted, he became his 
father's active assistant in the conduct of 
his lumber interests, and continued with 
him until his majority, when he became a 
pilot on the river, taking rafts down from 
the upper Mississi])i)i to Burlington, St. 



Louis, and other points. His work was an 
important part of the service in connection 
with lumbering at that day, for it was 
before the era of steamboat transportation. 

In 185 1 Mr. Gilbert located in Burling- 
ton, and established one of the first impor- 
tant lumber yards of this city, being 
associated with his brother, W. I). Gilbert, 
under the firm style of J. W. & W. D. 
Gilbert. The yard was located at the corner 
of Eighth and Jefferson Streets, where busi- 
ness has since been maintained, it being 
there conducted at the present time by Mr. 
Gilbert's son and his partners. It is so 
situated that the tracks of the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroad passed 
through at the time of the building of that 
line, thus affording splendid shipping facil- 
ities. The yard covers four city blocks, and 
was laid out by Mr. (iilbert, whose success 
from the beginning was uniform and rapid. 
At a later day the third brother, James 
I sham Gilbert, joined those already engaged 
in the lumber trade, and subsequently 
Thomas Hedge was admitted to a partner- 
ship, under the firm style of Ciilbert, Hedge 
& Company. They then added to their 
plant a large planing-mill and sash, door, 
and interior-finishing plant, under the firm 
name of Xairn. (iillis &: Com])any. Mr. 
Gilbert was prominently and actively identi- 
fied with that business up to the time of his 
death, and it has since been continued under 
the same style, his son, S. P. Gilbert, repre- 
senting the (iilbert interests. The lumber 
business enjoyed a continuous growth, 
exjianding with the development of the city 
and surri>unding country. 

Mr. ( Iilbert was also identified with bank- 
ing, being a director and the vice-president 
f)f the German .\merican Bank. He contrib- 




■i.y H^n-^ T=.ylc=: 




^ 



^^'^^^^ 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



305 



uted in substantial measure for the estab- 
lishment and conduct of new enterprises in 
the city, and was financially interested in 
the Glazeby Carriage Works, erecting the 
building for the plant. Other interests felt 
the stimulus of his co-operation and wise 
counsel. He was a supporter of the various 
railroad lines that have been extended 
through Burlington, and his firm was the 
builder of the well-known Gilbert Block, 
one of the substantial structures of the city. 

On the 22d of March, 1853, John Web- 
ster Gilbert married Miss Harriet Hol- 
brook, who was born in Columbia, near 
Hartford, Conn., a daughter of Silas and 
Mina (Little) Holbrook, a lady of natural 
refinement and culture, upon whom the pass- 
ing of time has left but little trace. She 
is descended from early colonial ancestry, 
the original representatives of the Holbrook 
family in America having come from Eng- 
land in 1635, at which time settlement was 
made in Weymouth, Mass. Her grand- 
father, John Holbrook, was a resident of 
Columbia, Conn., and there Silas Holbrook 
was born and reared, his attention through- 
out his active business life being given to 
agricultural pursuits. The Littles were also 
of an early New England family. Mr. 
and Mrs. Gilbert became the parents of 
four children, two of whom reached matu- 
rity, but James L died in 1895. Samuel P. 
Gilbert is his father's successor in the lum- 
ber trade of Burlington. 

Mr. Gilbert died Jan. 16, 1897. He was 
an attendant and supporter of the Congre- 
gational church, which called him to the 
office of trustee. His political allegiance 
was given to the Republican party, and he 
served as one of the early aldermen, and as 
street commissioner of Burlington, but in 



later years the extent and importance of 
his business interests precluded the pos- 
sibility of office-holding, even had he 
entertained political aspirations. His inter- 
est in Burlington and her welfare, however, 
never abated, and his co-operation in every 
movement for the general good proved a 
far-reaching and beneficial factor in her 
upbuilding and progress. His keen dis- 
cernment and sagacity were manifest in the 
careful and conservative manner in which 
he conducted financial interests. Moving 
slowly and surely in every transaction, he 
had few superiors in the steady progress 
which invariably reaches its objective point. 
The story of his achievements from an 
unimportant position in business circles to 
a place of prominence and leadership, with 
an investigation into the methods that he 
followed, will inspire all who read it with a 
truer estimate of the value and sure rewards 
of character. 



SAMUEL GILBERT. 

Samuel Gilbert, of the firm of Gilbert, 
Hedge- & Company, lumber dealers of Bur- 
lington, was born in this city, Nov. 25, 1863, 
a son of John Webster Gilbert, who is rep- 
resented on another page of this work. 
Having mastered the common branches of 
learning in the city schools, he entered the 
State L^niversity at Iowa City. Iowa, from 
which he was graduated with the class of 
1884, the degree of Bachelor of Arts being 
conferred upon him. Subsequently he pur- 
sued a business course, and then entered 
the employ of the Gilbert-Hedge Lumber 
Company. As his father advanced in years 
he more and more largely relieved him of 



;o6 



ninr.RAPHICAL REl lEW 



the active care and mana};cinciit of his 
extensive business interests, and for some 
years prior to his death represented him 
entirely in the business. The Gilbert-Hedge 
Lumber Company, which entered upon ex- 
istence over a half century apo. was incor- 
porated in 1900, at which time "Samuel 
Gilbert was elected secretary and treasurer 
— his ])rcsent connection with the coqwra- 
tion. He is also a director and a second 
vice-president of the German American 
Bank, thus succeedinjj his father in the lat- 
ter institution as well. 

Samuel Gilbert was married < )ct. 30. 
i&ji. to Miss Winifred Lewis, of Iowa 
City, and they have three children : Ruth 
P., Harriet H., and James L The parents 
are members of the Congregational church, 
of which Mr. (Jilbert is a trustee. 



P. F. UNTERKIRCHER. 

\'o history given in this volume illus- 
trates more clearly the power of honesty, 
perseverance, and enterprise as resultant 
factors in the business world than does the 
life record of P. F. Unterkircher. de- 
ceased, who. coming to this country empty- 
handed, steadily worked his way ujjward 
until at his death he left behind him not 
only a handsome com|)etence but also an 
unsullied record. He therefore commanded 
the uiK|ualified respect of his fellow-citizens, 
while his many acts of benevolence and 
unostentatious generosity gained their lo\e 
and admiration. 

Mr. Unterkircher w-as born in Mezigen, 
Germany, .Xov. 31. 1826. and died in lUir- 
lington. Aug. 31, 1893. He acquired such 
education as was aflforded bovs in the mid- 



dle station of life in his native country 
at that day, and was afterward api)renticed 
to a weaver. When he had mastered the 
business, he followed it on his own account, 
meeting with success ; but believing the 
.\'ew World wouhl offer better business 
opportunities and surer reward for labor, 
he left the Fatherland when twenty-seven 
years of age. and landed at New York, 
whence he made his way to Clinton, Mich., 
where lie began weaving. He soon left the 
loom, however, to engage in the tanning 
business, and in time became manager and 
afterward owner of the establishment in 
which he had at first been but a minor em- 
ployee. While residing in Clinton he was 
married, in 1852, to ]\Iiss Philipina Johns. 
In 1863 they removed to Des Moines 
county, Iowa, taking up tlieir abode near 
Augusta and residing there for four years. 
Coming to Ilurlington in 1867. Mr. Unter- 
kircher operated a brewery, which was later 
sold to the firm of Werthmueller & Ende, 
and is now conducted by Charles Ende, on 
Mount Pleasant Street. Mr. Unterkircher 
afterward engaged in the steam laundry 
business with George A. Duncan, conduct- 
ing the first establishment of the kind in 
the city. In a few years He became inter- 
ested in the livery business, purchasing the 
.'■Stewart stal)les : and this business grew and 
l>rospered, so that in the course of time he 
was enabled to extend the scope of his busi- 
ness by adding an undertaking establish- 
ment. He remained owner of the livery 
and undertaking business until his death, 
although his sons became associated with 
him : and in his last years, when he was 
siilTering from ill health, they largely con- 
triilled the business, although acting largely 
uj) in his advice and profiting much by his 
liusiness sagacity and experience. Through 



DES MOIXnS COUXTV. IOWA. 



507 



the careful conduct of his business inter- 
ests, he was enabled to accumulate consid- 
erable propert}-. and he left a large estate, 
the visible evidence of his life of intense and 
well-directed activity. His word was as 
good as his bond, his honesty in all business 
matters being proverbial. Throughout his 
entire life he progressed, because he was 
ever alert for opportunity for advancement, 
and utilized all such to the best possible 
ends. 

In 1888 Mr. Unterkircher was called 
upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who 
died that year in Ihirlins^ton. They were 
the parents of twelve children. He sur- 
vived his wife for about five years. He 
was a member of Harmonia Lodge, Inde- 
pendent Order of Odd Fellows ; Stephenson 
Lodge, Ancient Order of United Work- 
men ; and the Iowa Grove Order of Druids. 
He was a man of most kindly spirit, gener- 
ous in giving to the poor and needy, and 
yet entirely free from ostentation in his 
many benevolent acts. In fact he desired 
that none should know of his gifts. He 
was always interested in the welfare of the 
city, was the champion of many measures 
for the public good, and his support of pro- 
gressive public measures caused him to be 
honored while he lived and occasioned deep 
and widespread regret at his death. At 
one time he served as alderman of Burling- 
ton. Seven years prior to his death he 
made a trip to Germany, both for the pur- 
pose of seeing his native land and also in 
the hope that his health might be improved. 
He visited several water cures, but received 
no permanent benefit; and he never re- 
covered his former strength, although his 
fatal illness covered only a few weeks. No 
citizen that the Fatherland furnished to 
America was ever more respected in Bur- 



lington or was more justly entitled to public 
regard, not only because of the success he 
achieved, but also by reason of the straight- 
forward methods he employed, and his 
broad humanitarian spirit, manifest in 
kindlv deeds. 



F. L. UNTERKIRCHER. 

F. L. Unterkircher, of the firm of F. 
L. & G. L. Unterkircher, liverymen and 
funeral directors, and also identified with 
other business interests which are bringing 
to him success, was born in Tecumseh, 
Mich., in 1856. His father, P. F. Unter- 
kircher, was at one time a very prominent 
business man of Burlington, and the pred- 
ecessor of the present firm in the livery 
and undertaking business. He died in this 
city, Aug. 31, 1893. The subject of this 
review is the eldest in a family of four sons 
and four daughters, the others being: 
Emma, the wife of Theodore Blaul, of the 
John Blaul Sons Wholesale Grocery Com- 
pany, of Burlington ; George L., a partner 
of F. L. LTnterkircher, and the manager of 
the livery business ; Ida, the wife of Clare 
Jordan, of Burlington ; Nellie ; Horace ; and 
Blanche L. 

F. L. Unterkircher pursued his educa- 
tion in. the schools of Burlington, to which 
city he was brought by his parents in early 
boyhood, and after putting aside his text- 
books he entered his father's employ. After 
the father's death he and his brother, 
George L., established their present exten- 
sive business as liverymen and funeral 
directors, F. L. Unterkircher having charge 
of the undertaking department. No finer 
nor more complete establishment of the 



3o8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



kind can be foiiiul in the State. Their 
building of three stories and basement con- 
tains a fine, chapel with accomodations for 
two hundred people. The building is of 
Milwaukee brick, elegant in every particu- 
lar, and they carry a very fine line of under- 
taking goods. The livery is also in this 
building, which has a frontage on Third and 
on X'allcy Streets. It was erected at a cost 
of thirty-five thousand dollars, and with 
the stock of undertakers' supplies, hearses, 
carriages, horses, and harness, the business 
represents an investment of sixty-five thou- 
sand dollars, without doubt the largest 
amount in a joint business of this kind in 
the State. Mr. Unterkircher is a graduate 
and registered embahner. his certificate be- 
ing the tenth issued in Iowa under the 
present law requiring examinations before 
the State board of health. It is almost need- 
less to say that the business of F. L. & G. 
L. Unterkircher is one of the most exten- 
sive of its kind in Iowa. 

F. L. Unterkircher is a director of the 
Business Commercial Exchange and of the 
Citizens' Bridge Company. He is also 
president of the General .-\gency Company, 
an adjunct of the German-American Equa- 
tion Premium Life Association, of which 
he is second vice-president and a director 
and stockholder. His business sagacity 
and enterprise have been manifest in the 
able handling of involved and important 
business conditions, and his methods, capa- 
ble of bearing the closest investigation, 
have made him successful and prosperous. 

Mr. Unterkircher is very prominent in 
fraternal circles, • holding membership in 
Malta Lodge, Xo. 318, Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons ; Excelsior Lodge, No. 
268, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; 
Burlington Lodge, No. 84, Benevolent 



Protective Order of Elks ; .Aerie No. 750, 
Fraternal Order of Eagles : Seminole Tribe, 
No. 46, Improved Order of Red Men ; the 
Modern Woodmen of America : the Wood- 
men of the World : and the Knights of the 
Maccabees. He has passed through all the 
chairs of the Odd Fellows and Workmen 
lodges, and has represented the latter in 
the grand lodge. In his political views he 
is a stalwart Democrat, a leader in the local 
ranks of the party, and has served as a dele- 
gate to the State conventions, where his 
opinions have carried weight in the coun- 
cils of the party. He served as county 
coroner for sixteen consecutive years, be- 
ing elected on the Democratic ticket, 
without soliciting a vote, and his term ex- 
pired in 1900. 

On the 2 1 St of October, 1879. Mr. Unter- 
kircher was married, in Burlington, to Miss 
Amelia Meyer, who was born in Franklin, 
Iowa, a daughter of Dr. P. D. Meyer, an 
army physician, who died in the Civil War. 
His wife died at the home of her daughter, 
Mrs. L'nterkircher, in 1889, and was buried 
in Aspen Grove cemetery, while the father 
was buried in the National Soldiers' ceme- 
tery, at Lexington, Ky. The brothers and 
sisters of Mrs. Unterkircher are Charles G. 
Meyer, of Tiffin, Ohio; Philip Meyer, a 
resident of Stockton. Cal. : and Mrs. 
Lucinda KaufTman, of St. Louis. Mr. and 
Mrs. Unterkircher have two children. Alma 
and Delia. The former is a graduate of 
Mount St. Joseph's College, at Dul)U(|ue. 
She does most artistic pen and crayon 
work, and is also proficient on the piano. 
Mr. L'nterkircher is prominent in business, 
social, and political circles, an enterprising 
business man. alert and progressive, whose 
efforts have touched the general interests 
of society and promoted the public good. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



309 



G. L. UNTERKIRCHER. 

As the successor of his father, Mr. 
Unterkircher is the representative of one of 
the oldest and most successful business en- 
terprises of Burlington, Iowa. At the 
present time he is a member of the livery 
and undertaking firm of F. L. & G. L. 
Unterkircher, located at the corner of Third 
and Valley Streets. He was born in this 
city May 10, 1863, a son of P. F. Unter- 
kircher, a full sketch of whose career ap- 
pears elsewhere in the present volume, and 
his preliminary education was in the public 
schools. This was followed by a thorough 
course of training in the Bryant & Stratton 
Business College of Burlington, and while 
still a boy he entered the work of his 
father's livery and undertaking establish- 
ment on Washington Street, being after- 
ward taken into membership in the firm of 
P. F. Unterkircher & Sons, which was 
continued until the death of the senior 
member on Aug. 31, 1893. Thus he was 
reared in the business with which he has 
all his life been identified, and acquired that 
familiarity with its details which has been 
such an important factor in his success. 

After the father's death Mr. Unterkircher 
and his brother, F. L. Unterkircher, leased 
the Washington Street business for a period 
of five years, the two other brothers, C. L. 
and H. O. Unterkircher. taking the Colum- 
bia barn on North Main Street. During the 
currency of this lease the firm of F. L. & 
G. L. Unterkircher erected the present 
building at Third and Valley Streets, taking 
possession in 1896. The building was con- 
structed at a cost of $65,000, and $40,000 
was invested in stock, $35,000 of this 
amount being devoted to the purchase of 
livery stock and equipment, including fif- 



teen closed carriages or opera coaches, two 
pall-bearers' wagons, twenty-five single 
rigs, two ambulances, four hearses, three 
undertaking wagons, one large brake or 
picnic wagon, five two-seat, extension-top 
carriages, two buckboards, two golf 
wagons, and sixty head of horses of ex- 
ceptionally high grade. In connection 
with the undertaking service a large and 
artistically decorated chapel, with a seating 
capacity of two hundred, was built in 1902, 
an addition which has elicited much com- 
mendation from the public. In both livery 
and undertaking equipment this establish- 
ment takes rank with the best to be found 
anywhere in the Middle West. The build- 
ing, which is of buflf brick, consists of three 
stories and a basement, and every depart- 
ment is thoroughly complete and modern in 
all its appointments, all lighting, bell, and 
other apparatus being of the latest and most 
approved types. Mr. Unterkircher's brother 
has charge of the undertaking department, 
but he himself has the entire management 
of the immense livery business, and in addi- 
tion he engages in the purchase and sale 
of horses on a large scale. 

On Sept. 12, 1882, Mr. Unterkircher was 
united in marriage to Miss Jennie Keegan, 
a native of Burlington and of German 
parentage, and to this union has been born 
one child, a daughter, Grace, who was grad- 
uated from the Burlington high schools, 
finished her education at Mount St. 
Joseph's College, Dubuque, and is active in 
the musical circles of the city, being a 
member of the Burlington Musical Club. 
The family ocupies a handsome residence 
at 807 North Third Street, built by Mr. 
Unterkircher in 1901, and situated on the 
bluff^s overlooking the magnificent prospect 
of the Mississippi River. 



3IO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Besides his more immediate business in- 
terests, our subject is a member of the 
board of directors of the (iemian-American 
I-lquation I'remium Life Assuciation and is 
also a director of the (ierman- American 
Afjency Company. His social and frater- 
nal relations are quite extensive, he being 
a member of seventeen societies, among 
which may be mentioned Harold Lodge, 
Independent ( )nler ( )dd Fellows ; Benevo- 
lent Protective t )rder of IClks ; Iowa Camp, 
Xo. 98, Modern Wbodmen of America : the 
Woodmen of the World : Piurlington Tent. 
Xo. 87. Knights of the Maccabees; the 
Fraternal ( )rder of Eagles; I'urlington 
Turners" Society : the Schwabischer So- 
ciety ; the Ues Moines County Sterbekasse- 
vcrein ; Lincoln Lodge, Xo. 125, Ancient 
Order L'nited Workmen: Orchard City 
Club; Commercial .Men's Exchange; and 
the liusiness Men's Club. He has long 
been a worker and influential member of 
the Democratic party, frequently serving as 
its local representative in the State conven- 
tions of Iowa and in other important capac- 
ities, and in 1899, in recognition of his 
loyalty and ability, he was nominated and 
elected to the office of coroner of Dcs 
Moines county, a position in which he 
served for four years, or until 11)04, to tlu' 
universal satisfaction and with great effi- 
ciency. He is a man gifted with keen 
discrimination and sound judgment in all 
matters of business, and has acliie\e<l a suc- 
cess in the comhict nf tlu- vast interests 
under his control that may well be ad- 
mired, while at the same time he has won 
the general esteem b\ his fidelity to exalted 
principles of right and justice. He has the 
talent for making and kee])ing frien<ls. and 
enjoys an extended circle of amicable rela- 
tions. 



CHARLES T. UNTERKIRCHER. 

Till-; thriving city of I'.urlington is nothing 
if not progressive, and excellently repre- 
sentative of this tendency is Charles T. 
L'nterkirciier, of the firm of L'nterkircher 
Brothers, proprietors of one of the most 
modern livery establishments in the State, 
of Iowa. .Mr. L'nterkircher is a native of 
I'urlington, where he was born .\pril 14, 
1867, at the old family home, 313 Wash- 
ington Street. This house, which is still , 
standing and occupied by tenants, dates 
from the early days of I'lUrlington's history, 
and in its construction were used some of 
the timbers from the scaffold on which were 
hanged the notorious Rogers brothers. 
Our subject is the son of P. F. L'nter- 
kircher, who, in the i)eriod before the con- 
.struction of railways in this section, drove 
a stage from Burlington to Wapello, and 
from Burlington to Mount Pleasant, and 
also conducted a livery barn. 

It was mainly in the public schools of his 
native city that .Mr. L'nterkircher received 
his formal training, he being educateil in 
both the German and English languages 
and UK-thuds, and after leaving school was 
engaged with his father in the livery barn 
until his parent's death on Aug. 31, 
1893. The livery barn was maintained on 
Washington Street, but about three months 
before the demise of the elder L'nterkircher 
a new barn was com])lete<l at 506-8-10 
.\t)rth .Main Street, aiul used as a boarding' 
stabU-. In i8()4 Mr. L'nterkircher formed 
a partnershij) with his brother, II. O. L'nter- 
kircher, to conduct a general livery and 
boarding business at the latter location, 
and here they have ever since remained, 
building up a large, highly profitable, and 
ever-increasing patronage by means of care- 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



311 



ful management, courtesy, sound judgment, 
and honest and upright deahng under all 
circumstances. The barn is a model of 
commodiousness and high-class equipment, 
being in dimensions 60 x i lyY^ feet, two and 
one-half stories in height, besides a large 
basement, all constructed of brick and stone, 
with every stall a box stall, 10 x 1 1 feet, 
The lights, elevators, alarm clocks, alarm 
bells, and call bells are operated exclu- 
sively by electricity, thus securing the maxi- 
mum of safety and efficiency. Thirt_\ 
buggies are maintained, as well as seven 
surreys and one golf wagon, while there 
are thirty-two head of horses, all of good 
stock and far above the average to be found 
in livery establishments, even in larger 
cities. 

(3n Nov. 17, 1903, Mr. Unterkircher 
was united in marriage to Miss Mabel 
Reid, a daughter of Millard Reid, who 
is prominent as a contractor in this city, 
and is a brother of Captain Reid, well 
known as a veteran of the Civil War. 
Mrs. Lmterkircher's parents reside at 863 
Court Street, and she is one of a family of 
two brothers and four sisters, as follows : 
Frank and Harry Reid, both of Burlington ; 
Mrs. Gertrude Hill, of Chicago; Mrs. 
Unterkircher, wife of our subject ; Miss 
Ruth Reid, who is now a student in vocal 
music in Chicago ; and Verna, who is at 
home with her parents, and is in the North 
Oak school. Mr. Millard Reid, as a con- 
tractor, has been the builder of many of 
the most handsome residences in the city 
of Burlington. Mr. and Mrs. Unterkircher 
occupy a very pleasant home at 931 Garden 
Street. 

Mr. Unterkercher has had a variety of 
experiences, and has been uniformly suc- 
cessful in all he has undertaken. As a 



young man he was for a year and a half 
employed in James Love's book store, and 
in January, 1899, \vhile connected with his 
father's business interests, he became a 
licensed embalmer. He is well known in 
Democratic circles as a political worker, 
and for a period of two and one-half years 
served as -assistant deputy county clerk 
under the administration of County Clerk 
C. P. De Hass. His course has ever been 
steadil)' upward, so that he has won the 
unqualified respect of his fellow-townsmen, 
and as a man and a citizen he enjoys a 
reputation and standing unsurpassed. 



CHARLES HENRY HAIGHT. 

Charles Henry Haight, deceased, 
was born in Des Moines county, near 
Kingston, in 1875. His parents were 
Henry and Margaret (Gibson) Haight. 
The Haights were among the earliest of 
English emigrants to come to America. 
They were Quakers, of Somersetshire, 
England, and came in their ship, the 
"Abigail," stopping first about ten miles 
from the place, afterward the site of Bos- 
ton. But having a grant of land thirty 
miles long and twelve miles wide on the 
Hudson River, they afterward went to 
New York. In 1816 Cornelius Haight 
left New York, and in 1838 came to Iowa. 

The Haights belonged to the gentry, 
and were, as their book of genealogy ex- 
presses it, "people of consequence," and 
had their coat of arms. Some ten years 
ago Mrs. Haight's home was destroyed by 
fire, and many relics of that first Haight 
family, brought from England, were 
burned. With them was an old Bible of 
King James's time, containing their rec- 



312 



BIOGRAPHICAL REI'IEW 



<<rds for over two luindrcd years: but 
there was saved an old book of genealogy 
of the family, which contained the births 
and deaths for many generations back. 

Margaret E. Haight's ancestors were 
from X'irginia and Maryland. William 
Gibson, with his relatives, the Greggs. 
Willises, and Shannons, came to Belmont 
county in iSoTi. Two of the Shannons 
were afterward governors; one, Wilson 
Shannon, was governor of Ohio. Later, 
in 1810, William Gibson removed to Co- 
lumbus, Ohio, and here James W'illis Gib- 
son, the father of Mrs. Haight, grew to 
manhood, and in 1830, with his family, 
came to Iowa. 

In 1872 Margaret K. (Jibson was mar- 
ried to H. H. Haight, anil three children 
were born to them : ]\Iartha .-Vgnes, 
Charles Henry, and Jessie. Mr. Haight 
died in 1887, when Charles Henry was 
twelve years old. He was a bright and 
intelligent boy, and when a mere lad took 
the control of bis mother's large farm, and 
managed it wisely and well. He was 
unusually fine looking; was six feet three 
inches tall, fair, with dark blue eyes and 
black, curling hair. He was the only and 
idolized son and brother, and here, in the 
beautiful hoine he lia<l built for his 
mother, on .Aug. 2(). i<X)4. he ])assed 
awav. 



FRED WILHELM BAUER. 

Fkki) Wit^iiKL.M ]').\l:i:r, subject of this 
sketch, a son of Frederick and Sophia 
(Berks) Bauer, was born in Seehaiisen. 
Germany, Feb. 16, 1853. He grew to 
manhood on his father's farm, attending 
the free schools of his birthplace till he 
was fourteen vears old. 



In 1872 he bade good-by to his native 
land, crossed the .\tlantic, and took up 
his residence in Burlington, Iowa. He 
first worked in the lumber-yard, then at 
teaming, and later |)ulled lumber from the 
river for Gilbert & Rand for five years ; 
after which he was employed for three 
years at Aspen Grove cemetery. In i8g6 
he bought the old Waite homestead, con- 
taining .some eighty acres in l-"lint River 
township, and on March i, 1905, added 
thirty-five more to it. Here he does gen- 
eral farming and gardening, has twelve 
cows, and he and his sons each have two 
horses. 

Oct. ID, 1872, Mr. Bauer was married in 
Burlington to Miss Dora Elizabeth 
Meyer, daughter of Christ and Elizabeth 
(Moretz) Heyer, whose birth occurred 
in Heuster, Germany, March 30, 1852. 
When only twenty years old she left 
her home and friends, and came to 
.\merica by way of \ew York, com- 
ing directly to lUirlington, making the 
trip in three weeks, two of which were 
on the sea. Here she met her lover, and 
the wedding occurred two days after her 
arrival. By. their marriage twelve chil- 
dren were born, nine of whom are 
living: Fred William, of St. Louis; 
Louisa Martha, married Max Yearner, of 
Dutchtown : William Fritz, of St. Louis; 
Carl George, a farmer of Des Moines 
county: \\ illielinina Louisa, of St. Louis; 
Frank, \'elte, li^lsie. and .Arthur, all at 
home. The children who died are: Ernst 
Carl, born Feb. 3, 1882, died July 30, 1893 ; 
i'anlina .Mollie, born Sept. 20, 1883, died 
Oct. 29, 1884; Velte, born March 13. 1885. 
died April 20, 1886. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bauer are members of 
the German Evangelical church. He is a 




FRED WILHELM BAUER, 



DBS MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



member of the Ancient Order of United 
\\'orknien. and held membership in a 
German secret society for twenty-three 
years, but has now dropped out. Politic- 
ally, he is independent. In perusing this 
•record we find that our subject com- 
menced life without much financial aid, 
but by his business ability, energy, econo- 
my, and enterprise, he has steadily gained 
of the world's goods until now he has 
a comfortable competence, and in every 
relation of life, public or private, has 
borne the re])utation of an upright man 
and a good and progressive citizen. 



J. C. KOONZ. 



J. C. KooNZ. who conducts a locksmith 
and general repair business in Burlington, 
and who is one of the most prominent repre- 
sentatives of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows in Iowa, was born in Wurtemburg, 
Germany, on the fourth of December, 1845. 
His father, John Koonz, a native of Ger- 
many, became a contractor and builder and 
was an especially fine workman. Many im- 
portant contracts were awarded him, espe- 
cially for the erection of churches. He 
married Anna Sauter, and in 1853 they 
completed arrangements to come to Amer- 
ica. They were just on the eve of leaving 
Germany, in fact, the passage was en- 
gaged and the tickets obtained, when the 
father became ill. Six weeks later he died, 
at the comparatively early age of forty- 
seven. His wife carried out their original 
plan of immigrating to the New World, 
and settled at Greenfield. jMass., where she 
died at the age of eighty-seven years. 

Mr. Koonz, of this review, was then only 



about eight years old. He was for two 
years a student in the public schools of 
Greenfield, and he learned many valuable 
lessons in the school of experience and 
through reading and observation. There 
were five sons in the family, and the mother 
was left in limited financial circumstances 
at the time of her husband's death. Those 
still living are Martin, a resident of Shel- 
burne Falls, Mass., and John, who resides 
in (jreenfield, Mass. 

J. C. Koonz, the youngest of the family, 
entered the employ of J. Russell in cutlery 
works at Greenfield, Mass., being appren- 
ticed at the age of ten. He remained in 
that establishment until 1872, working his 
way upward from the position of errand 
boy at twenty-five cents per day until he 
was entrusted with most delicate work, the 
sawing of ivory. To that task he devoted 
his attention for ten years, making handles 
from elephant tusks which were worth from 
three to si.x dollars a pound. He was the 
only one employed at that difficult work, 
the expensiveness of the material being such 
that the work was entrusted only to an 
expert. On leaving that position he was 
receiving a salary of about five dollars per 
day. 

Removing from Greenfield to Holyoke, 
Mass., Mr. Koonz there became superin- 
tendent of the cutlery works of F. R. Qiap- 
man & Co. His thorough and comprehen- 
sive knowledge of the business enabled him 
capably to fill any position connected there- 
with. He possesses marked mechanical in- 
genuity, and from his boyhood has been 
able to perform in excellent manner in the 
line of mechanical construction. He con- 
tinued with the Holyoke Company as super- 
intendent until 1879, when he came to Iowa, 
settling at Ottumwa, where, with two 



3i6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



nephews, he opened an establishment of liis 
own for the purpose of manufacturing 
table cutlery. The business was carried on 
under the name of the Ottumwa Cutlery 
Company, Mr. Koonz being as-iociated with 
it until 1 88 1 . when he sold out and removed 
to Burlington. Here he established a cor- 
poration known as the lUirlington Cutlery 
Company, cajjitalizeil for fifteen thousand 
dollars. Air. K(jonz was one of the leading 
stockholders and the superintendent, and 
iluring the last few years of the existence 
of the company was secretary and treasurer. 
Tlu' husiness was conducted successfully 
until the fall of 1884. when it was closed on 
account of the free tariff schedule under the 
Wilson's free trade bill. He had fifteen 
thousand dollars invested in the plant, 
and employment was furnislied to between 
eightv and one hundred girls, boys, antl 
men. hut the shops had to be closed down, 
and they lost all of the stock, for they 
could not meet the competition of foreign- 
made goods. In that year Mr. Koonz 
o|jene(l a general re])air shop, which he is 
still conducting. He is an expert safe o|)enet 
and has done all such work in Burlington 
for years. He now has a locksmith and 
general repair establishment at 208 North 
Main Street. 

In 1868 in (ireenfield. Mass., Mr. Koonz 
was married to .Miss Christina Class, a 
native of Ciermany, whence she was 
brought to America in 1846 when a year 
old. They have two sons, Edward George 
and Clarence Arthur. The former luarried 
F^lora .M. Xorling and resides on Garfield 
Avenue in Burlington. He is credit mana- 
ger antl secretary for John I'.laul & Sons, 
wholesale grocers, lie has one son, Ivd- 
ward Clarence. Clarence .\rthur Koonz, 
who married Marv .Selzer, and has a son. 



John Charles, is living at Sioux City, Iowa, 
being assistant manager of the wholesale 
grocery house of W'arfield, Pratt & Howell. 
Both sons are graduates of the high school 
and a business college of Burlington. Mr. 
and .Mrs. K<x)nz reside at the corner of* 
Mighth and Angular Streets, and the hos- 
])itality of their home is greatly enjoyed by 
many friends who esteem them highly for 
their sterling traits of character. 

l-'or about a third of a century Mr. Koonz 
has been a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows, having joined 
I'ocomptuck Lodge, Xo 67, of the juris- 
diction of Massachusetts at Greenfield in 
1872. The same fall he became identified 
with the encam]}ment, and passed through 
the chairs in both bodies in about two years. 
He was luade a member of the grand lodge 
and of the grand encam|)ment at I'.ostou in 
1876, aixl attended its sessions until 1879, 
or until he left Massachusetts for Iowa. He 
has devoted much time and effort to ( )dd 
l-'ellowship and belongs to no other organi- 
zation. He is now identified with W'a.shing- 
ton Lodge, Xo i, at Burlington, and has 
held every office in the suborilinate lodge, 
and all in the grand lodge except that of 
grand treasurer. He is now a member of 
Eureka Encam|)ment, Xo. 2. at Burlington, 
and was representative to grand lodge at 
Dubuque from Burlingfton in 1883. He 
has attended each session of the grand 
lodge since 1881, but only four times as a 
delegate. He was elected grand junior 
warden of the grand encampment in 1887: 
in 1888 was elected grand senior wartlen : 
in 1889, graiul high priest, and in 1890, 
grand patriarch. He was for two years 
elected from the grand encampment as 
grand rejiresentative to the sovereign grand 
lodge, at Chattanooga in 1895, at .Atlantic 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



!i7 



City, N. J., in 1896. He was appointed to 
fill a vacanc}- in the office of grand secre- 
tary caused by the death of William Garrett, 
who had filled that position for forty-two 
years. Mr. Koonz served from February. 
1895, until ( )ctober of the same year. In 
that year he was elected grand warden and 
in 1896 was elected deputy grand master, 
while in 1897 and 1898 he was grand master. 
He served for two years in the sovereign 
grand lodge as grand representative from 
the grand lodge, attending the sessions at 
Richmond, \'a., in 1899, s"'^' Indianapolis, 
Ind., in 1900. This is a record in Odd 
Fellowship that is, perhaps, equaled by no 
other member of the order. He was ex- 
tremely active in securing, at the Dubuque 
session of the grand lodge, the meeting of 
the grand lodge for Burlington at the fol- 
lowing session, beating Des Moines by two 
votes on the second ballot. At this time he 
became known as a worker, and by acting 
as assistant to William Garret he also won 
renown in the order. He has a wide ac- 
quaintance in Odd Fellowship throughout 
the entire country, and is one of its most 
prominent and respected representatives. 

His political allegiance is given to the 
Republican party. He is a member of the 
Episcopal church, and at one time served 
as vestryman for several vears. 



WINFIELD SCOTT WOTRING. 

WiNFiELD Scott Wotring, who for 
thirty-seven years has been connected with 
the Ilurlington postoffice, employed therein 
continuously since 1873, is now superin- 
tendent of carriers and also of the money- 
order department. Under different admin- 



ii.trations he has been retained in the office, 
his ability and fidelity causing his reten- 
tion, while his obliging manner and unfail- 
ing promptness are the causes of his popu- 
larity with postmasters and public. 

Mr. W'otring was born in Licking county, 
( )hin, July 14, 1S47. His father. Abraham 
W'otring, was a native of Pennsylvania, as 
was also his grandfather. His birth oc- 
curred in 1821, and in early life he learned 
the carpenter's trade, which he followed for 
many years. Removing to Burlington, he Vv'as 
identified with the building interests of this 
city for many years, and at his death, which 
occurred in 1885, he left a comfortable home 
at 723 North Eighth Street. He was 
married in Ohio to Miss Jane Chrissinger, 
also a native of Pennsylvania, who survived 
him until i8go, and was then laid to rest by 
his side in Aspen Grove cemetery. They were 
faithful members of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. In their family were three 
children : William, who died in Burlington, 
at the age of twelve years; Winfield S., of 
this review : and Melissa, widow of George 
Ouinby. who for many years was engaged 
in the wholesale music trade in Burlington, 
and afterward lived retired in Monmouth, 
111. There his death occurred, and Mrs. 
Ouinby is yet living in Monmouth. 

It was in 1848 that the parents removed 
with their family from ( )hio to Burlington, 
and Winfield S. Wotring, then but one year 
old, was educated in the public schools here, 
in Elliott's Seminary (a Methodist Epis- 
copal school), the Baptist College, and 
Bryant & Stratton's Business College, of 
Chicago. During the Civil War, when the 
soldiers were being transported from Bur- 
lington to Chicago, Mr. Wotring, then fif- 
teen years of age, acted as a newsboy on the 
trains, selling papers and fruit to the en- 



3i8 



BIOGRArHICAl. REl lEW 



listed men who were going to tlie front. He 
desirt-d to enlist also, but his father opposed 
this, because of his youtli, antl after going 
with the soldiers to Cairo, III., he returned 
home. He then entered the postoflice, in 
1 86 1, under Postmaster James Fo.x Abra- 
ham, as assistant mailing clerk, and served 
for fwo years, when he resigned to accept 
a clerkship in the otTice of Leo Carper, 
superintendent of the Chicago, Burlington & 
(Juincy Railroad. .\x that time all freight 
was transferred across the river by ferry, 
for the bridge was not then built, and Mr. 
W'otring's duty was to check ami keep rec- 
ord of all such transfers : but he was 
wanted again in the i^ostoffice. and was 
urged to return. Finally consenting, he was 
made mailing clerk. Thomas French suc- 
ceeded .Mr. .Abraham in the postoffice. re- 
maining there for six months, ami retained 
Mr. WOtring in iiis service. C Dunham 
was then made postmaster, and Mr. Wdt- 
ring remained for one year under I'resident 
Grant's administration, when he resigned 
his position in the postoffice and joined his 
brother-in-law, (ieorge Ouinby, in the con- 
duct of a wholesale music business, under 
the name of Ouinhx's .Musical Emjiorium, 
on Main Street. Mr. Wotring was asso- 
ciated -with this for three years, and in 1870 
and 1 87 1 -was engaged in the grocery busi- 
ness on the corner of l'"i;j;hth and South 
Streets as a nuinher of the lirm of Ouinby 
& Wotring. 

In 1873 he was api)ointe(l hy rostmastcr 
N. P. Sunderland to the position of registry 
clerk, and when Frank Hatton succeeded to 
the position of jiostmaster, he was ])romotet! 
to the |)osition of su|)erinten(lent of the 
money-order department. \\'ben j. 1,. 
Waite became postmaster, he retained .Mr. 
Wotring in that position, and also made 



him sui>erintendent of carriers, a position 
which he has since filled untler the succes- 
sive administrations of Postmasters Waite, 
Hutchinson, Martin, Curran, and Waite. 
He has remained in the oflicc continuously 
since 1873, while the entire service which 
he has renilered in connection with the 
liurlington f)()stoffice covers thirty-seven 
years. This fact alone is a commentary con- 
cerning the character of the service he has 
rendered. 

On the 17th of March. 1870. .Mr. Wot- 
ring was married to Miss Sarah |. .\cres. a 
daughter of Stephen T. .\cres, of the firm 
of .\cres, lilackman &■ Comijany, of liur- 
lington. .Mr. Wotring was for two years 
vice-president of the .\cres-Blackman Com- 
pany, and after the death of Mr. .\cres he 
was made a trustee of the .\cres estate, in 
ctnmection with his brother-in-law, William 
I'ilger. 

.Mr. and .Mrs. Wotring are the parents of 
three children: (ieorge O., -who for five 
years has been in the office of the Crane 
Com])any. of Chicago; Walter S., a stu- 
dent of mechanica! engineering in Burling- 
ton : and Clarence .\., who is attending 
l-llliott's Business College, of this city. The 
family home is at Jzt, North Figlith .Street, 
an eli'ven-room residence, which has been 
rebuilt l)y .Mr. Wotring and is now a most 
comfortable and attractive dwelling, where 
hospitaIit\- reigns supreme. In ])olitics he 
is a Rei)ul)lican, and he belongs to the 
Orchard City Himting and Fishing Club. 
Both he and his wife are members of the 
l'"irst .Methodist Fjjiscopal church, and Mrs. 
Wotring belongs to the King's Daughters. 
Long residents of Burlington, they have a 
wide an<l favorable acquaintance, and the 
circle of their friends has grown year by 
year. 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



319 



JOSEPH KLEIN. 

For many years Mr. Klein was well 
known to the people of Burlington, making 
many friends and being very successful in 
a business way. He was a native of Prus- 
sia, where he was born Jan. 6, 1832. and 
when only ten years of age became an 
orphan by the death of his mother, after 
which sad event he was compelled to rely 
largely upon his own efforts for his support. 
In 1854 he came to America in company 
with his father, and first took employment 
in a stone quarr\- ; but he was ambitious to 
better his condition, and in the year 1869 
he established himself in the grocery busi- 
ness at the corner of (Jak and Osborn 
Streets, where he achieved great success 
by his natural business ability and by care, 
industry, and tact. In his first location he 
continued throughout his active career, con- 
ducting the business for a period of eight- 
een years, at the expiration of which he 
retired, and took up his residence at 13 13 
Osborn Street, where his widow still re- 
sides. There he died Dec. 20, 1888, 
and was buried in the Catholic cemetery, 
much lamented by all who knew him and 
respected by all. He was a faithful mem- 
ber of St. John's Catholic church, and was 
connected with the various German socie- 
ties of this city, while his political allegi- 
ance was given to the Democratic party. 

On Nov. 4, 1858, Mr. Klein wedded, in 
Burlington, Miss Magdalene Pauly, who 
was bom in Baden, April 13, 1840, and to 
them were born six children, who still sur- 
vive, these being as follows: Mrs. Philip 
Leicht : .Mrs. John W'ehman ; Mrs. .Michael 
Weicher ; Joseph Anton ; John, engaged in 
the grocery business at 818 Maple Street, 
in partnership with his brother-in-law, 



W. H. Tegtmeyer. under the firm name of 
Tegftmeyer & Klein: ?^linnie, wife of Mr. 
Tegtmeyer ; and Henry, who is a clerk in 
the employ of Strauss Brothers. 

Mrs. Klein emigrated from her native 
land to the I'nited States in 1855 in com- 
pany with her parents, embarking at Havre 
on a sailing vessel, and landing at New 
Orleans after a voyage of thirty-eight days' 
duration. Both her parents are now de- 
ceased, as are also her brothers and sisters, 
of whom there were twelve, all of whom 
died voung. Mrs. Klein has witnessed 
many important changes brought about by 
the development of the city since her first 
coming to Burlington, and recalls especially 
that upon her arrival there were no side- 
walks on Jefferson Street extending farther 
west than Fourth Street. For the first 
two years she resided on Jefferson Street, 
but for fortv-five years she has resided on 
( )sborn Street. She has extensive property 
interests here, being the owner of three 
brick and three frame dwelling houses and 
one three-story building in the Grimes 
block, from which and from other sources 
she enjoys an ample income. She has many 
friends, and finds much pleasure in social 
intercourse. 



JOHN P. WEIS. 

John P. \\''eis, whose business estab- 
lishment ranks among the oldest and most 
successful of its kind in Burlington, and 
who, himself a musician of ability, has done 
nuich to promote the progress and popu- 
larizing of that art in his adopted citv, was 
1)1 irn at Hollsfreid Kolmar Lan, Sweden, 
May 31, 1854, a son of A. P. and .\. Louisa 
W'eis. The parents of Mr. Weis were both 



320 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



natives of Sweden, and botli passed their 
entire lives in that country. The father, 
who, thougli making his home at H oils- 
fried, was a contractor and builder, and 
conducted his business in all tiie large cities 
of Sweden, <lieil about 1890, and the mother 
when our subject was but ten weeks of age. 
Moth were members of the Lutheran church. 

.Mr. W'eis's father provided for him the 
opportunity to obtain a good education in 
the i)ublic schools, of which he took the 
fullest advantage, and afterward, at the 
age of fourteen years, entered a mechanical 
school, where he passed several years with 
great ])rofit. In consideration and recogni- 
tion of his ]irogress at school and evident 
practical ability, he was promoted, in his 
nineteenth year, to the foremanshi]) of a 
large factory in his native city, a position 
whose responsibilities he discharged with 
success for a period of two years. Thus 
his iirosjiects in Sweden were of the best, 
Ijnt believing that greater freedom of ac- 
tivity awaited liini in America, he emi- 
grated hither in 1H77. landing at I'hiladel- 
phia and proceeding to Andover, Henry 
county, 111., where he immediately began 
taking and executing building contracts. 
In that manner he was there employed for 
three years, accumulating a considerable 
capital and meantime learning the language 
of the country. In iSSo he removed to 
Galesburg and entered the service of the 
Chicago, I'lurlinglon & (Jniiicy Railroad 
Company in llie riiii>liing (k']);irtnient of the 
sho])s. While there he wedded, in March, 
1882, Miss Caroline Sophia Nelson, who, 
like himself, had been born in .Sweden and 
emigrated to AnuTica. locating in Gales- 
burg. 

The date of Mr. \\ eis's removal to Tur- 
lington was May, 1884. Here he first en- 



gaged in contracting and building, erecting 
many of the finest residences and other edi- 
fices of the city, among which may be men- 
tione<l the residences of Henry H. lirown, 
Arthur Churchill, Charles W'aldin, and at 
Riverview Park that of Henry .\ Eastman, 
besides many others ; also the remodeling 
of the German Methodist Kpisco])al church 
and the I'irst I'.aptist church, Washington 
Street, for which he did all the finishing 
antl carpentering work. .\s an employer of 
labor his ))ay-roll was large, and he con- 
tinued in the contracting business on an ex- 
tensive scale for twelve years. In 1895 he 
established a nuisical business, occupying 
the i)roperty at 711 Jeffer.son Street, where 
he carried a large line of |)ianos, organs, 
violins, and other .stringed instruments and 
general supplies. In more recent years he 
has added one of the best line of phono- 
graphs to be found anywhere in this sec- 
tion of the West, and by giving especial at- 
tention to this de])artment has built u]) a 
large patronage. Mr. W eis is not unin- 
terested in public affairs, for indeed he has 
devoted to them much study, and is in his 
political alliance a member of the Repub- 
lican part), in who.se tenets he holds stanch 
faith : but he has always ajiplied himself 
to private business rather than to partisan 
activity, never failing, however, to cast his 
ballot in favor of pure government. 

To .Mr. and Mrs. Weis have been h rn 
four children, who survive: ICleanor, who 
was educated in llurlington high schools, 
has had nuisical training since her eighth 
year, has taught music since she was fifteen 
years of age. and enjoys an enviable re])uta- 
tion as a i)ianist : Reynold, now in high 
school, also enjoyed the privileges of nui- 
sical instruction after becoming eight years 
of age, and now at the age of fifteen has 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



321 



been giving lessons on the violin for two 
years, having at the present time a class of 
fifteen pupils ; Helmer, aged twelve, is yet 
in the public school: Enfried, aged seven, 
is a fine vocalist, having, sung on several 
occasions in the opera house, and received 
the praise of many competent critics. Mr. 



They were natives of Ohio, were married in 
Yellow Springs township, Des Moines 
county, and for many years lived in Huron 
township. It was in 1839 that John Waddle 
came to Iowa and purchased land near 
Northfield. After a few years he sold this 
and bought near Kossuth, making his home 



\\'eis has built a beautiful home at mo upon this farm until a few months prior to 

Bartlett .Street, where he has resided dur- his death, when he sold his property. He 

ing the past twenty years, and is sur- died in Yellow Springs township, March lo, 

rounded by an accomplished and happy 1894, at the age of seventy-seven years, and 

family, an atmosphere of music and esthetic his wife died in the same toAvnship, Feb. 

pleasure. He is himself a natural musician, 26, i8gi, at the age of sixty-four years. 



has cultivated his talent to a high degree of 
perfection, and is consequently well quali- 
fied for the conduct of such a business as 
that in which he is engaged. In this he has 
always been very successful, acquiring a 
generous competency and the means for 



Both were buried in Old Round Prairie 
cemetery. They were members of the 
Presbyterian church. Mr. Waddle was an 
old-line \\'hig in early life, while later he 
became a supporter of the Republican 
party, and filled a number of township 



developing in his children the talent which offices with credit to himself and satisfac- 
he has transmitted to them in such a marked tion to his constituents. 



degree. He is well known in Burlington 
and surrounding cities, and his home is a 
center of culture and friendship. 



Robert C. Waddle, the third in order of 
birth in a family of ten children, all of 
whom reached mature years, was educated 
in the district schools of his township, and 
assisted his father upon the home farm 
until about the time he attained his major- 
ity. He then learned surveying, which he 
has followed to a greater or less extent all 
Robert Courtney Waddle, horticultur- his life. During the greater part of the 
ist, and secretary of the Des Moines County time for the past thirt}- years he has served 
Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, as county surveyor, rendering acceptable 
is also well and widely known by reason of service in that position, as is indicated by 
the fact that for about thirty years he has the fact that he has long been retained in 
served as countv surveyor. He is now the office. 



ROBERT COURTNEY WADDLE. 



living on Section 12, Union township, en- 
gaged in the cultivation of fruit, and his 
well-directed business efforts are bringing 
to him very desirable success. He is a 
native son of this county, born in Huron 
township, Jan. 4, 1848, his parents being 
John and Mary Ann (Howery) Waddle. 



In 1877 Mr. Waddle was married to 
Miss Agnes Hannum, a native of W'ashing- 
ton county, Iowa. They have never had 
any children of their own, but reared the 
two sons of Mrs. Waddle's brother, Carl A. 
and Harry Hays Hannum, whose mother 
died when the younger was onl\- a few 



322 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



weeks old. The year following his mar- 
riajje Mr. Waddle purchased his present 
farm of thirty acres, which is devoted to 
the raising of fruit. He now has one thou- 
sand ap])le trees, three hundred and fifty 
pear trees, and one hundred plum trees, 
besides considerable sinall fruit. In se- 
lecting his fruit trees, he is particular to 
get those varieties which are noted for 
flavor as well as size, and because of the 
high grade of his products, he finds a ready 
sale on the market for all he raises. 

Mr. Waddle exercises his right of fran- 
chise in sup|)ort of the men and measures of 
the Republican ])arty, and is unfaltering in 
his advocacy of its principles. Upon the 
death of Mr. C. M. Garman, in April, 1903, 
he was ap[)ointcd secretary of the Des 
Moines County Mutual Fire Insurance 
Company, and has since acted in that ca- 
pacity. His wife is a member of the I'nited 
Presbyterian church, and he attends its serv- 
ices and contributes to its support. He is 
a self-made man. ■\vhiise financial .ulvan- 
tages in youth were few, but who has 
through the careful husbanding of his re- 
sources, his unfaltering perseverance and 
diligence, met with ;i fair measure of suc- 
cess. 



JOSEPH A. LLOYD. 

Any work which has for its object the 
philoso])hicaI exposition of tin- history of 
a community, with a view to its adoption 
by the present or future generations as a 
guide or an ins])iration in the daily affairs 
of liff, must in a large measure de.il with 
the origins of that society, with the 
primeval condition of the land, and with 
the careers and characters of the men and 



women who, urged by the stimulus of 
some supreme conviction, waged war 
with hostile nature, pushed back her bor- 
ders, and reclaimed her hitherto wild and 
untamed forces to the uses and i)ur|)oses 
of civilization. 

Of the well-known ])ioncer families 
that made I3es .Moines county what it is 
to-day, — one of the richest agricultural 
sections of the .Mississippi valley, — 
Jose])h .\. Lloyd is a worthy re|)resenta- 
tive. and a record of his life, showing the 
relation in which he stood to tlu- early 
(leveloi)ment of Iowa, will be valuable as 
illustrating inan's power over environ- 
ment, as an example of high achievement 
through noble and inflexible resolve. 

Joseph .\. Lloyd was born in Dearborn 
county, Indiana, near the city of Cincin- 
nati. .March 6. 1826, the son of William 
II. and .\ancy (Shaw) Lloyd. The 
father and mother were both natives of 
the State of Ohio, the father being born 
ni-.ir lA-lianon. • )lii<). .Vine children were 
i)orn to them, of whom three are still liv- 
ing. In 1834 the family came to Iowa, 
jose|)h being at that time about fourteen 
years of age. There was no land sold 
west of the Mississii)])i River to any one 
previous to this family's purchase. They 
settled first in Lee county, where the 
father operated a farm in Green Hay 
townshi]). .\fter farming there for a few 
years, they moved to Oes Moines comity, 
l)nl he never engaged in ,icti\e life .ifter 
coming to Des Moines county. He died 
in 1840, at the age of about seventy years. 

Farm life in Des Moines county at that 
lime was a very iliflFerent matter from 
that with which we are familiar to-day. 
The early jiioncers had to settle down to 
a long fight w ith the wilderness, — a fight 




JOSEPH A. LLOYD. 



DBS MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



325 



which was to issue in such splendid tri- 
umj)ii ill later years, and whose object 
was to secure "the glorious privilege of 
being independent." Theirs was a life of 
many cares, and was necessarily much 
concerned with the acquirement of 
worldly wealth ; not because they con- 
sidered material benefits as the highest 
good in life, but because they saw that 
these might be made the means to spiri- 
tual ends, and that the successful tiller of 
the soil has the strength to resist the 
march of wrong and to help forward the 
cause of right. 

Joseph A. Lloyd obtained his early 
education in the common schools of Lee 
county, and worked on the home farm till 
he was about twenty-one years of age. 
He then began working for himself by 
working Ijy the month on farms in tlie 
neighborhood, doing this until the break- 
ing out of the Civil War. Then the call 
of his country in her time of need 
sounded clearly to him. 

He enlisted in 1863, in Company C, of 
the Thirtieth Infantry Volunteers, and 
served till the end of the war. He was 
engaged in a number of the more impor- 
tant battles of the war, as well as many 
skirmishes. He was at the siege of 
Vicksburg, and during the fight was 
wounded in the wrist. While on the 
march to the sea with Sherman, he re- 
ceived another wound, in the battle at 
Resaca, this wound being in the shoulder, 
and being of such a serious nature that he 
was left there in the hospital. When the 
long, cruel conflict was over, and the cit- 
izen soldiers were dispersed to their 
homes, Mr. Lloyd received his discharge 
at Davenport, Iowa, and came to Des 
Moines countv. 



Here he located on a farm in Franklin 
township, where he purchased eighty 
acres of land, and made a home. To this 
farm he added, from time to time, until 
he owned one hundred and twenty acres 
of fertile farming land, besides some tim- 
ber. There he engaged in general farm- 
ing and stock-raising until 1900, when he 
retired from active life, and moved into 
Mediapolis. In that city he has erected 
a large and beautiful home, in which he 
is content to pass the evening of his life 
in peace and (|iiiet, and leave the struggle 
to others, knowing that he has borne his 
share through the heat of the day, has 
faithfully fulfilled all the duties that have 
devolved u])on him, and has earned the 
rest that he is now enjoying. 

Mr. Lloyd was married on Oct. 18, 
1871, to Miss Sarah Haynes, a native of 
Des Moines county, being born in Frank- 
lin township, and the daughter of Gard- 
ner and Sarah (Porter) Haynes. The 
father was born Feb. 11, 1816, in Dutchess 
county. New York, and came to Iowa at 
an early age, locating in Franklin town- 
ship, this county, and engaging in farm- 
ing. He was very successful, and became 
a farmer on a large scale, and well known in 
the county. He died on the home place, 
Jan. 25, 1897, at the age of eighty-one 
years. The mother was also a natix-e of 
Dutchess county, New York, and died on 
the home place in Franklin township, 
Nov. I, 1891, at the age of seventy-four 
years. She was one of a family of five 
children, four of whom are still living. 
Mrs. Lloyd received her education in the 
common schools of the conimunil\-. and 
remained in the home conmnmity till the 
time of her marriage. 

Politicallv, Mr. Llovd acted with the 



326 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA'IEIV 



Republican jjarty. and is one of its highly 
valiieil nicnihcrs in his township, possess- 
inj^- nnicli indiuMicc in its councils, using 
his inlliKMKc in acconUmcc with the i)ur- 
cst dictates of integrity and honor. He 
and his wife attend antl su|)])ort the IVe.s- 
hyterian church, doing much l)y the influ- 
ence of their lives t(j advance the cause of 
right. I'lu- keynote of Mr. Lloyd's life 
and character is integrity and fidelity to 
his ohligations in all his relations with 
his fellow-men. and such has been the 
strict uprightness aiui unswerving direct- 
ness of his course that to Iiini all accord 
admiration, resjiect. and genuine regard, 
lie li.is a wide ac(|uaintance. and to write 
tile chronicle of his life, his wori<, and his 
success is a pleasure which will be 
shared, as readers, by many friends, 
whose esteem he h;is won in full and 
generous measure. 



REVEREND WILLIAM VANCE. 

Tiir. world passed favorable judgment 
upon the life of Reverend William Vance, 
for there were many elements in his char- 
acter wiiich commanded for him universal 
confidence and esteem. The place which he 
occupied in the regard of those with whom 
he came in contact was a tribute to that 
genuine worth and true nobleness of char- 
acter which are everywhere recognized and 
honored. He acce])te<l life as one long 
course of sjjiritual warfare, and to him 
was vouchsafed a great victory over the 
forces of evil because of his conscientious 
use of great natural gifts, and because of 
his infinite, unfaltering trust in a Higher 
F'ower. 



William N'ance was bom in Westmoreland 
county, l\Minsylvania, I'eb. 14. 1821, the son 
of Joshua and Elizabeth (.Murphy) Vance. 
Tile father, Joshua \'ance, was a farmer by 
occupation, but died when his son William 
was quite small, and from that time on 
William \'ance lived with his maternal 
grandfather Murphy, who was also a 
farmer. He received a good common- 
school education, and learned the carpenter's 
trade. 

.At the age of seventeen \ears he was con- 
verted, and became a member of the Church 
of God: and being of a thoughtful turn of 
mind and having a devout nature, he was 
strongly imj)resscd by the idea that his 
field of labor lay in the Christian ministf)'. 
By the time he had reached the age of 
twenty-two years he was licensed to preach, 
and followed that as his profession through- 
out the remainder of his life. 

He was married in Westmoreland county. 
I'ennsyivania, Dec. 24, 1841, to Miss Fannie 
Leighty. She was also a native of West- 
ninreland county, being born Mav 11. iSji. 
die daughter of I'eter and Xancy (.Myers) 
Leighty. She was reared on a farm and 
received a fair common-school education. 
Her religious training was in the Church of 
God. In the sjiring of 1850 Mr. and Mrs. 
\'ance left rennsylvania, and came to Iowa. 
.\ company of seven families loaded their 
goods on a lx)at, floated down the Ohio, and 
came by steamer up the Mississippi to Bur- 
lington. For a time they lived in Harmony 
Settlement, southwest of Danville. Later 
they moved to Doddsville, and lived there 
twelve years on a farm. Reverend \ance 
k-e])t u]) his ])reaching and let his family 
carry on farming. To them were born eight 
cliildren, of whom six are still living. The 
eldest. Mary .\nn. died single. Peter now 



DFS MOIXnS COUNTY, IOWA. 



327 



lives near Sperry, Iowa, aiul a complete 
sketch of his life appears elsewhere in this 
volume. Alarion was married to Miss Alary 
Landers, and died in Danville township, 
in 1880, leaving one son. Ross, who now 
has his residence in Ottumvva, Iowa. Maria 
is the wife of Walter Bishop, of Pleasant 
Grove township. Henry married Miss Mar- 
tha Anderson, and now has his home in 
Henry county, Iowa. Samantha married 
William P. Denny, who died Dec. 9, 1904, 
leaving two children, Fannie and James. 
Alice is the wife of Roll }»[oore, of Dan- 
ville township. Edward was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Mary Blodgett, and lives in 
Pleasant Grove township. 

Reverend Vance came to Iowa with but 
little, but both he and his family were good 
managers and thrifty in their ways of living, 
so that when he left the farm he was the 
owner of one hundred sixty-five acres of 
good land. After leaving the farm he moved 
to New London, where he lived for eight 
years. After that he came to the home of 
his daughter, Mrs. Denny, where he made 
his home until the time of his death, which 
occurred about two months after he came 
there to live. 

Reverend Vance was a Republican in 
his political beliefs, but was in no sense a 
politician, feeling that he could advance the 
cause of good citizenship more by the ex- 
ample of an upright life than he could by 
entering the turmoil of party strife. His 
lamented death occurred Feb. 26. 1904, and 
his remains are interred in P>urge cemetery. 
New London. For more than fifty years he 
labored faithfully as a minister of the gospel, 
and his social, kindly nature endeared him to 
hosts of friends. Though he has passed 
away, yet his memory is cherished by those 
with whom he came in contact. He left his 



impress for good upon all who knew his high 
Christian character. His career was one 
long benediction, and the bright example of 
his life shall be an inspiration to lead the 
coming generations to higher things. The 
world is better because he lived. 



PETER VANCE. 



Peter V.\nce, whose residence in Des 
Moines county dates from 1850, is a son of 
William and Fannie ( Leighty ) X'ance, and 
was born in Westmoreland countv, Pennsvl- 
vania, on Oct. 12, 1844. About six years 
later his parents started with their family 
from the Keystone State to Des Moines 
county, Iowa, making the journey by boat 
down the Ohio River from Pittsburg, and 
up the Mississippi to Burlington. A settle- 
ment was then made in Danville township, 
where the father worked at the carpenter's 
trade for a number of years, and in 1853 he 
purchased land in Franklin township. Soon 
afterward, however, he sold this tract and 
returned to Danville township, where he 
spent his remaining days, with the exception 
of a few years passed in New London. 
Through a long period he actively and suc- 
cessfully carried on agricultural pursuits. 
and his life was characterized by honorable 
dealing and indefatigable energy. He died 
in Danville township. Feb. 26. 1904, at the 
ripe old age of eighty-three years, his birth 
having occurred Feb. 14. 1821. He had 
three children when he brought his family 
to the West, and here he reared a family of 
eight children. 

As before stated, Peter \"ance was in his 
sixth 3-ear when he accompanied his parents 
to Iowa, and in Des Moines coiuUv he was 



328 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



reared, acquiring his education in the public 
schools. In his youth he assisted his father 
upon tlie hoiiie farm until he entered mil- 
itary service. At the time of the Civil 
War he responded to the country's call for 
aid, enlisting in 1862, at Doddsville, Iowa, 
as a member of Comi)any G, Thirty-ninth 
Inwa Infantry, lie was mustered in at 
Davenport, and i)artici])ated in various 
battles in western Tennessee, and went from 
Chattanooga to Atlanta, and thence to the 
coast under command of General Sherman 
on iiis famous march to the sea. He took 
part in the battle of .Mlatoona I'ass. one of 
the most fiercely contested engagements of 
the war. It was from this battle that the 
message was sigfnalled at the time that the 
.song, "Hold the Fort," was written. Mr. 
Vance continued to serve his country until 
1865, having marched with Sherman through 
North and South Carolina, and participated 
in the grand review at Washington, the most 
celebrated military ]>ageant ever seen in the 
western hemisphere. Here he was mustered 
out in June, 1865, and honorably discharged 
at Clinton, Iowa. With a creditable military 
record he returned to his home, and he now 
maintains pleasant relations with bis old 
army comrades tbrougb bis meitibirsliip in 
Sbepard I'ost, Grnnd Aniiv of the l\i'])nl)lic. 
at Mediapolis. 

Throughout his entire life Mr. X'ance has 
devoted bis energies to farming and stock- 
raising, wliicb he is now successfully carry- 
ing on. He first inircbased land about 1890, 
becoming owner of forty acres on Section 12, 
I'ranklin township, to which be has added 
from time to time until bis possessions now 
aggregate one hundred and ninety acres, a 
part of which lies in Benton township. 

On March 6, 1879, Mr. \'ancc was mar- 
ried to Miss Eliza Haynes, a daughter of 



Gardner and Sarah (Porter) Haynes. They 
are the parents of six children : Edgar, 
Elsie, William Gardner, W'alter, Burton, and 
Sadie, all at home. Mr. X'ance is a member 
of the Masonic lodge at Mediapolis. In 
politics he is a stalwart Republican, standing 
firmly by the party which was the cham|)ion 
of the L'nion cause in the dark days of the 
Civil War. and has ever stood for progress 
and iiuprovement. He is, however, without 
political aspiration, and has ever given his 
undivided attention to bis business interests, 
in which he has met with gratifying success. 



STEPHEN CARTWRIGHT. 

Stei'MKN C.\i<i WKiGiiT. for many years 
a successful farmer, and now living retired 
at 311 South Garfield Avenue, Burlington, 
is numbered among Iowa's native sons, hav- 
ing been born July 29, 1848, in Augusta 
townsbi]). I)es .Moines county, the son of 
William I". Cartwright, a native of Dela- 
ware, who came to Iowa in 1839, and died 
when our subject was but nine years of age. 
.Mr. Cartwrigbt's mother tlied when be was 
only five years olil. and bis father remarrietl. 
The elder Cart-wright, who was a farmer, 
became quite wealthy, owning at the time of 
his death four fine farms. 

The subject of this review passed his 
first years on his father's farm, receiving 
his education in \\'innebago School District 
Xo. 2, so called from a tribe or band of 
Indians who formerly roamed the woods in 
that neighborhood. The original frame 
school building has since been displaced by 
a fine stone residence, opposite which stands 
.\sbury Chapel, the ]>lace of worsbiji ff)r 
the local congregation of the Methodist 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



329 



Episcopal church. Mr. Cartwright is one of 
a family of nine brothers and sisters, as 
follows : H. W., of Bitrlington ; Susan, 
widow of Robert Lynn, deceased, of Mount 
Pleasant ; Eliza, who resides with Susan at 
Mount Pleasant ; Lydia, wife of James 
Hankins, of Agency, Iowa : Fannie, wife of 
James Castile, of Pierce county. Nebr. : 
Stephen, our subject, and William, of Ot- 
tumwa, Iowa, are twins : Sarah Jane, wife 
of Oscar Bryson, of Villisca, Iowa ; and 
Rachel, wife of James Short, of Henry 
county, Iowa. 

Remaining at home until attaining his 
majority, Mr. Cartwright then rented land 
and farmed for a time in Henry county, then 
returned to Des Moines county, and after 
his marriage in 1873, bought land in Flint 
River township. After remaining there a 
year, he sold that farm, rented land for a 
time, and again purchased land, this being 
ninety acres in Union township, which he 
still owns. Since acquiring the original 
tract in 1876, he has constantly added to it 
until at one time he owned two hundred and 
sixty acres, but has since sold a portion to 
his son, and the farm now consists of one 
hundred and seventy-five acres of fertile and 
extremely productive agricultural lands in 
a high state of cultivation, one hundred and 
twenty-five acres of which is prairie land. 
He has introduced modern methods into its 
operation, and made many improvements 
of the first ordei" of excellence, including a 
two-story frame house twenty-two by 
twenty-eight feet, with an addition sixteen 
by twenty-four feet, and a barn thirty-six 
by forty feet. Besides general farming, 
he has given much attention to raising and 
feeding thoroughbred stock, especially 
Shorthorn cattle and Poland-China hogs, 
with which he has alwavs been successful 



to a very gratifying degree. Among the 
notable features of the farm is a magnifi- 
cent artesian Avell that is the envy of all who 
have been privileged to see it. In the year 
1887, in the effort to get good water during 
the drought, Mr. Cartwright put down the 
well, digging twenty-six feet and boring 
seventeen feet, at which depth he struck 
a vein of Howing water which runs con- 
stantly and is apparently inexhaustible. A 
modern and complete system of piping 
carries the water to the desired points. The 
water is somewhat mineral, containing 
iron, sulphur, salt, and magnesium, and as 
it is the onl}- well of the kind in the town- 
ship, or indeed anywhere near, its discovery 
created great excitement, and led many 
others to attempt to strike the same vein, 
but all these attempts have been failures. 

Dec. 31, 1873, in Asbury Chapel, Mr. 
Cartivright was united in marriage to Miss 
Margaret L. Blakeway, who was born in 
Des Moines county in 1857, the daughter of 
John C. and Priscilla Blakeway. Her par- 
ents, who were reared in Virginia, were 
married in Palmyra, Mo., and the father 
died Feb. 19, 1902, in his seventy-sixth 
year, while the mother's demise occurred 
Jan. 22, 1900, in the seventy-second year 
of her age. They are survived by nine chil- 
dren, these being in the order of birth as 
follows : William Dement, of Stockton, Cal. ; 
Elizabeth Eleanor, widow of Nathan Colby, 
of Burlington : Alargaret Louisa, Mrs. Cart- 
wright : Alice Emily, wife of Peter Magel, 
of Union township ; Edward Emmett, of 
Danville, Iowa ; Thomas LTlysses, of Kan- 
sas ; John Carson of Augusta township, Des 
Moines county ; Frank, of Burlington ; and 
Hattie Jane, wife of Harry Bolan, of St. 
Louis, Mo. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright have been 



330 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA'IEW 



born one son and two daughters, to all of 
whom they "have given the best of etUicational 
prei)aration for life, combined with ideal 
home and religious training. John Wesley, 
the eldest, resides on a farm near Leaven- 
worth, K:ms. He married Miss Almina 
Hensley, and the\ have four chihiren. Clay 
Whitford. Helen Lucile, Margaret I-lorence. 
and Harold Wesley, .\bbie May. the second 
child, is a graduate of Elliott's Business 
College, of Ihirlington, but gives her prin- 
cipal attention to music, for wliich slie has 
a decided talent, having received frei|uent 
encouragement from recognized masters of 
the art. .Mice Maud is the wife of Estile 
Kgan, a farmer near Hamilton, 111., and 
tlie\ have two children. Margaret Gertrude, 
and .Mice Eveline. 

Mr. Cartwright has ahvays ixen inter- 
ested in questions of government, and has 
consistently cast his ballot in favor of good 
government as a member of the Republican 
party, and although he has never sought 
pulilic (iftic(,\ lias at various times consented 
to serve bis neighbors and friends as direc- 
tor of the public schools, and also for several 
years as road su])ervisor, doing much to 
promote the cause of good highways in bis 
district. The higher interests of mankind 
have been for him an imceasing study and 
field of endeavor, and while living on the 
farm he was member of the Methodist 
F.piscopal church at .\sbury Chapel, to the 
building of which be was a liberal and 
generous ccinlrihnlor. I'Or five years be 
held the office of steward of the cliurch, and 
his part in the work of the Sunday-school 
was ever an active and helpful one. In 
October, 1903, when he removed to tUir- 
lington and ])nrcbased the pleasant and 
connufxlious lionie on Garfield .Avenue 
which he now occupies, he transferred bis 



niemlxTship to the First Methodist Episco- 
pal church i>f liurlington. .\ man of 
marked strength of character, Mr. Cart- 
wright has fairly won the success which he 
now enjoys by his individual efforts, and 
throughout his entire career he has pre- 
served that exalted sense of justice and the 
rights of others which springs from his 
innate integrity, uprightness, and scrupu- 
lous honesty. These unbending virtues of 
his character have won him the well- 
merited respect of all, while his genial and 
social disposition have brought him a wide 
acquaintance and many friends, and it may 
with truth be said that his life is one of the 
highest types of success in every scn.se of 
the word, emlwdying. as it does, prosperity 
both material and spiritual, and finding its 
culmination in the secure and undying pos- 
session of an honored and honorable name. 



CHARLES WESLEY WAITE. 

TiiiiKK is probably no one among the 
traveling men of the .Missis.sippi valley 
who is more favorably known and re- 
spected than the subject of this review. 
He has been on the road practically all 
his life, and by his energy, ability, and 
courtesy has achieved success and made 
a host of friends all along the line. 

Charles W'aite is a son of I'lenjamin 
I'ranklin .uid .Mary jane (Curtis) Waite, 
and was born in Dayton, ( )bio, March i, 
i><4<j. His father was born in West Kush- 
ville. Ohio, in iSiS. where he received his 
education and was reared to manhoo(l. 
He went to Davlon at an early day. and 
went into the dry-goods business, where 
he continueil to he a prosperous merchant 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



331 



till he retired. Politically, he was a 
Republican, but never really aspired to 
office, though his ability and good judg- 
ment placed him on the school board for 
a number of )'ears, and during the war 
he was the trusted officer to distribute 
money to the widows and orphans. 

From childhood Mr. W'aite had been 
raised in the Methodist faith, and was 
one of the most devoted members of this 
church, alwavs taking much interest in 
the Sunday-school work, where he was 
superintendent for many years. He was 
also a member of the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows. His death occurred in 
Dayton, Ohio, in 1890, in the seventy- 
third -^ear of his age. He had assisted in 
many ways to make the city a prosperous 
and thriving one. and his death was 
mourned b}' all who knew him, as his 
influence had ever been for good, and w'ill 
be long felt after his very name shall 
have passed out of the minds of men. 

Mrs. Waite, mother of our subject, was 
born in Perth Amboy, a city on the coast 
of Xew Jersey, and when very young 
went to Dayton with her parents, where 
she grew to womanhood, and where she 
was married. She, too, was an earnest 
member of the Methodist church, and 
was a woman of much refinement and 
culture, who took rare delight in doing 
good for others. In 1871 she passed 
away in the city of Dayton, which had 
been her beloved home for so many 
years ; and there in the beautiful ceme- 
tery, in the shade of the trees, she and 
her husband are buried. 

Of the eight children born to this 
W'orthy couple, six grew to maturity : 
(i) Benjamin T., died in Indianapolis, 
Ind., in 1885: (2) Caroline, married the 



Rev. James H. (iardner, a Methodist min- 
ister of Delaware, Ohio, and has two 
daughters, both married. (3) Amelia E., 
has been married twice. Her first hus- 
band was a Mr. Sv^-eet. They were the 
parents of one son, Frank \\'. Sweet, who 
made his home with his uncle, the subject 
of this re\-iew, in 1888, and attended 
the schools in Hurlington. During 1888 
the Rev. G. J. Johnson held a revival 
in Burlington, and Mrs. Sweet's son was 
among the converts. He was baptized by 
Dr. Johnson, March 25, 1888, and is 
now a prominent Baptist minister in 
Adrian, Mich. After Air. Sweet died, his 
widow later married Albert J. William- 
son, of Piqua. Ohio, who is now de- 
ceased, and Mrs. Williamson now makes her 
home with her son. Rev. Frank \\'. Sweet. 
(4) Charles Wesley, our subject. (5) 
.\nna Eliza, the wife of Charles S. Sulli- 
van, who is a book merchant in Dayton, 
Ohio. (6) Sarah Josephine, married Rob- 
ert Cunningham, who owns a book-store 
in Delaware, Ohio. Two died in infancy. 

Air. A\'aite received his education in the 
public schools of Dayton, where he was 
graduated from the high school. After 
he laid aside his text-books he clerked for 
several years in a store, where he soon 
learned the business. When al)out twen- 
ty-one years of age, he began to travel, 
and has virtually been on the road ever 
since in the employ of Eastern firms, be- 
ing now with a Chicago compan}- with a 
territory out of Chicago and headquarters 
in Burlington. 

April 23, 1879, ^^^- ^^ aite married Miss 
Fannie A. David, who is a daughter of 
Barton T. and Frances Ann (Rosser) 
David, whose history will be found on 
another page of these sketches, in con- 



332 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



nection willi that of his son-in-law, 
Charles M. Garnian. Mrs. Waite was 
born in the city of Burlinpton, Iowa, 
where she attended the common schools 
and grew to womanhood. 

.Mr. and .Mrs. Waite have been blessed 
with six children as follows: Stella 
David, married Augustus R. Kuhlemeier, 
a mechanical engineer, resides in Chicago. 
an<l has one son, Charles A.; Carrie M., 
wife of John Clymo, an employee of the 
Chicago, liurlington & Quincy Railroad: 
Charles Wesley. Jr.. travels for the \\ yeth 
Hardware Com|)any, of St. Joe, Mo., and 
resitles in llurlington: Louise Guest, at- 
home with her parents: Ralph G.. resides 
in Des Moines: one child died in infancy. 
The above-named children were all born 
and educated in Kurlington. 

Ill ii')liiics .Mr. Waite has ever been an 
ardent Re|)ul>lican, giving his hearty sup- 
port and influence to promote the best 
interest of his i)arty. He has also fol- 
lovve<l ill the footste|)s of his father and 
grandlather in his religious views, having 
long been a member of the .Methodist 
church. Mrs. Waite was raised a Baptist, 
but is now a member of tile .Methodist 
church. .Mr. \\ aite has taken all the de- 
grees in .Masonry uj) to and including the 
3J(1 degree, being a member of the lodge. 
chapter, and commandery at Galesburg, 
and of the consistory and Kaaba Temple 
of the Mystic Shrine at Davenport. His 
trips take him from home a great deal, 
as he is gone three and four weeks at a 
time: but when he is in the city, enjpys 
tin- comforts of his pretty home at 002 
.Summer Street. 

The business methods adopted by .Mr. 
Waite have been of the very highest, and 
are largely the secret of his success and 



I)ro.sperity. He is warm-hearted, po.ssess- 
ing a genial manner and cordial disposi- 
tion which have made him popular in 
both business and fraternal circles, and 
he is kindly welcomed in all places. 



REV. WILLIAM F. COWLES, D. D. 

Rev. Willi.vm Fletcher Cowi.es, de- 
ceased, who -was one of the leading divines 
of the Methodi.st Episcopal church of Iowa, 
was Ixmi in McGranville. X. Y., May 11, 
1819, and died in Burlington, July 14, 1899, 
at the age of eighty years, two months, and 
three days. In the paternal line he was 
descended from the Puritans and Cove- 
nanters, while his ancestry in the maternal 
line was traced back to Richard Gardner, 
wln) came to .America on the " Mayflower." 
His parents, however, were of the .Method- 
ist faith, and their home was always the place 
of entertainment for the itinerant minister 
who visited their neighborhood. Reared in 
a Christian atmosphere, the seeds of truth 
and of devotion to the church were early 
sown in the heart of William Fletcher 
Cowles. and in due time bore rich fruit. He 
was his father's companion, and learned from 
that godly ni;m many valuable lessons. He 
attended all the church meetings with his 
father, and when twelve years of age -was 
converted : and later, making confession of 
bis faith, he joined the church, and from that 
time forward was actively engaged as a 
laliorer in the .Master's vineyard, although 
he did not at once ally himself with the min- 
istry. The Rev. Peter G. Bridgman, pastor 
of the Methodist Episcopal church, at Gren- 
ville. X. W, gave him a license to exhort, 
without his solicitation. This strengthened 




/;H^.^,n^ 



DFS MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



335 



•his conviction in the Christian religion and 
the plan of salvation ; but he planned to be 
a good lawman rather than a preacher, and 
as a preparation for a life vocation he entered 
upon the study of medicine, attending Cort- 
land Academy, and occasionally engaging 
in teaching in the public schools, working at 
honest labor in order to acquire the funds 
necessary to complete his college education. 

In July, 1841, the Rev. D. A. Shepherd, 
presiding elder of the Cortland district, 
gave him a license to preach, and this also 
came to him unsought. In a short time he 
went to Hudson, Ohio, where he engaged in 
teaching in the public schools. During the 
winter of 1841-42 a great religious revival 
swept over the country, and Rev. Cowles, 
active in the work, was appointed assistant 
pastor for the remainder of the year, and 
recommended to the Northern Ohio confer- 
ence for admission ; but that conference be- 
ing overcroAvded, he entered upon church 
work under the elder in the Michigan con- 
ference, and was admitted on probation in 
the fall of 1843, while in 1845 he was or- 
dained deacon, and in 1848 was made elder 
by Bishop Janes. 

During his ministry in Michigan, Rev. 
Cowles served as pastor of the Methodist 
churches in Ionia, Mapleton, and Grand 
Rapids. In 1850 he was transferred to the 
Missouri conference, and in 1851 to the Iowa 
conference, his first pastorate in this State 
being at Keokuk. In 1852 he was sent to 
Dubuque, and in 1853-54 he was in Bur- 
lington, during which time he built the 
Ebenezer church. In 1855 he went to 
Keokuk, and in 1856-57 was agent for the 
Iowa Wesleyan University. He served as 
presiding elder of the Oskaloosa district 
from 1858 until 1862; was pastor of the 
First Methodist church at Oskaloosa in 



1863-64; of the First Methodist church of 
Ottumwa from 1865 to 1867; at Eddyville 
in 1868 ; Muscatine in 1869 ; the Main Street 
Methodist church, of Mount Pleasant, in 
1870 : presiding elder for the Muscatine 
district in 1871 ; and in 1872 was again 
appointed agent for the Iowa Wesleyan 
University. From 1873 until 1876 he was 
presiding elder of the Mount Pleasant dis- 
trict : was pastor of the Simpson church at 
Oskaloosa in 1877-78; at Grinnell in 1879; 
presiding elder of the Burlington district 
from 1880 until 1884; pastor of the Method- 
ist church at Knoxville in 1885 ; at Albia 
in 1886; the Main Street Methodist church 
at Ottumwa in 1887 ; and in the fall of 1888 
he took supernumerary relations, which he 
held until his death. The history of the 
church records his work, which, character- 
ized by conscientious zeal and earnestness, 
was not denied the full harvest nor the after- 
math. 

Rev. Cowles led the delegation of Iowa to 
the general conference in 1872, this being 
the fourth time that the honor was conferred 
upon him, and he vv'as alternate in 1876. He 
was a member of the board of trustees of the 
Iowa Wesleyan University from 1870 until 
his death, was president of the board from 
1873 '■'"til 1878, and its vice-president dur- 
ing the two succeeding years. He was a 
member of the board of trustees of the Epis- 
copal residence from i88r to 1884, and 
preached the centenary sermon in 1885, while 
the preceding year he was a member of the 
committee on centennial commission. He 
was secretary of the State camp-ground 
meeting committee and also on the commit- 
tee on conference boundaries and the com- 
mittee appointed to unify the Methodist Col- 
leges of Iowa. These committees, of which 
he was a member from 1878 until 1885, dealt 



336 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



with many live questions. The history of 
the conference and university shows that he 
was well acquainted with parhamentary 
tactics, and that he solved many ilifficult 
problems which came before those IxMlies. 

A man of scholarly attainments, he (pos- 
sessed also a large amount of that quality 
which we call common sense, and -which is 
frequently lacking in the student. He was 
strong in debate, forceful in argument, log- 
ical in his deductions, and at the same time 
his utterance, his acts, and his very life were 
permeated with that s])irit of sympathy which 
is one of the basic elements of Christianity. 
He was in touch with every department of 
the church work, and was especially friendly 
and helpful to the young men in the minis- 
try and in the church. He kept informed on 
all the great questions of the day affecting 
our national honor and progress, and in ante- 
iRlhim days was a fearless advocate of the 
Abolition cause, advocating the freedom of 
the slaves at many of the leading meetings 
of his church and also at many great gather- 
ings of a secular character. His clear, 
cogent reasoning and unanswerable argu- 
ments at camp-meetings and other places 
won hundreds of converts to the cause of 
liberty, and .so excited the antagonism of the 
friends of slavery that his life Avas often in 
jeopardy. He was a coworker with such 
men as .Senator I larlan. Senator (Irimes, and 
other strong advocates of freedom. He was 
apjKiinted by President Lincoln to the posi- 
tion of collector of internal revenue for what 
was then known as the fifth district of Iowa, 
with lHad(|uarters at Ottunnva, and thus 
served fnnii iS(i5 until 1868. 

Rev. Cowles was three times married. 
On the if<th of September, 1846, he .was 
united in the holy bonds of matrimony with 
Miss .Mexina lUanchard, of Lvons, .Mich., 



and they became the parents of five children, 
of whom three are living: Elloura C, the 
wife of A. C. -McColm, of Sheldon, Iowa; 
Eliza A. ; and William 15., of Omaha, The 
wife and mother died in 1855, and in 1857 
Rev. Cowles wedded Miss Elizabeth La- 
Monte, of Keokuk, Iowa. They ha<l four 
children, two living: LaMonte, of Burling- 
ton, represented elsewhere in this volume ; 
and Gardner, of Des Moines, Iowa. Mrs. 
Elizabeth Cowles died in .\ugust, 1873, and 
in 1876 Rev. Cowles married Mrs. Martha 
Lovett P.arnes, of Ottumwa, the mother of 
Dr. C. E. Barnes, of Burlington, with whom 
she resides on Summer Street. 

After entering into supernumerary rela- 
tions -with the church. Rev. Cowles built a 
home at 707 Summer Street, Burlington, near 
the Grace Methodist Episcopal church, 
which was then under construction. He 
superintended it's finances during its erection 
and u]) to the close of the last conference 
year. .Maii\ times the church was greatly 
embarrassed, but his counsel and heroic 
efiforts rescued it from danger and distress, 
he frcvpiently advancing large sums of 
money to meet emergencies. Full of years 
and honors he passed to his reward, the 
funeral services being held at his home July 
17, 1899. The measure of good which he 
accomplished can not be taken until his 
labors cea.se their fruition in the lives of 
those whom he influenced. Tangible evi- 
dence of his work was seen in the substantial 
growth of the church and the erlucational 
institutions with which he was comiected. 
and the record of those who became converts . 
under his preaching can ;dso be obtained; 
but this is but a poor estimate of his worth 
and -work, for he planted the seeds of truth 
in many hearts, and each day the harvest is 
ripening. 



DBS MOIXES COLWrV. IOWA. 



337 



JOHN J. FLEMING. 

John J. Fleming, a leading real estate 
and loan agent of liurlington, also asso- 
ciated with other business interests of the 
city, so that his activity and the scope of 
his labors make him one of the leading 
residents here, was born at Donaldsville, 
La., March 19, 185 1, his parents being 
Aiichael and Bridget (Alaher) Fleming. 
The paternal grandfather, John Fleming, 
was a resident of Mitchellstown, in county 
Cork, Ireland, where he conducted a mer- 
cantile enterprise, and was also prominent 
in politics. He was known as a pacificator. 
He was also active in military afifairs, serv- 
ing as a lieutenant under the famous Daniel 
O'Connell, who shone as one of Ireland's 
bright political stars during the troublous 
period of 1798-99. This was just preceding 
the passage of the .\ct of 1800, wherebv Ire- 
land was deprived of the political rights 
which up to that time she had enjoyed. 
John Fleming died about 1823, when forty 
years of age. He left a comfortable pn^p- 
erty and a large family. Michael Fleming, 
the sixth in order of birth among seven 
children, was born in 1823, just prior to 
his father's death. In his youth he attended 
the common and national schools of Ire- 
land, pursuing his studies until sixteen years 
of age, when he entered u])i)n his business 
career as a clerk in the employ of the Hack- 
ett Distillery Company. He occupied that 
position for two years, after which he 
crossed the Atlantic to St. Johns, New 
Brunswick, where he started a repair shop, 
which he conductefl for two years. He then 
went to F.oston, .A I ass., where he entered 
the coffee and tea importing house of .\p- 
pleton Brothers. A year later he went to 
New Orleans, where he followed the 



cooper's trade, having his works at Don- 
aldsonvilie, and using his own boats and 
barges to convey his jiroduct to the Xew 
( )rleans market. His business grew to 
extensive ])roportions, and he eniploved 
about twenty-five men in its conduct. He 
tliere continued in business until 1858, when 
he came with his family to Burlington, 
Iowa. Here he continued in the c(iQperage 
business for a short time, after which he 
established a retail grocery. The business 
developing, he conducted a large grocery 
house on Jefferson Street, at the corner of 
l-'ifth Street, until about 1875, when he 
retired from business. He was for ten years 
subsequent to that time police magistrate 
of Burlington ; was also justice of the peace. 
He was ver}- fond of books, and was a well- 
read man. In his political affiliation he 
was a Democrat, taking an active interest 
in politics, and keeping well informed on 
the questions and issues of the day. His 
religious faith was that of the Catholic 
denomination, and he was active in church 
work, contributing liberally to its support, 
and doing all in his power to advance its 
cause. Strictly temperate, he was a man 
of high ]irinciples, conscientious in pur- 
pose, upright in action, and never faltering 
in the performance of any duty which de- 
volved upon him. In his official service 
he was a terror to habitual criminals, for 
they knew that he would not exert clem- 
ency when justice demanded punishment. 
He was serving as magistrate at the time 
of the great railroad strike, and he did as 
nuich as any one man to keep the law- 
breakers from interfering with those who 
worked for the railroad company. 

In 1850. at Xew Orleans, Michael Flem- 
ing was married to Miss Bridget r^Iaher, a 
daughter of Kyran and Margaret (Carey) 



y 



338 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mahcr, who was Ijorii near Kilkenny, Ire- 
land. Her father was a farmer, who had 
extensive landed holdings in that county, 
where he was well known and highly re- 
spected. He died at the age of sixty 
years, and his wife, surviving him, passed 
away when about seventy-five years of age. 
They were the jiarcnts of three sons and 
four daughters, and with one exception all 
of the children came to America ; one son, 
however, still lives on the old homestead 
in the Emerald Isle. Mrs. I'leming came 
to America in 1849, an<l lived with her 
married sister in New Orleans until her 
marriage. She was boril Feb. 29, 1824, 
and died .\pril 14. 1900. She was very 
active in church and charitable work, and 
was greatly beloved by her children, making 
it the puqiosc of her life to promote the 
welfare and happiness of her children. She 
had a large circle of friends, and enjoyed 
the highest regard of all who knew her. 
Although about sev'enty-six years of age 
at the time of her death, she retained her 
yinithful looks in a remarkable degree. 

L'nto .Mr. and Mrs. I-"leniing were born 
four sons and five daughters, all of whom 
reached years of maturity: John J. is the 
eldest. Daniel died in New Orleans about 
five years ago. Mary resides in St. Joseph, 
Mo. Klizabeth became a Sister of Charity, 
and died in Chicago in 1904. She had been 
mother su])erior in Iowa City ; Kansas City, 
Mo. : in Lincoln, 111. : lioulder, Colo. ; Des 
Moines, Iowa: anrl in Chicago. She took a 
most li(.li)l"iil i);irt in building up Catholic 
schools and in teaching boys, and was very 
prominent in the work to which she directed 
her efforts. Margaret became the wife of 
W. P. McDonald, of St. Josejih, Mo., a 
wholesale shoe merchant. Joanna and 
Agnes became mcmluTs of the same order 



to which their sister Elizabeth belonged. 
Edmund K. is commercial agent for the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy I^ailroad 
Com])any. at Chicago. William P. is Ixiok- 
keeper in the .National State Dank in Bur- 
lington. Michael Fleming, the father, died 
in I'ebruary, 1904. 

John J. I-'leming j^ursued his early edu- 
catitm in the i)ublic schools of Burlington, 
and continued his studies in Notre Dame 
University, jnitting aside his text-books at 
the age of eighteen years to enter upon his 
business career. He Ijecame a clerk for B. 
and II. 1). Ilowar<l in their wholesale dry- 
goods business, and sul)se(|uently became 
bookkeeper for their successors, L. H. Dal- 
lioflf & Company, continuing with the two 
firms for three years. He then entered the 
office of the Burlington & .Missouri Rail- 
road Company as chief clerk and assistant 
paymaster, filling that position for two 
years, when he entered the National State 
Bank of Burlington, where he remained for 
twenty-seven years, acting as cashier during 
fifteen years of that time. In h/xt he re- 
signed his position and took charge of the 
affairs of Mrs. E. D. Rand as her trustee, 
and likewise assumed the management of 
tlie property of Charles W. Rand, deceased, 
of whose will he was made executor. In 
connection therewith he makes loans and 
places investments. He is one of the direct- 
ors of the National State Bank. ;ind is one 
of the trustees and the treasurer of the 
I'urlington free ])ublic library. He is ])resi- 
<lent of the Burlington Construction Com- 
pany, which erects buildings, also builds 
sewers and paves streets. This company 
has erected churches and schoolhou.ses, and 
has done nuich important work in connec- 
tion with the im|)rovement of the city. Mr. 
Fleming is likewise president nf the Gran- 



/ 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



339 



ite Brick Company, manufacturers of vitri- 
fied brick, and is a director of the Kelly 
Land and Fuel Company. In his political 
affiliation he has always been a Democrat, 
but has never sought or desired public 
office. He is a member of St. Paul's Cath- 
olic church, of which he is a strong sup- 
porter. He is a past grand knight of the 
Knights of Columbus, and is district deputy 
of that order, having charge of the councils 
of the order at Burlington, Fort Madison, 
Keokuk, and Ottumwa. 

Mr. Fleming was married in May, 1884, 
at Parker, Penn., to Miss Mary Bracken, of 
that place, born Feb. 13, 1863, a daughter 
of Patrick and Esther M. Bracken. Her 
father was a contractor, and operated in 
Pennsylvania and Maryland extensively. 
He built all of the Western Manyland Rail- 
road, and parts of the line now included 
within the Pennsylvania Railroad system. 
He afterward became an extensive oil oper- 
ator in Pennsylvania. He died in 1892, his 
remains being interred at Oil City. His 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Miss 
Braden, is a representative of an old Revo- 
lutionary family, and a niece of ex-Gover- 
nor Johnson of Pennsylvania. Unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Fleming have been born six chil- 
dren : Esther Marie is a graduate of Mount 
•Aloysius Academy, Cresson, Pa., from 
which institution her mother was also grad- 
uated. Philip Bracken is a graduate of 
the Burlington high school. Agnes is a 
student at Mount Aloysius .Academy. 
Elizabeth Pollard, Mary Braden, and John 
J., Jr., complete the family. Mrs. Fleming 
takes a ver}- active part in church work, 
and for a long time was at the head of the 
reading circle connected with St. Paul's 
church, and is a member of the Ladies' 
Musical Club. She is actively interested in 



literature, and her home is the center of a 
cultured society circle, in which she dis- 
penses a gracious and cordial hospitality. 
Mr. Fleming belongs to the Burlington 
Boating .Association, of which he was for 
years an officer, acting for three years as its 
president, and is also a member of the Bur- 
lington Golf Club. He is accounted one 
of the eminent residents of the city, promi- 
nent in its business, social, and church 
circles, and standing as a representative 
.American, capable of planning and control- 
ling extensive interests, and at the same 
time finding opportunity for other interests 
in life that lead to the development of a 
well-rounded character. 



DR. JACOB W. PRICE. 

Dr. Jacob W. Price, for nearly twoscore 
years engaged in the drug business in Bur- 
lington, and widely known in the city and 
contiguous territory, was born Dec. 20, 1833, 
in Franklin county. Indiana, a son of Henry 
and Sarah (Wolf) Price. The Price fam- 
ily dates from the Colonial period prior to 
the Revolutionary War, the first known 
member being Elijah Price, who was ap- 
pointed a member of the committee formed 
at Philadelphia to resist " the stamp act " — ■ 
a movement which culminated in the well- 
known ■■ Boston Tea Party." Although 
Elijah Price was a Quaker, and therefore 
theoretically opposed to forcible resistance, 
he joined in the work of the committee, 
which sent resolutions of sympathy to the 
people of Boston. The father of our subject 
was a native of Fayette county, Pennsyl- 
vania, and the mother, of Washington 
county, in the same State, thev being: mar- 



•340 



BIOGRAPHICAL Rlil'lEW 



ricti ill the latter county. They came through 
the wilderness in 1827, and settled at Brook- 
ville. Ind., the father, beinp a fanner, taking 
up land in the Whitewater bottoms, where 
he owned twi> hundred and sixty acres. 
They were the parents of twelve children, of 
whom nur subject is the fifth in order of 
birth, and ten f)f whom attained maturity. 
The father's death occurred in 1855 in the 
fifty-fifth year of his age, and the mother 
died in iHjf) at the age of sixty-five years. 
Sarah \\ oil I'rice was the daughter of Jacob 
Wolf, a relative of the iSritish General Wolf 
who was killed at the ca])ture of Quebec. 
Jacob Wolf died in Pennsylvania, as did 
also the father of Henry Price. 

Dr. Price was reared on his father's farm, 
attending the public schools, and after an 
independent course of study received a de- 
gree from r.nicikville College. Ilis formal 
educati<in ended at the age of nineteen years, 
when he began leaching, having charge of 
schools in Indiana and Illinois, ilis JKahh 
being poor, he traveled extensively in the 
hope of improvement, going west by way of 
the ( )hio and Mississi])j)i Rivers, from which 
lie landed at the i)rincii)al towns; and in 
1859 went as far west as Minnesota. There 
he traveled over the entire State, living 
largely among the Indians, and by means 
of the outdoor life became possessed of a 
vigorous and robust physical constitution. 
Besides his academic education. Dr. Price 
had received the training of a civil engineer, 
and expected to take part in the government 
surveys during his western tour ; but Con- 
gress made no approjiriation for the jiurpo.se 
that year, so that oidy local surveys were 
attempted, and he returned home. Thence 
he went to Kentucky, traveling in the south- 
western portion of that State as agent for 
Dr. (iunn. l'i)on the inauguration of the 



Civil War he started for home, but at Cin- 
cinnati enlisted in the Woodward Guards, 
composed principally of students and recent 
graduates of the Cincinnati high schools. 
Knthusiastic in his country's cause, he en- 
listed for three months in May. 1S61, in 
Company D, Second Kentucky Infantry, and 
on Ilis discharge he re-enlisted in the same 
com]jany and regiment, serving for three 
years, or until June, 1864. During the 
major portion of this ])eriod he was a mem- 
ber of the pioneer corps, but saw much 
active service in battle, nevertheless, includ- 
ing the liarbersville fight, the fighting along 
the Kanawha River, in numerous skirmishes 
under General Cox. on the western slope of 
the .Mleghany Mountains, and the battle 
of Shiloh, in which he participated as a 
member of Nelson's Division, the advance 
of r.ueH's army. Willi this army he also 
took |)art in tire battle of Perrysville, when 
General Pragg was defeated and turned 
back from his atlem])te(l raid through Ken- 
tucky, and he assisted in the relief of Gen- 
eral Xegley, who was besieged at Nashville 
in 1863. The roll of his battles includes 
moreover tluit of .^tone River and the suc- 
cessfid stand made against the Confederate 
forces on the night of Dec. 31, and Jan. 1 
and 2, 1862-63, while he viewed the battle 
of Chickamauga as a member of the pioneer 
corps, and in the same ca])acity assisted in 
preparing the way for the army in its suc- 
cessful assault on Mission Ridge. During 
his entire service he was never absent from 
duty a single day — a record which may be 
truly characterized as remarkable. 

.\t the close of the great conllict Dr. Price 
came to Iowa, locating at Burlington, where 
he entered the drug business, l-'or thirty-six 
years, or from 1863 to 1902, he continued 
at the head iif a very successful and highly 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



341 



remunerative business in this city, building 
up one of the leading pharmacy stores in 
this portion of Iowa. In addition, he has 
devoted considerable attention and effort to 
minor enterprises, and was at one time a 
stockholder and director of the Burlington 
Rolling i\Iill Company, for whom he acted 
as manager for some time, during which 
period he placed the affairs of the concern 
in a very satisfactory condition. In 1902 he 
exchanged the drug store for a large tract 
of land in Kane county, Kansas, comprising 
one thousand six hundred acres of fine and 
fertile wheat lands : and besides this, his 
land holdings include a sixty-four-acre tract 
in the suburbs of Burlington and the prop- 
erty on North Third Street, on which stands 
his large, handsome, and modern residence. 
For thirty years he has been engaged in 
treating hernia and handling trusses, in 
which he still continues, as he has acquired 
a reputation that would not permit him to 
retire from the work. 

In 1866 Dr. Price was united in marriage 
to Miss Mary A. Favor, a native of Roch- 
ester, N. Y., and a daughter of W. B. 
Favor, since of Burlington. To them have 
been born two children, Henry B., now a 
lieutenant in the United States navy, and 
Delia May, who died in 1892, just after her 
twenty-first birthday. She was a graduate 
of Burlington high school, and for one year 
attended the Boston Conservatory of Music. 
Henry B., son of our subject, is a graduate 
of Burlington high school and of the United 
States Naval Academy, class of 1893, and 
first served for two years on the "Balti- 
more," at the Asiatic station, then on the 
" Philadelphia," with the Pacific squadron, 
and later with the " Baltimore," on which 
he took part in the battle of Manila. For a 
time he had charge of the steam engineer- 



ing at Pensacola, and later was placed in 
command of the navy yard there. During 
the Boxer rebellion he was with the China 
squadron, and served on the " Don Juan de 
Austria," one of the Spanish ships cap- 
tured at Manila in 1898. He did much coast 
■work in the Philippines, including a great 
deal of active fighting, and there for a year 
he also had command of the " Iris," a large 
supply ship. Later he was assigned to the 
receiving ship ", Lancaster," at the League 
Island navy yard, and has recently been 
transferred to the " Iowa," with the Atlantic 
squadron. Our subject was formerly a 
business partner of Governor Gear, and by 
the kindness of the governor his son re- 
ceived his appointment to the navy unso- 
licited. 

Dr. Price has been a faithful supporter 
of Republican policies ever since the organ- 
ization of that party, having voted for John 
C. Fremont for president in 1856, and has 
at no time ceased to feel a personal interest 
in public afifairs, to which he has given 
much intelligent study. He is a member of 
the Grand Army of the Republic, an ex- 
commander of his post, and succeeded the 
late Mr. Crapo on the committee on publi- 
cation of military records of distinguished 
officers of Burlington and of members of 
C. L. Matthies Post, No. 5, Grand Army of 
the Republic. His part in life has been a 
noble one, far beyond all need of praise, 
and as he was one of the first in war, so 
also he has manifested unflagging loyaltv 
in days of peace. Advancing age has left 
undimmed all the powers of his mind, and 
he is to-day, as he ever was, a man of strong 
and vigorous mentality, rich with the fruits 
of broad and liberal culture. Eminently 
successful in material affairs, he has reached 
that height h\ no sacrifice of moral principle. 



342 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEli' 



and stands as the cniboilinicnt of fair and 
iiprij^lit integrity, one whose name is spoken 
with honor wlierevcr known. To him IJur- 
linpton owes much, and the world no less, 
fur liumaiiity is better by reason of his ex- 
am]>le. Mr. i'rice is an earnest and devoted 
meml)er of the Methodist Episct)pal church, 
which he joined in early boyhood. When 
he first came to Uurlinpton he joined the 
( )ld /.ion church, inlnnluccd the system of 
finance that is now used, and was a member 
of the finance conunittee for many years, 
and also Sunday-school superintendent for 
twelve years. He is also a good singer, tak- 
ing great interest in leading the congre- 
gation in singing, and made a success as 
luusical director of the church, lie was 
one of the builders of the First Methodist 
church, contributing one thousand dollars 
towartl the erection of the same. Mr. 
I'rice is still firm and unshaken in the faith 
of his father and the gos|)el, and at the ])res- 
ent time holds an official position in the 
(jrace Methodist Episcopal church. 



HOWARD AMES LANGLEY. 

Hovv.\Ri) .Vmics L.wgley, now deceased, 
was a veteran of the Civil War, and well 
known in the industrial circles of Burling- 
ton, where he lived for so many years as an 
upright and respected citizen, and one who 
was a self-made man in the closest apprecia- 
tion of the word. lie is a son of Smith 
Langlcy, and was born Jan. i6, 1827, near 
Northfield, Mass., where he lived till he was 
about six years of age. His parents then 
moved to New York, where his father died 
when lie was but twelve years old, and his 
mother joined the father in four years. Both 



are buried in Canisteo, N. Y. They were 
the parents of nine children, all of whom 
have joined the silent majority long ere this 
writing. 

When Mr. Langley"s parents died he had 
a married sister living in Canisteo, .\. Y., 
who with her husband was appointed guar- 
dian of him and his younger brother, 
Charles. The Ixiys remained for a few years 
with their sister, and then became restless 
and determine<l they would see .something 
of some of the Western States, and so ran 
away from their foster home with little or 
nothing of this world's goods. As all boys 
who embark on such a journey, they had 
many har(lshii)S to undergo, but their cour- 
■ age never failed them : they were deter- 
mined to succeed and decidedly opposed to 
returning to New York. Charles finally 
went to sea, and eventually became a cap- 
tain, and died a number of years ago in 
Boston, where his widow still resides. 

Mr. Langley, of this review, traveled for 
many years all through the Central States, 
working mostly for stone-masons, so that 
in 1867, when he first came to Burlington, 
Iowa, he was a master mechanic in this 
line of business.- 

The railroad bridge across the Mississippi 
Kiver was in process of construction at this 
time, and Mr. Langley at once secured work 
on it. cuttinLr and laying many of the large 
stones used in the piers of the bridge. When 
the Burlington high .school was erected, .Mr. 
Rolx-rt Donahue, recently deceased, and 
Thompson McCosh were the contractors for 
the stone work of it, and Mr. Langley and 
Mr. Augsburger laid all of the ft)undation 
1)\ tlie day for them. Mr. Langley also was 
engaged for one year on the Keokuk canal, 
during Avhich time he generally visited with 
his familv on Sundavs. 




HOWARD A. LANGLEV. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



345 



On Nov. 26, 1866, Mr. Langley was mar- 
ried in Red Rock, Marion county, Iowa, to 
Mrs. Mary Reed, who is a daughter of 
William and Mary (Holmes) Wilkin, 
whose birth occurred in Highland county, 
Ohio, Aug. 18, 1835. Her father was born 
in the State of Pennsylvania and her mother 
in the State of Virginia. Mrs. Wilkin came 
to Ohio when but a babe four weeks old, was 
married in her adopted home, and died in 
July, 1874. Mr. Wilkin, who was a very 
prosperous farmer, died in February, 1850. 
They were blessed with eleven children, of 
whom fotir are living : James Wilkin, re- 
sides in Maquon, Knox county. 111. ; Eliza- 
beth, wife of Henry Robey, lives in For- 
sythe, 111. ; Curtis, lives in Kenton, Ohio ; 
and Mary, who is the \yidow of our subject. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Langley have been 
born two daughters : Mary Alice, a gradu- 
ate of the Bellevue Hospital, N. Y., and who 
follows her chosen profession with much 
success in Burlington ; and Ivy A., who is a 
graduate of the Burlington high school and 
has been a valued teacher in the West Hill 
school of the same city for the past ten 
years. 

Mrs. Langley also had two sons by her 
first husband, John Reed, whom she married 
in Red Rock, Iowa: Curtis Reed, born in 
1858, and died in New Mexico in 1881 ; 
Melville Reed, born in 1861, and resides in 
Joliet, 111., where he is connected with a 
railroad construction company. 

When the Civil War broke out Mr. Lang- 
ley enlisted in the Sixteenth Wisconsin In- 
fantry, but as he had some work under head- 
way- that he could not leave, he did not enter 
into service till September, after which he 
served his country with much credit for 
three years and five months without a fur- 
lough. His first engagement was in the 



battle of Shiloh. He helped to cut a ditch 
from the Mississippi River into Lake Provi- 
dence to flood the country. Under General 
Logan he assisted to build Fort Ransom and 
to tunnel under Fort Hill ; and when Vicks- 
burg surrendered, the pioneer corps, of 
which he was a member, under General Mc- 
Pherson, went into Vicksburg, he being one 
of the first Union soldiers that entered the 
city, and saw General McPherson raise the 
stars and stripes on the court-house there. 
Mr. Langley received a painful wound in 
the battle of Corinth, which he carried till 
death. After being honorably discharged 
he returned to Burlington, and was engaged 
at his trade for many years till poor health 
and the infirmities of old age compelled him 
to give up active business life. 

He was a member of the Grand Army of 
the Republic, and also a devoted member of 
the Christian church, which he joined in 
Marshalltown, Iowa. He had a political 
career equalled by very few, not because he 
ever held office of any kind, as he never 
aspired to political honors ; but, however, it 
was a career of which he was very proud, 
and one that he carried out in a very retir- 
ing and unpretentious manner. 

He was a strong Republican, although 
his father and brothers were equally as 
strong Democrats. Mr. Langley had the 
pleasure of voting for every Republican 
candidate who ran for the presidency of 
this great, free country. The very last 
time he was permitted to leave his home 
he cast his vote for William McKinley on 
his second election. Jan. 15. 1901, this 
large and robust-looking man was com- 
pelled to lay down the burdens of this life 
and was called to his home beyond the 
skies, and at his own request he was laid 
tenderly to rest in the place set apart for 



346 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'IEll' 



the honored soldiers in Aspen Grove cem- 
etery. He was a man possessing many of 
the noblest principles of life; his word 
could be relied iiijon, his work was always 
of the best, and promptness with his fellow- 
nun was carried out to the letter. His 
nature was a sunny one, and within his 
bosom throbbed a heart as wami and kind 
as it was large. Time may come and go, 
but -Mr, Langley will not soon be forgotten. 
His widow, who is a lady of much refine- 
ment and possessing many personal attrac- 
tions, is nicely situated in the old home- 
stead at 1410 Grove Street, enjoying the 
companionship of her daughters and is a 
woman greatly beloved for her many 
virtues. 



DANIEL Y. COX. 

Danikl Y. Cox, whose earthly career 
exceeded the scriptural limit of human life 
by almost a full score of years, was burn in 
Casstown, Ohio, Nov. 2, 1822, and passed 
his boyhood and part of his youth as his 
father's assistant in the work of the farm, 
but at the age of eighteen years left home to 
learn a trade, that of carpenter, which lie 
followed for the remainder of his life. In 
1848 he decided to identify his fortunes with 
those of the great West, and came to Bur- 
lington. Here, in 185 1, he was united in 
marriage to Miss Ellen C. Griffey, and to 
them were born seven children, of wliom 
five are now living, as follows : Winfield, a 
resident of P.urlington, where he is engaged 
in the ice business, married Miss Emma 
Mozea; Ellen N'irginia is a im-inlur of her 
mother's household ; Martha, a graduate of 
the Burlington high school, has for the past 
ten years held the position of principal of 



the Saunderson school ; George G., of the 
International Insurance Company, of Chi- 
cago; and Mary, wife of .\ugustus A. W'al- 
din, of Burlington, has one child. Hazel. 
.\Ir. Cox passed his entire active life in the 
work of his trade, and in addition did some 
contracting, being in Ixith successful to a 
satisfactory extent, and i)roviding well for 
those dependent upon his labors, for he was 
domestic in his tastes, and was always will- 
ing to sacrifice much for the happiness of 
those he loved. .Xbout a year and a half 
before his death he suffered an attack of 
])neumonia and la grippe, and from that 
time his health failed constantly until July 
5, 1902, when he passed from earth to the 
better world, lamented by many friends and 
by those to whom* he was bound by the 
sacred ties of kindred and long association. 
He was a religious man in the best sense of 
the term, was a faithful member of the 
■•"irst Methodist E])iscopal church, and at 
f>ne time was active in the work of the Sun- 
day-school. 

.•\lthough he never cared for the honor 
of public office, he was always interested in 
the welfare of his country, and in his younger 
years voted with the Whigs, becoming a 
member of the Republican party on its or- 
ganization. 

He built a comfortable residence in Bur- 
lington, at 420 Maple Street, which is still 
the family home. He lies buried in the As- 
jjcn Grove cemetery, beside his two sons. 
David, the elder of these, who died at the 
age of twenty-nine years, was also a car- 
l)enter, and had extensive fraternal connec- 
tions, being a member of the .Masonic 
< hikr. the Royal Arcanum, and the .An- 
cient Order of L'nited Workmen. Edwin, 
the younger, who died at the age of seven- 
teen, was at the time a student, and the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



347 



direct cause of his death was brain fever, 
induced by overstudy. 

Mr. Cox was a modest and unpretentious 
man, never aspiring to more than what 
was justly due him, and with a highly de- 
veloped sense of fairness and justice to 
others. In manner he was quiet and re- 



cipal portion. He died of pneumonia in 
1848, his own demise being followed in 
1850 by that of his wife,- whose fatal illness 
was cholera. They were the parents of ten 
children, five of whom still survive, as fol- 
lows : Mrs. John Johnson, of Denver, Colo. ; 
Mrs. Sirena Hudson, of this city; Mrs. 



served, rarely expressing his opinions, but Thomas French, now of Crystal Lake, Colo. ; 



when he did so it was with such conspicuous 
ability and point that he was always lis- 
tened to with the attention and respect due 
to a thoughtful and original mind. Honest, 
upright, and loyal in all his dealings with 
his fellow-men, he was everywhere respected 
and honored for the great virtues of his 
character, and had many friends. 

Mrs. Cox was born at Morgantown, Va., 
Dec. 14, 1829, and came to Burlington at 
the age of seven with her parents, William 
and Mary (Spitzer) Griffey, who were 



.Mrs. Martha Hillhouse, of Burlington. 

After the death of her father and until 
her marriage, Mrs. Cox was a teacher in 
the public schools of Burlington, being 
assistant to the principal. Miss Holbrook, 
later Mrs. Luke Palmer, and now deceased. 
At that time Burlington could boast only 
two public schools, that in which Mrs. Cox 
taught being held in a rented room in a 
log cabin situated on the river bank near 
the foot of the present Cedar Street. Here 
she taught during the school years of 1848 



married at Newmarket, \'a., their native and 1849, the term being three months in 
place, coming to Burlington in 1837. The duration, and the school consisting of about 



father, who was a tailor, had a shop and 
clothing store on Jefferson Street. He was 
a member of the Masonic order, and had 
before coming West served his country as 
a soldier in the War of 1812. He was quite 



forty pupils, for whose instruction the 
teacher was paid a salary of six dollars a 
month. Her own education was received 
in private schools in Burlington. She is a 
woman of broad general information and 



well-to-do, and in Virginia was the owner much natural ability, possessing conversa- 
of a number of slaves, kept mostly as house tional powers and social gifts which have 



drawn about her many loyal and admiring 
friends. 



servants. He was opposed to all unkind 
treatment of slaves, and never sold one, but 
freed all in his possession on coming to 
Iowa. On locating in Burlington he bought 
property, and started in partnership with 
others to build a grist mill, but through 
manipulation of the other interests in the F. H. A. Koch, the founder and pro- 

company, was forced out, and thereafter moter of the German-American Equation 



F. H. A. KOCH. 



confined his attention to his tailoring busi- 
ness and clothing establishment. He pos- 
sessed much business ability, and amassed 
a considerable fortune, but by reason of an 
unfavorable turn of events lost the prin- 



Premium Life Association, which, formu- 
lated and conducted upon the original 
plans instituted by him, has become a 
leading organization of this character in 
Iowa, was born in Westphalia. Germany, 



348 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



Sept. 2(>. 1S45, ami in ilic |)iil)lic schools 
of his native land ac«|uircd his education. 
He came to the L'nited States when 
tvventy-t\v(j years of ajje. making his way 
to I'ittsfield, I'ike couiily. 111., was there 
engat,'i-(l in business as a dealer in musi- 
cal instruments, and also as a hfe- and 
fire-insurance agent. Desiring better 
educational advantages, as a further 
preparation for life's work, he became a 
student in the W'esleyan College, at W'ar- 
renton. Mo.. an<l later, returning to Pitts- 
field, he resunii'i! business there. He 
si)ent about twenty years in Pittsfield, 
and in 1886 removed to LUirlington, 
where, in 188", he put into execution 
plans wliicli lu- jiad formulated and per- 
fected after much earnest consideration, 
and thus s|)rang into existence the (jcr- 
nian-American .Mutual Life Insurance 
.•\s.sociation, now called the (jerman- 
.\merican M(|uation Premium Life .\sso- 
ciaiion, of which he has been secretary 
from the beginning. its other officers 
are: l-'rank S. C"liurchiil. president; 
lion. John Zaiser, vice-president; Henry 
.Miller, treasurer; P. C. Naumann, med- 
ical director; and La Monte Cowles, legal 
adviser. Mr. Koch is also secretary of a 
General .-\gency Company, which was 
established to secure business for the Ger- 
man-.\merican L(|uation Premium Life 
.Association. 

In .March. kS;!). in Piiistield, 111., .Mr. 
Koch was married to Miss Lizzie C. 
llerling, a native of that State, and they 
became the ])arents of nine children, of 
which three are now living: Dr. F. E. 
Koeii, a |>hysician of Murlingloii ; I.. II. 
Koch, engaged in the life insurance busi- 
ness; and Robert T., at home, — 715 Gar- 
field .Avenue. 



.Mr. Koch is a mend)er of the .\ncient 
Order of L'nited Workmen, and a Master 
Mason of Des Moines Lodge, No. i, 
.\ncient Free and .\cce])tcd Masons. His 
political views accord with the princi])les 
of the Republican ])arty. He is a member 
of the (ierman .Methodist E]>isciipal 
church, taking an active part in its work, 
and serving as church trustee and Sun- 
day-school superintendent. 



FREDERICK E. KOCH. M. D. 

Dk. I'kkdkkic k I^. l\n( II, engaged in the 
practice of medicine and surgery in lUir- 
lington, was born in Pittsfield, 111., I-"eb. 10, 
1878. His father. I-~. H. .\. Koch, of this 
city, a native of Germany, at an early age 
was left an or|)han and thrown upon his 
• own resources. He has a sister still living 
in Germany, but with this exception all the 
other members of the family have jiassed 
away. .\t his father's death, 1". H. .\. 
Koch was adoi)tcd into the family of a 
farmer and was reared to agricultural jnir- 
suits. It was during his boyhcnid that he 
was brought by this family to .America, his 
\outh being largely passed upon a farm 
near Pittsfield, III. He attended school 
however, at Morton, Mo., and afterward 
became a student in the German Methodist 
College ^t W'arrenton, Mo., completing his 
education in that institution. He worked 
his way through school, ambitious to enjoy 
good mental training and disci]ilinc as a 
preparation for life's ])ractical duties. 

Me was a successful agent aild canvasser 
in early manhood, selling books in the 
Middle West, and later he engaged in the 
sale of pianos for a year. He then turned 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



349 



his attention to the music business, conduct- 
ing a music store in Pittsfield, prior to his 
removal to Burlington early in the '8o's. 
Here he engaged in the insurance business, 
representing a Burlington company that has 
since passed out of existence, his territory 
lying largely in Dakota. When the Ger- 
man-American Equation Premium Life 
Association of Burlington was formed, he 
became one of its stockholders, and is now 
secretary of the company, which has entered 
upon a period of prosperity with a business 
that is increasing annuall}-. 

He is deeply interested in all relating to 
the welfare of the city, and has been particu- 
larly active in church work, serving as 
superintendent of the Sunday-school for 
many years. He married Elizabeth C. Her- 
ling, who was born in Quincy, 111., of Ger- 
man parentage. Their marriage was cele- 
brated in Pittsfield, 111., and they have three 
children : F. E. : Lewis H., who is with the 
German American Insurance Company ; 
and Albert. 

Dr. Koch began his education in the 
public schools of his native city, afterward 
entered the public schools of Burlington and 
spent two years as a high-school student 
here, following which he matriculated in 
the Iowa Wesleyan University, at Mount 
Pleasant, where he remained for three years. 
When his more specifically literary educa- 
tion was completed, he began preparation 
for the practice of medicine as a student 
in the office and under the direction of Dr. 
Naumann, of Burlington, and later entered 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons of 
St. Louis, in which institution he was 
graduated with the class of 1901. Thus 
equipped for his chosen calling, he estab- 
lished an office in the Odd Fellows' Build- 
ing in Burlington and entered upon his field 



of labor, in which he has been making con- 
tinuous advancement, as he has demon- 
strated his ability to cope with the complex 
problems which continually confront the 
physician and surgeon. 

He is a member of, and camp physician 
for, the Woodmen of the World in Burling- 
ton, and also belongs to, and is examining 
physician for, the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, the Knights of the Maccabees, 
the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and the 
Degree of Honor, while in the line of his 
profession he is connected with the Des 
Moines County Medical Society. He is 
also examining physician for a number of 
the old-line life-insurance companies. 

Dr. Koch is a member of the Orchard 
City Hunting and Fishing Club and is 
prominent socially. He belongs to the Ger- 
man Methodist Episcopal church, of which 
he is serving as treasurer and steward, and 
he also belongs to the Epworth League. He 
reads, writes, and speaks German fluently, 
and has many opportunities to use this 
knowledge in his practice as well as in his 
church and social relations. He is a man 
of high principles, of laudable ambition, and 
strong purpose, and in professional circles 
has gained a position which would be credit- 
able to a man of much greater age. 



JAMES THOMPSON PORTER. 

James Thompson Porter belonged to 
one of the prominent and highly respected 
pioneer families of Des Moines county. 
He was the second son of Thompson and 
Sarah Ann (Abbott) Porter, being born 
on his father's farm, near Burlington, in 
Union township, Des Moines county, Oct. 



>50 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'lEW 



lo, 1846. His fatluT was tlic son of Lewis 
Porter. Inirn Nov. 27. 1783. and Henrietta 
( Hackle\ ) I'orttr, Ixmi Dec. 23, 1778. 
There were seven children in llie family 
of Lewis I'orter. as follows: Mary, born 
Jan. 20. iScrf); Nancy, born June 8. 1810; 
Lewis, born Nov. 9. 181 1: Thoni|)son, 
father of our subject, born in one of the 
X'irginias, .March 24. 1S13; l-^lizabeth. bom 
Feb. 4. 1815; .Samuel, born Nov. 23, i8uj; 
.Mexander, born \ov. 28. 1824. Mr. I'or- 
ter moved from X'irpinia to Zanesville, 
Ohio, where, on .March 24, 1S42. he married 
Sarah .\nn .\bbott, near L'niontown. Mrs. 
Porter was born Dec. 27. 1821, and was 
the daughter of Hays and Elizabeth 
(Snow) ,\bbott. Her brothers and sisters 
were: Susan, who married Xathan Miner; 
Lorenzo: Mary Jane, the wife of Jacob 
Norris : Llizabeth. .Mrs. Hi'iijaniin Miiri)hy; 
Minerva, married Tliomas be La]>i). 

In 1842 Mr. and Mrs. Thompson Porter 
moved from ( )hio to a farm in Des Moines 
county. Iowa, wlure they resided till their 
death, the former dying Sept. 12. 1869, 
and the latter passing away C^ct. 22, 1866. 
To this couple were born eleven children, 
four of whom dii'(l in early childhood: 
Lewis .Mexander. born Jan. 27. 1843: 
James Thompson, born Oct. 10. 1846; Mary 
Elizabeth, born .\pril 7. 1848: .\merica, 
born Jan. 28, 1850: Henrietta .Amanda, 
born Jan. 8, 1852; Amelia, born June 28. 
1833: Minerva, born June 24, 1854; John, 
born May 29, 1856; Samuel, born June 16, 
1857; Douglas, born Nov. 17, 18511; Ilattie. 
born Aug. 7. i8(')i. 

The marriages of the abnvf-mentinned 
children of Thompson Porter occurred as 
folhnvs : Lesvis married Susan Waterhouse. 
and they had one son, Charles Th()mi)S(in, 
born ( )ct. 19, 1867. They resided near 



( )akvirie. Iowa, where Mr. Porter died Ai)ril 
13. i86*<. James Thompson Porter, of this 
review, married I'lorence Genevieve Murch, 
of Lturlington, May 5, 1886. Mary E. mar- 
ried Henry M. Bush, I-'eb. 9, 1887, and now 
resides in Canton, Mo. .Minerva became 
the wife of Henjamin Murphy, and they 
arc the |)arents of three children, Elbri<lge 
Thompson Ran.som, Melvin Edward, and 
-Mary .\merica Ik-lle. The n;other of these 
last-named children died Feb. 5. 1894. 
Samuel is the husband of Eudora L. Shu- 
mate, married Oct. 3. 1887. They have two 
children: .Mary Henrietta, born July 9. 1891, 
and William Thomi)S(jn Xiephi, born Dec. 
8. 1895. They make their home in Pulaski, 
Iowa ; Hattie Porter married William G. 
Renz, Jan. 2"/, 1892, and they had one 
son. James .Augustus, born Oct. 8. 18(^5, 
who died when a few months old. They 
also live near Canton, Mo. 

James Thomjison Porter, our subject, 
grew to manhood on his father's farm. 
wlure he attended the district school for 
several years. He Avas a bright student and 
a great reader, and stored his mind with 
many advanced ideas. When he was t\<'enty- 
two years of age. his parents passed away, 
and the care of the home and alsp of his 
brothers and sisters fell ujjon Mr. Porter 
and his two older sisters. They worked 
long and hard, and finally succeeded in 
clearing the hoiuc of the indebtedness. Po- 
litically, Mr. Porter was a Democrat, and 
served his native townshii) as school direc- 
tor and as clerk for two terms, from 1883 
to i8c^(), inclusive. He was elected town- 
.ship assessor, which office he held for two 
years, when he moved to Henry county, 
Imva, near Winfield. His wife, in maiden- 
hood, was Miss Florence Genevieve Murch, 
and is the second daughter of Samuel 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



551 



Franklin and Alary (Bennett) Murch. 
Mr. jNIurch came to New York City from 
Devonshire, England, with his parents, John 
and Elizabeth ( Stocker) Alurch in 1831, 
when he was less than one year of age, he 
having been bom June 12, 1830. His 
parents had six children : John, married 
Sophia Smith ; Frances, the wife of James 
Hutson ; J\Iary, married Charles Davis ; 
James, wedded Mary Bermingham ; Eliza- 
beth, died in childhood ; Samuel, married 
Mary Bennett, in Wilkesbarre. Pa., Jan. 

2, 1855. Mrs. Murch is the oldest daugh- 
ter of John Taylor and Hannah (Miller) 
Bennett, and was born Jan. 23, 1834. 
Her grandmother, Sarah Taylor, was 
the granddaughter of President Zachary 
Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett had five 
children : Martha, married Charles Stull ; 
Katherine, who became Mrs. Lanning 
Rinehimer : Hannah, the widow of Joseph 
Robbins : George, married Anna Morrison ; 
and Mary, widow of Samuel Murch. 

When qtiite a young man Mr. Murch 
began his first work in his father's rope and 
twine factory at Newtown, Long Island. 
His father's family was very musical, and 
were among the first to purchase pianos, 
which instruments were very rare in those 
days. Air. and Mrs. .Murch began their 
domestic life in Montoursville, Pa., from 
whence they moved to Williamsport, the 
same State. In 1866 they Came to Mt. Pleas- 
ant, Iowa, where they remained till 1868, 
when they located in Burlington, and where 
Mr. Murch worked at his trade of a stair- 
builder until death overtook him July 2j. 
1895. Seven children graced this iinicm : The 
oldest, an unnamed infant, born March 2Ti. 
1856; John B., born Aug. i. 1857; Samuel 
F., born Sept. 9, 1859: Ella O., born May 

3, 1861, was graduated fnmi the high school 



June [3, 1879, and the year following re- 
ceived her diploma from the cit\' training 
school, and is now the successful first as- 
sistant teacher in the Sunnyside school, in 
Burlington, Iowa : Morence G., wife of our 
subject, born Nov. 24, 1862, also a gradu- 
ate of the Burlington high school and the 
city training school, and was one of the effi- 
cient teachers in Dcs Moines county for four 
years, when she became the wife of Mr. 
Porter; Hammond L., born Aug. 25, 1865, 
attended high school for a while, and then 
took a course in Elliott's Business College 
in Burlington, and later took a two-years' 
course in his favorite study, music, in Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio. He is one of the leading in- 
structors in music in the city, and also one 
of the prominent merchants, dealing in all 
kinds of musical instruments and musical 
merchandise. He married Minnie Lillie, of 
P>urlington, May 27, 1897, and to them 
one son, James Bennett, was born, Sept. 
20, 1899. 

Mr. and Mrs. Porter began theii" wedded 
life near Burlington on a farm, where, but 
a few rods from where Mr. Porter was 
born, their son, James Murch Porter, was 
born, April 22, 1887. On March 7, 1888, 
they moved to a farm which Mr. Porter had 
purchased, one and a half miles from Win- 
field, Henry county, Iowa. This was a 
lovely home, which Mr. Porter took much 
interest in, and was constantly improving 
and beautifying. In this home, Oct. 18, 
1892, their daughter, Florence Bessie Por- 
ter, was born. 

\A'hen the State bank was incorporated in 
W'infielrl in 1893, ^I''- ^nd Mrs. Porter be- 
came stockholders, and at the first meeting 
of the stockholders of the same, Mr. Porter 
was elected one of the directors of the bank, 
and also a member of the auditing commit- 



352 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tec, wliich offices Ik- licld until he moved 
away from the village. In 1902 his health 
liecame impaired, and thinking a change 
of climate mis^ht prove beneficial, he sold 
his farm and stock, and removed his fam- 
ily to ( )klahoma City. The weather being 
unfavorable. Mr. Porter received a severe 
cold in making the trip to his new home, 
and ])neumonia at once seized him, and in 
three weeks from the day that he left his 
old home in W'infield he ])eacefully and 
calmly passed away, March 18, 1902. The 
next day the bereaved wife, accompanied 
by her son and daughter, brought the re- 
mains of the loving husband and kind fatiicr 
back to r.urlington. where on March 22, 
1902, tliey were laid to rest in beautiful As- 
pen Grove cemetery. Mr. I'ortcr was a 
bright and active man, thoroughly fitted for 
business, either on the farm, where he was 
most successful in all his undertakings, 
or in commercial circles. His principles 
were honorable and upright, and he pos- 
sessed the confidence and good-will of tiie 
entire community, ami he left a record of 
which his friends and family may well Ix" 
proud. After the death of Mr. Porter. Mrs. 
Porter purchased a temporary home on 
Foster Street, in P.urlington. in order that 
her children might have good educational 
advantages. Her son Murch attends the 
high school, and her daughter Bessie is a 
student in the West Hill school, and both 
also pursue their study of music, for which 
they have a decided love and ability. 



NELS C. HANSON. 

Nels C. Hanson, well known through- 
out Des Moines county. Iowa, as an able 
leader in [lublic affairs, and now engaged 



in agriculture and stock-raising on his 
fertile and productive farm of forty-three 
acres in the northwest corner of Section 
ifi. L'nion townshij). is a native of .\al- 
l)org. Denmark, where he was born /Vug. 
j6. 1863, a .son of Christian C. and .\nna 
Hanson. When about six years old he 
removed with his parents to America, 
after a voyage of approximately twelve 
days landing at Castle Garden. New York. 
Coming thence directly to Iowa, they lo- 
cated in Union townshi(), Des Moines 
county. There the father, who was by 
trade a blacksmith, started a shop, and a 
year or two later was able to purchase 
a satisfactory location for a home. He 
first erected a log house, in which the 
family lived for about fifteen years, at the 
exjiiration of which period he built a good 
frame dwelling. .\t about this time also 
he abandoned his trade and gave his at- 
tention exclusively to farming: and as his 
original purchase of land comprised only 
ten acres, he ac(|uired additional holdings. 
The bouse still stands, now being occu- 
pied by his son Henry. 

.At the time of the emigration of the 
family to America there were six daugh- 
ters and one son, the latter the suliject of 
the present review. One son, Henry, 
was born in Cnion townshii). .Ml the 
children grew to uialiirity. and they are 
in order of birth as follows; Caroline, who 
now resides in Cedar county, Iowa, mar- 
ried Xels Fulgsang, and they have seven 
children : Sine, who married Peter Peter- 
.son, is now tleceased, having died in 
Cedar county, survived by five children : 
Mary, who married John Swan, lives in 
West liurlington. and has two children : 
.Xels C. the subject of this review; Han- 
nah, who now resides in Burlington, 




NELS C. HANSON. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



355 



Iowa, married Peter Simonson, and has 
one child ; Carrie, who married Conrad 
Schwartz, and has five children, resides 
in Winfield, Iowa; Minnie, who is the 
wife of George Schafer, resides in Chi- 
cago ; and Henry, who resides at the par- 
ental home, married Miss Laura Hegley, 
and they have two children. 

Christian C. Hanson, founder of this 
family in America, enjoyed the advan- 
tages of a good education, having in his 
native land received an excellent training 
in a military school, and as an officer of 
the Danish army, took part in the war be- 
tween his country and Germany in 1848. 
He had the good fortune never to be 
wounded, but the whole-hearted charac- 
ter of the man and his service in those 
trying times is indicated by the fact that 
he was awarded a medal for meritorious 
conduct. His devotion to the Fatherland 
in no way exceeded his loyalty to the land 
of his adoption, and on coming here he 
made a conscientious study of public 
questions, as a result of which he became 
a supporter of the Republican party. He 
was a lifelong student, being a lover of 
reading and research along intellectual 
lines. His nature, too, was deeply relig- 
ious, although he never became identified 
with any particular church, and it was 
characteristic of him that he was ready at 
all times to sacrifice his own ease and 
pleasures for the benefit of those who 
were near and dear to him. Thus, while 
he realized that for himself and his wife 
the conditions of life would have been 
easier in Denmark than in this country, 
he never regretted that he had removed 
to America, as by so doing they conferred 
a great benefit upon their children. He 
provided for each of his children a good 



common-school education, and to their 
welfare he devoted the best efforts of a 
long life of arduous toil. He died July 
24, 1893, but the mother is still living, 
and makes her home with the children. 

Nels C. Hanson received a fairly com- 
plete common-school education in the dis- 
trict schools of Union township, and early 
began to assist his father in the support 
of the family by hiring out to a farmer 
when only ten years of age, working by 
the month, and receiving for his labor the 
sum of eight dollars a month. Not sat- 
isfied with his education, he matriculated 
in a business college at the age of seven- 
teen years, but lacking financial resources, 
he was compelled to give up this line of 
study after one month. He had inherited 
from his father a taste for good reading, 
however, and in this way he largely made 
up for the deficiencies of his formal train- 
ing and supplied his lack of the usual 
advantages, for he began this method of 
self-culture when but a small boy, and 
has ever since continued it with increas- 
ing enthusiasm. He has in his home a 
library of five hundred volumes, being the 
largest in Des Moines county, outside of 
the city of Burlington. He still worked 
at farm labor, however, until his twenty- 
second year, when he bought one hundred 
and twenty acres of land in Hamilton 
county, Iowa. 

In Union township on Feb. 18, 1886, 
Mr. Hanson was united in marriage to 
Miss Sophia Schwartz, a native of that 
township, and daughter of Fred and Car- 
oline Schwartz, who were both born in 
Germany. For two years Mr. Hanson 
and his bride resided at the farm in Ham- 
ilton county, but at the expiration of that 
period he sold the farm there and removed 



356 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



to Burlington, where he lived for approxi- 
mately six years, engaped in various oc- 
cupations. Durinjj; two years of this 
time he was shipping clerk in the office 
of the I'lurlington Saildlery Manufactory, 
and for the following three years he re- 
sided at Galcsburg. 111., as the representa- 
tive of the same firm. He then purchased 
the farm which he now occupies, and here 
he has established for himself and family 
a fine home. To Mr. and Mrs. Hanson 
have been born two children. Irwin, born 
in ISurlington, Iowa, March, 9, i8qo; and 
Myrtle, born in I'urlington July 13, 1803. 
Since taking up agriculture as a per- 
manent l)usincss, .Mr. Hanson has been 
much interested in the improvement of 
farm stock, and in addition to exercising 
a constant care in improving the stock on 
his own farm, owns shares in the Burling- 
ton Percheron Horse Company, which 
numbers among its members many of the 
most progressive farmers of Des Moines 
county. His activities, in fact, have ex- 
tended to almost all matters of commu- 
nity interest. In 1901 an agitation was be- 
gun for tile formation of a rural telephone 
company for this community, the project 
being chiefly promoted by Mr. John Mil- 
ler, who then lived in Union township 
and had witnessed the develo])nient of a 
similar jjlan in \\'a])cllo county. In the 
autumn of that year meetings were called 
to consider the measure, but the project 
was finally abandoned. In November, 
igoi, Mr. Henry Magel, .Mr. ILinson. and 
Mr. Ed Romkey took it up. ami elTeclcd 
an incorporation with a ca])ital stock of 
$5,000, securing contracts from about 
thirty-three patrons. Mr. Hanson was 
made the first secretary and treasurer of 
the cor])oration, a position which he oc- 



cupied until Jan. i, 1905; and during this 
period so great was the success of the en- 
terprise that the capital stock has been in- 
creased to $^5,000 and the patronage has 
risen to three hundred instruments. The 
com|)any furnishes excellent service, and 
in bringing to their neighbors this great 
gift of civilization, Mr. Hanson and his 
associates performed an act which enti- 
tles them to be considered true jniblic 
benefactors. In addition to his other du- 
ties, Mr. Han.son has occasionally found 
titiu- to act as an auctioneer for the ac- 
commodation of a friend or neighbor, and 
has had considerable success in this line, 
but does not follow it regularly. 

When yet quite young Mr. Hanson be- 
came an active worker for the success of 
the Republican i)arty, whose principles 
embody his ideals of popular government, 
and at an early age began serving his 
party in both county and state conven- 
tions. In recognition of his services he 
received in ii)Oi the nomination for rep- 
resentative of Des Moines county in the 
Iowa -State Legislature, and although the 
|)arty is greatly in the minority here, he 
attracted such a strong following that he 
was again made the standard bearer. 
This hoT)()r was entirely unsought on his 
|)art. but his ]>ersonal popularity carried 
him forward, and in the coimting of the 
ballots it was found that he lacked only a 
few votes of election. Co-existent with 
his activities in public life he has always 
maintained a warm interest in humani- 
tarian and religious work, and in 1S99 be 
became a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal church. From this body he has re- 
ceived license as an exhorter, a branch of 
the work in which he has accomplished 
much, and he has also served as sujierin- 



DES MOINES COUXrV. IOWA. 



357 



tendent of the Sunday-school. His labors 
in this tit'ld have always been so mark- 
edly successful that he has been solicited 
and even urg'ed to devote himself to the 
regular ministry of the gospel ; and should 
he ever decide so to do, the consumma- 
tion would doubtless mean much for his 
denomination and the great cause for 
which it stands. In his fraternal rela- 
tions Mr. Hanson is a member of Excel- 
sior Lodge, Xo. 268, Independent Order 
Odd Fellows. 

In these modern days of intense special- 
ization, when most men find time to do 
nothing except along one narrow line of 
restricted endeavor, it is very encourag- 
ing to find a man who has not paid for 
his success at the cost of his own self-de- 
velopment. Naturally gifted with varied 
and versatile talents, Mr. Hanson has, by 
extensive experience in practical affairs, 
touched the circle of an ideal career at 
almost every point. Honor, reputation, 
and loyal friendship he has won by the 
strength and sincerity of his purpose. 
His work in religious and fraternal cir- 
cles, in the political world, and in the 
home community have been a help and 
encouragement to many, while his suc- 
cess in a business way should inspire the 
young with the thought that even in this 
day of specialization a man may attain to 
high material achievement and still de- 
velop a broad and many-sided character. 



JACOB ANDREW PILGER. 

Jacob Axdrew Pilger. now deceased, 
was for many years a prominent, influential, 
and honored resident of Burlington, Iowa. 



His history is closely interwoven with the 
business development, the political life, and 
the moral advancement of this city, and so 
honorable and upright was his life that he 
enjoyed in marked degree the unlimited con- 
fidence and good-will of those with whom he 
was associated. His life record, too, is 
most commendable on account of the ex- 
cellent success which he won in the control 
of legitimate business interests ; and no 
history of Burlington would be complete 
without the record of his career. 

Air. Pilger was a native of the Hawkeye 
State, being born in the city of Burlington, 
Feb. 26, 1846. He is a son of Jacob and 
Caroline (Bertsch) Pilger, both natives of 
Germany. His father was born in Baden- 
hausen, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, May 
ID, 1817, and he was a son of Ernst and 
Philippina Pilger. He grew to manhood 
in his native country, and came to America 
with his parents in 1838, locating first in 
.Seneca county, Ohio. Aug. 8, 1838, in 
Columbus, Ohio, the marriage of Jacob Pil- 
ger and Caroline Bertsch was celebrated, 
and in 1840 the young couple left Ohio for 
liurlington, crossing the river on the fourth 
of January. They were not satisfied with 
their \\'estern home, and went to Louisville, 
Ky., where they remained till April, when 
they came back to Burlington, but only to 
remain a month or so, -when they took up a 
residence in Kentucky for some three years. 
Coming again to Burlington in 1852, he 
soon opened a general store, which he con- 
ducted till his health failed in 1859, and he 
was obliged to close out his business. He 
then embarked in a vineyard, purchasing 
eighty acres on what is now known as Sun- 
nyside. The last few years of his life were 
spent in retirement. In early life he was a 
supporter of the Democratic party, but in 



358 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



later times he joined the Republican ranks. 
Mr. and Mrs. Pilger had eight children: 
Ernest, died in Gennany in 1885 ; William, 
engaged in real estate and insurance busi- 
ness, residing in liurlington; Jacob, of this 
review ; Theodore, a merchant of Loop 
City, Nebr. ; Lewis, agent of the Mutual 
Benefit Life Insurance Company, of New 
Jersey, and lives in Burlington ; Philippina. 
wife of Adolph Bosch, of Peoria, Kans. : 
Henrietta, widow of the late Frank Kooper, 
resides in St. Louis. Mo. ; Emma, married 
Charles Cooper, who is at Argentine, Kans. 
Mr. Pilger died at his home, ^larch 30, 
1888. Mrs. Pilger passed away May 31, 
1893. 

Our subject was educated in the public 
schools of Burlington, and when about 
seventeen years of age entered the store 
of his uncle, Fred Lindstadt, who was a 
dealer in leather goods. After clerking 
there for some time, he went on the road 
as a traveler for the wholesale house of A. 
Kaiser, who was tln-n the leading clothier 
(if the city. He remained with Mr. Kaiser 
till Jan. I. 1874. when he and his brother 
William npi-ncd a wholesale grocery store at 
209 Main Street. He was very successful 
in this store, and each year a greater trade 
was established. They employed a number 
of salesmen, as well as traveling represent- 
atives, ami this large wholesale house be- 
came an important factor of both city and 
State. 

March 2G. 1874, Mr. Pilger and Miss 
Josephine M. Harper were married. Mrs. 
Pilger is a daughter of W. W. and Mary 
(Lunbeck) Har|)er. and was born in Mt. 
Pleasant, Iowa, May 26. 1850. receiving 
her education in the public schools in Bur- 
lington, in which city she has always re- 
sided. Her parents were both natives of 



the State of Ohio, being born about eleven 
miles apart. Mr. Harper's birth occurred 
in Good Hope, Feb. ii, 18 r 6, where he 
attended the common schools, and when 
quite young entered a store as a clerk. He 
later opened a dry-goods store, which he 
conducted till 1843, when he came to Iowa 
and located in Mt. Pleasant, where he had 
a general store, dealing in fine silks, stoves, 
tinware, dishes, hams, sugar, and in fact 
everything that was necessary to supjjly the 
growing demands of the people, for some 
nine years. In the fall of 1852 he brought 
his family to Burlington, and started a boot 
and shoe store, which he conducted with 
great success for over twenty years, having 
his son I'.rainard. now deceased, as a partner 
a part of the time. Mr. Harper was always 
one of the strongest advocates of the Repub- 
lican party in the city, but never aspired to 
office. He was a life-long member of the 
First I'.aptist church. He was a man of an 
exceedingly jileasant address, of a bright 
and hajjpy disposition, a warm heart, and 
his business principles were above reproach ; 
and though it has been .some years since he 
laid down the cares and burdens of this life 
to enter into the rest prepared for mortal 
man, still his memory is fresh in the hearts 
of all, and his many good deeds of kindness 
meted out to the afflicted will long be re- 
membered. His death occurred at his home 
828 North l-"ourth Street. Dec. 6. 1893. 

Mrs. Hari)cr was born in Greenfield, Ohio. 
July 30, 1821, where she spent all of her 
girlhood days, and where she was married 
Dec. 9. 1840. She too joined the First Bap- 
tist church in this city in 1852, and is the 
oldest member, both in age and membership, 
of this place of worship. She is now in her 
eighty-sixth year, and for many years has 
been denied the |)rivilege of attending church 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



359 



service and the freedom of social life, as she 
is blind. But with so great an affliction laid 
upon her she is ever bright and cheerful, and 
can relate many pleasing incidents of the 
pioneer times. She makes her home with 
her daughter, Mrs. Pilger, and is patiently 
waiting the Master's call to join her loved 
ones on the other shore. 

Mr. and Mrs. Harper were blessed with 
seven children, two of whom died in infancy 
in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Brainard D. was 
born in Greenfield, Ohio, Dec. lo, 1841. His 
early schooling was begun in the public 
schools of Alt. Pleasant and Burlington, and 
later it was pursued in the business college 
and concluded in the Baptist Institute, of 
Burlington, where he lacked but two months 
of graduating when the Civil War broke 
out. He responded promptly to the national 
call, and enlisted in Company G, Twenty- 
fifth Iowa Infantry, being mustered into 
service in Burlington as first lieutenant. He 
participated in the siege of Vicksburg, and 
was at Chattanooga, and many other battles. 
As he contracted bowel trouble, he was 
obliged to return home to recuperate ; and 
■when better, he formed a company of his 
own — Company D, Forty-fifth Infantry, 
called out for three months only. After be- 
ing honorably discharged, he returned at 
once to Burlington, where he became a part- 
ner with his father in the shoe store. He re- 
mained in this business till 1872, when his 
health failed, and he was obliged to go West. 
For a number of years he had a general 
mercantile store in Evans, Colo., and then 
went on a ranch, engaging in the buying 
and selling of fine cattle. He next moved 
to Greeley, Colo., where he was the county 
treasurer for six years. His great ability 
was soon recognized, as the important posi- 
tions filled by him will testify. For several 



years he was the cashier of the First Na- 
tional Bank of Greeley, and also cashier of 
the Union Bank in the same city, and upon 
the death of the president of the last-named 
bank he was promoted to the office of presi- 
dent. This office he held for nine years, 
when death overtook him very suddenly, and 
a place of business, and social and home cir- 
cles, were made void, and a deep sorrow cast 
over the city and surrounding country of 
Greeley. He had long been the popular 
overseer of the poor, and a man who was 
Iionored and respected in the truest meaning 
of the word. As a boy he was bright and 
active, especially devoted to his parents. He 
was an exceptionally fine penman, and a 
man of noble character, fine executive ability, 
broad and liberal in all things ; and these, 
combined with his kind and loving heart, 
are hard to portray with the pen, as words 
fail to fully express the true worth and value 
of such a man. His death occurred May 24, 
1905, and his funeral was perhaps the larg- 
est ever held in Greeley. Mr. Harper was 
married Oct. 10, 1865, to Miss Jennie G. 
Bruen, of Illinois, who was born in Orange, 
N. J., and who is now living in the beauti- 
ful and costly residence planned and erected 
by her late husband. They never had any 
children, but out of the generosity of their 
hearts they adopted a niece, and gave her a 
splendid education : and it was a great com- 
fort to Mr. Harper to see her married com- 
fortably and happy, and to build her a hand- 
some home close to his own, so that he might 
have the pleasure of his grandchildren 
every day. Vinnie R. Harper is the widow 
of J. B. Fidlar, and resides in Davenport, 
Iowa. She had one son, William, who is 
dead : Josephine is the widow of the sub- 
ject of this review ; Ella married Air. C. E. 
Bell, of Greenfield, Ohio, who died a few 



360 



BIOGRAPHICAL REllEW 



years ago. She has one (laughter, .Mary U. 
Bell. Mrs. Hell later married Albert M. 
Mackerley, a la-vvyer and real estate man, 
of Grcentield : I'rank I. Harper, lives in 
Denver, and has three children. 

The health of Mr. I'ilger becoming im- 
paired, he was obliged to give up active 
duties and retire, with the hope of soon be- 
ing restored to health again : but alas, this 
was not so ordered, and on Jan. i. npo, he 
and his brother sold their large and pros- 
perous wholesale grocery. Strange to say, 
it was just twenty-six years to a day that 
this store was operated by the Pilger Broth- 
ers. What a change has come to Mr. Pilger 
during his long and useful business career. 
When he began life he had nothing to bank 
on but his willing hands and energy. By the 
closest of ai)j)lication he advanced step by 
step till he became one of the jiroprietors 
of a large paying establishment. He erected 
one of the handsomest residences on North 
Hill at ?>2(i North Sixth Street, where, as 
the slow but sure malady of Rright's Dis- 
ease made inroads upun liim. lie was given 
the very best of care by his ever-faithful 
and devoted wife. Medical aid could not 
stay the hand of death, and March 1 1. 1902, 
this once active and comparatively young 
man was numbered among the silent ma- 
jority. In his death his wife lost a loving 
husband, the city one Avho could be illy 
sjiared from the business circle in which he 
had moved for so many years with credit 
to all, and the social circles he was wont to 
join at times sustained a loss of one dear 
to all. 

I'olitically, -Mr. i'ilger gave his sui)i)ort 
and hearty co-operation to the Republican 
party, but could never be induced to accept 
any office, firmly believing his services were 
more valuable to the party as a private citi- 



zen. He was progressive and enter])rising. 
and ever rejoiced in the prosperity of his 
home city. Fraternally, he was identified 
with the Masons and ( )<ld Fellows, and was 
a member of the Independent CJrder of 
L'nited Workmen. Mr. I'ilger was of a 
genial disposition, and his friends were 
legion. He was essentially a home-loving 
man, and took but little part in ])ublic affairs. 
His business and home were the two impor- 
tant factors in his life. His knowledge of 
commercial affairs was deep and extensive, 
and the s])lendid success achieved by him 
stands as a pattern of what industry, integ- 
rity, and ability may do. He was loyal in 
his friendshi])s, and it may be truly said his 
word was as good as his bond. 

Mrs. Pilger, who is a lady of much cul- 
ture and refinement, resides in the lovely 
home mentioned above, and is well known 
among people of this city, where she has 
friends unnumbered. 



CAPT. SAMUEL BROWN HEIZER. 

A PROMiNKNT, distinguished, and highly- 
intelligent citizen, one who has served 
his country in time of great need, and 
who has held most of the offices of the 
town where he now resides, is Samuel 
Ileizer. lie is the second son of Na- 
thaniel and lllizabeth (Brown) Heizcr, 
and was horn in Ross county. Ohio, Feb. 
22, 1842. 

I'efore he was one year old his parents 
moved to Des Moines county, where they 
purchased one hundred and twenty acres 
of land, — eighty in Section 2'). "S'ellow 
Springs township, and forty in Benton 
township. They later bought sixty acres 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



361 



more in Section 29, and at one time owned 
two hundred and eighty acres in this part 
of the county. 

j\lr. Heizer, Sr., was a farmer all of his 
life. His birth occurred Nov. 12. 1808, 
and he passed to his final reward June 
17, 1886. His faithful wife was born Oct. 
3, 1810, and joined her husband in the 
realms beyond the view of mortal eye 
Feb. 3, 1894. Their children who grew to 
maturity were : Martin L. ; Samuel 
Brown, of this review; David Blair; and 
Joseph Stewart. Our subject received the 
greater part of his education in the Yel- 
low Springs College, at Kossuth, Iowa, and 
later attended the State University, at 
Iowa City, for one term. 

\\'hen Mr. Heizer was only nineteen 
years old he joined the army in the Civil 
War in the defense of his country, making 
a record as a soldier of which his friends 
and family are justly proud. He enlisted 
first April 20, 1861, in Company E, First 
Iowa Volunteer Infantry, being mustered 
into service May 7, 1861, at Keokuk, 
Iowa, where he served for three months, 
till Aug. 20, 1861. July 28, 1862, he en- 
listed in Company C, Thirtieth Iowa In- 
fantry, at Keokuk, and there he was mus- 
tered into service, being assigned to the 
Army of the Tennessee, Fifteenth Corps. 
He served with this company throughout 
the rest of the war, being honorably dis- 
charged June 5. 1865, at Washington, D. C. 
He was in the Grand Review, and had 
participated in the following noted bat- 
tles : Wilson's Creek ; Arkansas Post ; 
Chickasaw Bluflfs; Jackson, Mississippi; 
the assaults and siege of \''icksburg ; two 
at Jackson ; one at Brandon, Cherokee 
Station, Alabama ; Lookout Mountain ; 
Missionary Ridge, Ringgold, Resaca, 



Georgia; Dallas; Kenesaw Mountain; 
two battles at Atlanta; Jonesboro; Love- 
joy Station, Savannah, Georgia; Colum- 
bia, S. C. ; Bentonville, N. C, and in many 
minor engagements. Beside acting as a 
private in the war, Mr. Heizer held sev- 
eral higher offices, being promoted at the 
organization of his regiment to first ser- 
geant, and May 30, 1863, was made first 
lieutenant, and June 15, 1864, was made 
captain, in which capacity he served until 
the close of the national conflict. Dur- 
ing these five long years of hard service 
our subject was much afflicted with 
malaria, and at one time, while on a long 
march through the hot sun, received a 
severe sunstroke. 

After his discharge in W'ashington, he 
came direct to Des Moines county, and 
engaged in the merchandise business in 
Kossuth, and a little later took up farm- 
ing for a short time. He then located in 
Muscatine, Iowa, having there a store for 
three and a half years. At the end of this 
time he came to Mediapolis, and opened 
an insurance and notary public's office, 
where he soon worked up a fine paying 
business. Being a man of much force and 
executive ability, he was at once elected 
to serve the people in their city govern- 
ment, being mayor, member of the school- 
board, township assessor, and clerk of the 
township, which latter office he is now 
holding. Each and all of the responsible 
duties were discharged with great care 
and accuracy, Mr. Heizer keeping the 
city's interest ever in mind, and thus, un- 
der the guidance of so wise a ruler, the 
city made many steps of improvement. 

Mr. Heizer was married to Miss Mar- 
tha E. Canfield, Oct. 3, 1865. Mrs. Heizer 
is a daughter of Thomas H. and Eliza 



362 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



JaiK- (Hrewcr) Canficld. This union was 
blessed with five children : Kate Lorena, 
who has taiipht school in Arizona the 
greater part of her life, but has been lo- 
cated for the past two years in Monte 
Vista, Colo., teaching in the city schools; 
Clara Irene married \i. \\ . Johnson, and 
they reside in Nebraska ; Fred Louis, a 
printer in the News office, at Mediapolis; 
Grace Myrtle, a teacher of the piano and 
organ, at home: Albert William Torrence. 
assistant postmaster at .Media[)olis. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ileizer took much inter- 
est in giving their children as good educa- 
tion as possible. Mr. Heizer is identified 
with several of the secret societies, being 
a member and the commander of Shep- 
pard Post, G. A. R., at Media])olis. This 
post received its name in honor of John 
F. Sheppard, our subject's friend, a mem- 
ber of his company. This post now has 
thirty mend)ers. there being at one time 
ninety-six members. He is a mendjcr of 
the Masons of Mediapolis, having been 
Master, and has held nearly all of tin 
offices. He is also a member of the In- 
dependent Order Odd Fellows, in which 
he has held all of the offices. To these 
various societies he is loyal and true, and 
derives much pleasure from them. In 
religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Heizer arc 
Presbyterians, baviiii; juiiiid ihe Presby- 
terian church many years ago, and in 
which our worthy subject is elder and 
church treasurer. They have seen this 
church grow from time to time, and they 
are now looked tijjon as pillars of the 
same. 

In closing this record, we find that as 
a student our subject was always in the 
lead ; as a soldier he was brave, courage- 
ous, and stout-hearted, readv at a mo- 



ment s warning to obey any command, 
cheerfully undergoing any hardships or 
privations for the sake of the flag he 
loved, and was ready to follow it even 
to death, if need be. As a public-spirited 
man he has been active and enterprising; 
as a business man his reputation has been 
established along upright and moral lines; 
and as a representative of his party in 
serving the city in so many offices he has 
been faithful, and one whose judgment 
could be relied upon. Both Mr. Heizer 
and his wife stand high in the esteem of 
the community, enjoying to an unusual 
degree the confidence and respect of their 
fellow-citizens. 



EDWARD GILLAM ARCHER. 

Fdwaki) Ciillam Arciikr. deceased, who 
was one of the foremost representatives of 
agricultural interests in Iowa, being an ex- 
tensive land-owner and stock-raiser, was 
born in Bond county. Illinois, .Aug. 10, 1822. 
I lis father. I Jezekiah .Vrcher. was a native of 
North Carolina, and after arriving at years 
of maturity, wedded Mary Black, a native 
of Tennessee. Throughout his entire life 
he followed the occupation of farming. In 
his early married life he removed to Bond 
county, Illinois, where he entered land from 
the government, and in the course of years 
improved several farms. Again he became 
identified with pioneer development through 
his removal to Iowa, in 1833. He settled 
.ibout five miles southwest of Mediapolis, 
on Section 6, Franklin township, and bought 
a claim, there s])ending his remaining days. 

As a frontier settler be was familiar with 
the experiences, hardships, and privations 




/ 



(^Z^/^^^le/:^^ 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



363 



which constituted the hfe of the early resi- 
dents who came to the West and reclaimed 
this gfreat section of the country for the 
purposes of civilization. He reached the 
advanced age of eighty years, passing away 
June 9, 1872, having for a long period sur- 
vived his wife, who died in 1855, when 
fifty-six years of age. Both were con- 
sistent members of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and their Christian faith formed a 
permeating influence in their life, leading to 
honorable relations in business as well as 
social circles. 

His political views accorded with Whig 
principles in his early manhood, and he 
afterward became a stanch abolitionist, so 
that when the Republican party was 
formed to prevent the extension of slavery, 
he joined its ranks, and continued to advo- 
cate its principles throughout his remaining 
days. He was especially interested in the 
cause of public instruction, and did every- 
thing in his power to further the welfare of 
the schools in his locality. His business 
enterprise, keen discernment, and sound 
judgment proved the basis of a success 
which was as gratifying as honorable, for 
he accumulated a fortune. To his children 
he was most liberal, giving to each of his 
sons a farm. 

Unto 'Sir. and Mrs. Archer were born the 
following named : George, a resident farmer 
of Salinas county, Cal. : William, who fol- 
lows agricultural pursuits in the same 
county ; Nancy, the wife of E. L. Thomas, 
a farmer of Yellow Springs township : Ed- 
win G. ; DeWitt T., of California ; John, a 
farmer of Stockton, Cal. ; and Elizabeth, the 
wife of Milton Thomas, who is residing in 
Los Angeles. 

Edwin G. Archer was a lad of eleven 
summers when brought by his parents to 



Iowa, and upon the home farm he was 
reared to manhood, pursuing his education 
in the public schools, and thus becoming 
well equipped for life's practical duties. 
He remained with his father until he was 
twenty-one years of age, and then received 
from him a grant of one hundred and 
sixty acres of raw land on Section 32, Yel- 
low Springs township. Immediately after- 
ward he began the development of the prop- 
erty, and resided thereon up to the time of 
his death, the farm being still in possession 
of his widow. 

As the years passed by, however, he made 
investment in other real estate, and event- 
ually became the owner of about one thous- 
and acres. He was extensively engaged in 
tilling the soil and in stock-raising, and the 
volume and importance of his business in- 
terests made him one of the foremost repre- 
sentatives of agricultural life in Iowa. 

It is to this great department of labor 
that the State largely owes its prosperity 
and upbuilding, and in this connection Mr. 
Archer was a representative second to none 
in Des Moines county, and hardly surpassed 
throughout the commonwealth. 

In 1870 he began the breeding of Short- 
horn cattle, purchasing his first thorough- 
breds in that year. He became owner of 
three animals bought of Mr. r^Iiller. of West 
Liberty, Iowa, and he continued in the busi- 
ness throughout his remaining days. He 
always had a good herd of thoroughbred 
cattle, and in more recent years he gave his 
attention largely to the breeding of thor- 
oughbred horses, his first purchase being 
made in Kentucky, in 1879. Most of his im- 
portations came from that State, and his an- 
nual sales for many years averaged more 
than five thousand dollars. He often had as 
high as one hundred head of fine horses on 



366 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



his farm at a time, and he diil his own ship- 
ping. He was an excellent judge of stock, 
and through his business interests became 
widely known, not only in Des Moines 
county and in Iowa, but in other States as 
well ; and was held in high esteem for his 
honorable business methods. .Although he 
never trained horses for the track him- 
self, some of his stock made good records 
on the track. 

I-\'b. 20. 1851. Mr. .\rcher was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary E. Talbot, a daugh- 
ter of .'\quilla and Emily Talbot, of Ken- 
tucky. .Mrs. .\rcher was born in Shelby 
county. Kentucky. July I, 1829. and when 
three or four years of age was brought to 
Indiana by her parents, who settled in Put- 
nam county, where her father purchased 
land. The year of their arrival in Indiana 
was 1832, and in 1842 they came to Des 
Moines county, Iowa. 

Mrs. Archer remembers many of the 
hardships and experiences of pioneer life. 
The family home was a log cabin, which 
sttxKl for many years as a mute reminder 
of the early days, showing through contrast 
the progress and improvements of to-day. 
Her father met with a creditable measure of 
prosperity in his farming operations, and 
became a representative citizen of the local- 
ity in which he liade his home. 

Mrs. Archer was one of a family of 
twelve children, seven sons and five daugh- 
ters, of whom four sons and two daughters 
are yet living. Like the other members of 
the household, she acquired her education in 
the early subscrii)tion school of pioneer 
times. She was also carefully trained to the 
work of the hou.sehold, and was thus well 
prepared to take charge of a home of her 
own at the time of her marriage. 

Thirteen children were born of this mar- 



riage, of whom eleven are now living: 
James Madison, born March 4, 1852, is 
now living near .\urora, Xebr., where he 
follows farming, and is married ; George 
Henry. Ijorn Nov. 6, 1853, is living on the 
home place; Charles, bom March 11, 1855, 
resides near Great IJend, Kans. ; Emily, born 
July 27, 1859, is the wife of John T. Will- 
iams, a railroad man. living at Oakland, 
Cal. : John V.. born .Aug. 10, 1861, makes 
his home south of .Mcdiajiolis ; Thomas, born 
.April 2, 1863, is living in Clyde, Mo.; Sam- 
uel, born March 24, 1865, resides near 
Gardner City, Kans. : Xancy .A., commonly 
called I'irdie, Ixirn Jan. 19. 1867, is living 
in I toward county, Xebr. : William, born 
l"eh. 24, 1869, is a resident of Colorado; 
Jennie, born Dec. 13, 1870, is the wife of 
William J. Lane, a farmer, near Mediapolis ; 
Ida, born Feb. 6, 1875, '^ ^'^^ w'ti*: of Ed- 
ward Robinson, who follows farming near 
-Mediapolis: and two children who died in 
infancy. 

The father passed away ( )ct. 24, 1902, 
and was buried in Linn Grove cemetery, 
where a family monument has been erected 
to his memory. He was a member of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church from the 
age of twenty-one years, lived an earnest, 
consistent Christian life, and for many years 
served as elder in his church. 

In politics he was a Republican, and ever 
loyal to the principles which he believed 
concern the duties of citizenship. For eight 
or nine years ]irior to his demi.se he was in 
poor health, and his son conducted the 
farm during that time. 

He was a man of clean, upright character, 
nt innate refinement and culture, and broad 
humanitarian princiiiles. He desired the 
betterment of conditions, the alleviation of 
all that works hardship to mankitid, and was 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



367 



-the champion of truth, justice, and right. 
His genuine worth, his unflinching honesty, 
and his hel])ful interest in pubHc affairs, 
all made him an honored citizen, and won 
for him the unqualified regard of many 
friends. 

Airs. Archer is also a member of the 
church, and her children are Christian peo- 
ple, holding membership in various denomi- 
nations. In March, 1902, she removed to 
Mediapolis, where she purchased a commo- 
dious and attractive residence. She is still 
very active in church work, and is widely 
and favorably known here, occupying an 
enviable position in social circles. 



HIRAM SPURLOCK HARRIS. 

The name which forms the title of 
this article is well worthy of a place in 
the present volume, as the representa- 
tive of a family widely known in con- 
nection with commercial interests of Des 
Moines county, — a family which has 
made its name the symbol for success, 
loyalty, and devotion in many other 
States of our nation. Hiram Spurlock 
Harris, who as a pioneer in the develop- 
ment of the river navigation and allied 
industries of Iowa contributed in large 
measure to the substantial upbuilding 
and progress of the commerce of the 
State, was descended from stanch, patriotic 
Revolutionary ancestry. 

James Harris, grandfather of the sub- 
ject of this sketch, and founder of this 
branch of the family, was a native of 
North Carolina, of Irish descent, and was 
a soldier in the War of the Revolution. 
He was well advanced in vears at the 



time of his death, dying in Tennessee, in 
which State he lived after the close of the 
Revolution. He had four sons and one 
daughter. 

The daughter, Betsey, commonly called 
"Aunt Betsey," was born in Tennessee. 
After her marriage to Robert Walker, she 
went with him to Columbus, Ky., where 
they made their home. They were very 
successful, accumulating considerable 
property. During the Civil \\'ar they 
were driven out of their beautiful home 
in Columbus by the Union soldiers, and 
about a year later Mrs. \\'alker died near 
Xashville, where they had taken refuge, 
at an advanced age. 

Her brother, William Harris, uncle to 
our subject, moved from Tennessee to 
Illinois at an early day, even before it was 
a territory, and ran a ferry-boat across the 
Mississippi at Cape Girardeau. Subse- 
quently he moved to Helena, Ark., where 
he lived until the time of his death, some 
years before the Civil ^^'ar. 

David K. Harris, son of James, and 
father of the subject of this article, was 
born in Tennessee, but at an early age 
moved to Kentuck}-. He was a merchant 
in Kentucky in early life, and when the 
War of 1812 broke out, he sustained the 
reputation for bravery and patriotism 
gained for the Harris name by his father, 
James Harris, the Revolutionary hero, by 
becoming a participant. .\fterward his 
friends and fellow-countrymen show'ed 
their appreciation of his integrity and 
valor by sending him to the Kentucky 
State Senate for term after term, imtil 
he had served in that position for sixteen 
years. 

Seeing the great advantage being 
offered by the new lands being settled in 



?68 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the W csl, lie moved to I'olk county, Iowa, 
in 1845, l>efore Iowa was admitted to the 
Union, and that same fall took up his 
abode in Ilurlinj^ton. Here, as in his old 
home in Kentucky, his force of character 
and integrity gave such confidence to 
those who came in contact with him, that 
they showed their recognition of his abil- 
ity by bestowing upon him honor after 
honor, lie was justice of the peace for 
sixteen years, also served as city alder- 
man for I'urlington, and held various 
other official positions of prominence and 
trust. 

In his early manhood. David K. Harris 
was married to Anne .^purlock, a native 
of Virginia, and a daughter of John ."^jjur- 
lock, another hero of the Revolutionary 
War. in which he was a chaplain. John 
S|)urlock was of English descent, though 
he liinisclf was a native of \'irginia. lie 
lived to a good old age. and had a family 
of four sons and six daughters to heliJ 
spread his good influence. His occupa- 
tion through life was that of a ministtr, 
and being a man of strong character, he 
was a power for good in his day. His 
daughter Anne, Mrs. Harris, showed the 
results of this earnest Christian teaching, 
being always one of the most faithful of 
the workers in the church. 

Air. and Mrs. Harris were both stanch 
members of the Christian cluirch. TDavid 
K. Harris was an elder in the church, and 
they had the ])leasurc of entertaining at 
their home in this city the well-known 
pioneer minister, .Mexander Campbell. 

.\s early as 1848, Mr. and Mrs. Harris 
purchased the ])remiscs afterward occu- 
l)ied by his son. Hiram Spurlock Harris, 
and now by Miss P.irdie A. Harris. 
There they lived until the death of Mr. 



Harris in i&*), aged seventy-four years. 
His wife survived him some ten years. 
To them were born five sons and eight 
daughters, of whom three, Elizabeth, 
Hiram S., and James L.. lived to be well 
past middle life. James being still living. 

James L., brother to Hiram S., was 
born in Kentucky in 1839, and was only 
eleven years of age when the family came 
to Burlington. The journey to the new 
home was made l)y all on the same llat- 
boat, coming down the liig Sandy River 
in Kentucky, down the Ohio, and \\\i the 
Mississippi to Uurlington. Some of the 
pieces of furniture and some vases that 
were brought on that tri]) are now in pos- 
session of Miss liirdie .\. Harris. 

.-\fter growing to manhood, James L. 
Harris ran, built, and owned several 
steamboats that ran on the river. He 
iiad the ".\nnic Gordon." "("lussie Gor- 
don." "Petrel." and "Penguin." Now at 
the age of sixty-six he has been retired 
for some time. 

Hiram S. Harris, the immediate sub- 
ject of this article, was born at Preston- 
burg, Ky., March 13, 1833, and was only 
twelve years old when he came to Iowa 
with his parents. He lived in Iowa from 
that time till his death, living forty-eight 
years of the time in one house. During 
forty-five years of this time he was inter- 
ested in upbuilding the navigation inter- 
ests of the .Mississip|ji, being engaged 
first in rafting, later in steamboating on 
the river. He kept up his interest in 
steamboating even after he became owner 
and manager of the hotel known as the 
Harris House. 

July, 1855, Mr. Harris was united in 
marriage to Elizabeth Marshall, daughter 
of a .Scotchman. Henry Marshall, who 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



369 



lived in New Wilmington, Pa. Eliza- 
beth Marshall was born in New Wil- 
mington in 1835, and died in Burlington, 
July 27, 1892. She was an amiable 
woman, beloved by all who knew her, 
and having an influence for good over all 
who came in contact with her. She was 
a devoted member of the Presbyterian 
church. She and Mr. Harris had a long, 
happy, prosperous married life together, 
and did much in many ways to advance 
the welfare of their home city. Mr. Har- 
ris's efforts towards the improvement of 
river navigation, as well as in the con- 
ducting of his hotel, did much towards 
raising Burlington to her present position 
■of commercial importance. While Mr. 
Harris found his time so taken up with 
commercial interests that he could never 
wish to ask for political preferment, he 
was a stanch believer in and a supporter 
of the principles of the Democratic party. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Harris were born 
four children, two sons and two daugh- 
ters : John M., who died at the age of 
eighteen months; David Kelsey, born 
Dec. 29, 1858, died Feb. 22, 1903; Ida 
June, died Aug. 23, 1894, at the age of 
twenty-one years, and Birdie A., present 
owner of Harris Hotel. 

David Kelsey Harris was educated in 
the Burlington High School, and was 
trained to a business career. He had 
charge of the hotel from the time he was 
fifteen years old until the time of his 
death at the age of forty-five. He trav- 
eled a great deal for pleasure, visiting 
California. Canada, Yellowstone Park, 
and other places of interest in our 
country. 

Since the death of David K. Harris, in 
1903, the management of the hotel has 



devolved upon Miss Birdie A. Harris, 
who was also educated in the Burlington 
high school. In this work she has, by 
her good management, shown herself to 
be possessed of fine executive ability, as 
well as a social disposition, which has 
done much to bring about the high degree 
of success which she has attained. In 
consequence of these qualities she enjoys 
to-day the admiration and respect of 
those who know her, for the uprightness 
and strict integrity which mark her life 
record ; while her personal loyalty and 
the social virtues of her character have 
made her a host of friends. All in all, 
she is a worthy descendant of ancestors 
who have written fair pages on the na- 
tion's history. 



FRANK X. KUECHEN. 

Frank X. Kuechen, although born in 
the German Empire, has been a citizen of 
Burlington, Iowa, for over fifty years. His 
personal efforts and his championship of 
many public measures have resulted in the 
city's benefit and upbuilding. For ten 
years he was an honored councilman of the 
city, discharging all of the duties in a very 
satisfactory manner. He was connected 
with several of the leading dry-goods 
houses also for over twenty-five years, 
whereby he established a reputation as a 
salesman of great ability. 

Frank Xavier Kuechen is a son of Arnold 
and Mary (\'on Stephen) Kuechen, and 
was born in Aix la Chapelle, Germany, 
March 4, 1834. His parents were also 
natives of .Aix la Chapelle, Germany, and 
came to America b\- wav of New Orleans 



370 



BiOGR.u'jiic.iL Ni-iir.n- 



in an old-time sailinp vessel in the year 
1848. In those days it took a much longer 
time to make a voyage to the Xew World 
than it does at present, and yet Mr. 
Kuechen's parents made the trip in about 
fifty-five days, which was much shorter 
than many who came about the same year. 
His mother was a daughter of Francis and 
Maria Von Stephen, both natives of Aix 
la Chapellc. Germany, where they kept a 
hotel for many years. Mr. Kuechen's father 
was a cloth maker in Germany, where he 
had a large woolen factory, and our sub- 
ject is in possession of a piece of cloth that 
his father made for a suit of clothes for 
Napoleon. This woolen factory was de- 
stroyed by fire in 1847, and as most of the 
factory and contents were a total loss, little 
or nothing remained for them to bring to 
America. The parents of our subject set- 
tled in West Point, Lee county, Iowa, where 
his father opened a general store, which he 
conducted fur a number of years with much 
success. 

Of the thirteen children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. Arnold Kuechen. parents of Frank X., 
nine were burn in Germany and four in 
West Point, Iowa. One of their sons died 
on the sea when coming to this country, 
and all of the others have pas.sed away but 
our subject, and Clara, who is now the 
widow of the late .August Litmer, of the 
well-known firm of Litmer Lirothers, deal- 
ers in oil to a very large extent, in Cincin- 
nati. Ohio. Gustavus Kuechen, brother 
of I'Vank X., of this review, was a promi- 
nent surgeon in the Civil War, and was a 
graduate of a Xew York medical college. 
After the war was over, he located in 
Keokuk, Iowa, where he stood at the head 
of his profession and where he was greatly 
respected and beloved by rich ami poor 



alike. Words can hardly express the great 
charity of his big heart, and with what suc- 
cess his practice was conducted till death 
overtook him about 1870. The parents of 
Mr. Kuechen are also dead. 

Mr. Kuechen first attended school in the 
kingdom of Wurteniburg, Germany, and 
later pursued his studies in a fine college 
in Germany, where he became very pro- 
ficient in Latin. Greek, and I'rench, and 
graduated with great credit to his teachers 
and parents, .\fter coming to West Point 
with his parents he remained there one 
year and then went to St. Louis, Mo., 
where he went into a wholesale grocery 
store and remained there till the cholera 
broke out, when he became bookkeeper in 
a large castor oil store for one year. 
May I, 1852, Mr. Kuechen came to Bur- 
lington and accepted a position as clerk 
in W. II. Postlewaite's general store, in 
whose employ he remained for nine years. 
While in Mr. Postlewaite's employ the 
dress goods known as French merino was 
first brought to Iowa. He then clerked in 
what was called " The People's Store," 
which was owned by a Mr. Perkins. For 
the next fifteen years he was head clerk in 
the C. B. E. C. & A. Parsons dry-goods 
store, where he acquired a large trade. 
L'pon leaving the Parsons store Mr. 
Kuechen was an em])loyec in the well- 
known dry-goods store of Greenbaum & 
Schroeder, where he remained till this firm 
failed. The above two firms are all dead 
except Mr. Edward Parsons, of Dixon, 
111., and Mr. .Schroeder. of Chicago. 

On Dec. 2f), i8f)i. .Mr. Kuechen was 
married to Miss Martha Saloma Linn, a 
daughter of John and Elizabeth (Swine- 
heart) Linn, whose parents were born in 
( )hii). came to Iowa in the early pioneer 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



371 



times, and settled near New London. The 
father opened a store and located his 
family on a farm near by. Mrs. Linn died 
in 1843, in New London, when Mrs. 
Kuechen was only two years of age, when 
her oldest sister, Emeline Linn took upon 
herself the responsibility of Mrs. Kuechen's 
childhood. Mr. Linn passed away in 
August, 1 88 1. They were the parents of 
nine children, all of whom are dead but 
Mrs. Kuechen, wife of our subject, a sister 
and a brother. Mrs. Kuechen was born 
in Sommerset, Perry county, Ohio (which 
was also the home of Phil. Sheridan), May 
14, 1839. When Mrs. Kuechen was mar- 
ried, her sister Emeline went to live with 
her, and there made her home until death 
took her to her heavenly home, Oct. 31, 
1900. 

Elizabeth Linn, sister of Mrs. Kuechen, 
married Mr. Davis, of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, 
who was one of the founders of the Iowa 
Wesleyan University of Mt. Pleasant, and 
who also contributed largely to the erec- 
tion and support of the same. It was in 
this university that Mrs. Kuechen received 
her education. Sylvania J. Linn resides in 
Los Angeles, Cal. 

By the second marriage of Mr. Linn to 
Miss Rhode R'larlow, five daughters were 
born, of whom four are living: Catherine, 
wife of William Banister, of Atchison, 
Kans. ; Irene, who married George Ram- 
say, of Des Moines county : Alma, wife of 
Malin Gladman, is dead, and Mr. Gladman 
married her sister Jennie for his second 
wife, and resides in Hastings, Nebr. ; and 
Mary, wife of Wm. Whaley, of Boston, 
Mass. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kuechen seven chil- 
dren have been born : Walter, who died in 
infancy ; Emma Svbilla, wife of Albert 



Edward Reid, a merchant of Walla Walla, 
Wash. They have three children, Martha 
Amarilla, Albert, and Paul Kuechen. 
Elizabeth Linn, a successful teacher of the 
third grade in South Hill school ; Abigail 
Parsons, who married Robert Wilson 
Robinson, a conductor on the railroad. 
They have three children : Robert Wilson, 
Jr., Francis Clarence, and James Richard. 
Delia French, a valued teacher in the 
Saunderson School in Burlington ; Francis 
Albert, an efficient postal clerk ; Clarence 
Sylvania, a machinist, located in Denver, 
Colo. Mr. and Mrs. Kuechen and family 
are devoted members of the Methodist 
church, and take much pleasure in sup- 
porting the same. 

Fraternally, Mr. Kuechen is a mason of 
the third degree. He is a strong Democrat, 
and has served the city in several offices. 
In 1864 he was elected alderman, which 
office he filled to the satisfaction of all for 
ten years. During this time he saw the 
city improve a great deal — many hollows 
which were very unsightly were filled, and 
miles of macadamizing were laid. Along 
in the early '70's Mr. Kuechen and Mr. L. 
Teedrick were sent as a committee from 
the council to Columbus, Ohio, to investi- 
gate the water works of that city, as the 
question of water works was being agitated 
to a great extent at that time. Mr. Kuechen 
also acted as mayor pro tem to fill the 
vacancy of L. Teedrick. During the last 
few years he has been township clerk 
several times. Owing to the poor health 
of Mr. Kuechen he is retired from active 
business, and is spending the evening of 
his busy life with his family at his ideal 
cottage, 143 South Eighth Street, sur- 
rounded by his faithful wife, who is a lady 
of much culture and refinement, and his 



372 



BIOGRAl'tllLAL REVIEW 



loving children, whose sole aim is to shed 
comfort and happiness around him. The 
rare business qualifications of Mr. Kuechen 
have always been recognized by the com- 
munity, and his enterprising spirit for the 
general improvement of the city has been 
an inspiration to many, while the large 
warm heart possessed by him has made for 
him friends bv the hundred. 



JOHN B. HUNT. 

TiiEUii is no family which has been 
longer in Des Moines county, or is more 
prominent and universally respected, than 
the Hunt family. Their ancestry can be 
traced back to noble men ami women who 
came from l-'ngland over a hundred years 
ago. Of this large family five brothers, — 
Jesse, Charles Wesley, Samuel, Clai- 
bournc, and jolui 1!.. — came to Iowa in 
the early '30's, and settled on farms close 
to each other in what was knowm as the 
Hunt Settlement, ai)out three miles from 
the city. .\ sketch of tiic Hunt family 
vi^ill be found in connection with that of 
William 1j. Hunt, on another page in this 
book. 

Jesse Hunt, father of our subject, was 
born in Tennessee in 1807, and in 1813 
went to Edwardsville, I!on<l county. 111., 
for a number of years freighting from 
there to St. Louis with ox-teams. He 
later entered a large tract of land in Mc- 
Donough county, Illinois, where he was 
engaged in farming till the whites opened 
Iowa for settlement, in 18,^3, when he 
took advantage of the liberal otTer of the 
government ami ])re-empted a farm of 
about ti\e hundred acres in ."-iections ~ 



and iS, Burlington township, which place 
he greatly im])roved from year to year, 
mostly with his own hands. 

In those early pioneer days a farmer 
did not have the convenient tools to work 
with that he has to-day, but had to con- 
tent himself with a common saw and ax. 
One of the first log buildings that Mr. 
Hunt built, with nothing but an ax, is 
still standing on the old home place, 
where his son takes the best of care of it. 
Mrs. Hunt joined her husband in 1834, 
and they were blessed with five children, 
of whom three are living: Mary, the 
widow of Ellison Smith of Danville, 
Iowa; Illinois, the wife of William Smith, 
of Richmond. Iowa; and John, of this re- 
view. 

.Mrs. Himt was a woman of much 
force of character, and though she en- 
dured with her husband the many hard- 
ships of frontier life, yet she bore all in 
a kind anil ])atient manner, and was a 
woman beloved by one and all. Her 
death, which occurred June 25, 1871, was 
deplored by many. Mr. Hunt survived 
his wife nearly twenty-two years, his 
death occurring July 16, 1893. 

During his residence of sixty years on 
this one farm in Des Moines county, .Mr. 
Hunt made vast changes and substantial 
improvements till at the time of his death 
it was considered one of the best farms of 
the county. He was a very ])lain ami un- 
pretentious man, but an exceedingly kind 
and obliging neighbor, ever willing to 
assist those about him who met with 
reverses. His whole life was one of 
honor and uprightness, and when his 
earthly labors were finished many were 
led to say that the world was made better 
;inil l)ri^hter hv his life. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



373 



Our subject was born on his father's 
farm in Des Aloines county, Iowa, Aug. 
8, 1845, ^'''d received his education in the 
district schools of the county. He re- 
mained with his father till the latter 
passed away, when he bought the home 
farm, and still resides there. He is very 
much attached to the place, and keeps it 
much the same as his parents did, being 
extensively engaged in farming and stock- 
raising. 

Like his father, Mr. Hunt is a good 
Democrat, but does not take an active 
part in politics. He is well posted on all 
of the issues of the day, being a great 
reader. Of much reserve and dignity, he 
constantly reaches out to the poor and 
needy without his right hand knowing 
what his left hand doeth. His business 
life has always been just and pure, and 
there is no one in the county more es- 
teemed and respected than Air. Hunt and 
his good wife. 



ANTON LAUER. 

Anton L.\uer, a retired farmer, now 
living at 171 5 South Street, in Burling- 
ton, was born in Crimea, in Russia, Feb. 8, 
1833, his parents being Anton and Johanna 
(Easier) Lauer. He pursued his education 
in the public schools there, and at the age of 
sixteen years came to America, making the 
voyage on a sailing vessel by way of the 
Black and Mediterranean Seas through the 
Straits of Gibraltar, and across the Atlantic 
to New York City, where he arrived after 
one hundred and four days spent on the 
water. He then traveled across the country 
to Cleveland, Ohio, where he remained until 



1850, and in that year came to Burlington, 
arriving here about the time of the cholera 
epidemic. The journey to America and the 
subsequent removals were made in company 
with his parents and their family. Several 
of the people who came with them to Iowa 
died of cholera in Burlington, but the Lauer 
family fortunately escaped. Not long after 
their arrival the father purchased one hun- 
dred and fifteen acres of land four miles 
southwest of Burlington, at the Hunt Set- 
tlement, and there the family lived for a 
long time. The mother passed away about 
three months after they took up their abode 
on the farm, but the father reached the ad- 
vanced age of eighty-five years. Eventually 
he sold his farm to his son Anton, and re- 
moved to Burlington, where he engaged in 
business, and at a still later day he went to 
Davis County, Iowa, where he purchased 
three hundred and twenty acres of land, 
making his home thereon for a number of 
years. At length he sold that property, 
and bought one hundred and forty acres at 
Augusta, Iowa, and following the death of 
his second wife he made his home with his 
son, passing away in May, 1897, at the age 
of eighty-five years. The children of his 
first marriage are as follows : Anton ; Theo- 
bald, who died at the age of sixty-four 
years ; Lydia, the wife of Christian Meyers, 
of Burlington ; and Adolph, who is an in- 
surance agent, in Burlington. For his sec- 
ond wife, the father chose Henrietta Krue- 
ger, and their children are: Mrs. Julia 
Stark, the deceased wife of a Presbyterian 
minister; Edward, deceased; Charles, Fred, 
and Ferdinand, all living in Winfield, Iowa ; 
Lincoln, a dentist of California ; Herman, 
who when last heard from was in New 
York ; and John, who is engaged in the 
practice of dentistry in California. 



374 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Anton Lauer learned the trade of wagon- 
making in early life, and subsequently en- 
gaged in the grocery business, conducting a 
store at the corner of Third and Washing- 
ton Streets, in Burlington, in 1856. At a 
later day. however, he tumed his attention 
to farming, and in that undertaking met 
with very gratifying success. As years 
passed, he made judicious investments in 
|)n>])erty. .iiul is to-day the t)wner of six 
hundred and twenty-four acres of valuable 
land, comprised within four farms in Canaan 
tovvnshi]), near Mount L'nion. All of these 
are now o|)crated by his children. He was 
recognizetl as an enterprising and progress- 
ive agriculturist, who carried on his farming 
in accordance with modern ideas of im- 
provement and (progress, and remained ac- 
tively connected with the work of cultivating 
his fields until 1899. when he removed to 
Burlingtiin, and jiurchased his present home 
at 1715 South Street, where he and his wife 
now live retired. 

On the 20th of October, 1857, Mr. Lauer 
was married to Miss Caroline Eckey. a 
daughter of Christoph and Clara (Luhbert) 
Eckey. They have become the parents of 
nine children, who now live : Johanna, the 
wife of Charles Kords, of Mount Cnion : 
Victor, a farmer of Mount Union; Edmond 
L., also a faniHT ; Amelia, the wife of Louis 
iiaker. an agriculturist: Laura, the wife of 
William liaker, who follows the same pur- 
suit ; Alfred, a farmer; Evalina, the wife of 
John Keitzer, a farmer; .\ntcin, who is also 
engaged in the tilling of the soil ; and 
Martha, the wife of Ernest Kurrle, of Bur- 
lington. 

In his political views Mr. Lauer has been 
a stanch Republican since casting his first 
presidential vote for John C. Fremont, sup- 
porting each nominee at the head (A the 



ticket since that time. He was elected time 
and again as treasurer of his school district, 
and held that office for twenty-five vears. 
He is a man whose business and political 
integrity are above question, and his entire 
life has been characterized by honorable pur- 
pose. He was for many years an active 
factor in business circles of Burlington, or 
in the agricultural circles of the county, ami 
his careful management, guided by sound 
judgment, su])]jlemented by business probity, 
gained for him the success which he is now 
enjoying, and which enables him to live 
retired. 



MARTIN MOEHN. 

Marti.v MoEiix is president of the 
Moehn Brewing Company, of Burlington, 
and in the development and upbuilding of 
this business has displayed marked enter- 
prise, keen discernment, and methods of the 
pioneer, in that he has inaugurated new 
plans and carried them forward to success- 
ful accomplishntent and completion. He 
stands to-day as one of the representative 
men of the city, enjoying the fidl confidence 
of the business community. 

.Mr. Moehn was born in Burlington, Iowa, 
in iSCio. his parents being Henry and 
Moneka (111) Moehn. both of whom were 
natives of (iermany. They were married, 
however, in Burlington, and Henry Moehn 
remained a resident of this city for about 
fifty-four years. He was one of its early 
settlers, and took an active interest in its 
development and progress. _ He was a cooper 
by trade, and embarked in that business in 
Burlington on a small scale ; but gradually 
his trade increased, and he eventually owned 
and operated a large cooperage business, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



375 



but had retired from active life some years 
prior to his death. He displayed unfalter- 
ing diligence in his business career, and his 
labors were attended by gratifying success. 
The family were members of the Catholic 
church. Mr. Moehn, however, belonged to 
no secret or fraternal organizations, but 
wherever known in social or business circles 
commanded the respect and good-will of his 
fellow-men. He was twice married. The 
children of the first union are JNIrs. Senn 
and Mrs. Muckinsturn, a widow, who is 
residing on South Hill in Burlington, His 
second wife was the mother of our subject, 
and there are four living sons of this mar- 
riage : Charles, who is a cooper of Burling- 
ton ; William, a farmer of Des Aloines 
county ; John, of Burlington : and Alartin, 
of this review. The father's death occurred 
in 1897, and thus passed away one of the 
pioneer settlers of the city, who for many 
years had been the champion of all pro- 
gressive movements for the substantial de- 
velopment and progress of Burlington. 

Martin Aloehn, who was reared to man- 
hood in the city of his nativity, attended the 
public and German schools, after which he 
became a student in Bryant and Stratton's 
Business College. His first business venture 
was in the grocery trade, and in connection 
with his store he also conducted a saloon. 
This he carried on for four years, when he 
sold out to Barney Nieman. He then 
turned his attention to the bottling business, 
which he carried on in a wholesale way for 
the old Bosch Brewery, and also for other 
breweries, buying barrel goods, which he 
prepared for the market by putting it in 
bottles. He was in business in connection 
with the old Western Brewery, and later he 
engaged in the cooperage business, manu- 
facturing all kinds of wooden kegs. For 



eighteen months he conducted his shop un- 
der the name of the Martin Moehn Cooper- 
age. He then sold this business and leased 
the Western Steam Brewery, which was 
one of the oldest business landmarks on the 
Burlington tracks, established fifty-five years 
ago. Indeed, it was one of the first pro- 
ductive industries of the city. Mr. Moehn 
operated this brewery successfully for thir- 
teen years, or until the present magnificent 
brewery, which he owns to-day, was ready 
for occupancy. The old plant has been 
closed down since the opening of the new 
one. The Western Brewery was owned for 
many years by the Bosch family. While 
he was yet successfully operating that plant 
known as the ^loehn's Western Brewery, 
Mr. Moehn conceived the idea of erecting 
a new and strictly modern brewery that 
would not only be a credit to the city, but 
would have a capacity commensurate to the 
increasing demands of the trade. A com- 
pany was organized with a capital of one 
hundred and ten thousand dollars, and a 
brewery and necessary buildings were 
erected at a cost approximating the capital 
stock of the company. There is not a finer 
brewery in point of architecture in the coun- 
try, nor a plant more complete in every de- 
tail and appointment than the elegant new 
structure of red brick which was built by 
Mr. Moehn. It is absolutely complete in 
every detail, and strictly modern in every 
particular. The officers of the company and 
its principal stockholders and directors are 
]\Iartin Moehn, president : Barney Nieman, 
vice-president : and John T. Hickman, sec- 
retary and treasurer. The annual output 
is thirty thousand barrels, and employment 
is furnished to twenty men at the plant, 
while upon the road they have a traveling 
representative. Five teams and wagons are 



376 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



used in delivering the product to the rail- 
road stations for shipment and to the city 
trade. The leading brand is called "Moehn 
Select," and a wholesale and family trade 
is carried on. So capably and successfully 
was the business of building the new brew- 
er)- managed that not a day was lost in mov- 
ing from the old quarters into the new. The 
present brewery was opened to the public 
l)\ a big reception held in the spring of 
1904. The business is now very extensive 
and profitable, and the success of this great 
productive institution of Burlington is 
largely dm- to the enterprise and efforts of 
Mr. Moehu. 

On the 30th (lay of May, 1882, in Bur- 
lington. .Mr. Moehn was married to Miss 
Julia Schultz, a native of Germany, and 
they now have five children, nanielv : 
George, who, having pursued his education 
in the high school of Burlington, the .'\cad- 
emy of our Lady of Lourdes, and a Busi- 
ness College, where he pursued bookkeep- 
ing, stenography, and typewriting, is now 
serving as bookkeeper at the brewery : .\u- 
gusta, a grafluate of the Burlington high 
school; Martin. Bertha, and Robert are all 
at home. 

In his political affiliations Mr. Moehn 
is a Democrat, and he and his family are 
all communicants of .St. Paul's Catholic 
church. IK' is a charter member of the 
fraternal order of Eagles. The familv home 
is at the corner of Seventh and Arch Streets, 
and was erected by Mr. Moehn in 1892. 
Had he desired, he wnuld li;ive fmuid little 
opportunity for active ])(>litical service, ow- 
ing to the demands made upon his time and 
attention by his constantly growing busi- 
ness. However, in all matters of citizenship 
he was progressive and gave a generous 
financial support to every movement for the 



public good. He is indeed one of the rep- 
resentative men of the city, active in con- 
trolling its important commercial and in- 
dustrial interests. 



GEORGE F. EBERHART. 

I'kkm.m-.-^ one of the most widely known 
citizens of Burlington, Iowa, is George F. 
Eberhart, who since December, 1887, has 
held the position of depot master at this 
point for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
Railroad Company. Mr. Eberhart was born 
in the city of St. Louis, Jan. 16, 1851, the 
only son of John G. and Mary (Reichman) 
Eberhart, both natives of Germany, in which 
country they celebrated their marriage, 
coming to the I'nited States and locating in 
St. Louis in 1848 or 1849. The father of 
our subject worked as a shoemaker in St. 
Louis, having learned that trade in Ger- 
many, and it was while residing in that city 
that he enlisted in Company .\, First Mis- 
souri Infantry. He served four years, or 
during almost the entire Civil War, under 
Generals Rosecrans and Siegel. and while 
he never received a wound during the whole 
time of his long and faithful service, he had 
the misfortune to be taken prisoner by the 
Confederate forces, and was confined in the 
prison at Tyler, Texas, for ninety days, 
under circumstances of great hard.ship. He 
came to P>urlington .\pril Jo, 1865, and was 
in the emjiloy of the Gilbert-Hedge Lumber 
Com])any until ten years ago, when he re- 
tired from active life. He died March 2, 
1905, at the age of eighty-five years, and his 
widow, the mother of our subject, resides at 
15 10 Mark Lane, in her seventy-ninth year. 
In St. Louis Mr. Eberhart received his 




GEORGE EBERHART 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



379 



education, and there he was employed as a 
clerk and packer in the wholesale and retail 
seed establishment of Barnum. Fenner & Co. 
for a period of three years. On accompany- 
ing his parents to BurHngton he entered the 
Foote & Gear Woolen Mill, to run a finish- 
ing machine, and there formed a pleasant 
acquaintance with Governor Gear, who was 
at that time identified with the business. In 
the fall of 1868 he began work for the Chi- 
cago, Burlington & Ouincy Railroad Com- 
pany, under J. M. Jackson as a car repairer, 
and later became a freight brakeman. run- 
ning between Burlington and Ottumwa. 
For six months he acted as Main Street 
switchman, and then as brakeman on pas- 
senger trains running between Burlington 
and Council Bluflfs, until 1875, when he en- 
tered the baggage service between the same 
points. In December, 1897, in view of his 
satisfactory service in all capacities, and his 
versatile ability, he was promoted to the 
position of depot master, which he has ever 
since occupied with conspicuous success. 
At Burlington, in April, 1874, he wedded 
Miss Fanny C. \'ogt, a native of Buffalo, 
N. Y., and daughter of the late Fred- 
erick Vogt. Mr. Vogt, who died in igo2, 
was at that time the oldest printer in Bur- 
lington, and had been employed on the first 
paper published in the city, the Patriot. He 
established a job printing business under the 
firm style of Vogt, Osborn & Snow, which 
■ was later changed to Vogt & Son, and so 
conducted until he sold his interest. He 
then started a market garden on Sunnyside 
Avenue, which he continued until the time 
of his death. To ]\lr. and Mrs. Eberhart 
have been born two sons, Cyrus L., who 
graduated from the public schools, the Bur- 
lington high school, and Elliott's Business 
College, taking a course in shorthand and 



bookkeeping in the latter institution, and is 
now check clerk in the Chicago, Burlington 
& Ouincy freight office ; and George F., who 
died at the age of six years. The family 
residence is at 1308 North Oak Street, 
where Mrs. Eberhart, who is a member of 
the Ladies' Aid Society of the German 
Lutheran Church, entertains many friends. 
i\Ir. Eberhart was formerly a member of 
the Knights of the Maccabees and of the 
Iowa Legion of Honor, but has allowed 
these connections to lapse. He is a charter 
member of the Lone Tree Hunting and 
Fishing Club, he having been the seven- 
teenth to enroll his name as a member, and 
for the past eight years has served as one of 
the club's directors. He is a favorite with 
the traveling public, to thousands of whom 
he is personally known, and has earned their 
regard by faithful attention to the duties of 
his position, which, besides calling and re- 
porting all trains in and out, include a close 
supervision of the personal welfare of the 
passengers and patrons of the road. A man 
of fine, commanding physique and sanguine 
temperament, his geniality, courtesy, and 
consideration for the rights of others have 
done much to lighten the burdens and in- 
crease the pleasures of travel for those with 
whom he comes in contact, and he enjoys a 
very general and kindly regard and esteem. 



GEORGE GIBSON. 

George Gibson, one of the leading rep- 
resentatives of agricultural interests in Des 
Moines county, whose record proves the 
force of industry, keen discernment, and 
persistency of ]nirpose as factors in a busi- 
ness career, is living on Section 4, Augusta 



38o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



township. He was born in Crawford 
county, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1839, his 
parents being Joseph and Hannah ( Slin- 
son) Gibson. The fatlicr was born in West- 
moreland county. I'a., in 1X04, and the 
mother near (ireenvilie, .Mercer county, I'a., 
in 1807. and it was in the latter county 
tiiat their marriage took place. 15y trade 
Joseph (jibson was a blacksmith, and in 
early life followed that ])ursuit. l)ut later 
turned his attention to farming. He lived 
for a time in Trumbull county, Ohio, and 
there two children were born unto him and 
his •wife, but they died in infancy. 

George (jibson was reared upon his 
father's farm in the place of his nativity, 
supplementing his early educational advan- 
tages by a good academic cour.se. and con- 
tinuing ujion the old homestead in Pennsyl- 
vania until his removal to Iowa in 1865. 
In the family were two sons and two daugh- 
ters, and one of the daughters just before 
coming to the West had married David F. 
Parshall. who accompanied them on their 
removal to this State. Mr. and .Mrs. Par- 
siiall then located in Lee county, where they 
still reside. The family of Josejih Gib.son 
loaded their goods on a boat at Pittsburg, 
and reshi])i)ed them at St. Louis for Bur- 
lington. They .sold their property in Penn- 
sylvania the year before, and Joseph Gibson 
and his eldest son. James S. Gibson, had 
come to the West in search of a location, 
visiting Illinois and Missouri. They had 
expected to locate in Missouri, but James 
Gibson believed that it was not safe to settle 
there, as the Civil War had not closed, and 
in consequence they came to I'urlington. 
Nf)t long after, they rented the farm which 
they subsequently ])urchascd. .A year later, 
however, they removed to another farm, 
where they spent two years; .iiicl it was 



about this time that George Gibson returned 
to the East, where he worked at the car- 
penter's trade. In i8f)8 the father pur- 
chased four hundred and thirteen acres of 
lantl situated on Sections 4 and 5, Augusta 
township, and here the family took up their 
abode, where James S. Gibson, the eldest 
.son, afterward lived, and where his family 
still make their home. There Joseph Gib- 
son continued to reside until called to his 
final rest abcjut iSJ^S- He had survived his 
wife for a few years, her death occurring in 
1881. They became the parents of seven 
children, five of whom reached mature years, 
while four are still living here: James S.. 
who is mentioned in connection with the 
sketch of .Allen Gibson on another page of 
this work : Essington, who resides at Nord- 
hoff. \entura county. Cal. ; Caroline, the 
wife of .Alfred Gregg, a resident farmer of 
.Augusta t(Twnship : George, of this review: 
and Sarah E., the wife of Uavid Parshall. 
of Lee county. 

The father was a Whig in his political 
views in early days, and later became a Re- 
publican, continuing to give that jiarty his 
support throughout the remainder of his 
life. He was a member of the Congre- 
gational church when in the East, and he 
and his wife joined the church of that de- 
nomination in Danville, low'a. 

.\s before stated. George Gibson came 
with the family to Des Moines county, but 
after a brief period spent here, returned to 
the East, where he engaged in carpentering. 
In 1868 he once more came to Iowa, and 
assisted his father imtil the ])lace was paid 
for. While each knew wli.it ])art of the 
farm was to be his. they contimied to Avork 
together for several years, engaging in till- 
ing the soil and in feeding cattle, the busi- 
ness ])roving jirofitable. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



381 



In May, 1871, George Gibson was united 
in marriage in Crawford county, Pennsyl- 
vania, to Miss Mercy Dickey, who was born 
in that county, and was a daughter of John 
and Maria (Espy) Dickey. She acquired 
a good education, and taught in tlie public 
• schools in Des Moines and Lee counties. 
Mr. Gibson had known her in the East, and 
also after her removal to Iowa. In 1873 
Mr. Gibson erected his first buildings upon 
his present farm, and all of the improve- 
ments here stand as monuments to his enter- 
prise and labor. He set out the shade trees 
with his own hands, has built fences, and 
secured the latest improved machinery. 

Unto ^Ir. and Mrs. Gibson were born 
four children, of whom one died in infancy. 
Norva L. acquired a good education, being 
a graduate of Denmark (Iowa) Academy, 
and of Oberlin College, of Ohio. In the 
latter institution she completed a course in 
physical training and literature, and she is 
now a teacher in South Bend, Ind. Zoie 
J. was a student in Denmark Academy, and 
is a graduate of Elliott's Business College. 
She is now at home, as is Clifford D., who 
is a youth of sixteen years. 

Mr. Gibson is a stalwart Republican, and 
cast his first presidential ballot for Abra- 
ham Lincoln in i860, since which time he 
has supported each nominee at the head of 
the national ticket. The cause of education 
finds in him a stalwart advocate, and as a 
director he has done effective service in be- 
half of the schools. His life has been actu- 
ated by honorable motives, being charac- 
terized by industry. Centuries ago a Greek 
philosopher said, " Earn thy reward : the 
gods give naught to sloth," and this truth 
has been verified throughout all the suc- 
ceeding years. Realizing the force of the 
statement, George Gibson has worked per- 



sistently and energetically, and to-day his 
labors are crowned with a comfortable com- 
petence. 



ALLEN ESSINGTON GIBSON. 

Allen Essington Gibson, whose home, 
" Edgewood," is on Section 5, Augusta 
township, represents one of the old and hon- 
ored pioneer families of Des Moines county. 
The name of Gibson has figured prominently 
in connection with agricultural interests in 
this part of the State from an early day, and 
the subject of this review was born in the 
house which he yet occupies, June 12, 1880, 
his parents being James Stinson and Sa- 
lome (Burton) Gibson. The father was 
born in a schoolhouse, then occupied by the 
family, in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, 
Aug. 30, 1826, and was a son of Joseph and 
Hannah (Stinson) Gibson. When he was 
onlv a rear old his parents removed to Kins- 
man. Trumbull county, Ohio, where his 
father conducted a blacksmith shop. There 
the family lived until James was eleven 
years of age, after which they removed to 
Crawford county. Pennsylvania, establish- 
ing a home in the midst of the pine regions 
in that locality. They resided there until 
1865, and in the meantime James Gibson 
acquired a good education through attend- 
ance at the public schools and through study 
at home. He gained a thorough knowledge 
of geometry, trigonometry, surveying, al- 
gebra, and other high-school branches, and 
became a teacher, after which he was con- 
nected with educational work in one capacity 
or another through much of his life. 

While still living in Pennsylvania, James 
Gibson was united in marriage to Miss Anna 
C. Frev, and unto them were born two 



382 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



(laughters, Alice T. and Frances E. The 
former is now tlie wife of Walter J. Hornby, 
a resident of Passadena, Cal., and she has 
four chiUlrcn : Ralph \\'., Lloyd Gibson, 
Eleanor, and Catharine. I-'rances E. mar- 
ried Frank Levcrett, professor of geology 
in Denmark Academy, of which institution 
she ^^■as a graduate, as was her sister. Pro- 
fessor and Mrs. Levcrett afterward removed 
to Madison, Wis., and later to Chicago, 
where she died July 10. 1892, but her re- 
mains were interred in Long Creek cem- 
etery, in Des Moines county. 

Mr. Gibson lost his first wife Sept. 23, 
1864, in Crawford county, Pennsylvania. 
After they came to the \\'est he made his 
home with his parents, and it was here that 
his daughters were reared. On the 21st of 
June, 1877, he was united in marriage to 
Miss Salome Burton, of Pleasant Ridge 
township, Lee county. Iowa, a daughter 
of Asa and Minerva E. (Beach) Burton. 
She was born in Glover, Orleans county, 
Vt., Aug. 24, 1838. Her father was born 
near Norwich, \'t., while her mother's birth 
occurred at Sandy Hill, X. Y., where their 
marriage was celebrated. Mrs. Gibson was 
seven years of age "when her parents removed 
to Lee county, Iowa, her father purchasing 
land in Pleasant Ridge townsliij), whore he 
carried on general farming until his death, 
which occurred when his daughter was 
twelve years of age. In 1849 he had crossed 
the ])lains to California. Mrs. Burton con- 
tinued to reside upon tlic djil luiiiic farm in 
Lee county until eighty-two years of age, 
when she was called to her final rest, and 
like her husband her remains were interred 
in Denmark cemetery. Of the second mar- 
riage of James .S. Gib.son there were three 
children, but LeRoy Herbert, who was burn 
Sept. 18, 1878. died on the 8th of .April, 



1879. 'File youngest child, Mary, who was 
boni .\ug. 12, 1882, died Aug. 18, 1885. 
The second and only surviving child is .-Mien 
E. Gibson, of this review. 

The father continued to carry on farming 
up to the time of his death, and also fol- 
lowed surveying. He became the owner of 
the old homestead property on which his 
parents had located in pioneer times, and 
there his widow and only surviving son 
now reside. He was a stanch Republican 
in politics, and was an earnest supporter 
of the cause of education, serving as secre- 
tary of the school board in his community, 
and doing everything in his power to 
advance the cause of intellectual develop- 
ment. In all of his business affairs he was 
methodical and systematic, and throughout 
his entire life he kept a diary, which is now 
in possession of his son. 

Allen Essington Gibson, whose name 
introduces this record, ac(|uired his early 
education in the district schools, and after- 
ward attended Denmark Academy for three 
terms. He was reared to farm life, assisting 
his father in the operation of the farm until 
the latter's death, and is now managing the 
property, being one of the wide-awake and 
l^rogressive young agriculturists of the 
community. Everything about the place is 
kept in excellent condition, and the well- 
tilled fields give promise of golden harvests. 

On the 1st of June, 1904, in Burlington, 
Mr. Gibson was united in marriage to Miss 
F'lla Gertrude Stone, who was born in 
Wyandotte, Mich., Sept. 18. 1884. and was 
only two and a half years old when brought 
to Burlington by her parents, William James 
and Catherine (Trout) Stone, who are still 
residents of the city. She had a good com- 
nion-sclinol education, and was an earnest 
Christian woman, active in the work of 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



383 



the church and a devoted Sunday-school 
teacher. One child was born of this mar- 
riage, Grace, who died at birth, and the ' 
young wife and mother passed away April 
15, 1905, her remains being interred in Long 
Creek cemetery. 

Like his father, Mr. Gibson is a Repub- 
lican, his first presidential vote having been 
cast for Theodore Roosevelt. He belongs to 
Danville Lodge, No. 48, Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons, and is accounted one of 
the leading young farmers of his commu- 
nity, having a large circle of friends in the 
county, in which his entire life has been 
passed. 



MELVIN DELOSS CONLEY. 

Melvin D. Conley, a prominent and 
well-to-do farmer, residing on his farm 
of eighty acres in Section i, Huron town- 
ship, is the son of Lewis and Betsey 
(Hutchins) Conley, and was born Feb. 
26, 1850, in Jefferson county. New York. 
His father was the oldest child of Thomas 
and Silva Conley, and was born in the 
town of Leroy, JeiTerson county, N. Y., 
Nov. 20, 1822. 

Soon after his birth the parents of 
Lewis Conley moved to Alexandria, Jef- 
ferson county, N. Y., and located on a 
farm on the shore of Butterfield Lake, 
where Lewis grew to manhood. He was 
elected one of the school directors, and 
was appointed a committee of one to se- 
lect a teacher, which he went about in a 
quiet way. His friend, Elder Starkev, 
was holding protracted meetings at Ma- 
comb, St. Lawrence county, some twenty 
miles away; and returning from there, 
he told the young school director he had 



found a teacher for him, at the same time 
gi\-ing hini a minute descrii)tion of the 
young lady, and casually adding that she 
would be just the girl for a wife. 

These recommendations seemed sufifi- 
cient, and Mr. Conley authorized Elder 
Starkey to engage the young lady to 
teach for three months, which he did, 
making the arrangement that the young 
school director should meet her on a cer- 
tain day at the landing on Black Lake, 
which was about four miles below Ham- 
mond's Corners. When the time arrived 
that he should go and meet the new 
teacher, he took his team down to the 
boat landing, and introduced himself to 
Miss Betsey Hutchins. She was a daugh- 
ter of Bradley and Syrena Hutchins, born 
June 16, 1827, in the town of Lysander, 
Onondaga county, N. Y. Miss Hutchins 
was about eighteen years of age at the 
time the young school director and com- 
mittee of one beheld for the first time his 
future wife. 

During the winter he made frequent 
visits to the home of Air. Bradley Hutch- 
ins, and ]\Iarch 25, 1847, he married the 
daughter. They began keeping house in 
the town of Rossie, St. Lawrence county, 
in a log shanty of one room about four- 
teen b}' eighteen feet. The roof of this 
shanty sloped one way and was made of 
twigs put on like tiling. 

Mr. Conley burned lime, at which he 
was an expert, and after four months 
they moved to their farm of eighty-three 
acres in the town of Alexandria. There 
was a good log house of two rooms on 
this place, and here several of their chil- 
dren were Iwrn. In December, 1849, he 
sold this farm for a saw-mill and seventy- 
one acres of land, about twentv acres of 



384 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



which wore cleared, and the balance cov- 
ered with ]>ine and hemlock timber. They 
soon grew tired of this lonely and out-of- 
the-way place, and did not run the mill 
longer than two months. 

Ill May .Mr. Conley, in company with 
his brother Wesley, took a steamboat for 
the West, leaving his family with his 
father. 'J'luy were gone about four 
months, spending most of the time at 
Uatavia, 111.: returning home they sold 
out, and on Oct. 14, 1851. left their early 
home. They had a delightful trip, going 
by boat from .Alexandria l!ay on the St. 
Lawrence River, to Lcwistown. at the 
head of Lake Ontario, then by stage to 
Niagara Falls, and from there west to 
Kane county. 111., where they located 
at .'^ugar (jrove. renting a farm of two 
hundred acres of land, all uinkr cultiva- 
tion. 

In the fall they .sold their crops and 
started for Iowa, in company with his 
father's family and her father's familv. 
nundiering in all nineteen persons. They 
made the trip with ox-teams and covered 
wagons, being about three weeks on the 
road. 

Arriving at Lynn county, they lo- 
cated about two miles from Palo; here 
thev rented a log shanty, where, five 
weeks after the long ox-team journey, 
the third son. John Wesley, was born. 
They afterward moved to .Mitchell county, 
Iowa, where they purchased one hundred 
and sixty acres of land from the gov- 
ernment, i^aying two hundred dollars for 
it. Here Mr. Conley built a good log 
house and lived tlun- till 1S58. when he 
sold the farm and bought another abuul 
two miles away, on Rock Creek. 

March 20, 1850, he started for Pike's 



Peak with his brother Wesley, where 
they remained about two years, mining, 
and in the winter burning lime in Golden 
<iate. which then sold for one dollar and 
twenty-five cents per bushel, it being 
used in the building of the first buildings 
of Denver. Dec. 20. i860, he returned 
home and rented his father's farm. 

in the fall i>f iS(>j he was appointed 
])oslmaster at W'atertown, Iowa, in which 
vicinity he lived till the fall of 1871, when 
he went to a place about fifteen miles 
north of Burlington, where there was a 
saw-mill located, and here he remained 
all winter at work. In a short time he 
bought a little home at Kossuth, Iowa. 
;ind li\(.<l there for ten years. 

in 1873 he went into the saw-mill busi- 
ness, in i)artnershi]) with Perry Jackson, 
and they bought out the "Old Hollow" 
saw-mill, and also purchased a large tim- 
ber farm on the Mississippi bottoms. 
Tli-jy sawed railroad ties, car lumber, 
and l)ri(lge tind)er, and in 1876 moved 
their mill over on l-'lint River, near 
Dodgeville: later they moved the mill to 
various localities, following that business 
and farming till he moved to Cannon 
Falls, .Minn. W hile resi<ling at Kossuth 
his father died (March 13, 1885), within 
six days of being ninety years old. Mr. 
Conley became an expert cabinet-maker 
while residing in Cannon Falls. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Conley celebrated their 
golden wedding .anniversary at the home 
of their son. i)r. A. 'i". Conley, of Cann(in 
I-'alls, March 2-,. i8<;7. In about Unw 
years after this happy occasion Mr. and 
.Mrs. Conley both (lie<l. the former dying 
at (.'annon I'alls. Minn., in January, i<)Oi. 
and his widow jiassed away the same 
vear in Rochester, Minn. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



385 



Mr. and Mrs. Conley were the parents 
of the following eight ehildren : Dr. 
Alonzo T., a practicing physician in Can- 
non F"alls, Minn.: Melvin D., of this re- 
view; John \V., is the Baptist minister of 
the First church, in Omaha, Nebr. ; Dr. 
Hiram E., located in Cannon Falls ; Mary, 
widow of August Engstrom, late of Can- 
non Falls, and a professor and county 
superintendent of schools of Goodhue 
county, Minn.; Emma E. is the wife of 
Charles Curran, of Stevens' Point, Wis., 
who is the sujierintendent of the Young 
Men's Christian Association of that 
place ; George L. is a Baptist minister, 
located at Blair, Nebr. ; Clinton E. re- 
sides at Le Sueur, Minn., where he is a 
practicing dentist. 

Our subject obtained his education in 
the common schools of Mitchell and 
Floyd counties, Iowa. He assisted his 
father on the farm for many years, and 
in 1872 came to Des Moines county and 
located in Kingston, where he engaged 
in the timber and lumber business. He 
continued this for some twenty years, in 
various places. After living in Kossuth 
for about eight years, he moved to 
Louisa county, where he went into the 
tile and brick business for three or four 
years. 

Ten years ago he purchased his pres- 
ent farm of eighty acres in Huron town- 
ship. He rebuilt the house then on the 
place, put on many of the other improve- 
ments, and has lived here ever since, en- 
gaged in general farming and stock-rais- 
ing. He also has a saw-mill, which iic 
runs part of the time. 

Dec. 21, 1876, Mr. Conley was married 
to Miss Maggie Kinney, daughter of 
Reuben and Judy (Spangingberg) Kin- 



ney. She was one of ten children, and 
was educated in Rock Falls, where she 
grew to womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. Kin- 
ney were born in New Jersey. Coming 
to Iowa, they located in Worth county, 
near Plymouth, in 1865, where Mr. Kin- 
ney carried on the trade of a carpenter 
for many years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Conley has been born 
one child, John L., who was born in Ben- 
ton township, Des Moines county, Iowa, 
Dec. 5, 1877, and is a graduate of the 
high school at Kossuth, and of Elliott's 
Business College, in Burlington. 

After assisting for four years on the 
home farm he went to Winfield, Iowa, 
where he was employed for a short time 
as bookkeeper in a hardware store. He 
then accepted a position on the Chicago 
Inter-Ocean as solicitor, remaining with 
them for some six months ; he then be- 
came clerk and bookkeeper of the Smith 
Hardware Company, of Burlington, for 
a year, when he went on the road for 
them, where he now is. 

He married Miss Catherine Eckhart, 
daughter of W. S. Eckhart, of South Hill, 
Burlington, who is an electrician for the 
railroad. Mrs. Conley was educated in 
Burlington, and lived there till her mar- 
riage in August, 1900, the ceremony be- 
ing performed in Quincy, 111. They now 
reside in West Lilierty, Iowa, and have 
one daughter, Frances \\'illard, who was 
born at St. Francis Hospital, in Burling- 
ton, Iowa, Oct. 30, 1901. 

Mr. Conley, of this review, has been a 
Republican till the last ten years, but 
since then has voted the Prohibition 
ticket. He is a member of the Presby- 
terian church of Oakville, and has been 
an elder for the last four vears. Mr. 



386 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Conk-y is progressive and enterprising, 
of a genial and sunny disposition, and 
generous to a fault. His business has 
prospered from the fact that he has al- 
ways been fair and upright in all things, 
firndy believing that honesty is the best 
policy. He is a true friend to the coni- 
nninity, and is highly esteciiu-d. 



GEORGE W. STUCKER. 

One who has always taken an active 
interest in all that pertains to the welfare 
and development of the community, being 
recognized as one of the representative 
business men of the county ; one who has 
nobly defended his country in time of war 
as well as in times of peace, is George W. 
Stucker. He is a son of James and 
Lanah (Cronk) Stucker. and is one of the 
old settlers of Des Moines county. His 
birtli occurred in Washington county, 
Indiana, Feb. ii. 1840, and when only 
nine years of age he came to Iowa with 
his parents. His father was born in Ken- 
tucky. July JO. iSod. ;in(l went In Indiana 
at an early day. where he carried on farm- 
ing in Washington county, and also worked 
at the trade he had learned in his younger 
days, — that of a shoemaker. 

Coming to Iowa in iS4<> he located in 
Pleasant (jrove township, where he 
leased a farm for seven years. He then 
moved to the village of Pleasant Grove 
where he devoted his time to his trade 
until his death, which took i)lace Oct. 16, 
t88i, at the age of seventy-fne years. 
His wife was born in Pennsylvania. Xov. 
12, 1810, and |)assed away in Pleasant 
Grove, Dec. 16, i87<;. Tluy were the 



l)arents of twelve children, of whom but 
four are living. Mr. Stucker first be- 
longed to the old Whig party, but was 
afterwards a Republican. They are both 
laid to rest in the cemetery at Pleasant 
Grove. 

Our subject obtained his education in 
the district schools of his native township 
in Indiana, and in the common schools 
of Pleasant Grove townshij). Iowa. He 
remained on the farm with his |)arents for 
some time after he had reached his ma- 
jority. Upon the breaking out of the 
Civil War he enlisted under the second 
call at Burlington, in the fall of 1861. join- 
ing Com])any K, Second Iowa Infantry, 
and served till the close of this great na- 
tional conflict. He was commander of 
Coni])any K, Second Iowa Infantry, and 
particijjated in the battle at Shiloh. in the 
siege of \'icksburg, and was with Sher- 
man on the memorable march to the sea, 
having still in his i)Ossessinn the old 
sword tli.'it he carried on this march 
through the Carolinas to Richmond and 
to Washington. He was wounded in the 
war. but not seriously. 

Upon the close of the war. when the 
review was over, he resigned and re- 
turned to Iowa, and purchased a fine 
farin in Pleasant Grove township, where 
lie contimitij to li\e ;in(l carry on general 
farming until about twenty years ago, 
when he bought his ])resent farm of forty 
acres in Section 2^. the same township. 
He also rents another farm, and is en- 
gaged in farming and the cultivation of 
fruit to a very large extent. 

Oct. 2$. 1868. Mr. SliK-ker became the 
husband of Miss Lavina Gannaway. who 
was born in Pleasant Grove township, 
and is the daughter of John and Xancy 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



387 



(Zionj Gannaway. Air. Gannaway was a Republican, and cast his first presi- 

a carpenter by trade, and located in Pleas- dential vote for Abraham Lincoln with 

ant Grove township man}- years ago, much pleasure. He has taken the census 

where he lived until his death. Airs, of Pleasant Grove township on two dif- 

Gannaway also passed away in this town- ferent occasions. Words are too feeble 

ship, and quietly sleeps beside her hus- to praise such men as Air. Stucker, who, 

band in the village cemetery. They through industry, energ)', and economy, 

were blessed with five children, three of have made for themselves a competence 

whom are now living. and helped to build up a nation. The 

As time has passed several children man}- sacrifices he made that he might 



were added to the home of Mr. and Airs. 
Stucker, as follows : John, a farmer in 
Yellow Springs township, married Miss 



defend the Stars and Stripes of this free 
country show him to be a man of strong 
principle, and his long residence and up- 



Dora Butler, and they have one child, right dealings with his fellow-men have 



Bessie. Waldo E. resides on a farm ad- 
joining the home place, having one hun- 
dred and twenty acres. He married Aliss 
Faith \\'hitaker, of Jefferson county, 
Iowa, and they have one child, Wendell. 
Mr. George Whitaker. and Mr. ^Y. ^^'. 
Whitaker, grandfather and father of Airs. 
Waldo E. Stucker, also lived in this town- 



made him friends bv the hundred. 



JOHN C. SCOTT. 



The last half century in Des Aloines 
county is a period of great change. The 
unbroken forests have been transformed 
ship years ago, where they were prosper- into peopled regions, and the few and 
ous farmers. Alary E., the wife of scattered hamlets, thin lines of frontier 
Charles Collis, resides in Meadville, AIo., settlement, have become crowded and 
and has three children, Howard, Lester, prosperous centers of trade, while some 
and Ruth. Nancy, married Robert Ritchey, very considerable cities have risen, proph- 
who is a farmer of Pleasant Grove town- ecies of a still more crowded population 
ship, and has had four children, three of and more pressing industrial develop- 
whom are living; Glenn, Geneva, and ment. Alea who were born and reared 
Paul. George married Aliss Alice Glas- in this county, and who are still enjoying 
glow, and lives on a rented farm of one an unabated strength and manhood, have 
hundred acres, in Pleasant Grove town- seen such a transformation. Like Caesar 
ship. \\'illiam C. Ethel G., and Roy P., they can say, "All of which I saw, and 
all at home. Henry died when one year part of which I was." They have watched 
old. The children were all born in Pleas- the growth of the countrv. and have done 



ant Grove township, where they also re- 
ceived their education. 

Mr. and Airs. Stucker are both de\oted 
members of the Cumberland Presbvterian 



much to help things onward, as they have 
had strength and opportunity. Air. Scott 
whose name appears above, has done his 
full share in the development of the com- 



church, and have contributed largely to munity. in the history of which his own 
the support of the same. Mr. Stucker is career forms an integral part. 



388 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEIV 



John Calvin Scolt. onu of the higlily 
rfS])fCtcd citizens of Des Moines county, 
and now residinjj on his farm of two hun- 
dred and seventy-four acres on Section 
.^f). in l-'ratiklin township, is a native of 
tliis county, and has spent most of his life 
in 'S'ellow Springs township, where he 
was horn Sept. ID, 1856. His early edu- 
cation was secured in the district schools 
of his native township. an<l when <|nite 
young he assiste<l in the cultivation of 
the home farm, early assuming the re- 
sponsibility of superintending all the farm- 
ing operations. He is a descentlant of an 
old Pennsylvania family. 

His grandfather. John Scott, was a na- 
tive of Westmoreland county. Pennsyl- 
vania, who moved in early manhood to 
l'"ranklin county, ( )hio. Here Jolin Henry 
Scott, father of the subject of this article, 
was born, and sjjent the early i)art of his 
life. Jolm Henry Scott received his edu- 
cation in the district schools, and was 
brought u]) to a thorough knowledge of 
practical farming. Here he was married. 
Nov. 5, 1846, to .Miss Mary Ann Doran, 
daughter of John and Rhoda (llaker) 
Doran, who was born in Ham]>shire 
county, Virginia, Feb. 22, 1827. 

.\bout a year after his marriage, in 
1847. when John Henry Scott was about 
twenty-eight years of age, lu- and his wife 
moved to Iowa, locating first in Lee 
county; and a little later to Des Moines 
county, where they settled in Yellow 
S])rings townshi]). Here he bought 
two hundred and fifty acres of land. Later 
he sold this, but entered a cpiarter- 
sectidii in bellow Springs township, and 
bought an eighty-acre tract adjoining. 
This was the beginning of the home 
l)lace which the family still owns, and 



have made additions to from time to time. 
I'hey lived here for a time, then moved 
to .St. l'"rancis county, .Missouri, where 
they lived for a year or two. then moved 
to Perry comity, Illinois. While they 
were living in Illinois, Mr. Scott was 
kicked by a mule and killed, July 22, 1864. 
After his death, the family came back to 
the farm in \'ellow S])rings township, 
where they have m.ide their home ever 
since. 

John Henry .Scott was the father of 
four children, of whom three are still liv- 
ing: The eldest, .Albert Clay Scott, born 
in 1S51). <lied in Nebraska on his way to 
the California gold fields: John Calvin, 
born Se])t. 10, 185*), on the home ])lace in 
Yellow Sjirings township, has made that 
liis home for the most of his life: Charles 
Lincoln, born in St. Francis county, .Mis- 
souri, and now lives in southwestern Col- 
orado, where he is a miner, rancher, and 
cattle-man; Henry Monroe, born in Perry 
county. Illinois, and now lives in .Adams 
county. Nebraska, but will soon remove 
to Cnion county. Iowa, where he has re- 
cently bought property. 

John Cahin Scott, the immediate sub- 
ject of this sketch, has, since the death 
of his father, lived practically all of the 
time with his mother, sui)erintending the 
wiirking of the home farm. That lu' has 
been \ery successful is evidenced by the 
additions that have been made to the 
farm, and the im|)rovements that have 
been added from time to time. The farm 
now consists of two htmdred and seventv- 
four acres of rich land, fifty-three of which 
lie in I'Vanklin township, the remainder 
in -Section t,(>. N'ellow Springs township. 
This land has been cleared and brought 
under cultivation, a strong, substantial 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



389 



barn twenty-four by thirty-two feet with 
a lean-to erected, and in 1880 a large, 
commodious house built. Aside from 
farming, Mr. Scott has made a great suc- 
cess of cattle-raising, paying a good deal 
of attention to the breeding of his stock, 
and making a specialty of the Duroc Jer- 
sey breeds. He feeds from two to three 
loads of cattle, and raises about a car-load 
of hogs each year. 

That Mr. Scott is a public-spirited man 
is shown by the fact that, although he 
has such heavy interests of his own to 
take his time and attention, he has at the 
same time been enough interested in the 
progress of educational matters in the 
community to act as director for the ])ub- 
lic schools of the district for a number of 
years. He was raised in the Presbyterian 
church, to which he still gives his sup- 
port. In politics Mr. Scott is a Repub- 
lican, and takes an intelligent and thought- 
ful interest in public affairs. He is much 
esteemed l)y his friends and neighbors, 
and takes a leading part in all local 
affairs. He stands in the place of a good 
man, and that he fills this place is no ex- 
aggerated praise. His character is high, 
his word is good. 



FREDERICK BESSIN. 

Frederick Bessin, who since 1869 has 
been a resident of Burlington, was born in 
Prissen, Schousen, Germany, April 16, 
1839, a son of Peter and Lizzie (Velle) 
Bessin. Following the acquirement of his 
education in the public schools, he began 
farm labor, and at the time he was eighteen 
years of age was earning but twenty-five 



dollars per year — such was the low rate 
of wages in that country. He then learned 
the trade of carpentering, doing all work 
by hand, and he followed that pursuit until 
his emigration to America, with the ex- 
ception of a period of three years spent in 
the German army. He enlisted in 1859, 
in accordance with the military laws of his 
native land, and served imtil 1862. He then 
resumed carpentering, but thinking that he 
would have better business opportunities in 
the New World he made arrangements to 
come to the United States. 

It was in June, 1869, that he sailed for 
New York, whence he came direct to Bur- 
lington, where he has since lived. He was 
first employed in a lumber yard for several 
years, and then entered the service of the 
old Narrow Gauge Railroad Company, with 
which he continued for twenty-five years, 
when he began working for the Chicago, 
Burlington & Ouincy Railroad Company, 
which purchased the Narrow Gauge line. 
He has since continued in this employ and 
is one of the old railroad men of the city, 
having the entire confidence of those whom 
he serves by reason of his fidelity, prompt- 
ness, and efficiency. 

Mr. Bessin was married, in January, 
1867, to Miss Charlotte Bower, a daughter 
of Frederick and Sophia (Dierks) Bower, 
who was born May 5, 1848, in the same 
locality in which her husband's birth oc- 
curred, and who was educated there. They 
are the parents of twelve children : Mary, 
who died at the age of three years : Minnie, 
who makes her home with her parents ; 
Augusta, who died when but a year old ; 
Charles, who was previous!}- a hostler on the 
Rock Island Railroad and is now with the 
gas works ; Anna, who is employed in the 
home of Dr. Fleming : Lizzie, wife of Ed. 



390 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



(ioldcn. a resident of Chicago; Frederick, 
who (lied at the age of fourteen ; Mamie, 
who died at the age of five years ; Helen and 
Elsie, who are engaged in dressmaking ; and 
^\■illianl. who died in infancy. 

Ill his ]X)litical views Mr. Bessin is a 
Democrat, exercising his right of franchise 
in support of the men and measures of that 
party. He and his wife hold membership 
in the German Lutheran church. They 
have resided continuously in Burlington 
since coming to the L'nited States in 1869 
and have made many warm friends in the 
city. 

He has a i)kasant Ikmiic at 1.^08 North 
Seventh Street, which he lx)UglU soon after 
coming to Burlington, and has lived here 
since. 



ALEXANDER WATSON. 

l.N" the settlement of the West, the 
pioneers had to face many trials and diffi- 
culties. They had gone far from the con- 
veniences and privileges of civilization. 
Markets were remote, and communica- 
tion difficult. Tlu- ])rairics were like the 
ocean, and the roads primitive in the ex- 
treme. Distances now measured by 
hours, then required many days, and the 
journey from Burlington to Chicago was 
a ta.x on a stout heart. Schools were 
few and far between, and when located 
were of very inferior grade. But the 
hearts on the frontier were brave, and 
nothing discouraged the builders of the 
great States that are now mighty em- 
pires in themselves. They improved the 
land, bridged the rivers, built the roads, 
planted what are now great cities, and in 
due time came the railroad and the tele- 



graph and the mail to bring the ends of 
the country together. The East and the 
West at least were next-door neighbors ; 
space was eliminated; time was annihi- 
lated. To the prairies came the art and 
refinement of New England ; learning 
was no longer strange, and the school- 
master was abroad in the land. 'Ihe Em- 
|)ire State bej'ond the great river had 
come to its own. The men who helped 
in this great transformation should al- 
ways be reverently remembered. It was 
no slight task — the building of an empire 
— that they undertook. Among them, and 
entitled to an honored i)lace, is the man 
whose name heads this article. Living 
now on his well-kept, improved farm in 
Section 2, Yellow Springs township, Des 
Moines county, where he is passing the 
sunset years of his life, he can think back 
for a ])eriod of over sixty years to the day 
when he first saw the wilderness that 
then stood where we now see the broad 
fields and well-tilled farms of Louisa and 
Des Moines counties. He has seen the 
marvelous changes that have taken place, 
and has the proud consciousness of hav- 
ing played a man's part in bringing them 
about. 

.\lexandcr \\ atson was born in Ross 
county, Ohio, Jan. 14, 1822, the son of 
.Alexander and Jane (Carr) Watson. 
Here be attended the suljscription schools 
of that early day, until in ( )ct., 1834, his 
parents moved to Illinois, to what was 
then known as part of Morgan county, 
but which is now Scott county. There 
also he attended the subscription schools, 
living there until in 1843. .At that time 
he came to Iowa, locating first in Louisa 
county, where he bought one hundred 
and sixty acres of land. Later he sold 



w 

X 

> 
o 

M 

> 

H 

CO 

O 

> 
D 



1] 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



393 



this, and bought seventy-five acres of 
wild land, which he partly improved by 
building a house and bringing a part 
under cultivation. Later he traded this 
for other land in Louisa county, and lived 
there until 1851. At that time he pur- 
chased eighty-four acres in Section 2, 
Yellow Springs township, Des Aloines 
county. This was a part of the tract on 
which he now lives, and he has made his 
home there from that time till the pres- 
ent. He has added to the original pur- 
chase, until he now has land in Sections 
2 and 3, and also fifty acres in Section i. 
Conditions in this country when Mr. 
Watson bought this farm were primitive 
in the extreme, and of all the land that he 
then purchased only ten acres had ever 
felt the plowshare, while the only im- 
provement that had been made on the 
place was a small log house. All the im- 
provements now to be observed on the 
entire place have been made by Mr. Wat- 
son during his ownership. He has 
brought the land all under cultivation, 
and has built many substantial farm 
buildings, besides making other improve- 
ments as need arose from time to time. 
Mr. Watson has devoted most of his time 
to the breeding and raising of fine stock, 
raising just enough grain to supply his 
cattle with feed and has been very suc- 
cessful as a stock-raiser. For a time he 
raised the Durham cattle, but later he 
began making a specialty of the Hereford 
breed. His land is now rented out, but 
he retains active supervision over the 
farming operations on all of it, even yet. 
]\Ir. Watson was united in marriage on 
Feb. 13, 1845, to Miss Lavina Ann Lee. 
She was a native of Indiana, being born 
in Bartholomew countv, that State, Feb. 



7, 1829, the daughter of Robert W. and 
Martha Thomas (Brannum) Lee. Her 
parents were also early settlers in Iowa, 
coming to this State in 1836, when she 
was only seven years old. Mr. and Mrs. 
Watson became the parents of five sons 
and three daughters, of whom all but two 
are still living: Martha Jane, died at 
the age of six months ; David Willis, lives 
in Sheridan, Iowa ; William H., makes his 
home in Cass county, Iowa ; Armilda, 
the wife of H. R. Stewart, of Yellow 
Springs township, this county ; John M., 
resides in Yellow Springs township ; 
Stephen A., died at the age of two years ; 
James Jonathan, lives in Oklahoma; 
Clara Ellen, the wife of Walter Umphrey, 
and lives on the farm with Mr. Watson. 
Mr. LTmphrey is a native ' of Louisa 
count}', and was born Oct. 28, 1872, the 
son of Francis Marion and Lydia (Mc- 
Mannama) Umphrey. 

Being one of the earliest settlers of Des 
Moines county, and a man who has always 
taken a strong interest in all ques- 
tions affecting the public welfare, Air. 
Watson is very well known throughout 
the county, and is held in universal es- 
teem for his qualities of sterling man- 
hood, as well as for those more practical 
qualities pertaining to business ability 
which have built up for him such a high 
degree of material success. He has al- 
ways taken a great interest in the cause 
of education, doing all that lay in his 
power to advance the progress of popular 
education in his community, and serving 
as director of the public schools of his 
home district for some time. He is a 
member of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and not only lends it generous 
support in a financial way, but by the in- 



304 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



fluence of his life does much to spread 
tlic iiitliicnce for good in his community. 
I'olilicaliy, Mr. Watson was in his 
early life a believer in tlie principles then 
advocated by the Democratic party, and 
cast his first presidential vote for Presi- 
dent Polk, in 1846. Rut after the break- 
ing out of the Civil War. and since the 
second election of .\brahain Lincoln as 
president, he has always voted the Re- 
publican ticket. Mr. Watson is a man 
whose soul is full of the truest patriotism, 
and when the dark days of the Rebellion 
came, longed to serve his country on the 
field of battle, but could not go to the 
front on account of his crippled condi- 
tion. .-Mthough physically disabled from 
taking active part in the war, Mr. Watson 
has served his .country well and faith- 
fully for many years, and his life stands 
as a proof to those of a younger genera- 
tion that the noblest citizenship and the 
truest i)atriotism is not necessarilv that 
which is seen in the midst of the bloody 
battle-field, but that which serves the 
country by faithful work and watchful 
care in time of jjeace, when more insid- 
ious foes may be undermining the wel- 
fare of the nation while the majority of 
the peojjle are resting in fancied security, 
ignorant of any tlireatened danger. That 
the people of his home community have 
confidence in Mr. Watson's business 
ability, in his interest in the welfare of 
the community as a whole, and in his 
thoroughgoing integrity, is evidenced by 
by the fact that he was called upon to 
serve them in the position of township 
supervisor for a term of years. Person- 
ally he is of a genial and generous dis- 
position, and these characteristics, to- 
together with his uprightness and justice 



in all his dealings, have made for him 
many friends. Now in the evening of 
his life these friends and his children vie 
with each other to show him the respect, 
and to try to help bring tf) him the com- 
fort, happiness, and peace that they feel 
is the due of one who has so faithfully 
borne the burdens of the day, and done 
so much for the advancement of the com- 
monwealth. .MI unite in agreeing that 
.Mr. Watson's name deserves a high place 
on the roll of honored names of Des 
Moines county. 



GEORGE JOHN REIS. 

Geokgi£ Joiix Reis, one of the oldest and 
best-known residents of Burlington, Iowa, 
where he has resided almost continuously 
since his birth, is a man whose influence 
has ever been exerted on the side of right, 
justice, and order. He was born in the city 
of Burlington, Iowa, Oct. 18, 1842, being a 
.son of Stephen and Margaret (Bauman) 
Kcis. His father was an industrious cit- 
izen of Germany until the latter part of his 
life, when he crossed the .Vtlantic to .Amer- 
ica, establishing liis home in Burlington, 
Iowa, in 1837. He was ninety days on the 
water, making the journey in one of the old- 
time sailing vessels, which were not nearly 
so well e(|uipped for the comforts and con- 
veniences of its passengers as are the great 
.ships of the present day. which plow the 
rough and angry billows in some eight or 
nine days. The father worked in the city 
as a laborer. His death occurred in 1849. 
The gootl mother came to .America, joining 
her husband in Burlington in 1840, and 
lived to celebrate her ninetieth birthday. 



DES AJOIiXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



395 



This worthy couple were the parents of 
three children: George J., subject of this 
review ; Joseph H., a blacksmith, who re- 
sides in Burlington, Iowa ; and Mary ( Mrs. 
John Barnes), who lives in California. 
About a year after the father and husband 
died, the mother married again, her second 
husband being Jacob Betzinger, a native of 
France, by whom she had two children : 
Margaret (Mrs. John Linder), who is a 
widow, and resides at 408 North Sixth 
Street, Burlington, Iowa. Mr. Linder died 
in March, i88g. John C, the second child, 
is a resident of St. Joseph, Mo. Mrs. Bet- 
zinger's death occurred in 1891. 

Our subject acquired his education in the 
city schools of Burlington. Beginning life 
for himself, he learned the trade of saddlery 
and harness-making with Mr. Fred Lind- 
stadt, being in his employ for two vears. 
The next year he was employed by Mr. H. 
B. Ware, who was a saddler in Burlington 
at that time, and was the father of Eugene 
Ware, the well-known poet, who has recently 
resigned as- United States pension agent. 
After this Mr. Reis went to Peoria, Quincy, 
and St. Louis, working as a journeyman 
in each place for several years, after which 
he returned to his natal home, and went 
into business with Mr. Fred Disque, the firm 
reading, F. J. Disque & Co. They had a 
first-class harness store, and occupied the 
same rooms that our subject does now, 
216 North Main Street. In 1888, Mr. 
Reis bought out his partner and continued 
in the business alone, and is now the old- 
est harness-maker in Burlington, having 
worked at his trade since 1857, and has been 
in his present place since 1869. 

His goods consist of harness, saddlery, 
and horsemen's supplies ; also does repairing 
and makes the greater portion of his harness 



by hand. He is a skilled mechanic, and well 
deserves the liberal patronage he receives 
from the city and adjacent towns. 

Mr. Reis was reared in the Catholic faith, 
and is a devout member of St. John's Ger- 
man church. Politically, he is independent, 
voting for the man he thinks best qualified 
for office. For nearly forty years this worthy 
citizen has participated in the business life 
of the city, and during that time has so con- 
ducted all his affairs as to merit the conti- 
dence and esteem of the entire community, 
and no word of censure has ever been ut- 
tered against him. 



DR. R. L. COCHRAN. 

Richly illuminated with the halo of 
public esteem and regard is the name of 
R. L. Cochran, D. D. S., both on account of 
his long career of useful service in his pro- 
fession and because of those sterling traits 
of personal character which have won him 
the universal commendation as an ideal citi- 
zen and man. Dr. Cochran was born at 
Wrightsville, York county. Pa., Dec. 18, 
1843, ^ son of William and Eliza (Wilson) 
Cochran, one of a family of nine children, 
of whom all except himself and two others 
are now deceased. He is the twin brother of 
William Cochran, now deceased, who was 
an Episcopal clergyman, and the other sur- 
vivors are J. W. Cochran, of Jersey City, 
N. J., in the employ of the Pacific Railway 
Company, and Mrs. Sarah Wilson, of 
Wrightsville, Pa. His father, William 
Cochran, was in turn the son of William 
Cochran, a native of Scotland, and the 
mother -was born at Abbottstown, Pa., of 
Irish parentage. 



3o6 



PIOGRAPHICAL REV I Ell- 



Dr. (.'ochran's education was begun in tlic 
common sclmols of liis native place, and con- 
tinued in the public schools of Philadelphia 
on the removal of his parents thither in 1853. 
They remained in that city approximately 
nine years, during which period he was 
graduated from the common schools, and 
attended the city high sch(X)l for two years. 
He then returned with his parents to 
Wrightsville, and still later removed to 
Mechanicsville, where he commenced the 
formal study of dentistry. Previous to this 
time, however, he had done some work 
along the line of his future profession, for 
while residing in Philadel])liia he worked as 
errand boy in a grocery store for Isaac 
Griffith, who also practiced dentistry in a 
room over the store, and liis compensation 
for his service as errand boy was the privi- 
lege of access to Mr. Griffith's library and 
observing his operations. The father of Dr. 
Cochran was a merchant, ami in the de- 
rangement of business conditions which 
acconi])anie(l the Civil War he became 
bankru])t. thus leaving our subject almost or 
entirely dependent upon his own resources 
at a very early age. But the youth had 
before him a definite purpose, to whose 
attainment he brought great enthusiasm and 
ability, and the stimulus of necessity but 
called forth and developed those qualities 
to which he now owes his success. 

He attended the Pennsylvania College of 
Dentistry in 1864, and then came to Bur- 
lington, where he continued to practice 
dentistry. The date of his coming to Bur- 
lington was Sept. 14, 1863, and the chronicle 
of his early struggle against ]ioverty and 
unfavorable conditions here, bringing to 
bear upon the problems which confronted 
him all the tenacity and high courage for 
which the mixture of Scotch and Irish blood 



is famous, is one of absorbing interest and 
valuable ins])iration for the present genera- 
tion. Dr. Cochran was reg^ilarly graduated 
in dentistry from the Missouri Dental Col- 
lege in 1873. he having gone to St. Louis in 
1870 to take u]) the work in that institution. 

Dr. Cochran has been twice married ; first, 
to Miss Maria Holland, by whom he has 
two children: Mrs. Maude Spicer, of 
Seattle, Wash. ( who has one daughter, 
Kamona), and W. L. Cochran, who is con- 
nected with the National Cash Register 
Company. At liurlington, in 1893. he 
wedded Mrs. Ella Dodge, and they have a 
very plea.sant home at 816 North Sixth 
Street, where they are the center of a 
numerous and refined social circle. Dr. and 
Mrs. Cochran arc both prominent mem- 
bers of the Burlington Golf Club, while in 
his fraternal connection Dr. Cochran is a 
member of Des Moines Lodge, No. i. 
Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, through 
whose chairs he has passed : and Mrs. 
Cochran is a member and has held the offices 
of both the Shakespeare Club and the I'. E. 
O. Society of Burlington, she being a lady 
of literary tastes and accomplishments, and 
possessing marked ability. 

The position of Dr. Cochran in his pro- 
fession in the State of Iowa is one of emi- 
nence and distinction, while he also ranks as 
one of the oldest dentists in point of con- 
tinuous practice in this section of the 
Mississippi valley. He was one of the 
founders of the Des Moines County Dental 
Association, of which he is now acting as 
president, is an honorary memljcr of the 
Illinois State Dental Society, and is a prom- 
inent member of the Iowa State Dental 
Society, in which he has been honored by 
election to all the offices within the gift of 
the society, having lieen elected vice-presi- 



DES .]fOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



397 



dent in 1877, president in 1878, and after- 
ward re-elected to the latter office. During 
two years he was a member of the faculty 
of the Dental College of the University of 
Iowa, occupying the chair of Operative 
Dentistry and Therapeutics. He was at one 
time offered a chair in the Keokuk Dental 
College, and in fact has at various times 
been solicited to accept chairs or lecture- 
ships in four different colleges ; but the 
interest which he feels in the practice that 
has come to him as a result of long years of 
efficient effort in Burlington, together with 
the intimate and amicable relations which he 
sustains with his fellow-townsmen, have 
always precluded his acceptance. In 1903 
he was off'ered full control and management 
of a well-known and prosperous dental col- 
lege, but the foregoing considerations were 
sufficiently potent to cause his rejection of 
the flattering offer. Dr. Cochran is a 
scholarly man, and has maintained his posi- 
tion at the head of his profession by hard 
study and conscientious devotion to progress- 
ive ideas, while his skill and business ability 
have enabled him to acquire a competence. 
A self-made man, his career and his success 
have been such as may well inspire a just 
pride in himself, even as they inspire in 
younger men the confidence and deter- 
mination to rise to the plane of worthy 
achievement. 



JOHN R. CRAWFORD. 

John R. Cjjawford. a farmer of Union 
township, where he owns two hundred acres 
of improved land, in addition to timber 
lands, occupies a well-recognized position 
among the most prominent stock-breeders 
and raisers of Des Moines county. Mr. 



Crawford was born on the farm which he 
now occupies on the 2d day of March, 1858, 
his father, William Crawford, having settled 
here in 1851. The father was born near 
Zanesville, Muskingum county, Ohio, March 
20, 1820, and followed the occupation of 
farming there until 1851, when he came to 
the West, locating in Des Moines county, 
Iowa, purchasing the farm now owned by 
his son in 1855. The land was at that time 
only very slightly improved, but by industry, 
care, and application he made it productive 
and profitable. At New London, Iowa, he 
married Miss Jane Regard, who came to 
this State from York county, Pennsylvania, 
and they reared a family of eight children, 
seven of whom still survive. The elder 
Crawford participated in public affairs as a 
member of the Republican party, but was 
never specially active in partisan work. He 
died April 28, 1878, while the widow still 
survives, and is a resident of the city of 
Burlington. She is a member of the Pres- 
byterian church, as was also her husband. 

Mr. Crawford, whose name lends title to 
the present memoir, began his education 
in the district schools, and later became a 
student in Denmark Academy, which takes 
rank among the oldest educational institu- 
tions of Iowa and the West. On the con- 
clusion of his studies he resumed the work 
of the farm, taking entire charge of its op- 
eration for his mother after his father's 
death, and by his ability and energy soon 
cleared the family homestead of the incum- 
brance under which it then rested. During 
the first year after attaining his majority he 
worked for his mother at a wage of twelve 
dollars a month, or $144 for the year ; the 
second year he received $200, while the third 
season he had a cash wage of $125 in addi- 
tion to a two-thirds share in a sixteen-acre 



398 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



field nf ci>rn, ami the wcallu-r i)n>ving favor- 
able, he was able to reap a clear i)rofit of 
nearly $500 — a very considerable sum for 
a young man at the beginning of his career. 
The following year he also remained at 
home, receiving $100 in cash, twothirds of a 
similar corn crop, and the product of a five- 
acre meadow, and again made a handsome 
profit. Thus he early became the possessor 
of a comfortable capital, and this he invested 
in a farm in Scotland county, Missouri. 

On Feb. 21, 1883, Mr. Crawford was 
united in marriage to Miss Lillie Gearhart. 
of I'nion township, a daughter of Stephen 
(iearhart. Mrs. Crawford is now deceased, 
she having died l-"eb. 25. 1895. leaving 
three children, liertha 1'... James .\rthur. 
and 11a '/... all of whom have received excel- 
lent educational advantages, and are popular 
among the young people of the community. 

Mr. Crawford resided on his Missouri 
farm for twelve years, at the expiration of 
that period returning to L'nion townshii) 
and purchasing the old home farm. He 
later .sold his holdings in Missouri, and has 
devoted himself exclusively to building up 
and improving his present farm home. To 
this work he has devoted much time and 
thought and a great deal of money, investing 
$1,600 in im])roving his large barn, building 
a new barn, erecting a windmill, and raising 
and ini])riiving the family dwelling, mak- 
ing also a fine tank-house of the best type, 
lie makes a .specialty of raising high-grade 
Polled .Angus cattle, and at the present time 
has on his farm about one hundred and 
thirty, of which eighteen or twentv are thor- 
oughbred, while at the head of the herd is 
a fine registered animal, whose apjiarent 
qualities are a ])leasure to all admirers of 
what is best in farm stock. Most of Mr. 
Crawford's stock is registered, and one (»f 



his important sources of income is the sell- 
ing of calves for breeding purposes. He 
has enlarged and improved the hog house 
which originally stood on the farm as he 
purchased it, and is an extensive raiser of 
hogs, usually selling one hundred or more 
each year. In addition, he gives much of 
his attention to the raising of horses and 
mules, and his stables are well known 
through this section. He is a genuine lover 
of good stock, so that his success is not in 
any sense a matter of accident or good for- 
tune, but has come to him as the result of 
intelligent thought, study, and wide exjK'ri- 
ment. .\s one who has the public interest 
at heart, Mr. Crawford was one of the chief 
promoters of the rural telephone system, 
which now serves the country residents of 
this vicinity, and he also takes part in polit- 
ical activities to the e.xtcnt of never failing 
to cast his ballot for good government. He 
is a stanch Republican, but has never sought 
public preferment. He is a scientific farmer 
and stock-raiser, a believer in modern ideas, 
and by his influence has done much to aifl 
the progress of approved methods among 
surrounding farmers. He is well known, 
and has a wide circle of acquaintance an<l 
friendship, and enjoys a reputation for ])ro- 
bity and fair dealing which has come to him 
as the reward of a long and U])right career. 



PHILIP C. ANDRE. 

I'liii.ii' C. Andrk, who is engaged in 
gardening, but is largely living retired in 
Burlington, was born in Miehlan, Prussia, 
Ciermany, on the 30th of January. 1826. 
His father, .Adam .\ndre, was a custom 
shoemaker, who learned and followed his 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



399 



trade in Germany. Crossing the Atlantic to 
America, he became a resident of Louisville, 
Ky. He landed at New Orleans, and went 
up the river to Kentucky, where he con- 
tinued to reside until 1852, when he came to 
Burlington, and opened a shoe shop and 
worked at his trade until 1863, when his 
life's labors were ended in death. His wife, 
surviving him several years, died in 1870. 
She bore the maiden name of Philapena 
Weis. They became the parents of three 
sons and a daughter, as follows : Philip C. ; 
George, who was a prominent grocer of Bur- 
lington, and died in 1872 ; P. A., who has 
conducted a shoe store in Burlington since 
1857 ; and Katherine, who is also living in 
this city. 

Philip C. Andre spent the first twenty 
years of his life in his native country, ac- 
quiring his education in the public schools, 
and learning the shoemaker's trade after 
putting aside his text-books. He came to 
America in 1846, making the voyage on a 
three-mast sailing vessel, which was sixty- 
eight days in crossing the Atlantic at that 
time. It was called the " Espendola," and 
carried three hundred and sixty passengers. 
Severe storms were encountered, and the 
vessel was attacked by pirates, but they were 
frightened away when the cannon were 
turned upon them. At length the vessel 
dropped anchor in the harbor of New Or- 
leans. Mr. Andre did not delay long in that 
city, but made his way northward to Louis- 
ville, Ky., where for four years he worked 
at his trade of shoemaking. He then came 
by boat to Burlington, arriving in this city 
the loth of March, 1851. He found here a 
small village with no railroad and no bridge 
across the river. All shipments were made 
by river boats. The winter of 185 1 and 
1852 was a long and severe one, and Mr. 



Andre suffered the usual hardships and 
experiences of early settlers. He had two 
brothers, who had come to Burlington in 
1850, and in 1852 his parents arrived here. 
His father owned about eight acres of land, 
and Mr. Andre had become familiar with 
farming methods as well as shoemaking. 
In Burlington he worked with his father 
in the shoemaking business for a time and 
then accepted a position as a common 
laborer. He acted as night watchman for 
many years, being twenty-four years in the 
Merchants National Bank, five years in the 
Hawk-Eye Woolen Mill, and in the Putman 
Flour Mill two years. He completed his 
service with the bank when seventy-two 
years of age. He was one of the most 
trusted employees there, and through his 
fidelity to duty he was long retained in the 
service. 

Mr. Andre has been very active in church 
work in Burlington. Soon after his arrival 
he assisted in building the first German 
church here, it being erected on Columbia 
Street in 1850. He was an elder in the first 
German Evangelical church from 1854 till 
1864, when he helped build Zion Evangel- 
ical church and served as an elder from 
its first election in 1864 to 1884, and has 
been a member of the Sunday-school for 
thirty-two years. During that period he 
served as one of its teachers and also as its 
treasurer and secretary. He has done every- 
thing in his power to promote the cause of 
the church, and his labors have been at- 
tended with good results. His early polit- 
ical support was given the Whig party, but 
he could not vote until the time of the elec- 
tion of 1856, when he supported John C. 
Fremont. He was naturalized while in 
Louisville, Ky. He served as school di- 
rector for one term in an earlv dav, and the 



400 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



cause of education has always found in him 
a warm friend. He petitioned and carried a 
proposition for cHvidiiig a district six miles 
square and making an indepenilent district. 
He was also instrumental in building the 
West Madison School. 

On the 1st of January, 1850. Mr. Andre 
was married to Mary C. Woolman, who 
died in January, 1899. Their children were : 
Louisa, the wife of Rudolph Cook ; George 
A., of Burlington ; P. Henry, a grocer of 
this city ; John C, who is living at St. 
Joseph, Mo. : Katherine M., the wife of 
Charles Scholes, of Havelock, Nebr. ; Mar- 
garet, the wife of George Harmer, of Bur- 
lington : and John and Frank, who are en- 
gaged in the grocery business. There are 
thirty-one granflcliildren, and seven great- 
graiidcliildrL-n. 

Mr. .\n(lrc built his home in 1S54, and 
has since occupied it. He bought the lot 
in 185 1, covering one-half of block i, which 
is in Barrett's Addition. The house is at 
1604 South .'■iiiiiinicr Street. lie has three 
and one-quarter acres of land across the 
street. He is now engaged in the raising 
of vegetables and fruit, and is doing a fair 
business as a gardener. He saved from his 
wages in the bank the money with which he 
bought his home, and by the careful hus- 
banding of resources he has been able to 
assist his sons to embark in business. His 
life has been quietly passed, while his has 
been an active and useful career. 



HENRY AVERY. 

Henry Avery, now deceased, whose 
home was on Section 21, Union township, 
and wlio in an active and busy life achieved 



a high measure of success, was born in 
Greene county, Illinois, Nov. 5, 1821, his 
parents being Robert and Nancy Avery. 
His paternal grandfather also bore the 
name of Robert, and was born March 5, 
1765, while his death occurred Oct. 18, 
1810. He was of English lineage, his an- 
cestors having come from Bristol, Eng- 
land, to America prior to the Revolutionary 
War. He married Lydia White, a descend- 
ant of Peregrine White, the first white 
child born in New England after the land- 
ing of the Pilgrims from the " Mayflower." 
Mrs. Avery's birth occurred Jan. 27, 1763, 
and she dc])artcd this life March 24. 1849. 
The children of this marriage were as 
follows: Daniel Clark, bom Oct. 26, 1791, 
and died July 13, 1839 : John W., born April 
'5- '793; Oren Smith, born Sept. 11, 1794, 
and died .Vug. 3, 1836; Robert, born Feb. 
20, 1796, and died Dec. 30, 1879: Lydia, 
born Nov. 13, 1797, and died Sept. 3, 1862: 
Margaret, born March 12, 1799, became the 
wife of a Mr. Wheadon, and died Dec. 30, 
1831 : Amelia, born July ifi, 1802, married 
M. Millard, and after his death became the 
wife of E. Fisher, a Methodist preacher; 
Nancy, born July 13, 1804, and died April 
17, 1805; and Arvilla, born Nov. 24, 1808, 
and became the wife of M. Anderson. 

Robert .\very, father of our subject, was 
born in Massachusetts, Feb. 20, 1796, and 
was married in Missouri to Mrs. Nancy 
(Brown) Smelcher. She was a widow at 
that time. Her birth occurred in North 
Carolina, Sept. i, 1798. In 1835 t'^^y re- 
moved from Illinois to Des Moines county, 
Iowa, settling upon the farm that is still 
owned and occupied by the Avery family. 
Here Robert Avery purchased some land 
and made his home luitil his death, which 
occurred Dec. 30, 1879, while his wife 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



403 



passed away on the i8th of January of the 
same year. They were the parents of ten 
children, and Airs. Avery had three chil- 
dren by her former husband, which died 
in infancy. In 1837 Robert Avery, Jr., 
was appointed county surveyor of Des 
Moines county, and held the ofifice until 
1840. The records which he made at that 
time are still noted for their accuracy. Of 
their children we have the following rec- 
ord : Clarissa became the wife of Calvin 
Gamage, and is now a widow living in 
Mount Pleasant, Iowa ; Sarah Ann is the 
widow of Austin Comstock, and lives with 
her children in Chicago, 111. ; Elijah Lee 
died in early manhood on the i6th of 
October, 1843. 

Henry Avery spent his boyhood days on 
the home farm and attended the district 
schools of the neighborhood. He was stu- 
dious by nature, and made the most of his 
opportunities, so that in early manhood he 
had qualified himself for teaching, and fol- 
lowed that profession for some time in the 
country schools. He also learned survey- 
ing tinder his father, Robert Avery, who 
had followed it for many years. At an early 
age Henry Avery also became interested in 
fruit raising and in the nursery business, 
and loved the study of horticulture. In this 
department of labor he became widely 
known, and in his home county his opinions 
were regarded as authority on many matters 
connected with horticultural pursuits. 

On the 8th of May, 1842, Henry Avery 
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Ogle, 
who was born Jan. 28, 1824, and died 
Sept. 12, 1865. There were twelve chil- 
dren by that marriage, of whom six 
reached years of maturity : Nancy Alice, the 
wife of J. C. Comstock, who is represented 
elsewhere in this work ; Robert Lee, who 



died in Henry county, Iowa, leaving a wife 
and three children ; Henry J., of Ottumwa, 
Iowa, who is married and has five chil- 
dren : Ella Arvilla, the wife of Karl Lisen- 
ring, of Mount Pleasant, by whom she has 
five children; D. N., who resides on the 
old home farm ; Lora May, who is the wife 
of Edson Drum, and resides near the 
Kansas line in Missouri. They have four 
children. After losing his first wife Mr. 
Avery was again married, his second union 
occurring on the 14th of November, 1865, 
when he wedded Miss Sophia Albertina 
Staff, who was born near Lincoping, 
Sweden, and was a daughter of Charles 
Magnus and Marguerite (Newburg) Staff. 
Their home was situated in the county of 
Ulrica, Sweden, and was called Aquanaise 
(Oak Lake Point) because of its proximity 
to Lake Aquan. Mrs. Avery was twelve 
years of age when her parents came to 
America. They made the entire trip bv 
water, in a sailboat, landing first at New- 
York, and thence proceeding westward by 
way of the Hudson River, Erie Canal, the 
Great Lakes, and on to Burlington. They 
started on the 23d of June and traveled day 
and night, reaching their destination on 
the 28th of October of the same year. They 
stopped at Sunderland's old mill, for the 
only light visible was found there. This was 
in the year 1850, in which cholera was prev- 
alent, and a number of the passengers on 
the boat died. The mother of Mrs. Avery, 
on reaching this county, went up to the old 
mill and asked for hot water, which was 
given her, and she then made coffee. The 
family brought with them the mone)- which 
had been secured by the sale of their old 
home in Sweden, and here the father pur- 
chased a small farm in L^nion township. 
He had served in the army while in Sweden, 



404 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and tlu- outbreak of the Civil War follow- 
ing his emigration to the New World, his 
military sjjirit was again aroused, and he 
enlisted in the Iowa Regiment known as the 
Gray lieards. He took part in some skir- 
mishes, and sustained injuries on account 
of which he was afterward granted a jien- 
sion by the government. 

There were seven children born unto .Mr. 
Avery by his second marriage: Ivinia M., 
who died at the age of two years and some 
days: Ivan H. X., who married Christina 
Helt. and died March 13, 1904: Oren Elmo, 
who resides near Kingston, Iowa, and mar- 
ried Nellie I'rockway, by whom he had 
three children, Harry, Pearl, and X'iolet ; 
John White and Dove Alinda (i.. both at 
home; Ulive Marguerite, the wife of Mario 
Van Cranach. As the years passed, Mr. 
Avery prospered in his undertakings, and 
was long known as one of the successful 
antl ])roniinent agriculturists and horticul- 
turists of Des Moines county. He started 
out in life amid unfavorable circumstances, 
but realizing that labor is the basis of all 
success, he worked persistently and ener- 
getically, r.rooking no obstacles that could 
be overcome by determined and honorable 
effort, he advanced by consecutive steps : 
and as his capital increased, he made judi- 
cious investments in real estate that brought 
him a handsome return. L'ltimately he be- 
came the owner of tracts of land in different 
parts of the county and .State, his realty 
possessions aggregating two thou.sand 
three hundred and nine acres. He left to 
each of his children a goodly heritage, 
which he had accumulated by honest, per- 
sistent effort. Moreover, in his business 
career Mr. Avery was thoroughly reliable, 
and his path to success was never strewn 
with the wrecks of other men's fortunes. 



for in all his dealings he was strictly fair 
anfl honorable. 

In his religious faith Mr. Avery was a 
Methodist, was a most earnest and help- 
ful wt)rker in the church, and contributed 
liberally to its sup|x)rt. He served as class- 
leader of his church, and he erected a house 
of worship, called Shiloh church, on his 
farm in I'nion township. There is also 
upon the old homestead a cemetery known 
as the .Avery cemetery, which his father, 
Robert .\very, donated to the township. He 
belonged to the Ma.sonic fraternity, and 
was thoroughly conver.sant with its work, 
its teachings,, and its tenets. He owned 
a home in .Mount Pleasant, Iowa, where 
he lived ■while educating his children. The 
cause of education found in him a warm 
friend, and he was a helpful supporter of the 
Iowa Weslcyan College, holding six scholar- 
shi]5s therein, and making frequent and 
generous donations thereto. His life was 
honorable, his actions manly and sincere, 
and the world is better for his having lived. 
He died Dec. 13, 1888, but his memory is 
yet cherished by many friends as well as his 
immediate family. In politics he was a 
stanch Rei)ul)lican. 



HENRY RITTER. 

Honorable Henry Ritter is now living 
a retired life at his beautiful home at 1837 
Sunnyside .Avenue, in Burlington. For 
many years his activity in the business world 
was continuous and far-reaching, and as the 
result of his close application to his work, 
his persistence of purpose, and his honor- 
able dealing, he has -won great success and 
also an untarnislud name in business and 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



405 



social circles. He has been honored with 
the highest office in the gift of the people of 
the city and has been representative of this 
district in the State Legislature, which office 
he is still holding. Henry Ritter is a son 
of John C. and Mary (Kiintz) Ritter, and 
was born in Ft. Madison, Lee county, Iowa, 
Oct. ig, 1852. His father was a native of 
Prussia, and was born Sept. 10, 1817. After 
serving the Prussian army for two years he 
came to America in 1842 by way of Balti- 
more, and settled first in Smithland, Ky., 
where he learned the trade of bricklaying 
and brickmaking. His residence in Smith- 
land, Ky., and Cincinnati, Ohio, lasted for 
some three years, when he moved to St. 
Louis, Mo., where he remained for a few 
years engaged in the burning of brick. 
Soon after this he came to Iowa and located 
in Ft. Madison, bought a strip of ground, 
and in 1847 began to manufacture all kinds 
of brick. He was thus employed till his 
death, Avhich occurred July 29, 1885. His 
life was honest and upright, and he was a 
genuine pioneer leader. He belonged to the 
Democratic party, and was township trustee 
of Washington township, Lee countv, for 
some years. The mother of our subject came 
to this country with her parents when about 
eleven or twelve years of age. They settled 
in Des Moines county in 1848, locating on 
a farm in what is known as the Hunt settle- 
ment, about three miles south of Burlington. 
She was married in 1849 and died in 1867, 
having been the mother of ten children, of 
whom five are living: Henry, of this re- 
view ; John, married Anna Gahn, and is a 
brickmaker residing in Burlington ; Joseph, 
a twin of John, married Miss Ellie Burger, 
of Deadwood, S. Dak., and lives in lona, S. 
Dak., on a ranch : Mary, is the wife of 
Frank Weidman, who works in the Chicago, 



Burlington & Quincy Railroad shops n\ 
West Burlington; Benedict V., is engaged 
in brickmaking in Denver, Colo. Mr. Ritter 
received his substantial education in the 
parochial schools of Ft. Madison and in 
Pierson Business College of the same city. 
He attended during winter terms only, and 
worked the rest of the year. He remained 
under the parental roof till he was about 
twenty years of age, and learned all the arts 
of brickmaking with his father. His first 
situation with strangers was that of a clerk 
in the grocery store of A. C. Cattermole, in 
Ft. Madison. Oct. 29, 1872, he came to 
Burlington, and entered the large grocery 
of H. E. Hunt on Main Street as clerk, and 
later as bookkeeper, where he was engaged 
for the following si.x winters. The summer 
months were spent by him conducting a 
brickyard for his father. In 1876 he started 
a brickyard of his own on Sunnyside Ave- 
nue, where he employed a great many men 
making all kinds of brick for Iowa and Illi- 
nois markets. After some twenty-seven 
years in this business he sold out his brick- 
yard, and has been retired since 1904. 

Nov. 28. 1876, Mr. Ritter was married to 
Miss Minnie Vorwerk, daughter of Anton 
and Clara (Eversman) \'orwerk. Mrs. 
Ritter was born in Burlington, Iowa, July 
20, 1854, and received her first instructions 
in the private school of Miss Mercy Lewis, 
and later pursued her studies in St. Paul's 
parochial school, which was the first school 
to have sisters known as Blessed Virgin 
Mary's. Mr. Vorwerk -was born in Olden- 
burg, Germany, Dec. 8, 1827, and came to 
America in 1849, niaking the trip in an old- 
time sailing vessel in one hundred days, land- 
ing in New Orleans, where Mr. Vorwerk 
celebrated his twenty-first birthday. He lo- 
cated in Quincy. 111., where he became pro- 



406 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ficient in the trade of a cooper. In 1850 he 
came to Biirlin^on and worked at the 
cooper shop of W'iUiani Eversnian, who is 
an uncle of his wife, on the comer of Sev- 
enth and Arch Streets, at a very low salary. 
Hy close economy he was able to accumu- 
late enough money to buy a lot on Sixth 
Street, between Franklin and Iowa, and 
built a small brick residence, the work be- 
m^ executed by Simeon Russell and Henry 
Stansbeck. Shortly after this he purchased 
a lot adjoining his home, and o])ened a 
cooper shop of his own, emjjloying twenty 
to twenty-five men making barrels for 
Schenck's pork house, Moir's distillery at 
Oquawka, and Sunderland's flour mill. At 
the end of twelve years his iiealtli failed, and 
he moved to I'lint River township, where he 
bought a farm, upon which he lived very 
prosperously till 1900, when he retired from 
farming and caiue to Hurlington to reside. 
Mr. Vorwerk married Miss Clara Evers- 
nian, Oct. 4, 1853, on her twentieth birthday. 
She was born in Eburg, Hanover, Germany, 
and came to America in 1849 when about 
sixteen years of age, and made her home 
with her uncle, William Eversman, -where 
she met her future husband. Mr. and Mrs. 
Vorwerk have hail eleven children, seven 
of w-hom are living: Minnie, Mrs. Ritter, 
wife of our subject : .\nna. married Joseph 
Fisher, and lives on the old home place in 
I-'lint River township, and has si.x children ; 
Lizzie, the wife of Frank Beckman, a dry- 
goods merchant of Rurlington, and they 
have six children ; Clara, married Theodore 
Raucnbuehler, of West Point, a butcher in 
Hurlington, and they have four children ; 
Mary, the wife of George Kestner, a farmer 
on the Mason road in Burlington. Mr. and 
Mrs. Kestner have three children; Dr. A. 
H. Vorwerk, married Catherine Winkcl. of 



Bancroft, Iowa, and resides in Burlington, 
where he has been the county physician for 
the ])ast two years ; Hattie, married A. H. 
Demsey, a grtxrer of liurlington. Mr. and 
.Mrs. \orwerk are spending the evening of 
their lives at their ])leasant home on the cor- 
ner of Garden and Iowa Streets. They have 
celebrated their golden wedding, a blessing 
which falls on a few only, and were happy 
to have around them at the home of their 
daughter, Mrs. Ritter, all of their children 
and grandchildren. 

.•\s the years passed Mr. and Mrs. Ritter 
had six children adtled to their household ; 
but they have been greatly atllicted, as death 
has claimed all of these bright children but 
one : Clara was Ixirn in Burlington, June 
25, 1878, educated in Burlington and Quin- 
cy, and on July 2, 1902, became the wife of 
Nicholas Conner, who publishes three news- 
papers in Dubu(|ue, Iowa. — Catholic West- 
cm, Luxcnburf^cr Gazette. lx)th printed in 
German, and the Catholic Tribune, printed 
in English. Mr. Conner was born in Cape 
(Mrardeau, .Mo., July 8, 1871. Mr. and Mrs. 
Conner have two children: .\nnie Minnie, 
born Jan. 19, 1903, and Nicholas, born .\]iril 
17. 1905: Emma was born Jan. 13, 1880, 
and died Xov. 30, 1890; Anna Minnie, born 
I^'eb. 5, 1882, was educated in the Burling- 
ton schools and the ladies' seminary of 
Quincy, 111. She was a fine artist and good 
musician. Her death occurred Dec. 2. 1902, 
at the age of twenty years : Harry, an ex- 
ceedingly bright and capable boy, bom Dec. 
15, 1885, received his early education in the 
schools in Burlington, was graduated from 
high school and had just entered St. Francis 
Salanus College in Quincy, and while on his 
Christmas vacation passed away Jan. 4, 
i<)04. .Although but seventeen years of age 
lie was a very fine violinist of rare abilitv : 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



407 



Anton Herbert, born Aug. 14, 1893, died 
Nov. I, 1893. The deceased children are all 
buried in Sacred Heart cemetery. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ritter are devoted and con- 
sistent members of St. John's Catholic 
church, of which church the former is a 
member of the finance committee. Mr. Rit- 
ter is also a member of St. John's Benevo- 
lent Society and the Roman Catholic Mutual 
Protective of Iowa. In politics he has 
always been a leader in the Democratic 
party, and has devoted much time and at- 
tention to the promotion and advancement 
of the same. In 1888 he was elected alder- 
man-at-large, and held this office with great 
credit and ability till i8g6. In 1903 he was 
the Democratic nominee as a representative 
of the twentieth district to the State Legis- 
lature, and was unanimously elected, defeat- 
ing Peter Hanson, of Union township. By 
amendment of the constitution Mr. Ritter 
will hold over another term to the Legis- 
lature, as the elections are now biennial in- 
stead of annual. 

While Mr. and Mrs. Ritter were in Des 
Moines they made many warm friends, who 
await their return with pleasure. In 1884 
they erected their handsome residence on 
Sunnyside Avenue, which joins Ritter's 
park, also owned by Mr. Ritter, and the 
whole place is one of the most modern and 
attractive homes in the city. Since this 
worthy couple lost their children they have 
spent much time in traveling in all parts of 
the United States. Surely Mr. Ritter is to 
be congratulated upon the great success 
with which he has met in business and social 
circles. His early life was full of trials and 
struggles, as he began empty handed, hav- 
ing nothing to depend on except that which 
his activity and industry brought him. His 
days of labor were long and hard, but being 



Ijlessed with a rugged constitution he was 
enabled to toil on, and in the course of time 
became one of the leading business men of 
lUirlington, and later was enabled to retire 
from active business and enjoy his labors 
of the past. He is a man possessing a large, 
warm heart, and his hundreds of friends 
have long recognized in him one that is 
true to himself as well as true and loyal to 
others. His record in business was without 
one blot, as he ever fulfilled his contracts to 
the very letter, firmly believing that honesty 
and uprightness in life are the best and safest 
watchwords. He is blessed with a true and 
loving wife, who has ever stood by his side 
ready to assist at all times. Her kind and 
loving deeds have reached many in distress, 
and her quiet and beautiful manner, together 
with her many accomplishments, have made 
iier manv friends and admirers. 



JAMES VANNICE. 

James Vannice, who started out in 
life for himself at a very early age, and 
with a brave spirit and strong determina- 
tion met the difficulties and obstacles that 
lay in his path, has worked his way up- 
ward to success, and is now classed with 
the leading agriculturists of Des Moines 
covmty. The experiences of pioneer life 
in the wild West have been his, and for 
many years his portion was that of unre- 
mitting toil, but his persistency of pur- 
pose and capable management have made 
liim to-day one of the most prosperous 
farmers of eastern Iowa. 

Mr. Vannice claims Indiana as his 
natal State, being born in Switzerland 
county, Indiana, April 11, 1833. He came 



4o8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of hardy ])ionecr stock, his great grand- 
father having been one of the earliest set- 
tlers of Kentucky. His grandfather, 
Thomas X'annicc. was born in Kentucky, 
and lived through the troublous times 
when the early settlers were struggling 
with the Indians for a footiinld in the 
new country. The grandfather engaged 
in a large number of Indian fights, when 
the Indians had swooped down on the 
feeble settlements to murder and destroy. 
Later he moved to I'ennsylvania. and 
there Abraham \ aniiici-. the lather of our 
subject, was born and raised. In 1842 he 
came to Iowa, locating in Des Moines 
county, which was then all new. un- 
broken land, without any settlements, 
even Burlington being but a small place. 
Here he took up land, and made his home 
ill Yellow Springs township, until the 
time of his death, which occurred in 18^)5, 
he being at that time aged sixty-five 
years. His widow, the mother of our sub- 
ject, died in i88f>. at the age of ninety- 
three years. They botii are buried in 
Kossuth cemetery. They were the par- 
ents of eight children, of whom James is 
the third in ])()int of l)irth. 

James \annice was only nine years old 
when he came with his parents to Iowa, 
but he had to assume the heavy burdens 
of pioneer life soon after. He had very 
meager chances for receiving any school- 
ing, attending only about a week before 
leaving Indiana, where he went to a 
school kept in an old log house by a 
young girl who was employed by private 
subscription by the parents of the few 
children who could attend, .\fter com- 
ing to Yellow .S])rings townshi|), he was 
able to attend but very little because of 
the illness of his parents. His father was 



a semi-invalid, so that from the time that 
James was twelve years of age he was 
the main su])port of the family. iMjrtu- 
nately he had a thoughtful and reflective 
mind, an observant disposition, and by 
reading the pa])ers kept close watch on 
the i)assing world, so that in due time he 
became what might be fairly and justly 
termed a well-informed man, a knowledge 
largely acquired by himself, but none the 
less, in the broadest meaning of the term, 
an education, genuine and real. He has 
been a subscriber to the I'urlington 
llowk-Ilyc for over forty-five years. 

( )n first coming to Iowa, the \'annice 
family settled in Henton township, but 
remained there only a short lime. nio\ ing 
to a farm a little north of Mediai)olis. A 
little later they moved onto the farm in 
Section 3. \'ellovv Springs township, 
where .Mr. \'annice now is, and have 
made that their home ever since. They 
were among the first white inhabitants 
of the county, tlu- country being yet a 
desolate and pathless wilderness. Indians 
were very ])lentiful. and .Mr. \'annice re- 
members that in going after the cows he 
would have to follow the Indians trails. 
On the farm which he now owns, there 
was then located an Indian burying 
ground. Here lie has met many of the 
redskins while at his work, but was never 
molested. 

March 14. i86[. .Mr. \annice was 
united in marriage to .Miss Paulina 
Howe, daughter of .Macaijah and Sarah 
(Miller) Howe. She was also a native of 
the "Hoosier" State, being born in W'ash- 
ington county. Indiana. Aug. 3. 1838. and 
coming to ISenton township, Des Moines 
county, when she was si.x years old. Her 
mother died before the family left Indi- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



409 



ana. Her father died in Benton township 
in October, 1883, and her steii-niother 
died in this county in 1002. Mr. and Mrs. 
Vannice became tlie parents of eight chil- 
dren, all hut one being still living, as fol- 
lows: Ila Matilda, Peter, Andrew, James 
Grant, Silenas, George, John, and Rosa, 
who died at the age of four years. 

Mr. V^annice has seen the land emerge 
from primitive conditions to one of the 
most favored spots on the continent of 
America, covered with cities and villages, 
churches and schools, furnishing the ne- 
cessities and luxuries of life to thou- 
sands of residents, and pouring forth a 
steady stream of wealth to sustain the 
workers of many a distant metropolis and 
foreign land. He has borne a large and 
important part in bringing about these 
remarkable changes, this marvelous and 
incomparable , development, this miracle 
which has made the wilderness to bloom 
and bring forth fruit abundantly. He was 
considered one of the greatest workers in 
the entire country, and bears the record 
of having in one season cut, with the old- 
fashioned cradle, seventy acres of grain. 
It was by unremitting hard work that he 
has accomplished what he has, and at- 
tained his present degree of success. 

He now owns two hundred and seven 
acres of improved land in Yellow Springs 
and Benton townships, besides fifty-nine 
acres of timber near Kingston. His farm 
lands are in an admirable state of cultiva- 
tion, a fact which unmistakably proclaims 
the possession of business ability of no 
mean order. Moreover all the improve- 
ments which now grace this immense 
farm are of his own inauguration, as it 
was entirely without buildings or other 
improvements when first purchased. He 



himself broke the sod with oxen. He has 
become noted throughout the country for 
his hardy endurance ; and this quality, so 
helpful to the pioneer, has enabled him 
to make his farm one of the finest in the 
country. He has the place well stocked 
with fruit trees of various kinds, and also 
raises a great many cattle. He breeds 
the Shorthorn and Hereford stock, and 
sells a great many feeders and beef cattle. 
Mr. Vannice's family has enjoyed all 
the advantages of a sound Christian 
training, for both he and his estimable 
wife are consistent adherents of the 
Methodist Episcopal faith, supporting the 
church in a liberal manner, and contrib- 
uting to the work of the denomination in 
all its various branches. To his duties 
as a citizen he has been no less faithful 
and attentive, taking part in the political 
aiTairs of county. State, and nation as a 
member of the Republican party, whose 
principles approximately rejnx'sent his 
views of American governmental science. 
He is now well past the allotted span of 
threescore years and ten, and the life thus 
])rolonged has been filled with success 
and honor, while its latter years find him 
enjoying the respect of all and the friend- 
ship of many because of his kindly nature 
and the sterling manhood of his character. 



ANDY VANNICE. 

Andy V.vnnice, junior member of the 
successful and well-known firm of Van- 
nice & Wichhart, who own a blacksmith 
shop and manufacture wagons and car- 
riages, is a son of James and Polina 
(Howe) Vannice, and a native of Yellow 



410 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Springs township, being born June i, 
1865. His father is an honest and highly 
respected farmer of Yellow S])rings town- 
ship whose sketch appears on another 
page in this work. 

Our subject received a fair education in 
the schools of his home place, and spent 
his boyhood and early manhood on his 
father's farm, learning much that would 
be of great value to him in his chosen 
vocation in life. It is often the practical 
knowledge of the wants and actual neces- 
sities of the average farmer that leads 
many men to abandon farm work and 
turn their attention to blacksmithing and 
the manufacture of farm implements. It 
was with this intention that Mr. Vannice 
left the farm in 1891 and came to Mediap- 
olis, where he purchased a half interest in 
the blacksmith slio]). and also bought a 
half interest in an establishment for the 
manufacture of wagons and carriages. 

In one year he bought out his partner, 
and continued alone till 1898, when he 
took Charles W'ichhart, whose sketch 
also appears in this volume, into the busi- 
ness as a full partner. Their shop was 
built in 1900 by the present firm, and is 
fifty by thirty-six feet, having an engine- 
room attached, which is twelve by twenty 
feet, with a four-horse gasoline engine 
which runs their wood and metal working 
machines. The upj)cr floor of this build- 
ing is confined to painting and varnishing 
and storing of buggies. They also have 
another one-story building, eighteen by 
twenty feet, which is used entirely as a 
store-room. They are located on the 
corner of Orchard and Columbia Streets, 
an<l their shoji is well e(|ui])pe(l for gen- 
eral blacksmithing, re])airing. and the 
making of wagons and carriages, having 



two metal-working machines, as well as 
a number of wood machines. It is the 
largest shop of the kind in Mediapolis. 

Xov. 2J, i8<>5, Mr. \'annice married 
Miss Mary Rlanche Deets, daughter of 
William and Elizabeth (Kline) Deets. 
They are the parents of two sons and one 
daughter, Ruth, Paul, and Raymond. 
Politically, Mr. Vannice is a stanch Re- 
publican. Fraternally, he is a member of 
the Independent Order Odd Fellows and 
the Modern Woodmen, in which orders 
he has held all of the offices. He was 
elected a member of the town council, 
which office he is now filling with 
efficiency and to the satisfaction of all. 
He is respected by all who know him. 



JAMES W. ENKE. 

J.\Mi:s \\ . Enke is an extensive 
farmer and stock dealer of W'ashington 
township, where in trade circles his name 
is honored because he has ever been 
found reliable and trustworthy. Mr. 
Enke was born near Morning Sun, Louisa 
county, Iowa, Sept. 21, 1856. The father 
was born in the State of Pennsylvania, 
and came to Iowa about 1855, locating in 
Louisa county; here he was engaged in 
general farming and stock-raising until 
1872, when he purchased a farm of eighty 
acres in Des Moines county, and lived 
there till about ten years ago, when he 
moved to Winfield, Henry county, and 
bought another farm. 

As Mr. Enke is now seventy-six years 
old, he has given up the management of 
this farm to one of his children. He was 
raised in the Quaker faith. l)ul is now a 



> 

en 



p] 
Z 

?^ 

> 

o 







DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



413 



member of the United Presliytcrian 
church. In politics he belongs to the Re- 
publican party. His wife, who departed 
this life Aug. 7, 1889, was born in Ohio, 
and came to Iowa after her marriage. 



death. She was the mother of fi\-e chil- 
dren, three of whom still remain. 

Mr. and Mrs. Enke have known each 
other all their lives. They started to school 
at the same time, and grew up together. 



She was a conscientious member of the As the years came and went a son and a 



Methodist church. They were the par- 
ents of nine children, seven of whom are 
still living, James W. being the only one 
residing in Washington township. 

Our subject lived near Morning Sun 
till he was six years old, and attended 
the city schools there for a short time. 



daughter were added to the household- of 
Mr. and Mrs. Enke, both of whom are 
living: Nettie Ermina, is the wife of E. J. 
Barton, a farmer of Washington township, 
and is the son of Joseph Barton, whose 
sketch will also he found in this book. 
Mr. and Mrs. Barton have two children: 



After his parents moved to Washington James Otis, and Lois Pearl. Emmer 



township he was enabled to pursue his 
studies a little further, but when about 
thirteen or fourteen j'ears of age he was 
obliged to quit school and work on his 
father's farm, where he remained till he 
reached his majority. He then started 
out on his own responsibility, first rent- 
ing a farm near Yarmouth, where he re- 



Lesley married Miss Cora Chandler, and 
resides in Louisa county, just across the 
road from his father's home. They are the 
parents of two children : Cecil James, and 
Lloyd Lesley. 

Mr. and Mrs. Enke are prominent and 
influential members of the Methodist 
church, where the former has been an 



mained one year; he afterward came back esteemed class leader for the past eight 

to Washington township, and for a few years. He is a trustee and the district 

years rented his present farm of eighty steward of the church, and also the 

acres on Section 5. As time advanced efficient superintendent of the Sunday- 

and Mr. Enke was successful in his farm- school. He was also elected as lay dele- 

ing and stock-raising, and was enabled to gate from Mt. Llnion to the lay electoral 

lay by a neat little sum each year, so that conference held at Muscatine in '93. Mr. 

he soon bought this farm, and has lived Enke has always given his political alle- 



there ever since. He has improved and 
beautified the place a great deal, and 
takes much pleasure in seeing that every 
part of it is well cared for. 

Mr. Enke married Miss Mary Peel, 
daughter of S. K. Peel, a pioneer farmer 



giance to the Republican party, and has 
ever been ready to assist in the fight for 
their victories, but has never cared to 
hold office of any kind. He is a man of 
broad principles and helpful characteris- 
tics, and during his long residence in 



of Des Moines county, now a resident of Washington township has made his in- 
Mt. Union. Mrs. Enke's mother was fluence felt in the promotion of the wel- 
born in Madison county, Ohio, and died fare of the community. He and his 
about twenty-four years since. In girl- worthy wife enjoy the respect and friend- 
hood she united with the Presbyterian ship of all who have the pleasure of their 
church, and remained faithful to it till her acquaintance. 



+ 14 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



DAVID LEONARD. 

David LkhnarJ). for many years promi- 
nently identified ■with the public life of Des 
Moines county, was bom March 12, 18 16, 
in the State of Pennsylvania, and there re- 
ceived his early education. His father. Rev. 
,^bner Leonard, who also in later life be- 
came well known in Des Moines county, 
was likewise a native of Pennsylvania, 
where he was born Dec. 13, 1787. was 
reared, educated, and ordained into the 
ministry of the Presbyterian church, a vo- 
cation which he faithfully followed thrfuigh- 
out the entire course <if his long and use- 
ful life. At an early day he removed to 
Truro, Ohio, and in 1842 he decided that 
the field of greatest usefulness for the labors 
of his sacred calling was the West, for 
which reason he again removed in that year, 
locating for a time at Burlington, later 
erecting a small brick cottage just south of 
the village of West Burlington, where the 
remainder of his life was passed, lie pur- 
ciiased a small farm of Mr. A. Bell, to which 
he made subsequent additions, so that at 
the time of his death he owned a tract of 
seventy acres of fine agricultural lands. 

Tn his native State he was united in mar- 
riage to -Miss Elizabeth Letterman, who was 
born June 27, 1788, and to them were born 
in that .State five sons, one of whom died in 
infancy, these being Hiram, Aaron, Levi, 
David, and Isaac. Four sons grew to man- 
hood's estate in Pennsylvania and Ohio ; but 
all are now deceased, with the exception of 
the youngest, Isaac, born in .\ugust, 1833, 
and a veteran of the Civil War, who is now 
a resident of Xew Jersey. The demise of 
Rev. Leonard occurred at West Burlington. 
Oct, 30, 1856, and that of his wife on Oct. 
18, 1864, thus depriving the community of 



two of its most valued members, for theirs 
was the affection of all who knew them, 
anil Rev. Leonard combined in his character 
the simple Christian virtues and unusual 
talents which made him a power for right 
and for the uplifting of mankind. 

David Leonard, the subject of this re- 
view, taught school for a time at Truro, 
Ohio, after the removal of his parents to 
that place, but on coming to Iowa he estab- 
lished himself in the nursery business, de- 
voting the remainder of his business life to 
the culture and sale of shrubbery and fruit 
trees of choice varieties, in which he was 
very successful : and by the application of 
sound judgment and unfailing industry, 
aided by the reputation which he acquired 
for strict and invariable iiUcgrity in all his 
dealings, he ac(|uired a very comfortable 
competence, and rose to an important sta- 
tion in the community. In his political 
affiliation Mr. Leonard was originally a 
Whig, and on the formation of the Repub- 
lican ])arty he became a member of that or- 
ganization, for the success of which he ever 
after labored with earnestness and ability, 
devoting much of his time and eflfort to 
I)olitics and to public life, and being at one 
time elected to the office of county super- 
visor of Des Moines county, a position in 
which he served with credit to himself and 
benefit to his constituents. Ever desirous 
to ])romote the general welfare by all 
proper means within his power, he acted as 
captain nf a company of the Home Guards 
during the perilous period of the Civil War. 
He always evinced great interest in the 
cause of education, being for many years a 
trustee of Iowa College, at Grinnell, where 
his services were appreciated as most help- 
ful, and he was considered one of the most 
zealous and efficient members of the board 



DRS MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



415 



of trustees. His was a deep religious nature, 
and although reared in the Presbyterian faith, 
he later entered the Congregational church, 
in which for a long term of years he held the 
office of deacon, contributing generously to 
the support of all the church charities and 
various movements for the triumph of re- 
ligion. 

On March 2. 1841, Mr. Leonard was 
united in marriage to Aliss Mary S. Dustin, 
who was born Aug. 24, 1821, the daughter 
of Nathan and Sarah Ann (Carpenter) 
Dustin, and to them were born three sons 
and two daughters : Howard, born Jan. 14, 
1842, enlisted as a soldier in the Iowa 
\'olunteer Infantry, and after a military 
service of five months died in hospital as a 
result of exposure on March 18, 1862. 
Ann Eliza, born June 28, 1845, was mar- 
ried on June 18, 1867, to Abner Clark 
Leonard, who was born Sept. 9. 1847, son 
of Hiram and Elizabeth (Patterson) Leon- 
ard, and died, leaving four children, as 
follows : Lillia May. who died at the age 
of eighteen months ; Nathan Herbert, now 
a resident of Illinois, who married Miss 
Mamie Helen Paine, daughter of Peter B. 
Paine, and has three children, Helen Dustin, 
Howard Paine and Edith ; Abner Clark, 
who died at about the age of nine months ; 
and Charles Sumner, now living with his 
mother, married ;\Iiss Pansy Lucile Price, 
daughter of Jay F. and Emma Ruth 
(Ewing) Price. David Hale, the third 
child of David and Mary S. Leonard, was 
born March 31, 1853, and died Sept. 22, 
1854. Charles Sumner, the fourth child, 
was born Dec. 30, 1855, and died Aug. 30, 
1864. Lillia. the youngest, was born July 
5, 1863, and died July 8, 1863. Mr. Leon- 
ard's constant and extensive public activities 
brought him into contact with all the lead- 



ers of thought and action in this part of 
Iowa, and he was widely known for his 
public spirit, his high ideals, and his great 
practical ability. His name was a household 
word in countless homes, and the genial and 
kindly qualities of his nature made friends 
for him wherever he was known, while his 
ability and upright course of life in all the 
human relations which he formed won him 
a host of admirers, and gave him the abso- 
lute confidence and respect of all. His 
death occurred Feb. 12, 1884, and that of 
his wife on Feb. 21, 1894, and thus passed 
away the older representatives of a family 
to which much honor is due for its share in 
the upbuilding of the community in which its 
lot is cast, as well as for the high personal 
character which distinguishes its members. 



CHARLES JOHN ANDERSON. 

Charles Johx Anderson, well kncAvn to 
man}- of the people of Burlington as a 
worthy member of the Swedish element, 
which forms so large and valuable a por- 
tion of the city's population, was born Aug. 
20, 1827, in Sweden, a son of Andrew and 
Sarah (Mansdaughter) Anderson. It was 
in his native land that he received his edu- 
cation, his teacher being his mother, as 
there were at that time no public schools in 
Sweden, now so justly famed for her mar- 
velous educational system. The years of 
his youth and early manhood he devoted to 
the work on a farm, and also did consider- 
able repair work for neighboring property 
owners. His parents having died a short 
time before, he came to America in 187 1, 
coming direct to Des Moines county, where 
he worked on a farm near Burlington for 



4l6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



a Mr. Avery. In 1S74 he married Miss Eva 
Johnson, dauglitcr of J(jhn and Sophia 
Swanson, and after buying a house and a 
two-acre Kit, he contiiuicfl farm work, work- 
ing by the day thereafter. Five years 
later he sold the house and lot, and pur- 
chased a farm of f<irty acres at a cost of 
$1,000, on which, in 1887, he erected a fine 
modern residence. Here Mr. and Mrs. 
Anderson continued to make their iiome 
until 1902, when they sold their farm and 
purchased their present home at 912 Foster 
Street, where they have since resided. 

Mrs. Anderson, like her husband, is a 
native of Sweden, where she was born Dec. 
27, 1828, and was trained by her mother in 
reading, writing, and arithmetic, besides 
weaving and all kinds of domestic em- 
ployments. She came to Ainerica and 
to Burlington in 1868, and was here em- 
ployed in a number of well-known families 
until her marriage with Mr. Anderson. 
Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have relinquished 
their part in active affairs, and are now 
leading a retired life at their pleasant home. 
They are consistent members of the Swedish 
Methodist Ejjiscopal church, and Mr. 
Anderson takes an interest in public affairs 
as a supporter of the Republican party. He 
has been successful in a pecuniary sense, and 
enjoys the general regard and esteem for 
Ills tint', inaiilv character. 



JOHN WADDEL. 

JmiN \\'.\oi)i:i„ at one time a resident 
of Des Moines county, wds born in 
Fayette county, Ohio, and is nund)ered 
among the old pioneer settlers, whose 
labors have laid broad and strong the 



foundation of the present ]>rosperity and 
|)rogress of this part of the State. Travel- 
ing across the country by wagon in 1838. 
he eventually arrived liere in the month 
of l)ecend)cr, and settled on a farm a 
little .south of the village of .\orthfield. 
.Subser|uently he removed to Huron town- 
ship, where lie resided until i8<j2, when 
|)utting aside business cares, he took up 
his abode in Kossuth, and li\ed retired 
imtil called to his final rest. 

.Mr. W'addel was married to .Miss .Mary 
.\nii Howery, a daughter of John and 
Hannah ('I'rout) Howery. a native of 
Hamilton. lUitler county, ( )hio, born May 
17, 1826. She became a resident of this 
county when seventeen years of age, and 
was married h'ere. I'or many years Mr. 
and Mrs. W'adtlel traveled life's journey 
iia])|iily together, as respectefl and worthy 
farming peo])le. 'i"he wife died Feb. 28. 
i8<)0. wliile .Mr. W'addel jiassed away 
.March 10, 18(^4. They were the parents 
of twelve children : James, who died at 
the age of si.xteen years; Catherine, the 
wife of J. Hugh lUanchard, went to()kla- 
lioma : Robert C. married .\gnes Han- 
nuni. anil lives near I'urlington ; Samuel, 
who married Sophia W'oolsey, resides at 
( )klahoma : .Mary, the widow of Frank 
l-'riedman, is a resident of Kossuth ; W'ill- 
iani married Ella Kerr, and makes his 
home in Huron township; David married 
Eliza Williams, and lives in Missouri" 
Sarah Elizabeth, the wife of Oliver A. 
W'addel: I'^leanor is the wife of Richard 
Danc\', and resides al Kossuth ; and 
.*susan, who married Joiiii White, lives 
in \'ellow S])rings township. Mr. W'addel 
died very suddenly, of heart failure, and 
the community mourned the loss of one 
of its representative pioneer settlers. 



DES MOINES ■COUNTY, IOWA. 



417 



Mrs. Friedman, to whom we are in- 
debted for the material furnished in this 
sketch, was married on June 25, 1885, to 
Frantz Paul Friedman, born Sept. 2, 
1858, son of John Friedman, and a native 
of Riceville, Wis. Three days prior to 
his marriage he came to Huron township, 
Des Moines county, and immediately aft- 
erward went to Greenleaf, Ivans., where 
he was engaged in business as a carpen- 
ter and contractor until his death, which 
occurred two years later, on July 1 1, 1887. 
He left two children : Charles Robert, 
liorn May 4, 1886; and Mary I^'rantz, born 
July 21, 1887. 

The birth of Mrs. Friedman occurred 
Aug. 20, 1854, in Huron township, and 
for half a century she has been a witness 
of the events which have occurred to 
frame the history of the county. In her 
girlhood days, when living with her par- 
ents, the only residence was a log cabin. 
She occupied this until si.xteen .years of 
age, when her father erected a frame 
house, for which purpose he purchased 
the first car-load of lumber that ever 
came to Mediapolis. Mr. Waddel and his 
family were typical pioneer residents, in- 
terested in all that pertained to the wel- 
fare and upbuilding of this portion of 
the State. The work which Mr. Waddel 
did for the improvement of Des Moines 
county made him one of its valued citizens. 



SAMUEL WADDEL. 

Samuel Waddel is a retired farmer 
living in Kossuth, and an honored pio- 
neer settler of Des Moines county. The 
first known representative of the family 



in America was James Waddell (for so 
the name was then spelled), who crossed 
the Atlantic from County Derry, Ireland. 
His grandfather participated in the siege 
of Ireland by the Spanish. 

It was in the colonial days that James 
Waddell (born March 17, 1733), came to 
the Xew World. His brothers, Samuel 
and Francis, were soldiers of the Ameri- 
can army throughout the Revolutionary 
War, while James was also in the conflict 
for a time. 

They settled in Hagerstown, Md., and 
later went to Pennsylvania, near Pitts- 
burg, making the journey overland. From 
that point they proceeded down the C)hio 
River to Kentucky, and about twelve 
years later located in Ross county, Ohio, 
at a place then called Oldtown, but later 
named Frankfort. There the brothers 
jjurchased land, but subsequently re- 
moved to Fayette county, Ohio, settling 
near Washington Courthouse. Still later, 
however, they returned to Ross county, 
establishing their home near Greenfield. 

James Waddell made his home in Ross 
county until his death, and his remains 
were interred in the Concord cemetery. 
His wife bore the maiden name of Mary 
Courtney, and after the death of her hus- 
band came to Iowa, with her son John, 
spending her last days in Huron town- 
ship, where she died in 1845, at the age 
of eighty-four years. Her grave is now 
in a cemetery in that township. 

John Waddel, father of our subject, 
accompanied his parents on their \'arious 
removals during his youth ; and follow- 
ing the death of his father he removed to 
Des Moines county, Iowa, in 1839. Here 
he purchased four hunilred and fourteen 
acres of land, all lying in Huron township 



4l8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



save a tract of tliirly-four acres, wliich 
was ill Yellow Sprinj^fs towiislii]). \\ ith 
cliaractcristic ciu-rj^y aiul in true i)ioiieer 
style he began the (levelo])nient of liis 
farm, which in later years he divided 
among liis children. 

The In<lians had practically gone from 
this pari of the country when he estah- 
lisheil his home here: hut in 1840 a band 
of about thirty came through the district, 
and sto])pe(l at an old log farm house, 
wliich was situated one-half mile east of 
llu' \\ addel hi>me, and owned by W ni. 
Kankiii. That night one of the s(|uaws 
gave birth to a papoose, and the follow- 
ing morning the ])arty started on their 
way, the scpiaw being ])lace(I on to]) of a 
large sled load of provisions. wraf)i)ed in 
furs. Later the Indians went into cam]) 
on Mini Creek. These were the only red 
men that Mr. Waddcl ever saw in this 
country, save two w!io afterward stayed 
all night at his home: Samuel W'addel 
was at iliai lime a small lad, yet he re- 
nuMnbers vividly ihe visit of the two 
Indians. 

Samuel Waddel and his two sisters re- 
mained with ihe father until his death, 
and as the two sisters never married, .Mr. 
W'addel, of this review, took care of the 
old homestead farm for them until thev 
also imssed away. He is now in the eve- 
ning of life, living alone in his pleasant 
home in Kossuth, where he took u]) his 
abode in i8f/). lie lakes his meals wilii 
his niece, who lives near by, but kee])S 
U|) a separate household. In the year 
mentioned he sold the t)ld home farm to 
\'ictor Lung, and is now Ii\ing retired. 
Se])l. 7, ii;oo, he purchased the old 
Kossuth College and grounds, ;m<l has 
given a free lease of the same lo the 



Mediapolis Chautauqua Association, which 
hoi<Is annual meetings there. 

Coming in pioneer times to Iowa, Mr. 
\\'ad<lel has seen this country when it 
was a vast, unbroken tract of prairie ; and 
has watched the development and prog- 
ress which have since Ijeen wrought, un- 
til the wild district has been changed into 
one of the mi>st prosperous sections of the 
country. He has done his full share to 
bring about this result, has aided in up- 
building the natural resources of the 
State, and has been very liberal in his 
su])]A)rt of all measures for the jiublic 
good along the lines of moral, intellectual, 
and material progress. 

He cast his first presidential vote for 
Zachary Taylor, and also voted for Fill- 
more. .*since the organization of the Re- 
publican ])arly he has been one of its 
stanch advocates. He has never held 
office, save that of road su])ervisor. He 
has long been a member of the Kossuth 
Presbyterian cliurch. and. is now serving 
as one of its elders. 

Ueing a public-spirited man he has 
always taken a great interest in the up- 
building of the community, and its gen- 
eral advancement. He was an advocate 
for the cause of religion and education, 
and is numbered among the leading rep- 
resentative men of Des Moines county. 
He <loes all in his power, personally and 
financially, lo help jiromote any and all 
enterprises of ;i imhlic nature, and for the 
public good. 



JOHN WILLIAM WADDLE. 

For more than sixty-five years the 
Waddle family has been assiKiated with the 
annals of IJes Moines county, Iowa\ and 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



419 



during that long period its record has been 
an honorable one. Its various members have 
been noted for their industry and integrity; 
and while these characteristics have given 
them standing in the agricultural and busi- 
ness circles of the cornmunity, their kindly 
disposition and general good-fellowship have 
made and retained for them a host of friends. 
Men can not live the friendly life without 
finding friends ; and those who live neigh- 
bors, find neighbors everywhere. " We see 
what we are." The Waddles have been good 
neighbors, kind friends, and honorable men 
for long years, and have delighted in the 
friends they found and the neighbors that 
abounded. While these principles are true 
of all, they seem especially illustrated in 
the career of the Waddle whose name heads 
this article. 

John William Waddle is a native son of 
Huron township, being born here on June 
20, 185 1, and making this his home through- 
out his entire life. He was the son of John 
and Mary (Howery) Waddle, who were 
among the pioneers who opened up this part 
of the country to settlement. 

The father was a native of the Buckeye 
State, being born in Ross county, Ohio, in 
1817, and coming to Iowa in 1840. The 
mother, who also claimed Ohio as her natal 
State, was born in Washington county, that 
State, in 1827. They became the parents of 
twelve children, as follows : James, Kath- 
erine, Robert C, Samuel M., John W., Mary 
B., David B., Elizabeth S., Margaret E., 
Susanna B., and two that died in infancy, 
not named. 

John W. \\"addle received his education in 
the district schools, supplementing the book- 
learning thus acquired by the reading of 
his later'years and a thorough knowledge of 
men, as well as of the practical affairs of the 



farm and the neighboring community. He 
was united in marriage, Feb. 19, 1879, to 
Miss Ella I. Kerr, daughter of Robert A. 
and Catherine (Luckinbill) Kerr. She was 
a native of Iowa, born on May 30, i860. 
Her father, Robert A. Kerr, was born in 
South Salem, Ross county, Ohio, Oct. 2, 
1835 ; and the mother, Catherine Luckinbill, 
was born in Fairfield county, Ohio, Dec. 
15, 1838. They were united in marriage on 
June 22, 1858, and were the parents of only 
one child, Ella, wife of our subject. ]Mr. 
and Airs. Kerr were also pioneers of the 
early days of Des Moines county, coming 
here from Ohio in 1844, when the country 
was comparatively new. Most of the sur- 
rounding country was still covered with 
timber and untouched by the plowshare. 
They bravely withstood all the hardships of 
the difficult task of opening up the country 
to civilization, and lived to see many won- 
derful changes, always doing their full share 
toward the bringing about of these improve- 
ments. 

To Mr. and Airs. Waddle has been born 
one son, Benjamin E., born March 23, 
1884, who makes his home with them on 
the home place. They own a beautiful large 
farm of one hundred seventy acres of the 
richest farming land in the county, located 
in Sections 15, 16, and 27, in Huron town- 
ship. The land is all under cultivation, and 
well cared for, so that its fertility seems to 
be added to from year to year, instead of 
being diminished. The farm is well equipped 
with the best implements and modern facil- 
ities for making agriculture a scientific, 
business-like pursuit. The family occupies a 
very pleasant home, in which thev are sur- 
rounded by the material comforts and many 
of the luxuries, and it is a center of hospi- 
tality for many friends. Besides a general 



420 



BIOGRAPHICAL RfiVIEll' 



farming business, Mr. Waddle raises about 
forty head of fine cattle, and from fifty to 
sixty Duroc Jersey red hogs annually. He is 
enterprising, public-spirited, and a believer 
in jjrogress, and his influence and activ- 
ities have been valuable to the community in 
which he lives. Gifted with a capacity for 
friendship and a pleasing personality, he 
has won the general respect of all who 
know him. 



RICHARD LOGAN. 

Ricii.VRD Logan, one of the most en- 
terprising and progressive agriculturists of 
I-'ranklin township, was born upon the old 
family homestead Oct. 28. 1859. and at the 
usual age entered the public schools, 
wherein he acquired a good practical Eng- 
ish education. During the periods of vaca- 
tion he worked in the fields, and thus became 
familiar with all the departments of farm 
labor. 

Since putting aside his text-books he has 
given his undivided attention to agricul- 
tural pursuits, buying his first forty acres of 
land when he was twenty-one years of age. 
It did not have a iiousc on it. In 1890, hav- 
ing done well, he bouglit the adjoining farm 
of one hundred and fifty-two acres, known 
as the Thomas Ratliff farm. This was a 
historic old |)lace, with a good house and 
other buildings, where Mr. Logan makes his 
residence now. He has since then added to 
this, till now he has half a section all in one 
body. 

For some years he bred and sold Polled 
Angus cattle for breeding purposes, but now 
devotes his attention to raising and feeding, 
selling one or more car-loads every year. 
He was one of the organizers of the Medi- 



apolis Mutual Telephone Company, and 
helped to run the first farmers' line of tel- 
ephone in his section. 

Oct. 2, i8yo, Richard Logan was united 
in marriage with Miss .\nna Todd, a daugh- 
ter of .\ndrew and Margaret Todd, of 
Franklin township. Her death occurred 
Dec. ID, 1903, when she was thirty-six years 
of age. Five children had been bom of that 
marriage : Margaret T., born .\pril 29, 1891 ; 
Samuel A., Nov. i, 1893: Richard W., Oct. 
6, 1895; Everett R., June 28. 1899; and 
Nellie Pearl, .April 2, 1901. With the ex- 
ception of the youngest, all are in school. 

Mr. Logan became a member of the Re- 
formed Presbyterian church in 1890, but the 
special congregation in which he placed his 
membership has ceased to exist. In politics 
he has ever been a stalwart Republican, thus 
following in the political footsteps of his 
father and grandfather. He takes a very 
active interest in ])olitics, firmly supporting 
every ])rinciple which he believes to be right. 
He has been president of the school board 
for fifteen years, and the cause of education 
in this locality has profited by his efforts in 
its behalf. Mr. Logan has a wide acquaint- 
ance in his townshi]) and in Burlington, and 
is known as an enterprising business man, 
whose labors have been |)ractical. progress- 
ive, and profitable. 



SAMUEL LOGAN. 

S.\MUEL Logan, following the occu- 
])ation of farming in Franklin townshi]) 
was horn in Glens Falls, X. V., Oct. 30, 
1830. His father. Richard Logan, was of 
ICnglish or Irish descent, and came to 
.\merica from Countv Derrv, Ireland, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



4-21 



about three years before the l)irth of his 
son Samuel. He had followed weaving 
in his native country, but after crossing 
the Atlantic to the New World, devoted 
his attention to agricultural pursuits in 
New York for some time. Eventually, 
however, he came to the ^Middle West, 
and died about a mile from the present 
home of Samuel Logan, of this review. 
He arrived here in 1851, and by judicious 
investment and capably-managed busi- 
ness interests, became a large landowner. 
He wedded Mary Derr}-. who died about 
1883, while Mr. Logan did not long survive, 
passing away in 1887, his remains being 
interred beside his wife at Linn Grove 
cemetery. 

Samuel Logan acquired his education 
in the schools of Pittsburg, Pa., where he 
also entered upon his business career by 
working in a rolling-mill. He, too, came 
to Des Moines county in 185 1, being then 
a young man of twenty-one years, and 
turned his attention to farming in Frank- 
lin township, since which time he has 
been actively interested in agricultural 
pursuits here, winning a creditable meas- 
ure of success as the years have gone by. 

In 1858 Mr. Logan was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Fannie Robinson, a 
daughter of David Robinson, of Pitts- 
burg, Pa. They have but one son, Rich- 
ard, who is mentioned on another page 
of this work, and who has become his 
father's successor in the active work of the 
farm, Samuel Logan having practically 
retired from business life about fifteen 
years ago. However, he still maintains 
his residence upon the old homestead. 
Through strict attention to business and 
imtiring energy he has acquired a com- 
fortable competence, and justl}- merits 



the rest that he is now cnjo}ing. He has 
lived in the county for more than a half 
century, and is therefore numbered 
among its pioneer settlers, to whom the 
history of its development and progress is 
well known. 



CHARLES THADDEUS GRIGGS. 

Charles Th.addeus Griggs, serving as 
city marshal of Burlington, was born in 
Madison, Ind., June 14, 1846, his parents 
being William Mayhew and Malissa J. 
(Shepherd) Griggs, the former a native of 
Manchester, England, and the latter of 
Bourbon county, Kentucky. Their mar- 
riage was celebrated in Indiana. The 
father was foreman of a packing house 
at Madison, and was always identified 
with that class of work. He died when 
his son Charles was but four years of age, 
and the mother afterward passed away at 
New Albany, Ind., when seventy-six 
years of age. They were the parents of 
seven children, four sons and three 
daughters, of whom two died when in 
childhood. The others are Mary E., the 
widow of Peter Huget, of New Albany, 
Ind.; J. ^^'.. also of New Albany; Mrs. 
Eliza E. McHugh. of Louisville, Ky. ; 
Frank M., of New Albany; and Charles. 

Following her husband's death the 
mother removed to Louisville, Ky., and 
there Charles T. Griggs attended the pub- 
Ijc schools until twelve years of age, after 
which he entered a flour mill and learned 
the trade. He followed the milling busi- 
ness for a number of years and estab- 
lished a mill at Laconia. Ind., in connec- 
tion with J. \^^ Griggs; but this was de- 
stroyed by fire in 1885. He then resumed 



422 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



work as a journeyman miller at Houston- 
ville. Ky. lie visited Hurlin^ton in 1869, 
and being ])leased witli the location he 
established a grocery store, which he con- 
ducted until 1873. In that year, how- 
ever, he returned to Louisville, Ky., 
where he again worked at the milling 
business. It was subse(|iient to this time 
that he was owner of a mill at Laconia. 
He came to ISurlington a second time 
about 1893, and joined (leorge \V. Turner 
in the connnission business as salesman 
and l)uyer, being thus connected for 
three years. He was afterwar<l ill for 
two years, and after recovering his health 
he became an active factor in political cir- 
cles. He was appointed health inspector 
under Mayor Mart|uardt, serving two 
years, and during that time tiiere was a 
smallpox siege, lasting about six months. 
This made heavy demands upon his time 
and attention, for it was necessary for 
him to place guards, to attend to disin- 
fecting, and establishing (|uar;mtin('s. In 
April, 1904, he was a])])ointed (le])Uty city 
marshal by .Mayor Caster, and is, in fact, 
marshal. In this capacity he superin- 
tends the posting of notices concerning 
the paving of sidewalks and sewers, also 
watches for street and alley obstructions, 
and does much other effective service in 
behalf of tlu- city, his offices being in the 
city hall. 

In ])()!ilics he is a standi l\ii)ulilican. 
ami has siTvi-cl as city coinu-ilinaii for 
two years, lie frccpuMitiy attends the 
conventions of his ])arty. anil is untiring 
in his efforts for its promotion. He was 
also milk inspector, holding this position 
through State apjiointment. 

Not only in civic office has Mr. Griggs 
manifested his lojalty to the public good, 



but also in the field of militarN" action, for 
at the age of sixteen years he enlisted as 
a ilriver in the .\inth Indiana Infantry 
under Cajjlain Ilezekiah ISrown. The 
company was formed to drill at Indian- 
a])olis and for two years was engaged in 
driving cattle and taking supplies to the 
army in the .'^outh, going fnjni Louisville 
l)y train to the armies at (."hattanooga, 
.\tlanta, Xashville, and other places. On 
one occasion he was taken prisoner, while 
on a sup])ly boat, the "I'elle Lee," on the 
Tennessee River, the rebels taking the 
l)rovisions ami then letting the pri.soners 
go. On another occasion he was aground 
on a sandbar in the Ohio River near 
Caseyville, Ky.. when he was compelled to 
empty his cargo int<_> the river, but he was 
enabled to run bhjckade and escaped to 
Evansville, Ind. .\t Stevenson, while 
resting his cattle on the march, he was 
cajnured by the rebels, who took him to 
the IJellefont Landing on the Tennessee 
Ri\ir. ami there he was paroled. 

Mr. (iriggs was married in liurlington 
on the 13th of March, 1873, to Miss Mar- 
tha Turner, a native of England, and a 
daughter of William Turner, who was a 
man of ])rominence in Burlington, where 
he was engaged in the grocery, flour, and 
connnission business, but retired before 
his death. Mr. and Mrs. Griggs have an 
a(loi)ted son. Rev. Archie R. Griggs, who 
is now |)astor of the Presbj'terian church 
at joa<|uin, Wash. He married Lotta 
Wiley, who died in 1904, leaving one 
child. Rev. A. R. Griggs was educated 
at Center College and Danville Academy. 
He is a son of F. M. Griggs, and was 
adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. 
Griggs when but four years of age. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Griggs are members of 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



423 



the Grace Methodist Episcopal church, 
and he is serving on the official board. 
Their home is at 303 Sumner Street. 
Fraternally, Mr. Griggs is connected with 
Home Lodge, No. 29, Independent Order 
Odd Fellows, of Louis\'illc. Ky., the Mod- 
ern Woodmen Camp, No. 6088, at Bur- 
lington, and he joined the Masonic fra- 
ternity at Rockfield, Ky. His official 
service and his military career have alike 
been beneficial to his city and country, 
and he may well be classed among the 
representative men of Burlington. 



FRANK C. NORTON. 

Fr.\nk C. Norton, of Burlington, promi- 
nent among the leaders of public life in Des 
Moines county, was born in Burlington, 
Dec. 3, 1868, a son of Dennis and Mary 
(Hughes) Norton. The father of our sub- 
ject was a native of County Roscommon, 
Ireland, whence he emigrated to America, 
coming to Burlington by way of New Or- 
leans, at whieh port he landed. For a time 
he engaged in draying, and then in grain 
buying, first locating for the latter business 
in Henderson county, and later at Carmon, 
where he continued to conduct a prosperous 
establishment for a long period. He re- 
tired from this line of activity, however, 
and the last twelve years of his life was 
principally interested in board of trade 
operations. He was active in politics as a 
valued and valuable worker in the ranks of 
the Democratic party, and was at one time 
elected a member of the county board of 
supervisors of Des Moines county, as he 
enjoyed the full confidence and esteem of his 
fellow-citizens. His religious faith was that 



of the Catholic church, in whose work he 
took an earnest part, contributing gener- 
ously to its support. He was the oldest 
member of the Burlington congregation, 
and was numbered among the most loyal 
sons of the church. It was in Burlington 
that the parents of Mr. Norton celebrated 
their marriage, and in this city the mother's 
death occurred in February, 1889, the father 
surviving until 1894. To them were born 
eight children, of whom seven reached ma- 
turity, these being, besides our subject : 
John, who died at Burlington in 1897; Ed- 
ward, William, and James, of Burlington, 
and Katie, wife of F. E. Haley, of Des 
Moines, all still living. 

Frank C. Norton was educated in St. 
Paul's parochial school in Burlington and 
at St. Francis College at Quincy, 111., where 
he took the commercial course of studv, 
thus securing an excellent business and 
academic training, and one which has proved 
of immense value to him in his subsequent 
career. The first work which he remembers 
as yielding him a cash return was that of 
selling the Chicago papers as a newsboy, 
and he afterwards worked in a grocery store 
for some time, but later entered the emplov 
of J. J. Curran to learn the cigar-making 
trade, at which he engaged as a workman 
for three years. At the expiration of that 
period he established an independent cigar- 
manufacturing business, which he conducted 
alone for three years, laying the foundation 
for an extensive business. Admitting a 
partner into the enterprise, he continued 
its operation for a further three years, or 
until i8g8. In that year he enlisted in the 
Sixth Iowa Battery for the Spanish War, 
but as the members of that body were un- 
able to secure the calling of their battery 
into the government service, he returned to 



42 + 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



civilian life. On Nov. 15, 1904. he wedded 
Miss Lillie M. Miller, daughter of Mrs. 
Margaret Miller, of Iturlington. 

Following and enlarging upon the pater- 
nal example, Mr. Norton is a stanch be- 
liever in the principles and policies of the 
great Democratic party, to whose chosen 
leaders he has manifested a lifelong and 
imswerving loyalty, and he has long been an 
earnest, insistent, and capable worker for 
party success. His eflfurts in this direction 
have won him marked appreciation from his 
fellcrvv Democrats, and urged by his friends, 
he became a candidate for tlie office of city 
auditor of IJurlington in lyoo, to which he 
was elected by a substantial majority. His 
first administration having evoked expres- 
sions of general satisfaction among his con- 
stituents, his parly again made him its can- 
didate, anil he was re-elected in 1902, and 
still again in UJ04. He has served the De- 
mocracy of Des .Moines county as a member 
of its county central committee for a num- 
ber of terms, having been for a short time 
in igoi chairman of that important body. 
An advocate of outdoor sports, he is act- 
ively interested in the American national 
game, and was one of the organizers of the 
Iowa League of baseball clubs, of which 
he became the first president in 1903, being 
re-elected in 1904. He has extensive fra- 
ternal connection, being a member of Bur- 
lington Lodge, No. 84, Benevolent Protect- 
ive Order of Elks ; Council No. 568, 
Knights of Columbus; and Burlington 
Lodge, No. 335, Ancient Order United 
Workmen. To Mr. Norton alone is due 
the credit for his successful career, for his 
present honored standing in the community 
is exclusively of his own building, and the 
result of his personal efforts, unassisted by 
powerful influence or aught save his natural 



talents and strong personality. He has a 
wide acquaintance throughout Des Moines 
county, and has gained in an eminent de- 
gree the confidence, admiration, and, above 
all, the respect of his many friends. 



WILLIAM STEYH. 

\\ ri.i.iA.M .Stkvii, civil engineer, jjrom- 
iiiently connected with the work of im- 
provement in IJurlington, was Iwrn in 
Hesse-Darmstadt, (iermany, in the town 
of Kesselbach, on Se])t. 17. 1843. His 
father. Daniel Steyh. was born in 1803, 
and spent his entire life in (iermany. He 
served for three years in the regular army, 
and throughout the remainder of his life 
l'c)l!o\ve<l farming, owning and operating 
about forty acres of land. IK- married 
Catherine Schaefcr, and both are now de- 
ceased. They were the |)arents of three 
sons and three daughters: Katherine. who 
is living at the old home in Germany; 
lialthaser, who resides at Frankfort-on- 
the-.Main : C'hristine. who is living near 
Frankfoit: W illi;ini : .Marie, who died in 
("ierni;ui\ : and Henry, a harness-maker 
of Burlington, who came to the L'niled 
States wdien si.xteen years of age. 

W illiain Steyh began his education in 
the public schools of the FatherHlnd. and 
afterward received private instruction 
from a teaelur of mathematics in the 
evenings, studying also draughting. 
When in his fifteenth year he entered up- 
on the practical duties of a business 
career by joining a government surveying 
])arty. ' When not engaged with his 
studies, he was employed in various ways 
— at land surveving, at public-road con- 





■■ 




^,^H 




|L.^H 




IS^^^^^^ ^^^^^l^^^^^^^^^^^l 


^^Bv^l^^^^^B 






r ^ I .a^l 




^^1 



WILLIAM STICYH. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, 10 IV A. 



427 



struction, and also at farming. When the full charge of the work- fif constructing 
war broke out between Prussia and Aus- reservoirs and iniproNiug the grounds; 
tria, in 1866, the government surveyors and when his task was completed, he re- 
were thrown out of employment, and Mr. ceived a splendid letter of recomnienda- 
Steyh then returned to the farm, where tion from Dr. Ranney. 

he remained for a year. In the fall of 1873 .Mr. Ste\h tlid some 

The following year, hoping to improve engineering work in ihirlington, and be- 

his business connections by embracing gan by surveying and locating the first 

the opportunities and advantages afforded Burlington street railroad — the South 

by the New World, he crossed the At- Hill line. He had charge of this work. 



lantic to America, locating first in \\'heel- 
ing, W. Va., where he remained for two 
months. He had relatives there, which 
was the cause of his going to that citv ; 



which he comjileted in the fall of 1874. 
He then began the work on the North 
Hill line, locating and su])erintending the 
building of it for about two miles from 



but not finding suitable employment Main Street. He was afterward engaged 
there, he came west to Burlington. The for the survey and superintendence of 
following spring he engaged with the construction of the West Hill and Pros- 
Burlington & Missouri River Railroad in pect Hill lines. The duties in connection 
the location and construction of its line therewith kept him employed until 1877, 
from Afton to the Missouri River, and was when he returned to the serxice of the 
thus employed as chainman, rodman and Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Railroad 
instrument man from 1868 until 1870, and Company, formerly the Burlington & 
again from 1878 until 1882, when he had Missouri River I'iailroad Company. He 
charge of location parties, and did general was in charge of its location and con- 
work as a locating engineer and sujierin- struction work in Iowa until 1879, 
tendent of construction. When he first through the two following years in Ne- 
became connected with the road, he could Ijraska, and from 1880 until 1882 again in 
not speak English. In 1870 he became Iowa. He had full charge of the location 
connected with the grocery trade, forming and construction. In 1882 he was ap- 
a partnership with a friend in Burlington, pointed city engineer by the board of 
and was concerned in its management for aldermen, and ser\-ed continuously until 
a year, after which he worked for the 1896, with the exception of 1884, — thir- 
State at the Hospital for the Insane at teen years incumbency in the office, — dur- 
Mount Pleasant, Iowa, building a reser- ing which time his labor was of such a 
voir, settling basjn, and heavy stone ma- character that the" entire city acknowl- 
sonry dam, laying out roadways, etc. He edged its benefit. He staked out the 
was thus engaged for eighteen months, road.s, and also set out the grade stakes 
including parts of the years 1S71 and 1872, for tlic paths in Crajxi Park, under the 
and he also tiade a topographical survej^ park commissioners, and from 1898 until 
of the grounds. He became acquainted 1900 was a park commissioner. He was 
with the superintendent. Dr. Ranney, next in charge of the construction of the 
who, recognizing his abilitv, offered him Wabash Railroad from .\ll)ia to Moulton, 



428 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



resigning his position as ])arl< coniniis- 
sioner in igoo, as his duties callcil liiiii 
elsewhere. In that year he entered the 
service of the JUirlington, Cellar Kapiils 
& Northern Railroad Company in the lo- 
cation and construction of a branch line 
in South Dakota. Minnesota, and north- 
ern Iowa, being thus enii)loved until \i)02. 
In the S|)ring of that yi'ar he was em- 
ployed by the Iowa Central with the re 
location and construction of its line from 
Searsboro to ("irinnell. Iowa. and was with 
that C(>m])any until the winter nf 11)03. 
.'^ince .\pril, 11)04. 'i<-' li<'^ again l)een city 
engineer, elected to the position by popu- 
lar suffrage, in this position he looks 
after all public improvements, the grad- 
ing and leaving of streets, the location 
and construction of sewers, and inspects 
all such \\(irk. lie was elected on the 
Republican ticket, and was formerly 
ajjpointed by a Republican city council. 

.Mr. Steyh was marrierl at the home of 
C'onrad I'feilT, in I'nion township. Dcs 
Moines county. Sejjt. 11. 1873. to .Miss 
Christina Pfeiff. She was bijrn upon a 
farm, is of German i)arentage, and by her 
marriage has become llie mother of five 
children: Elizabeth, the wife of J. L. 
'rem])le. of I'.urlington. em|)loyed in the 
chief Ir.'iin (ii--]i,ilcluT"s office, and they 
have one child, .Martha: Matilda, the wife 
of Dr. r>. I'". Campbell of Rexburg, Idaho; 
William M.. acting as his father's assist- 
ant, and le.irning ci\il engineering; Mar- 
garet and Florence, at home. The family 
have a ])leasant home at 1213 Sumner 
.'street, whicli was built by Mr. Steyh in 
1875. and he also owns some tenement 
property. 

.\ great lover of nature, with strong 
ajjpreciation for its varying forms and 



beauties, he has a natural liking and apti- 
tude for landscape ganlening, and reads a 
number of technical journals upon the 
subject. In 1897 he surveyed and laid out 
the cemetery gnjunils at Ccntervillc, 
Iowa, and in the winter of 1900 and 11701 
resurveyed and laid out .some additions 
to Asi)en Crove cemetery at Burlington, 
Iowa. 



N. P. SUNDERLAND. 

X. P. SuM)F.RL.\ND, of Burlington, Iowa, 
highly respected for his long and successful 
career, and for the helpful part he has taken 
in all movements along the lines of moral, 
material, and spiritual progress, was born 
Dec. 15, 1825, in Parke county. Indiana, 
a son of Cornelius and Xancy (Page) 
Sunderland. His parents were natives of 
( )hio, in which State they celebrated their 
marriage, whence they removed at an 
early date to Indiana, where the mother's 
death occurred in 1851. The father, who 
was a farmer, then came to liurlington to 
reside with his children, aixl it was in this 
city, at the home of his son on Fourth Street, 
that he died in the year 1856 at an advanced 
age. Cornelius and Xancy Sunderland were 
the parents of seven sons and three daugh- 
ters, as follows: J. P.. William, Thomas, 
N. P. (our subject). Israel. I. T.. David, 
Rebecca, Phn?bc. and Hester, of whom only 
t-\vo now survive, these being our subject 
and Israel, who resides in Chicago. The 
family is of German origin, and one of its 
earliest members in .America was John, 
grandfather of N. P. Surtderland. -who 
served as a soldier in the Revolutionary War 
and in the War of 181 2. 

On his father's farm Mr. .Sunderland ac- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



429 



quired his first lessons in conscientious appli- 
cation to the duties of useful industry, and 
at the same time he secured a fair education 
in the district schools, to which, however, 
he has added much by extensive reading, 
observation, and reflection, for his range of 
experience has been broad and of the kind 
best calculated to enlarge the natural powers 
of his mind. In common with sn many 
young men of his day who have since made 
their mark in the worlds of thought and 
action, he taught in the rural school of his 
immediate neighborhood for one term as a 
beginning of his individual career. He then 
entered a store at Rockville, in Parke county, 
where he was employed for a time, and in 
1848 he came West, arriving on October 2 of 
that year in Burlington in company with his 
four brothers, with whom he established 
himself in business in the conduct of a flour- 
ing mill. Steam power was used in the oper- 
ation of the mill, which is still standing at the 
corner of High and Front Streets, and here 
they continued very successfully for five 
years. At the expiration of that period, 
however, Mr. Sunderland experienced a 
strong desire to participate in the great 
opportunities just then opening up on the 
Pacific Coast, and in company with his 
brother Thomas he set out for California, 
traveling by the Isthmus route, which neces- 
sitated going up the Chagres River in a 
boat pushed by natives, and by pack mules 
through a cut in the mountains to the walled 
city of Panama, whence they proceeded by 
the steamer "Panama" to San Francisco. 
On the journey he contracted the dreaded 
"Panama fever," and sufi^ercd a severe ill- 
ness for a time, but remained in California 
during the years of 1849-51. He did no 
prospecting, but engaged in a variety of 
enterprises and employments in San Fran- 



cisco and the surrounding country, one of 
these being a general store. He also pur- 
chased at Sacramento a large hay stock, for 
which he paid $3,500, and for some time fur- 
nished miners and others with feed for their 
mules. At one period he was employed in a 
hotel, and while acting as its purchasing 
agent had ample op]iortunity to become fa- 
miliar Avith the phenomenally high prices 
prevailing there at that time, paying as much 
as $202 for a single dressed hog, or a rate 
of one dollar a pound for pork. 

In 185 1 he returned from California, again 
by way of the Isthmus, and up the Missis- 
sippi River to Burlington, but the home-com- 
ing occupied less time than the outward 
journey, which required four months. At 
first he resumed the milling business, but 
later entered the firm of Sunderland. Ken- 
dall & Company, pork packers, located near 
where the bridge now stands. This enter- 
prise was a very extensive one, the company 
maintaining three houses in Burlington, at 
each of which forty thousand to sixty thou- 
sand hogs were slauglitered each year, thus 
furnishing employment to a great number of 
laborers, and adding materially to the city's" 
prosperity. Mr. Sunderland continued his 
interest in the concern five or six years, or un- 
til he received appointment to the office of 
postmaster of Burlington under the admin- 
istration of President Grant, taking office in 
1871 and retaining it for nine years, during 
all of which time he discharged its duties 
with conspicuous fidelity and ability and to 
the general satisfaction. This preferment, 
so well deserved, came to him entirely with- 
out effort upon his own jjart, through an 
old-time friend. Senator Harlan, of Mount 
Pleasant. The postoffice was not at that 
time located in the present impressive struct- 
ure, but was in the building which is now 



430 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the Delano hotel. For four years Mr. Sun- 
derland acted as county supervisor, and also 
for a term of years he served his fellow-citi- 
zens as city alderman-at-large under the 
administration of Mayor Zaiser, during 
which time he ])erformcd notable service for 
his constituents, and occupied a position of 
unusual influence in the municipal council. 
Among other i)ublic honors and trusts to 
which he was called was that of the chair- 
nianshi]) of the county board, in which his 
highly developed executive force was of 
es[)ecial utility. To him in particular the 
county farm owes much of its present effi- 
ciency, and he it was who constructed the 
first bam on the farm. 

.\t Burlington on Jan. 8. 1856. in the 
house in which he now resides, Mr. Sunder- 
land was united in marriage with Mrs. 
Martha Ellen (DeMotte) Thorpe, a native 
of .Mercer county, Kentucky. She became 
an invalid, and on July 16, 1898, her death 
occurred in Chicago, where she was visiting 
friends, and she is buried in .Xspen Grove 
cemetery in Burlingtnn. Her loss was a 
grievous one to her family and to the com- 
numity, for thmugh a long life of devoted 
and loving service she had become endeared 
to all who knew her. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Sunderland were born two children, -who 
grew ti) maturity: William \\'.. of lUirling- 
ton ; and Mary, who resides with her father 
and devotes her time to water-color paint- 
ing, an art in which she enjoys considerable 
reputation and has been signally successful, 
both in its artistic and its commercial as- 
pect. She is a graduate of Burlington high 
school and of the college at Xenia, Ohio, and 
for a period of six or seven years was en- 
gaged in giving lessons on the piano. Later 
she taught a private class in crayon, but now 
is occupied exclusively with her own work. 



Enuna. a daughter of .Mrs. Sunderland's 
first marriage, became the wife of J. C. Mc- 
Kell. who was for twenty years a resident of 
Burlington, but is now of Omaha. 

.\ lifelong Republican, and always actively 
engaged in the work of politics, the esteem 
in which Mr. Sunderland is held by his party 
is fully shown by the numerous important 
]X)sitions in which he has been chosen to 
serve the |)ublic. While yet a young man 
he acted as delegate to the State convention, 
but of late years has for the most part con- 
fined his activities to acting as member of. 
the board of election and of registration and 
similar offices. For the last two decades he 
has not engaged in any regular business. 
He was one of the prime movers in the or- 
ganization of the Merchant's National Bank 
of Burlington, in which he was a stockholder 
and held the office of director, but he has 
since severed these relations. He is a man 
of religious nature and conviction, and is 
a member of the First Methodist Episcopal 
clnircli 111 I'lUrlington, to the erection of 
wliDSc i)rescnt house of worshij) he was a 
substantial contributor. For many years he 
has been acting as a member of the church's 
board of trustees, and in this capacity has 
exercised a large and helpful influence in its 
aflfairs and in extending its scope of useful- 
ness. .As a man of imtlagging honesty, in- 
tegrity, and ujiright intent, he stands with- 
out a superior, and while his pecuniary suc- 
cess has been great, he has never lost sight 
of the higher principles of conduct, so that 
the truest monument of his life is the high 
])ersonal character which he has formed and 
for which he is honored of all. 

Mr. Sunderland's public career has been 
one of unswerving devotion to the cause 
which he has served, while his private life 
h.is been ei|ually good. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA 
JOHN GEORGE BOSCH. 



431 



John George Bosch, a native of Ger- 
many who has made his home for many 



and welfare of this party. He was a 
member of the Knights of Pythias for two 
years, and served tliis lodge as secretary 
one vear. He is a member of the German 



years in Flint River township, where scores I.vUtheran Zion church. He is a man of 



of his countrymen have made a settlement, 
is a son of Melcher and Barbara (Hecker) 
Bosch. His birth occurred Sept. 15, 1831. 
His parents educated him in the common 
schools of his birthplace. Being free 



many experiences, and one well versed in 
all the issues of the day. His great 
energy, ambition, and activit}-, coupled 
with strong principles of right-doing to- 
wards all men, have won for him success 



fron> school work he entered a brewery, and the respect and friendship of the entire 
where he learned the business, at which he township. 

was employed till 1854, when he came to 

America. 

After a long and tedious voyage of 
fifty-two days on the water, he landed in 
the great City of New York. He then Numbered among the well-known and 

came direct to Burlington, joining his thoroughly representative business men of 



JOHN G. BOSCH, JR. 



brother, who was a brewer, and for whom 
he worked some three years. His next 
step was a venture in the dairy business, 
which he carried on most successfully for 
twelve years. Going out of this, he took 
a much-needed rest of a whole year. In 



West- Burlington, is John G. Bosch, Jr., 
who, in company with his brother, con- 
ducts a model and up-to-date meat-market 
at 105 Broadway, using the firm style of 
Bosch Brothers. Mr. Bosch was born in 
Burlington township, Des Moines county. 



1871 he opened up a boarding-house at f^ct. 21, 1863, and received his education 
852 Washington Street,' and conducted 
this place till 1S75. when he bought his 



present farm of forty acres in Flint River 
township. Here he has since lived, carry- 
ing on farming, general gardening, fruit 
raising, and caring for a large vineyard. 

April 19, 1861, he married Miss Susan 
M. Boeck, by whom he has three children, 
.August, John, and Charles, all living and 
all at home. Mrs. Bosch passed away 
Aug. 28, igoo, aged sixty-two years, leav- 
ing her husband very lonely. She was a 
good woman and kind neighbor. 

Mr. Bosch has always been a stanch 
Democrat, and though he has never as- 
pired to any office, yet he has constantly 
done all in his jiower to promote the good 



in the public schools of that township and 
in the German school at North Hill, 
from which last he was graduated in the 
class of 1877. After finishing his educa- 
tion he was associated with his father in 
the work of the farm until attaining his 
twenty-first year, at which time he began 
his individual career in life by acquiring 
the trade of a butcher under the direction 
of his maternal uncle, George Boeck, as did 
also his brother. 

After learning their trade the two 
brothers, in company with Mr. Fred 
Dane, went to Sioux City, and together 
engaged in the meat business, where they 
continued for one year with fair success, 
at the end of which time thev returned to 



432 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



West Burlington; and Iuto, Aug. 17, 
1885, Bosch Brothers" im-at-niarket was 
cstablisheil. under tlic same name which 
it now bears, by the brothers John (ieorge 
and August Adam Bosch. 

Mr. Bosch is a stanch believer in the 
doctrines and i)rinci])les of tlic Demo- 
cratic i)arty, of which he considers him- 
self a member, although he cast his vote 
at the last two jiresidential elections for 
McKinley and Roosevelt, respectively, 
lie has ne\er asjiired to the honor of 
])ublic office, and in his political activity 
has been content to wield the force of his 
individual ballot in the cause of good 
government without hojje or tlmught of 
reward. He has very desirable fraternal 
connections, being a member of the 
Knights of Pythias and of the Modern 
Woodmen, in both of which he is a valu- 
able and valued factor in ])romoting the 
common welfare. In his religious rela- 
tions he is a member of the German 
Evangelical church, contributing liberally 
to its support, and to all the departments 
of its work. 

On Oct. 26, 1892, he was united in 
marriage to Miss Ida B. Sackbauer, 
daughter of John Sackbauer, and to them 
have been born two daughters and one 
son, these being, Charlotte, Mclba, and 
Edwin, all of whom have enjoyed ex- 
cellent educational advantages. 

.August A. Bosch, brother of our sub- 
ject, was born July 30. 1862, and married 
Miss Bertha Sackbauer, sister of Mrs. 
John Bosch, and they have five children, 
Gussie, Clarence, Meta, Mildred, and 
Herbert. 

The Bosch brothers enjoy a gratifying 
degree of popularity in the community in 
which they reside, and while industry, 



native ability, and sound judgment have 
enabled them to build up a very prosper- 
ous and highly successful business, their 
courteous treatment of the public and the 
reputation which they have justly ac- 
(|uired for strict integrity and scrupulous 
honesty in all their dealings, have won 
tluin manv friends. 



THOMAS RICHARD RANKIN. 

P'oR over fifty years Mr. Thomas R. 
Rankin, of this review, has been one of the 
leading business men of Burlington. There 
is no man in the city at this writing who 
has a record equal to his. He has not only 
witnessed, but has aided largely in, the 
growth and development of the city, and has 
been among the first to assist in any public 
good. He is a man of nearly fourscore 
years, yet is as active and ambitious as 
though he was just making a start on his 
business career, and is proud to show a 
continuous pay-roll which is now over fifty- 
two years old. 

Mr. Rankin is a son of William and 
Catherine (Gault) Rankin, and was born in 
Sevier county, east Tennessee, Dec. 11, 
1827. His ancestry dates back to the times 
of the Revolution, as his grandfather. 
Richard Rankin, was the father of ten sons 
and one daughter, of whom the following 
four enlisted in the War of 1812 with their 
father, and served under General Jackson : 
Thomas, David, William, and Samuel 
Steele. David was killed in battle with the 
Indians in Alabama, at Horseshoe Bend, on 
the Tallahassee River. There were also 
fort\'-two men who were grandsons and 
great-grandsons of his grandfather who 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



433 



participated in the Civil War, six of whom 
were of his uncle John's family ; also one 
grandson. This uncle was called the father 
of Abolitionism, and wrote a book called 
"Rankin's Letters on Slavery," by which 
Wendell Phillips and William Lloyd Garri- 
son were converted to Abolitionism. It was 
through personal contact with slaves that Mr. 
Rankin wrote these letters to his brother 
Thomas, entreating him to free all slaves in 
his possession, which he did at the time of 
his death. This uncle of our subject, John 
Rankin, was a Presbyterian minister, and 
gave most of the characters in L'ncle Tom's 
Cabin to Harriet Beecher Stowe, and it was 
in his home at Ripley, on the beautiful Ohio 
River, where Eliza Harris, of this good old 
book, sought refuge, and Mr. Rankin has a 
picture of the same in his possession of which 
he is justly proud. His grandfather also 
had four sons who were Presbyterian min- 
isters : John : William C, father of Thomas 
R. ; Alexander T. : a;-id Robert H. He also 
was the father of four sons who were elders 
in the Presbyterian church. 

The father of Mr. Rankin was born June 
I, 1795, in east Tennessee, and in 1833 went 
to North Carolina, where he remained four 
years. He then went to Indiana, and after 
a residence of four years removed to Iowa 
in 1841. He had a charge in Yellow Springs 
township, Des Moines county until 1842 ; 
was in Marian, Linn county, until 1844; in 
Plymouth, Hancock county, 111., for a year, 
and then settled in Ouincy, 111., where he 
remained until 1872, after which he came 
to Burlington, Iowa. He died in Farm- 
ington, Iowa, March 7, 1889, at the ad- 
vanced age of ninety-four years. He was 
married five times, and was the father of 
seven children by his first wife, in the early 
years when he began his study for the 



ministry at Maryville College, east Tennes- 
see. The first wife w^as of Scotch-Irish 
descent, as were also the Rankins, and died 
when Thomas was only six months old. Of 
the seven children born of the first union our 
subject is the only one living. John G., 
brother of Thomas, went from the Alission 
Institute, in Ouincy, to Lane Seminary, in 
Ohio, where he studied theology under 
Lyman Beecher, the father of Henry Ward 
Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Eliza- 
beth C. Rankin, a daughter of the third 
marriage, is now Mrs. J. W. Kennedy, and 
resides in Chicago. 

Our subject was educated in the ^^lission 
Institute, in Ouincy, 111., which turned out 
many men and women who were not able to 
attend pay schools. There was a cracker 
factory in connection with this institute, in 
order that the boys might have work, and 
it was here that ^Ir. Rankin learned the 
baker's trade, at which he worked from 1844 
to 1852 in Quincy. Coming to Burlington 
in the fall of 1852 he built a bake-shop on 
IMain Street, adjoining what is now the 
Pauly house, the oven being built by Simeon 
Russell, one of the first men ;\Ir. Rankin 
became acquainted with in Burlington. 
S. C. Treat was associated in business with 
him, making the candy and bread, while Mr. 
Rankin made the crackers. In 1855 they 
moved around on Xorth Third Street, and 
continued until 1857, when Mr. S. E. Taylor, 
who now resides in Beatrice, Nebr., bought 
out Mr. Treat. They made several changes, 
also being in the old Ransom house, on 
Jefferson Street, from ieS6i to 1868, and 
were also largely engaged in the shipping of 
fruits and vegetables. In 1870 they sold out 
their bakery to Seamen and Harry Kendall, 
and Mr. Rankin entered into partnership 
with Gus Dodtre in the fruit business on 



434 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



West Jefferson Street, and at tlie same time 
bought out the Richey interest in the ice 
business witli Mr. Dunn. In 1874 Mr. 
Dodge ])urchase(l Mr. Dunn's share in the 
ice business, and the tirni of Kankin & 
Dodge then dealt in fruit and ice. This firm 
continued until i8<jo, when Mr. Rankin 
assumed control of tlie business alone : but 
in 1900 took I-'orost F. Huston into partner- 
ship with him. w licii the firm was known as 
T. R. Rankin & Com])any. Mr. Rankin is 
also half ])artner in the ice, wood, and coal 
business with Mr. Duiui, they having an 
office on Third Street. This continuous 
business has given Mr. Rankin fifty-three 
years' experience of mercantile life in the 
Orchard City, of which his many friends are 
ver)- proud. 

.A|)ril 10. 1831, Mr. Rankin was married, 
in Rushvillc. Schuyler county. 111., to Miss 
Elizabeth A. Houston, daughter of Caleb 
and Elizabeth (Purdy) Houston. Her 
father was an Eastern man. being born in 
New Hampshire, and at an early day located 
iiT Columbus. Ohio, as a carix-nter and 
joiner, where he was married in 1815. In 
1830 he came to Reardstown. 111., and set- 
tled on a farm near Rushvillc. where he 
died in 1855. His good wife passed away 
in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Rankin adopted a 
daughter, I-"mma G., who married J. \\'. 
Comic, of Los Angeles, Cal., and has a son 
and daughter, the latter the -wife of Carl 
Stephens, who also has one child. Mrs. 
Rankin died Aug. 21, 1903. She was a 
woman respected and beloved by all. 

Nov. II, 1896, Mr. Rankin married Miss 
Harriet Houston, a daughter of John P. and 
Elizabeth (Gray) Houston. Mrs. Rankin is 
a lady of much refinement and culture, and 
is constantly cngage<l in ])erforming deeds 
of kindness to her friends antl neighbors. 



She is actively connected with the Congic 
gational church, of which they are both 
memljers, the benevolent fund of which Mr. 
Rankin has had charge of since 1870, and 
has been an honored deacon for the past ten 
years. In politics he has given his allegi- 
ance to the Republican party, but has never 
aspired to any office. He is a memlK'r of the 
Royal Arcanum. He was not a soldier in 
the Civil War, though he was in N'icksburg 
for about four months, where he and .Mr. 
Taylor took turns baking for the Thirty- 
fourth Iowa Infantry. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Rankin reside at 107 
Marietta Street, very quietly and happily. 
-Mr. Rankin has formed extensive business 
and social relations, •where he has occupied 
a foremost place ; and b\- patient and unre- 
mitting attention to details, and the applica- 
tion of correct and honorable business 
principles, he has achieved success, and 
to-day is one of the most respected an<l 
honored citizens of Hurlington, and one of 
whom we can justly say, " Who liveth not 
for himself alone," but for the good of those 
with whom he is associated in the daily 
walks of life. 



PAUL LANGE. 



P.\i.?L Lanc.k. an early resident of Bur- 
lington, where he located as long ago as 
1854, a pioneer in its development, and long 
one of the most widely known and influen- 
tial political leaders of this portion of Iowa, 
has lived until recently at his beautiful 
country home in Cnion townshi]) adjoining 
the cit\. Mr. Lange was born in Prussian 
Silesia. Aug. 4. 1828. a son of Eli and 
Christiana (Olrich) Lange, his father be- 
ing a farmer, as were his ancestors for 



DES MOIXES COUXrV. lOlVA. 



435 



many generations. He himself, however, 
after receiving his preliminary education, 
attended college, and on being graduated 
and receiving his degree in 1849, began 
teaching as his profession. He was from 
the beginning sucessful in his work, and 
was appointed to the priiicipalship of a 
school at Frankfort, Prussia, where he con- 
tinued until 1854. In 1853 he married Miss 
Emily Du Puis, and the following year 
resigned his position in order to come to 
the United States in search of the more 
abundant opportunities of a new country. 
On coming to America Mr. Lange 
located in Burlington, where he at first be- 
came assistant engineer in the corps of 
civil engineers engaged in surveying the 
first Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Rail- 
road route westward through Iowa. He 
was employed in this capacity for two years, 
and had the honor of riding on the first 
locomotive to leave Burlington for the 
west. On severing his connection with the 
railroad company he began teaching music 
in Burlington, being the first male music 
teacher in the city. Having had the advan- 
tage of a thorough musical training and 
education, besides being possessed of ar- 
tistic talents of a high order, he became at 
once the leader of the local musical world, 
being in point of fact the pioneer and father 
of music in the city of Burlington. The 
wife of Chief Justice Fuller, the daughter 
of Governor Gear, and many other persons 
of distinction were numbered among his 
earlier pupils, while his patronage rapidly 
increased as his work became more widely 
known. He also organized the first musical 
clubs and singing societies that were 
formed in the city, thus performing a serv- 
ice of the utmost importance, and one 
which entitles him to lasting honor. His 



success as a teacher and his growing popu- 
larity in musical circles induced him to 
establish a nuisic store, the style of the firm 
being Lange & Van Meter. The store was 
located on Third Street, and there he in- 
troduced to the Western public the Stein- 
way piano, selling the first to be brought 
across the Mississippi River, and also the 
Knabe and Chickering pianos. An inva- 
riable rule of his business was to handle only 
goods of the highest class, and in this way 
he did much to educate the taste of his 
patrons and popularize the best musical 
instruments. In 1875, on the advice of his 
physician, he sold his business and traveled 
in Europe for a time, with the object of 
improving his health, which had begun to 
fail ; and on regaining his health he, with 
Mr. Theodore Gulick, purchased the Iowa 
Tribune, a German weekly paper published 
in this city. They later changed this to a 
daily publication, and as one of the leading 
supporters of Republican principles in the 
West it exercised a tremendous influence 
in shaping public sentiment and the course 
of events. As business manager Mr. Lange 
continued to conduct the affiairs of the firm 
for a number of years, but finally sold his 
interest and retired from the work. In 
1888 he again engaged in the music busi- 
ness at his old location on Third Street, the 
firm being known as Lange & Minton. In 
this enterprise he continued with all his 
former success for a period of fifteen years, 
or until 1903, at which time he retired from 
active life, disposing of all his business 
interests. 

Many years prior to his retirement Mr. 
Lange purchased a fine home and small 
farm in Cnion township near Burlington, 
one of the most beautiful and artistically 
arranged private parks in the county. 



436 



BIOGRAPHICAL REilElV 



Slirubberv and many rare trees and liowers 
ornament tlie <jnninds, making the place in 
all respects an ideal one. A well-selected 
orchard adds greatly to the material value 
of the farm, as does also a fine vineyard, 
from which a large quantity of wine is 
manufactured annually. Mr. Lange in 
i()05 sold this valuable property, and will 
s])en(l his winters in New Mexico, prob- 
ably for the remainder of his life. 

In the leading political activities of his 
time Mr. Lange has been a most impor- 
tant factor. To him the Rei)ublican party 
in Des Moines county and the State of 
Iowa owes much. In recognition of his 
services he was early ajipointed trustee of 
the Deaf and Dumb School at Council 
Bluffs, he devoting his talents to the wel- 
fare of that institution for a number of 
years. In the year 1882 he was made 
United States Consul at St. Stephen. Xew 
Brunswick. Canada, where he represented 
government interests with distinguished 
ability during a period of four years, at 
the ex]Mration <if which time he resigned 
his charge. Two years later, in 1888. he 
was made the nominee of his party for the 
office of county clerk of Des Moines county, 
was elected, and in 1890, although the 
county normally reliinis a Democratic ma- 
jority of 1.500, was re-elected by a majority 
of two hundred votes, a showing which 
indicates in a remarkable manner his great 
personal popularity. His varied activities, 
extending over half a century, have brought 
him a wide circle of act|uaintance, and be- 
ing ever ready to promote the progress of 
his community, he has entered into the 
life of the people in the most intimate and 
helpful way. For a long term of years he 
acter as leader of the Turners" Singing 
Society, while he was organist of the Con- 



gregational church for fifteen years, or 
until the increasing cares of business and 
public life forced him to resign. He has 
also allied himself with the chief fraternal 
orders, being a member of the Masonic 
lodge, chapter, and commandery, and of 
the Ancient Order United Workmen. 

Mrs. Emily Lange, wife of the subject 
of this memoir, is now deceased, the date 
of her demise being Xov. 24, 1897. She is 
survived by four children: Herman, now 
engaged in operating his father's farm ; 
Otto T., who is in business at Watrous, 
X. M. ; Carl E., a resident of lUir- 
lington ; and Paul. Jr.. who is a |)rofessor in 
the Deaf and Dumb Institute at Delavan, 
Wis. Mrs. Lange was a member of the 
Lutheran church, as is also our subject, 
although he holds himself no sectarian, be- 
ing an advocate of liberal views. 

Herman Lange. son of the preceding, 
was born in lUirlington Xov. 22, 1855, was 
educated in the city public and grammar 
schools, and after being employed for a 
short time in I'urlington. came to the home 
farm, where he has since resided. He at 
once took charge of the fann, in the man- 
agement of which he has been eminently 
successful, and in addition to beautifying 
the grounds in many ways be has built up 
valuable vineyards, plum orchards, and an 
extensive plantation of small fruits. In all 
his work he has observed scientific prin- 
ciples, and has introduced modern and ap- 
proved ideas. He is progressive, alert, and 
enterprising, and has many friends. In 
his fraternal relations he is identified with 
the Fraternal L^nion of America, of which 
organization he is a conscientious and 
valued niemlx'r, always willing, with his 
energy and his enterprising spirit, to work 
for the good of the society. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



437 



F. C. IHRER. 

A NOTABLE illustration of the fact that 
it is the young men of the country who are 
controlling its important industrial and 
commercial interests, and pushing forward 
the wheels of progress so that substantial 
advancement is made in business life, is the 
record of F. C. Ihrer. As president of 
the Iowa Soap Company, and as a mem- 
ber of the grocery firm of William Ihrer 
& Sons, he has made for himself a splendid 
record as a business man, and has displayed 
those salient features of success which -will 
lead to still larger and more important 
undertakings in the future. 

A native of Burlington, he was born ]upe 
3, 1872, and is a son of William Ihrer, 
whose birth occurred in Eslingen, Ger- 
many. He came to America in 1869, when 
twenty-one years of age, and, having learned 
the painter's trade in his native land, he 
followed that pursuit during the early years 
of his residence in the New World. When 
his labors had brought to him sufficient 
capital to permit of his entrance into mer- 
cantile circles as proprietor of a store, he 
purchased a stock of groceries, in 1871, and 
began business on his own account in the 
old McCash building on West Jefferson 
Street. There he remained until 1877. 
when he removed to the corner of Sixth and 
Jcfiferson Streets, where he carried on 
business with constantly increasing success 
until 1894, when he retired to private life, 
being succeeded in the store hv his sons, 
who assumed the , management under the 
firm style of William Ihrer & Sons. He 
now resides upon a farm three miles west 
of Burlington, enjoying there the fruits of 
his former toil. Prominent in the local 
ranks of the Independent Order of Odd 



Fellows, he belongs to Harmony Lodge, 
No. 209, of which he is a past noble grand. 
?Ie also belongs to Bethany Evangelical 
German Lutheran church. 

William Ihrer was united in marriage to 
Miss Rose Warth, who was born in Wur- 
temberg, Germany, and was married in 
Burlington. By this marriage she became 
the mother of eight children, of whom seven 
are yet living : William F., a grocer ; F. C. ; 
H. C., of St. Louis ; Charles, living in Bur- 
lington ; Elizabeth ; Rosa ; and Lydia. 

In his youth F. C. Ihrer attended the 
public and parochial schools of Burlington, 
and afterward entered Elliott's Business 
College, from which he was graduated with 
the class of 1888. He entered upon his 
business career in his father's grocery store, 
and applied himself assiduously to the 
mastery of the business principles in force 
in connection with the conduct of a success- 
ful mercantile enterprise. He remained 
there until 1S91, when he entered the office 
of the Biklen-Winzer Grocerv House 
(wholesale), and continued there until May. 
1893. when he entered the emplov of J. W. 
-Smithers. wholesale manufacturer of and 
dealer in candy and crackers, for whom he 
acted as city salesman and also as a travel- 
ing salesman. Resigning that position he 
entered the retail grocery trade as a partner 
of bis Ijrother. William F. Hirer. They 
purchased their father's store, which they 
have since conducted under the firm name of 
William Ihrer & Sons. 

Mr. Hirer is a young man (if resource- 
ful business ability and marked enterprise, 
displaying keen discernment as well as in- 
defatigable energy in the control of his busi- 
ness affairs. In February, 1903, he became 
connected with the Iowa Soap Companv as 
its president, purchasing a large amount 



438 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of stock on the rct)rganization of the com- 
I>anv. The business was estabHshed about 
fifteen years ago by J. \V. and T. W. Alex- 
ander, and the former is still connected 
therewith as vice-president and general 
superintendent of the works. A reorgani- 
zation was etTected on the 1st of January, 
1894, and the present company was formed 
in February, 1903. The business is capital- 
ized for fifteen thousand dollars, and the 
present officers are F. C. Ihrer, president ; 
I. W. Alexander, vice-president; J. F. 
Sclnvallcr, acting secretary and treasurer 
( in i)lace of J. F. Barr, deceased) ; and 
E. D. Wilson, department superintendent 
and director. The company manufactures 
laundry and toilet soaps, and the output is 
two carloads per day, while en^pioyment is 
furnished to eighty-five people. The plant 
is located at 810 to 822 \'^alley Street, and 
already the <|uartcrs are far too small for 
the business, which is growing very rapidly. 
There are fourteen traveling salesmen on 
the road representing this house, and the 
business is now pnjfitable. while the enter- 
prise has become one of the leading product- 
ive concerns of the city. 

Mr. Ihrer holds niembcrshii) in Excelsior 
Lodge. N'o. 2C<^. Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows: .Malta Lodge, Xo. 218, 
Ancient I'rce and Accepted Masons ; Iowa 
Camp, Xo. (>8, Modern W'cxidmen of Amer- 
ica, and .'\erie Xo. 750. Fraternal Order of 
Eagles. He has the high regard of his 
l)rcthren of these orders, and in his life 
exemplifies their beneficent teachings. He 
was married on the 6th of June, 1894, in 
Burlington, to Miss Flora Legler, a native 
of this city. Her father, Frederick W. 
Legler, is a retired wagonmaker of Burling- 
ton. Her mother died here in May, 1902. 
Mrs. Ihrer has five sisters and one brother: 



Freda, the wife of Charles Sclimidt, of Bur- 
lington ; Lena, the wife of Fred \V'. W'ol- 
bers, of this city ; Fannie, the wife of Her- 
man Fausel ; Bertha, the wife of B. E. 
Sparks ; and Fred \V. Legler. 

Into Mr. and Mrs. Ihrer were Ixjrn three 
children, but one died in infancy and one 
at the age of five years. The living daughter 
is Irma, who is with her parents at their 
attractive home at 1222 Xorth Seventh 
Street. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ihrer ocoujiy an enviable 
social position in I'.urlington. and he is 
making continuous advance in the business 
world, being already numbered among the 
prominent representatives of industrial and 
cq/nmcrcial life in his native city. 



JOHN R. BRADEN. 

John R. Br.xoen, in whose life record 
there is much that is worthy of emula- 
tion, and wiiose memory is dear to the 
hearts of a large circle of friends who 
kuL-w and honored him during his active 
life, was one of the noble figures in the 
history and develo])ment of this section 
of Iowa, being known throughout Des 
.Moines county ami eastern Iowa as one 
who was singularly devoted to all that 
might conduce to the moral and spiritual 
advancement of mankind, as well as be- 
ing alway.s among the first to aid any 
worthy movement for the upbuilding of 
the conmuiiiity in which he made his 
home. He was one of the prominent 
men of the county during his lifetime, 
and took an active part in county affairs 
for many years, being one of the early 
settlers of the countv. 





AJO^^^&L.j/jl^'-l^ 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



441 



He was born in Ross county, Ohio, 
June 10, 1834, the son of James and Jane 
(McClure) Braden. The parents were 
also both natives of Ross county, Ohio, 
being born near Rocky Springs, that 
county. The father was a farmer, and 
came to Iowa in 1844, bringing his family 
with him, and locating on land a mile 
west of Northfield, in Yellow Springs 
township, where he lived the rest of his 
life. He was very successful, having a 
farm of three hundred acres, on which he 
erected a large and substantial home. 

His wife, Jane, was the daughter of 
John IVIcClure, also an early settler of 
the county, and when Mr. and Mrs. Bra- 
den settled in their new home they were 
in the midst of a large relationship. They 
were both loyal members of the Presby- 
terian church, of which James Braden 
was an elder. They were the parents of 
two sons and two daughters, as follows : 
John R., the immediate subject of this 
article ; Dean, who died while attending 
school at Kossuth ; Mary Ellen, who 
married Reverend Isaiah Reid, of Des 
Moines ; and Minerva, who married John 
H. Black, of Jefferson, Iowa. 

James C. Braden, the father, died in 
Des Moines county, in 1881, at the age 
of seventy-three years. His widow sur- 
vived him for nearly seven years, dying 
in Greene county, Iowa, in 1887, at the 
age of seventy-five years. 

John R. Braden came with his parents 
to Iowa when only ten years old, and re- 
ceived his education in the district 
schools of his home community, near 
Northfield, at the same time assisting 
with the work on the home farm. Thus 
the years passed as he grew to manhood. 
In young manhood he attended college 



in Kossuth, learning much from books ; 
but far more was learned in the stern 
school of hard, practical farm work. In 
the spring of 1858 he married Miss Mary 
J. Carmean, who died in 1861, leaving an 
infant son, who died soon after. 

On the l)reaking out of the terrible 
struggle between the North and the 
South, Air. Braden, together with many 
other patriotic hearts from Iowa, re- 
sponded to the ])resident's call for troops, 
and went to the front to fight for the 
Union. He enlisted in October, 1861, 
with Compan\^ K, b'onrteenth Iowa In- 
fantry, starting for the front under the 
folds of the silken flag of the Kossuth 
Guards, a flag made by a score of ladies 
of the community for Company K, and 
presented to them just before they left 
for the front. Mr. Braden won distinc- 
tion in one of the earliest battles of the 
war, the battle of Fort Donelson, where 
for gallant conduct he was promoted to 
the lank of sergeant. While in the army 
he contracted typhoid fever, as a result 
of the hard conditions of army life, and 
this disabled him for service, so that he 
was discharged for disability in July, 
1863. 

On April I, 1865, he was again united 
in marriage, his second wife being Miss 
Carrie E. Austin, a native of Ohio. They 
returned to the home farm, where five 
cliildren were born to them, three of 
whom died in infancy. The two still 
living are: Lulu, the wife of Grant 
Gregory, of Burlington ; and Dr. A. L. 
Braden, a successful physician, residing 
at Wellman, Iowa. Mrs. Carrie Braden 
died in 1873. 

( )n March ir, 1880, Mr. Braden mar- 
ried Miss Margaret ]. Barrett, of Ross 



442 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



county, Ohio, daughter of Joseph and 
Molcna (Cailey) Parrett. The father was 
a native of Virginia, and came to Ohio at 
the age of twenty-one. He hved in Ross 
county from tliat time till his deatli, 
which occurred at tlie age of seventy- 
seven years. lie was a very successful 
farmer and stock-raiser throughout his 
life. Mis wife was born in Highland 
county. Ohio, and lixed tlu-re till the time 
of lier marriage. She died at the age of 
seventy-eight years, dying in the same 
house in whicli her husband had died, 
both dying on their old homestead. They 
were members of the l^resbyterian 
church. 

.\rrs. Braden -was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Ross county, and later 
at the .\cademy at Salem, Ohio, and re- 
mained in Ross county until her marriage 
to Mr. Braden. In i8i)i they left the 
farm in Yellow S])rings townshij); and 
built a handsome brick residence in the 
city of Mediapolis, which became the 
family home. Here Mr. Braden passed 
to the life beyond on Aug. 30, 1901, at the 
age of sixty-seven years, after more than 
two years of intense suffering, and his 
remains wore laid to rest in Kossuth 
cemetery. 

Early in life Mr. Braden united willi the 
Presbyterian church, and his life was 
ever a fitting ex|)oncnt of the teachings 
of the faith in which lie was an earnest 
believer. lie lived a thoroughly con- 
scientious. Christian life, upholding the 
l)est moral interests of the community, 
and doing his dut\', as he saw it. in every 
relation nf life. He held the position of 
clerk of the session in the church, and 
was one of the elders for more than 
twenty years. He took an active interest 



in educational matters, and did much to 
advance the cause of popular education in 
the community, acting as a member of the 
school board for a term of years, and was 
president of the board at the time of his 
death. 

He was a close student of all cpicstions 
affecting the public welfare, taking an 
especial interest in matters of municipal 
governmeiu. He served for several years 
as a member of the city council, doing all 
that lay in his power to give the city a 
strong, clean government. He held other 
positions of responsibility satisfactorily to 
his constituents and with credit to him- 
self, and was always noted as being faith- 
ful to every trust re|)osed in him. A true 
and faithful husband, a loving father and 
kind neighbor, his memory is cherished 
by hosts of friends and acquaintances, 
who honored and loved him for his many 
sterling qualities. 



HENRY BENNE. 

Henry Benne, at one time actively en- 
gaged in agricultural pursuits in Des 
Moines county, and now living a retired life 
in Burlington,' was a soldier in the Civil 
War. and has demonstrated his loyalty to 
his country in times of peace by faithful and 
efficient service in local office. Though 
born across the water, he has a deep and 
sincere attachment for the stars and stripes, 
and is one of the valued German-.\merican 
citizens of r.urlington. 

Mr. Benne, a son Herman and Christina 
(Baker) Benne, was lK>rn in West Phalcn. 
Germany, Jnly 15, 1830. He was educated 
in the public schools of the Fatherland and 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



+43 



spent the period of liis minority in that 
country, but on the first of September, 1851, 
at the age of twenty-one, he came to Amer- 
ica, landing at New York City. The voyage 
across the Atlantic was made in a sailing 
vessel, and he was seven weeks upon the 
water. He then went to Lockport, N. Y., 
where he lived for four and a half years, 
giving his attention to farm labor during 
that period. He afterward spent three sea- 
son's at work on the Erie Canal, and in 
1856 he started for Burlington, reaching 
his destination on the seventh of April. 

Here Mr. Benne turned his attention to 
farming, which has been his principal oc- 
cupation throughout his business career. 
In July, 1856, he purchased eighty acres in 
Benton township, Des Moines county, and 
afterward by various purchases he became 
the owner of two hundred acres in Benton 
township, also, one-fourth section in Saline 
county, Nebr., where his son now resides, 
and eighty acres in Henry county, Iowa, 
where the daughter lives. Year after year 
he engaged in the tilling of the soil, placing 
his fields under a very high state of culti- 
vation and adding many substantial im- 
provements to his home farm. In 1894 he 
sold his farming interest in Des Moines 
county, and removed to the city of Burling- 
ton, where later he purchased the old rolling 
mill site of twenty-two acres, but after- 
ward sold that property to the county. In 
1890 he had purchased his present home 
at the corner of Central Avenue and Linn 
Street, and since taking up his abode in 
Burlington he has here resided. He has 
lived practically retired since leaving the 
farm, his labor and jutlicious investment in 
former years bringing to him the prosperity 
that now enables him to enjoy a well-earned 
rest. 



On the fourteenth of December, 1852, Mr. 
Benne was married in Lockport, N. Y., to 
Miss Marie Riepe, a daughter of Christian 
and Mary (Lake) Riepe, who was born 
in West Phalen, Germany, Jan. 26, 1831, and 
came alone to America in 1852. She has 
two brothers, Henry and Casper, who are 
now living in Burlington, the latter a justice 
of the peace. Mr. and Mrs. Benne have 
become the jiarents of nine children : Ed- 
ward, who was born March 5, 1854, and 
resides in Nauvoo, 111. ; Nancy, who died at 
the age of fourteen months ; Henry, who 
died at the age of twenty-one years ; Louise, 
who died at the age of two months ; Louisa, 
the-wife of William Flaar, who resides in 
Henry county, Iowa ; Lydia, the wife of 
Mitchell Beard, connected with the city fire 
department of Burlington ; Lillie, the wife 
of Joseph Morrette, of Washington, Iowa ; 
John, who is living near Milford, Nebr., 
upon the farm which he purchased of his 
father ; and Alma, who died at the age of 
one year and twenty days. 

In October, 1864, Mr. Benne responded 
to the call of his adopted country for troops, 
enlisting as a member of Company G, 
Fourth Iowa Infantry, in Burlington, under 
Captain Shrei. He served with General 
Sherman's troops and was on the celebrated 
march to the sea, and also in the grand 
review in Washington, where tlie victorious 
army marched in parade through the capi- 
tal city and passed the reviewing stand on 
the White House grounds, where the presi- 
dent cheered the return of the " boys in 
blue." After serving until Aug. 5, 1865, 
Mr. Benne received an honorable discharge 
at Davenport, Iowa, was mustered out of 
service, and then returned home. He was 
once slightly wounded by a stray ball which 
struck him in the elbow. 



444 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Hennc lias always btcn a stanch 
Democrat in his political views. In 1886 
he was elected county supervisor, and by 
re-election served for three consecutive 
terms, or nine years, retiring from the 
office in 181J5. He was superintendent f)f 
the building of the jail in Burlington. He 
also served as trustee of his townshii) for 
seven years, resigning that office when 
elected supervisor. He was a member of the 
German Lutheran church, and while living 
on the farm he served for six years as 
trustee of the church to wliich he belonged. 
His life has thus been of benefit In his fel- 
low-men in days of peace and days of war. 
He came to the United States with strong 
purpose but limited capital, and in his busi- 
ness affairs he achieved the success which 
is the goal of all earnest and legitimate 
endeavor. 



FRED KOLKMAN. 

Amdnc. the representative ami |)ros- 
pcrous farmers of Des Moines county, 
Fred Kolkman occupies a prominent 
I)lace, his well-cultivated farm of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres in Washington 
township adding greatly to the value of 
the property in the community, lie was 
born in Hanover, (iermany, July b. 1850, 
a son of Diedrich and Dora (Fauldolph) 
Kolkman both of whom were born in 
Germany, and where liuy also died, the 
death of the father occurring when our 
subject was only a little boy. Mr. Kolk- 
man was reared under the ()arental roof. 
and lu- ixMiiaincd nn tin- lanii till In- was 
seventeen years old. recei\ing a substan- 
tial education in the schools of his home 
place. He and his sister Mary, who mar- 



rieiJ Henry .Mbers. and died in Missouri, 
were the only members of his father's 
family to come to America. Their voy- 
age on the ocean was a long antl tedious 
one. but they finally landed in Xew York, 
and proceeded at once to the city of liur- 
lington, Iowa, where Mr. Kolkman ob- 
tained work on a farm in Pleasant Grove 
t<jwnship for a number of years. He 
worked in this tinvnship and Washington 
ttiwnshi]) till he was married to Miss Liz- 
zie Flaar, in 1874. 

Mrs. Kolkman is a daughter of I'hillip 
ami .Martha Henrietta (Saunders) F'laar, 
and was born in Xew York. May 26, 1854, 
and came to Iowa with her parents when 
she was a child of about a year and a half 
old. Mr. and Mrs. F'laar were both born 
in Germany, and came to the United 
.Slates shortly after they were married. 
They remained in New York for a while, 
where Mr. I'laar obtained work by the 
day. On coming to ISurlington he se- 
cured a situation in a butcher shop, and 
later was engaged in the draying husi- 
incss. He purchased a farm of forty 
acres in IVnton townshij.. and kejit add- 
ing to it till he had a nice place of one 
hundred and si.x acres, wdiich made a 
comfortable home for his family. Mr. 
Flaar resided on this farm up to the time 
of his death, which occurred when he was 
si.xty-two years old. His widow is still 
living at the advanced age of eighty-one 
years, making lur inime with luT 
daughter, Mrs. Kolkman. She is one of 
the oldest members of the Lutheran 
church, t )f the seven children born to 
Mr. and .Mrs. Flaar. six still remain to 
cheei and comfort their age<l mother. 

Providence has certainly smiled very gra- 
ciously upon Mr. and Mrs. Kolkman. for 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



445 



unto them have been born ten children, 
nine of whom are living: John, born 
Nov. 30, 1874, resides on a rented farm in 
Washington township, married Miss 
Nora McCune, and has two children, 
Gladys and Roy; Matilda, born April 8, 
1887, the wife of W^illiam W'assom, a car- 
penter, residing in New London, Iowa, 
and have two daughters. Ruth and Ag- 
nes; Edward, born Dec. 31, 1889, married 
Miss Lena Totemire, and has a farm of 
eighty acres in Henry county, Iowa, 
where he resides ; Mary, born Aug. 28, 
1885, is at home; Frederick Henry, born 
May 13, 1888, assists his father on the 
home place; Frances Nellie, born June 
23, 1891, at home; Katherine Ora, born 
Jan. 20, 1841, at home: Anna Louisa 
Grace, born Nov. ly, 1896, at home: Fred 
W'., born April 26, 1898, at home; Emma, 
born Sept. 8, 1882, and died July 8, 1884, 
aged two years and ten months. All of 
these children, of whom Mr. and Mrs. 
Kolkman may well be proud, were born 
in Des Moines county, the six oldest 
being born in Benton township and the 
four younger ones in ^Vashington town- 
ship. They have all received a good edu- 
cation in the district schools of the town- 
ships. 

After the marriage of Mr. Kolkman he 
located in Benton township, where he 
purchased a farm of seventy acres of rich 
land, which was partially improved, and 
upon which he lived for seventeen years, 
being successfully engaged in general 
farming and stock-raising. In 1890 he 
sold that farm, and bought his present 
place of one hundred and twenty acres 
on Sections t,2 and 33 in Washington 
township. Since controlling this farm on 
which he has ever since resided, he has 



put up a large and substantial barn and 
added many other valuable improvements. 

Mr. Kolkman has seen many good im- 
provements made in Des Moines county. 
When he first came to the county a large 
portion of it was covered with old tree 
stumps and brush, and was in a very wild 
condition generally. He has seen this 
wild and unbroken state gradually disap- 
pear, and acre after acre cultivated, until 
to-day no county in the State is richer in 
the number of its beautiful and valuable 
farms. Mr. Kolkman deserves great 
credit for the large part he has taken in 
assisting to make this county such a fruit- 
ful place. It has not been accomplished 
without much labor and many sacrifices; 
but Mr. Kolkman has lieen blessed with a 
good rugged constitution and an indomit- 
able will that knew no such word as fail, 
and it is with pleasure that we can pre- 
sent the record of such citizens to the 
readers of this book. 

He and his wife are members of the 
Lutheran church, in which faith his large 
family has been brought up. In politics 
he has always been a Democrat, and 
though not caring for public recognition, 
has in every way given his efforts toward 
the advancement and development of the 
coiumunity, and has upheld good govern- 
ment by voice and vote. He is recog- 
nized as a man of sterling worth, and ap- 
preciated for the many good qualities 
which have made him of such use as a 
citizen. 



JOHN HUTCHISON. 

When John Hutchison passed away, 
Des Moines county lost one of its pioneer 
settlers, — a man whose identification with 



446 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



this section of the State dateti from a very 
early period in tiie development and im- 
provement of eastern Iowa. Moreover, 
he had through a long business career 
disjilayed the commendable traits of char- 
acter which not only win success but also 
gain the resi)ect. confulcnce. and good- 
will of ids fellow-men. 

He was born in County .\rniagli. Ire- 
land. 1\1). 22. 1831. His parents. John 
and .\gnes (.\ndrew) Hutchison, were 
both born in County .Armagh. Ireland, 
where they lived till i8()3. when they 
came to the United States, locating in 
Guernsey county, Ohio. They were the 
parents of ten children. — three sons and 
seven daughters, — who were all birn in 
Ireland, and where three of them, a 
daughter, Margaret, and two sons, James 
and Thomas Hugh. died. The remain- 
ing children all came to .\merica. One 
year after coming to America the father 
of our sidjject died, and his mother ])assed 
away at his home in 1888, at the advanced 
age of eighty-three years. Of the six 
daughters surviving this worthy couple, 
four of them reside in Des Moines county. 
They are: Mrs. Isabella Moore: Mrs. 
John MahafFry: .Mrs. Jane Carmichael : 
and Mrs. John Heins. One daughter. 
Mrs. Agnes Barris. lives in Ohio, and 
one, Mrs. Margaret Carniichail. resides 
in Red Oak, Iowa. 

Mr. Hutchison, of this review, was 
reared U])on his father's farm, receiving 
his education in the district schools of 
the county, and remained on the farm till 
1837, when he came to .America, and set- 
tled in ( )range county. Xew York. From 
thence he moved to Muskingimi county, 
Ohio, where he resided till he located in 
Des Moines county, Iowa, in 1868. He 



bought a farm of forty acres on Section 
1 2. Washington township, and was en- 
gaged in general farming and stock-rais- 
ing. He lived on this place until his 
death, a period of some thirty-five years. 

.Mr. Hutchison served his country 
throughout the entire Civil War, enlist- 
ing in Com])any C, I'ifty-ninth Ohio 
Guards, and after serving his time re- 
enlisted in Companv 11. h'ifty-ninth Ohio 
X'olunteer Infantry. He was with Sher- 
man in the famous march to the sea, and 
|)articipated in a number of the promi- 
nent battles. He was not sick at any 
time during the war, and walked all the 
way to the sea with Sherman. He was 
honorably discharged June <a 1865. 

Politically. Mr. Hutchison was a strong 
Re])ublican. and though never holding 
any office, he was a man well posted 
on all the points at issue,— energetic, en- 
ter]>rising. and always interested in any 
mo\(. that would work a benefit to the 
community. When (|uite a young man 
he united with the Reformed Presby- 
terian church, ill Ireland, under Reverend 
Savage, and has been under the ministry 
of Dr. t'. I). Trund)ull since coming to 
Iowa. He was a devoted and conscien- 
tious member of the Covenanter church 
of .Morning Sun, Iowa, for more than 
thirty }ears. Rain or shiiu-. he always 
was found in his seat at every meeting of 
this house of (iod. .\othing that would 
promnif iIk- cause of Christ was loo 
great for him to undertake. He was one 
of the pillars that the niendiers leaned on, 
and his daily life exem])lified his |)ro- 
fessed Christianity to a marked degree. 
At his death this church lost a man who 
was true to his God and his fellow-man, 
and one whose jdace it will be hard to 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



4+7 



fill, but his life, full of good deeds, will 

be revered for time to come in the hearts 

of his friends and neighbors. 

The death of Mr. Hutchison occurred 

at his home March 3, 1905, at the ripe 

age of seventy-four years. He was held 

in the highest esteem by those who knew 

him best. He was buried in the beautiful 

Sharon cemetery. 

" Life's work well done, 
Li''e's race well run, 
Life's crown well won." 

Mr. Hutchison's sister Isabella, now 
the widow of John Moore, kept house for 
him for the last thirty years or more, and 
she ami her daughter still reside on his 
farm. Mr. Aloore was born in Guernsey 
county, Ohio, where he was a farmer till 
he grew to maturity, when he moved to 
Illinois and bought a farm, where his 
death occurred in the fall of 1889. Mr. 
and Mrs. IMoore were blessed with one 
daughter, Jessie, who was born in Ohio, 
March 28, 1868. Mrs. Moore and her 
daughter are ladies of refinement and cul- 
ture, and possess and exemplify the true 
spirit of Christianity. They have many 
friends in the county, who hold them in 
the highest regard. 



JUSTUS C. SMITH. 

Des Moines county is the birth- 
place of many of the men who have as- 
sisted in the improvement and upbuilding 
of many of the townships, and therefore 
the}' well deserve mention in a record 
among those who have been their com- 
panions for many years. Justus C. Smith 
is a son of Senator F. X. Smith, whose 



sketch appears on another page in this 
book, and was born in Yarmouth, Wash- 
ington township, July 31, 1877, where he 
received his early education. He also at- 
tended the high school of Burlington, and 
then assisted on the home farm till he be- 
came a man. 

On his twenty-first birthday he wedded 
Miss Katherine A. Weber, who was born 
in Burlington, and is the daughter of 
Henry and Margaret (Schenk) Weber, 
and to them has been born one child, 
Helen Leona. Mr. Weber was born in 
Alsace, France, and came to America 
when he was about eleven years of age, 
locating in the city of New Orleans, 
where he learned the butcher's trade. He 
had not been in New Orleans long when 
his father and brother were taken ill with 
the yellow fever, and died, and he at once 
brought his mother to Burlington, where 
he again obtained employment in a 
butcher shop. In a few years he entered 
into partnership with John Kauffer, 
under the firm name of Kauffer & Weber. 
This well-known firm continued business 
till 1893. when ]\Ir. \\'eber sold his inter- 
est in the meat market, and took up his 
abode in Memphis, Mo., where he pur- 
chased a large farm of two hundred acres, 
upon which he farmed and lived till death 
overtook him in 1897, at the age of fifty 
years. Mrs. \\^eber, who was born in 
Germany, came to the United States 
when she was about sixteen years of age, 
and is still li^•ing on the home farm in 
^Memphis, Mo. Mr. and Airs, ^^'eber had 
fi\-e children, all of whom are living, and 
all, except Mrs. Smith, reside with their 
mother on the home place. They are: 
John H. ; Katherine A., wife of our sub- 
ject ; Oscar W. ; Clara ; and Anna. Mrs. 



+48 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Siiiitli received her education in the city 
schools of lUirlinpfton and also attended 
the Bentz conservatory of music in 
Memphis, Mo., makinp a study of the 
pianoforte. 

Mr. Sniitli lives upon and works a fine 
farm of one hundred and sixty acres in 
Section 7, Washington township, on 
which he lias placed many good improve- 
ments. He carries on farming to a large 
extent with much success, as well as rais- 
ing stock for the markets. Besides this 
property in IJes .Moines county Mr. 
Smith is interested in land near Xcss 
City, Kan. He is one of the stockhold- 
ers of the Mutual Telephone Company of 
Yarmouth, and is one of the stand-by 
Democrats of the township. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Smith are both members 
of the Methodist church, of Mt. Union. 
.Although they have not bceen residents 
of Washington township for a great 
length of time, still they arc both well 
and favorably known, and by their up- 
right lives and kind ways have won the 
confidence and good-will of the entire 
communitv. 



BERNARD HALE. 

A.MONG the very early settlers of Des 
Moines county, and also of the State, is 
the subject of this sketch. He has not 
oidy witnessed the ra])id transformation 
which has taken jiluce in Iowa, but has 
stood at the front and borne his share of 
the heat and burden of the day. Mr. 
Hale is of English and (iernian descent, 
his paternal grandparents being born in 
F-ngland, :md bis nialeriial grandfather. 



John llabb, Sr., was born in Germany. 
The latter married Miss Susan B. Downer 
.Miller, came to .\merica in 1837, and en- 
tered land in Iowa. 

Our subject is a son of Gardner and 
Jane (Waters) Hale, and was born Oct. 
12. i82^>, in Bark county. Indiana. His 
father was born in Providence, K. I., Aug. 
31, 1795, and located in Parke county, 
Indiana, when a young man, where he 
bought a farm and made a home. In 1836 
he moved to Peoria county, Illinois, and 
farmed until .\i>ril. 1837. when he brought 
his family to Iowa, and entered a farm 
consisting of one hundred and twenty 
acres in Pleasant Grove township. This 
was mostly timber land, but he cleared 
it, and built a small house and log barn, 
carrying on farming ver^- extensively. He 
later replaced his unpretentious home 
and barn by more substantial and mod- 
ern ones, which were erected by his son, 
of this review, who had learned the trade 
of a carpenter. 

Me was a mendier of the Cumberland 
I'resbyterian church, and in politics was 
first a Whig and later a Republican, but 
not an office-seclcer. His prosperous life 
closed on his farm in Pleasant Grove 
townshi]) when he was ninety-two years 
old. lie was twice married, his first wife 
living but a short time and left no chil- 
dren. His second wife. Miss Jane Wat- 
ers, was born in South Carolina, anil came 
with her i)arents to Parke county, Indiana, 
where she was married. She was a de- 
voted mend)er of the Cumberland Pres- 
byterian church, and actively engaged in 
all departments of the same. She pre- 
cedjil her husband to the better land 
some twenty years, dying when about 
fifty-five years of age. She was an excel- 




BERNARD HALE. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



451 



lent woman, a kind and loving mother, 
and a devoted wife. She and her hus- 
band are buried in the cemetery in Pleas- 
ant Grove township. Thej' were the 
parents of eleven children, of whom but 
two now remain, — Bernard, of this re- 
view, who is the oldest, and William W., 
the youngest, who is a farmer, and resides 
in Pleasant Grove township. 

I\lr. Hale's education was obtained 
after he was twelve years of age in the 
Pleasant Grove township schools. He 
assisted his father for a few years, and 
then worked out by the month for the 
farmers of the neighborhood, where he 
also learned the trade of a carpenter. 
When twenty-three years of age he be- 
gan to work for himself at his trade, but 
resided at home till he was twenty-seven 
years old. The next two years he spent 
in Sperry, Franklin township, working at 
his trade, and then moved to Pleasant 
Grove township, where he resided one 
year. 

In the spring of 1857 he purchased 
eight)' acres in Section 28, Washington 
township. The place was all wild land, 
and all of the improvements have been 
made b}' Mr. Hale. Since purchasing 
this farm he has built two houses, the 
first one being small and plain, but the 
last one is a large and modern structure. 
His barns and other buildings also give 
proof of a practical farmer. For many 
years he farmed very successfully, and 
each year supplied the'market with a fine 
grade of stock, till his children were large 
enough to manage the farm, when he 
again took up his trade as a carpenter. 
He also owns ten acres of timber land 
in Pleasant Grove township. 

Mr. Hale is a Republican, and cast his 



first vote for John C. Fremont for presi- 
dent. He was justice of the peace for 
three years and school director for a num- 
ber of terms, and is now treasurer of the 
school district. In religious faith he is 
a Baptist, of which church he is a con- 
sistent niemljer, and was deacon and trus- 
tee of the church for some time. 

Jan. 5, 1854, Mr. Hale wedded Miss 
Susan B. Downer, who was born in Lu- 
zerne county, Pennsylvania, and came to 
Iowa in 1839 with her parents when eight 
years of age. Her parents were Robert 
and Lydia (Babb) Downer, the former 
being born in Ohio and the latter in 
Pennsylvania. Mr. Downer was a con- 
tractor of public works, and followed that 
business during his residence in Pennsyl- 
vania. They came to Iowa in i83g, and 
located in Franklin township, where the 
grandfather, John Babb, entered a large 
tract of land, and also bought a number 
of claims, owning finally some fifteen 
hundred acres, which he divided among 
his children. Mr. Downer located upon 
some of the land entered by Mr. Babb, 
his father-in-law, where he farmed for a 
number of years, and then moved to Illi- 
nois, near New Boston, where his death 
occurred at the age of forty-eight years. 
His widow survived him for many years, 
and also passed away at the home place 
in Franklin township, Iowa. 

Mr. and Mrs. Downer had nine chil- 
dren, of whom six are living. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hale were blessed with seven chil- 
dren and five are living: James R. re- 
sides on the home fami, which he farms, 
and also owns forty acres of land in 
^^'ashington township. His education 
was obtained in the district schools, and 
he has always been a great student and 



452 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



reader, and is a scientific farmer. He 
served the township as assessor for four 
years, and has been secretary of the 
school board for the past fifteen years. 
He is a great lover of all field sports, be- 
ing a member and corresponding secre- 
tary of the New London Gun Club for 
sonic time. Lette E. is the wife of Moses 
M. Smith, of Oklahoma. Emma S. mar- 
ried Alexander W'estfall, of Yarmouth, 
March ~. 1880. She was born on the 
hoine farm, was educated in the common 
schools of Washington township, and is 
a member of the Methodist church. 
Since marriage they have always resided 
in Washington township, where Mr. 
Westfall was a fanner till five years ago. 
They are the parents of eleven children, 
all of whom are living, and are as fol- 
lows': (i) Bertha M., lives with her 
grandfather, the subject of this sketch ; 
(2) Effie P., married Foster C. Jarvis, a 
tinner by trade, of Jacksonville, 111., and 
has two sons, I.yle and Foster E. ; (3) 
Esta M., wife of Frederick Miller, a liv- 
eryman of Yarmouth, who was born in 
Woodford county, Illinois, came to Iowa 
eleven years ago, and farmed in Wash- 
ington township till a year ago, wlun lu- 
moved to Yarmouth : (4) Chester .\., a 
farm hand in Washington township; (5) 
Orvia D., lives in Jacksonville, 111.; (6) 
Edwin E., resides in Washington town- 
ship ; (7) Howard A., lives with his 
grandfather, of this review ; (8) Harry 
E., (9) Ora, (10) Tracy D., (11) Daniel 
B., all four at home. Ellen Hale is the 
wife of Casper Oberman, of Washington 
township, who is a farmer. Willis B. 
married Miss Hattie Carie, and is a 
school-teacher in Ruston, La. They have 
two children, Cecil B. and Catherine. 



Emulus Hale died when seven years of 
age. An unnamed infant, deceased. Mr. 
Hale's children were all born in Des 
Moines county. 

Mr. Hale is now in his eightieth year, 
enjoying all the comforts and blessings 
of old age. There is no man in the com- 
munity more highly respected or es- 
teemed than is he. His business life, 
both private and public, has always been 
honorable, his home life has been an 
ideal one. and his Christian life is one 
that all may pattern after; and though he 
has had trials and sorrows here, we have 
the assurance he will find joys without 
number when he is called to join those 
most near and dear to him. 



FREDERICK VOGT. 

Frederick Vogt was well known in in- 
dustrial circles in Burlington, having lived 
here some fifty years. He was always relia- 
ble and trustworthy, and yet it was not his 
business record alone that made him so wide 
and favorably known in this city, his charac- 
ter and upright manhood gaining him the 
regard, confidence, and good-will of all, so 
that his memory is still cherished by those 
with whom lie was associated in the active 
walks of life. Frederick's parents, Martin 
and Mary Vogt, left their native land, Ger- 
many, in March, 1836, and emigrated to 
America, locating at Newburg, N. Y., on 
the Hudson. Mr. and Mrs. Vogt were both 
about thirty years old at this time. They 
did not remain long in Ne^vburg, and 
finally located in Buffalo, N. Y. They were 
the parents of six children : Frederick, the 
subject of this review ; Mary, married Mike 



DHS MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



453 



Stork, and resides at Buffalo, N. Y. ; John 
and Peter, also residents of Buffalo; Eliza- 
beth, the wife of Mr, Smith; Catherine, 
married Mr. Baker, and is now dead. The 
fattier was stricken with that dread disease, 
cholera, and died Aug. 19, 1849. His wife 
passed away April 28, 1888. 

Frederick Vogt was born in Baden, Ger- 
many, Feb. 24, 1829. He attended the 
schools of his native land, and emigrated to 
America with his parents in an old-time sail- 
ing vessel. At the age of fourteen he en- 
tered a printing office to serve an apprentice- 
ship of seven years. He also started a Ger- 
man paper in Buffalo called the Patriot, but 
soon discontinued its publication. In 1855 
he went to Chicago, where he was employed 
in the job department of the Chicago Trib- 
une, and in 1861 came to Burlington, being 
employed in the same department of the 
Hawk-Eye. He was later also associated 
with John Daldorft' in the Iowa Tribune 
office till 1878. He then retired from the 
printing business, and spent most of his 
time gardening on Sunnyside Avenue. 

On Oct. I, 1848, Mr. Vogt was married, 
in Buffalo, N. Y., to Miss Phoebe Esben- 
schied, a native of Germany, and daughter 
of Plansiur and Catherine (Baney) Esben- 
schied. She was born in Furfeld, Hesse- 
Darmstadt, Nov. I, 1829. Unto them nine 
children -were born : Mary Catherine, born 
in Buffalo, N. Y., Dec. 14, 1849; Frances 
Cecelia, born in Buffalo, Dec. 12, 185 1, 
married George Eberhart; Charles Fred- 
erick, born at Buffalo, Feb. 2, 1854, married 
Miss Emma Holcomb ; George Joseph 
(whose record is on another page in this 
book), born at Buffalo, March 3, 1856, mar- 
ried Miss Annie Brocagan ; Amelia Cath- 
erine, born in Chicago, 111., May 6, 1858, 
married Jacob Wagener ; Louisa Rosina, 



born in Chicago, July i, i860, married Fred 
Jaegger; William Jacob, born in Burling- 
ton, Iowa, April 25, 1864 ; Frederick Her- 
man, born in Burlington, Dec. 12, 1866; 
Carrie Ophelia, born in Burlington, Jan. 13, 
1872 ; and Charles W., born in Burlington, 
Sept. 25, 1877. 

Mrs. Vogt's parents came direct to Buf- 
falo from Germany, making the trip in some- 
thing like forty-two days, in one of the old- 
time sailing vessels. They settled at 
White's Corners, and here both died, the 
father in 1874, and the mother in 1871. 
They were the parents of three children : 
Adam, who still lives on the old homestead, 
aged seventy-two years ; Mary, married Mr. 
Simmons, and resides on Bennett Street, 
just off of Broadway, in the city of Buffalo, 
N. Y. ; and Phoebe, wife of our subject. 
All through life Mr. Vogt was a strong Re- 
publican, and his party won many victories 
through his untiring efforts. Although 
always enthusiastic, he never aspired to pub- 
lic office. He however held several minor 
offices in the city and township. Mr. Vogt 
died April 2t,, 1902. His was a record well 
to be remembered. Starting in life with 
little save an iron will and great ambition, 
but not knowing what it meant to fail in 
any undertaking, he was enabled in the eve- 
ning of his life to enjoy many home comforts. 
Having been a man well informed on all 
subjects of the day, and a man possessing a 
bright and sunny disposition, he made 
friends of all. 



GEORGE JOSEPH VOGT. 

George J. Vogt, who ranks as one of the 
substantial and progressive merchants and 
business men of the city of Burlington, Iowa, 



454 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



was born March 3, 1S5'). in lluffali), X. \ ., 
the son of Frederick and I'hillipina ( Esben- 
schied) \'ogt. His ])arcnts. who were na- 
tives of Ciermany, emigrated to America 
when six or seven years of age, making tlie 
voyage in the same boat, in company with 
their parents, and settling in the city of Buf- 
falo, wliere they grew to maturity and were 
married. Practically the whole of Mr. 
Vogt's life has been passed as a citizen of 
his a(ln|)ied city, for he came with liis par- 
ents to liurlington in 1861, when he was but 
five years of age, and it was here that he 
received liis education in the public schools. 

For four or five years after finishing his 
schooling he acted as his father's assistant 
in his work of gardening, but at the end of 
that time he decided to begin his career along 
independent lines, and began to acquire the 
trade of cigar-making, and this he followed 
for a period of five years with great success. 
He then decided, limvever, to accejit a more 
advantageous jiroposition, and entered the 
employ of the Derby Mills and Elevator 
Company, with whom he continued for six- 
teen and one-half years in a position of trust 
and imjjortance and with nuitual benefit to 
himself and his employers. This connection 
was dissolved in 1896. and on June i of that 
year he established himself in the flour and 
feed business in I'lurlington. locating at zii. 
North Central Avenue, where he still con- 
tinues, and in this venture he has met with 
very gratifying success. 

On July 3. 1881, he was united in marriage 
to Miss Anna .Angelina Rrockhagen. and to 
them have been bom three daughters, these 
being Clara Cordelia, who is employed as 
clerk in the Boesch dry-goods store ; Grace 
Elsie, musician and teacher of the piano ; 
and Maude .Mice, wiio is also a musician 
and is a teacher of the violin, all being at 



JKjme with their parents. Mr. \'ogt is also 
a musical artist, his specialty being the flute, 
and with his daughters furnishes the music 
for many social and public functions, the 
family being professionally known as the 
\'ogt orchestra. 

The political allegiance of our subject is 
given to the Republican party, in the sound- 
ness of whose principles he is a firm believer, 
although not himself an aspirant for political 
honors or public office ; and fraternally, he 
is a member of the Knights of the Maccabees 
and the Ancient Order of United Workmen, 
and for one year held the office of recorder 
in the former order. .Mthough not a member 
of any religious denomination, Mr. XOgt is 
a regular attendant at the services of the 
various churches, and contributes liberally 
of his means to the sup|)ort of the cause of 
religion. In a business way he has. by the 
adoption of the most modern methods, by 
virtue of his reinitation for U])right anrl 
strictly just dealings, achieved a very flatter- 
ing success, and been enabled to gain a com- 
petency, while the geniality and engaging 
traits of his character have won him a host 
of friends. 



JAMES A. HAWKINS. 

In the front ranks of Des Moines 
county's public life are a few younger 
men who have attained to positions of 
recognized leadership by virtue of high 
|)ersonal character and natural gifts of an 
exceptional order. With these is num- 
bered the subject of this review, and he 
enjoys a personal ac(|uaintance which is 
so extended as to give rise to a universal 
interest in the facts of his career. Mr. 
Hawkins is a native of Burlington. b;i\- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



455 



ing been born in tliis city Sept. 28, 1 87 1, 
the son of John and Emily (Cullen) Haw- 
kins, both of whom were well known in 
Burlington. The father, who was born in 
County Wexford, Ireland, on emigrating 
to America, first located in the city of 
New York, where for a time he was en- 
gaged in business as a merchant tailor, 
and whence he came to Burlington. Here 
he conducted a shop at 306 North Third 
Street for many years very successfully, 
continuing in business at that location 
until the time of his death, June 14, 1883. 
His wife survived him for a long term of 
years, her demise occurring April 18, 
1807. Both were members of the Catho- 
lic church, of whose moral and religious 
teachings they were ever faithful follow- 
ers. They were the parents of eight chil- 
dren, as follows : Jennie, wife of Joseph 
Robinson; John J.; Anna: Frank and 
William, twins; Edward; Bernard; and 
James A., our subject. 

Air. Hawkins was educated in the pa- 
rochial and public schools of Burlington, 
receiving therein an exceptionally thor- 
ough and practical preparation for the 
active duties of his subsequent career, and 
when only eighteen years of age began 
his independent course in life by learning 
a trade, that of the barber. He soon be- 
came proficient, so that on attaining his 
majority he decided to establish himself 
in business, and opened a shop on Jetifer- 
son Street. Here he from the first at- 
tracted a large and profitable patronage, 
which he retained until he disposed of the 
shop in 1902, when he was elected by the 
voters of Des Moines county to the office 
of county recorder. 

A lifelong Democrat. Mr. Hawkins is a 
firm' adherent to the political faith of that 



part}' and a believer in its exalted destiny, 
while he has also during many years been 
a most active worker for its success in the 
field of local and county government. 
Previous to his elevation to his present 
position he served the party as a member 
of both the county and city central com- 
mittees, proving his, worth by his in- 
tensely practical turn of mind and his 
ability to produce concrete results in the 
way of increased support for the party in 
whose interest he labored with such un- 
remitting diligence. His fraternal rela- 
tions, which are extensi\e, are with the 
Knights of Columbus, Aerie 150, Order 
of Eagles, and the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen, in all of which organi- 
zations he is valued as an important fac- 
tor, both for the high enthusiasm that 
marks him in all he does and for the 
sound and practical judgment which is 
one of his most prominent characteristics. 
Probably no young man in the public eye' 
at the present time has a larger or more 
admiring circle of friends, for his cordial 
and attractive personality have brought 
him into close relations with all the more 
progressive element, and his loyalty, in- 
tegrity, and fairness are the solid cjual- 
ities which have won him an enviable 
reputation and general and unqualified 
esteem. 



AUGUST F. BRINGER. 

In any list of the enterprising and suc- 
cessful retail grocers of iUirlington, Iowa, 
the name of August F. Bringer must be 
accorded a high place and standing, for he 
is a man who has achieved his present po- 
sition by native force of character and by 



456 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



his own efforts unassisted by paternal 
aid or adventitious circumstances. Mr. 
Brinper is a member of a German family 
which originally spelled its name IJruen- 
ger, and he was born in Burlington, 
March 15. 1855. a son of John Henry 
Rringer. a native of Krfurt, Prussia, and 
Anna Mary (^Kerker) Bringer, a native of 
Enga, Prussia. The mother of our sub- 
ject — who was one of a family of five sis- 
ters and one brother — was twice married, 
her first husband being a Mr. 01)ersdiel|), 
by wlinni she had two children, one of 
whom, Phillip, grew to maturity. She 
married Mr. Bringer in Germany, and 
they became in that country the parents 
of two children. .Mary and John Henry. 
Emigrating to .\merica in 1852, they 
came directly to Burlington bj- way of 
New CJrleans, after having spent seven 
weeks crossing the ocean. Here the 
father entered the employ of the firm of 
Barry & Ciilman, later known as the Bur- 
lington Lundjer Com])any. for whom he 
acted as foreman for a number of years. 
His death occurred in 1873, in the fifty- 
fourth year of his age, while the mother's 
demise was on March 8, 1901, aged 
eighty-three years. To them were born 
in Burlington three children, as follows: 
August P., the subject of this review ; his 
twin sister, Anna, now the wife of Louis 
H. Oberschelp; and Fred. 

Mr. Bringer was well educated in the 
Evangelical l.utluran jiarochial school 
and in the ])ublic schools of Burlington, 
and at the age of si.xteen years became 
self-supporting and independent by enter- 
ing the employ of the nursery firm of 
Xealey Brothers & Bock, of this city, with 
whom he remained for three years. He 
then accepted a position with the Bur- 



lington Lumber Company, wliich he oc- 
cupied for the long ])eriod of twelve 
years. .\nd)itious of further advance- 
ment, he then left this employment to 
enter as clerk in a grocery store at the 
corner of South and Central .\venues, 
where he remained for nine years, study- 
ing the business in all its details, becom- 
ing familiar with the principles of its 
management, acquiring valuable experi- 
ence in practical affairs, and, most im- 
l)ortant of all. making many friends by 
his honorable and upright bearing and 
engaging, genial per.sonality. After thus 
serving a long and thorough apprentice- 
ship, he entered business for himself, and 
fur the last ten years, in partnership with 
.Mr. John .\. Held, he has conducted a 
large retail grocery store at the corner of 
Central and Walnut Streets, where he 
lias a constantly growing patronage. 

On Oct. 25. 1879, ^Jr. Bringer was 
united in marriage to Miss Louisa H. 
Sander, ilaughter of Christian and Louise 
Sander, natives of Hanover, who came to 
.America in the late '40's or early "so's of 
the last century. To .Mr. and Mrs. 
liringer have been born five chihiren : 
Willie H., Walter C, Harry 1'.. Laura M., 
an<l Raymond H. 

Husband and wife are mend)crs of the 
Evangelical Lutheran church, in which 
Mr. Bringer occui)ied the office of deacon 
for two years, being one of its leading 
members, and of whose Sunday-school he 
has been treasurer during the last six 
years, always taking a prominent ])art in 
the Sunday-school work. 

I'Vatcrnally, he is a mendier of the .\n- 
cient Order of L'nited Workmen, in which 
order he is well known, and his political 
allegiance is given to the Republican 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



457 



party. The history of his business life 
is one of uniform and uninterrupted suc- 
cess; and while he has thus proved him- 
self the possessor of marked ability, he is 
also noted for his social qualities and the 
broad humanity of his views. 



GEORGE W. RIFFEL. 

George W. Riffel, one of the early 
settlers of the county, now residing on Sec- 
tion 30, Franklin township, where he has 
one hundred and seventy acres of rich farm 
land, is a native of Ohio, his birth having 
occurred in Fairfield county, that State, 
April 16, 1835. In 1849 ^e came to Iowa 
with his parents, George and Anna (Leit- 
naker) Riffel. The father was born in Lan- 
caster county, Pennsylvania, and when a 
young man removed to Ohio, settling in 
Fairfield county, where he engaged in farm- 
ing. He wedded Anna Leitnaker, a resi- 
dent of that county, and they resided in 
Fairfield until 1849, when they came by 
wagon to Des Moines county, Iowa, being 
thirty-one days on the trip. They settled 
south of Burlington, where the father rented 
a farm for a few years. 

When his industry and economy had 
brought him sufficient capital, he made pur- 
chase of land in Pleasant Grove township 
in 1853, becoming the owner of one hun- 
dred and sixty acres. There he developed a 
good farm, upon which he resided until the 
time of his death. His energies and efforts 
were devoted to the tilling of the soil and 
the raising of stock, and his close applica- 
tion and unremitting diligence were the 
strong elements in his prosperity. He died 
in November, 1869, at the age of seventy 



years and four months, in the Catholic faith, 
having been a communicant of the church 
of that denomination at Dodgeville. His 
political views accorded with the principles 
of Democracy. Mrs. Riffel survived her 
husband for some time, and died in 1893 
near Pipestone, Minn., where she was liv- 
ing with one of her sons. In the family 
were nine children, eight of whom are still 
living. She, too, was a member of the Cath- 
olic church, and was an estimable lady. 

George W. Riffel began his education in 
the public schools of Fairfield county, Ohio, 
and he also continued his education in this 
county. When not busy with his text- 
books, he assisted in the work of the home 
farm ; and after leaving school he gave his 
entire attention to farm labor upon the old 
homestead until about thirty years of age, 
when he rented a farm in Yellow Springs 
township, making his home thereon for 
three and a half years. On the expiration 
of that period he purchased his present 
farm, becoming owner of ninety acres ; and 
as his financial resources have increased, 
he has added to the property, until now 
within the boundaries of the home place are 
contained one hundred and seventy acres. 
This is a valuable tract of land, on which 
he has made all of the improvements, in- 
cluding the erection of a good house and 
other buildings. The work is carried on 
methodically and with diligence, and the 
fields return golden harvests, while the sales 
of his high-grade stock add not a little to 
his income. 

Mr. Riffel was married, April 18, 1865, 
to Miss Caroline Cockayne, who was born 
in Flint River township, this county, and is 
a daughter of Hiram and Elizabeth (Riggs) 
Cockayne, both of whom were natives of 
Marshall county, Virginia, and came to 



458 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Iowa at an early epoch in tlic pioneer devel- 
opment of Des Moines county. Tliey lo- 
catccl in Flint River townshi]!, and the 
father, a farmer by occupation, became the 
owner of two hundred acres of rich land, 
retaining possession of that farm up to the 
time of his death, which occurred when he 
was fifty-seven years of age. He voted 
vvitii the Democracy, and shared in the in- 
terest of all public-spirited citizens in the 
welfare and progress of the locality. His 
widow survived him for a number of years, 
and passed away in November, 1898, when 
her remains were interred by the side of her 
husband in a cemetery in Mint River town- 
ship. 

Mrs. Riffel was born in Flint River town- 
ship, and is indebted to its public schools 
for the educational i)rivileges she enjoyed. 
By lier marriage she has become the mother 
of four children, all of whom were born in 
Franklin townshi]), and are yet living: John 
M., the eldest, residing in Burlington, is a 
traveling salesman representing the H. 
Weinrich rickle Works, wedded Mary 
Kcegan, and has one son, Fred ; George H., 
a farmer residing in Franklin township, 
married Miss Margaret Jackson, a daughter 
of the lateCieorge Jackson, who is repre- 
sented elsewhere in this work ; Nora M., re- 
sides at home ; and William Roy. assists in 
the operation of the home farm. All of the 
children were educated in the public schools 
t)f the township, and have also been stu- 
dents in Burlington. 

Mr. RifTel, a Democrat in political views, 
gives loyal support to his party without 
seeking office as a reward for his fealty. 
He was reared in the Catholic faith, and is 
still a conmuinicant of the church. His life 
has been characterized by industry and en- 
terprise, and he has regarded agricultural 



pursuits as abundantly worthy of his best 
efforts, in this department of labor achieving 
a creditable prosperity. 



JOHN LAHEE. 

John Lahee, now deceased, was long 
prominent in the business and political life 
of Burlington and Des Moines county, and 
the important role he played on both these 
stages of action entitles his name to a place 
on the roll of the county's honored citizens. 
He was born May 7. 1820, at Martinsburg, 
Lewis county, N. Y., the son of Timothy 
Lahee, a farmer in comfortable circum- 
stances, who was born in northern England 
in 1795, came to America as a British 
soldier in the War of 181 2, remained on this 
side the Atlantic at the end of the war, and 
died in New York. In New York the father 
of our subject married Miss Catherine Buck, 
who was born 1796 and died 1846. She was 
the oldest daughter of Elijah Buck, a farn'fer 
of Lewis county, whose ancestors were 
Dutch and settled in Washington county. 
New York, before the Revolutionary period. 
His father, also Elijah Buck, bought the 
township of Harrisburg. Lewis county, and 
named it in honor of his friend. Governor 
Harris, of New York. Amos, a brother of 
Elijah Buck, was for many years a member 
of the New York State Legislature, and was 
the wealthiest merchant of the county. 

John Lahee was educated in his native 
town of Martinsburg and at Yale Academy, 
after which he studied law in the office of 
D. M. Bennett, of Martinsburg: and in 1849 
he began the ])ractice of law at Rome. X. Y., 
where he remained for several years, en- 
joying considerable success. Through the 




JOHN LAHEE. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



461 



influence of a relative who was superin- 
tendent of stage lines and post routes be- 
tween Burling;ton and the Missouri River, 
he was induced to come West, and on Dec. 
19, 1852, located at Burlington, opening a 
real estate office here. In 1854 he formed a 
partnership with M! . R. Brown, with whom 
he conducted a real estate and abstract busi- 
ness, and as the town grew rapidly, owing 
to the construction of the Chicago, Bur- 
lington & Quincy Railway, their enter- 
prise became very prosperous, continuing so 
until 1858, when land, in common -with all 
other commoditities, began to depreciate in 
price. Mr. Lahee then accepted an appoint- 
ment as agent for the Continental Insurance 
Company of New York, the first company 
of that State •which had entered into the 
Burlington field. From that time the in- 
surance business occupied the greater part 
of his time, although he still continued to 
give some attention to real estate and loans. 
In 1868 he organized here a branch of the 
Republic Insurance Company of Chicago, 
and was elected its secretary. The issue 
was a triumph for his business judgment, 
for it proved very successful, although 
finally checked by the disaster of the great 
Chicago fire of 1871. From 1871 to' 1875 
he was in partnership with the late Judge 
Phelps, and it was during this period that he 
participated in the organization of the Ger- 
man American Savings Bank of Burlington, 
becoming its assistant cashier and member 
of the board of directors, positions which he 
held for two years, his influence and coun- 
sel doing much to put the institution upon a 
firm basis and start it well on the way to 
assured and lasting prosperity. He was 
an expert on real estate values, and a good 
judge of human nature, and the bank never 
had to foreclose a single loan that he passed 



upon favorably. This is an unusual record. 
He was a very public-spirited citizen, and at 
the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, 
he, in association with W. D. Gilbert, 
equipped an artillery company, known as 
the Fletcher or First Iowa Battery, which 
left this city and performed notable service 
in the South, doing especially effective exe- 
cution at the battle of Pea Ridge. 

On Dec. 6, 1856, Mr. Lahee was united in 
marriage to Miss Ellen F. House, of Rome, 
N. Y., a granddaughter of one of the life 
guards of General Washington. Mrs. Lahee 
was educated at Mrs. Williard's School at 
Utica, N. Y., and the Troy Female Semi- 
nary, of Troy, N. Y. L^nto them were born 
four children, of whom two survive, these 
being John Stillman, at present conducting 
the real estate, insurance, and loan business 
founded by the father in Burlington, and 
Effie Frances, who received her education 
at Vassar College, New York. 

Mr. Lahee was a well-known factor in 
political afifairs, and although originally a 
Democrat, later, in 1840, became a Whig, 
being converted to that political creed by the 
writings of Horace Greeley as editor of the 
New York Tribune. On the breaking up 
of the old party lines and the formation of 
the Republican party, he enthusiastically 
supported the new movement, and was a 
delegate from Des Moines county to the 
first Republican convention held in this 
State, namely, that at Iowa City in 1854. 
LTpon the organization of the party in Iowa 
in 1856, he was chosen a member of the con- 
gressional committee from the first district, 
at once assimiing a position of leadership 
in partisan counsels, giving the most earnest 
eft'ort and thought to the cause, and making 
a marked impress upon the trend of events. 
In i860 he was elected clerk of the district 



462 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



court for Des Moines county, being the first 
Kei>ublican to hold that office in the county. 
His interest in the workings of practical 
politics continued for a long period, and 
he lived to serve the party over whose in- 
fancy he had watched in many a convention 
hall and ])ost of honor. He was a man of 
strong and determined character, frank, open 
and above board as far as is consistent -with 
the care of complicated and delicate inter- 
ests, and commanded universal admiration, 
while the cordiality and amiability of his dis- 
position won him the friendship of the ma- 
jority of those with \\ lioiii he was personally 
acquainted. 



JOHN S. LAHEE. 

John S. L.mike, a representative and 
worthy custodian of one of the ])ioneer busi- 
ness interests of the enterprising city of 
Burlington, is a native son of Des Moines 
county, having been Ixirii in this city Jan. 
12, 1864, the son of Juliii and Ellen F. 
(House) Lahce. He is a member of a 
prominent and well-known family, a full ac- 
count of whose lineage and origin is included 
in the record of the father's career, appear- 
ing elsewhere in this volume. Mr. Lahee 
received his preliminary education in the 
public schools of Burlington, and later en- 
gaged in a course of study in the Iowa State 
University, at Iowa City, an institution 
which enjoys high prestige by reason of 
its many di.stinguished alumni. 

In 1884 Mr. Lahee began his business life 
in linrlington in the line of insurance, real 
estate, and loans, in -which he has ever since 
been engaged ; and by means of his native 
.spirit of enterprise, his executive ability and 
strong personality, combined with the repu- 



tation which has come to him as a result of 
his invariably honorable and upright course, 
he has achieved a large and permanent 
success. Gifted with a quick apprecia- 
tion of opportunity, shrewd and discrim- 
inating in his estimate of a business situation 
or proposition, he has contributed his full 
share to the city's progress, and it may be 
said that his rewards have been in some de- 
gree commensurate with his merits. .As the 
successor of his father he is the representa- 
tive of the oldest insurance business in the 
State of Iowa, this business having been 
established by the elder Lahee in 1854. and 
having been in continuous operation from 
that time to the present, or for more than 
half a century. 

Our subject has been a lifelong Repub- 
lican in his political faith, and has always 
taken an active part in political and public 
afTairs. Soon after leaving college he was 
chosen secretary of the Young Men's Re- 
iniblican Club of Des Moines county, which 
at that period was a very strong organiza- 
tion and a factor in the political life of the 
city, in which he performed valuable service. 

In 1882 he was appointed disbursing 
agent and chief examiner of the Chippewa 
Indian lands, a lucrative position, but de- 
clined the ap])ointment. For the four years 
from 1889 to 1893 he was in the customs 
service at Burlington, resigning his post in 
the latter year, however, on account of the 
pressure of private afTairs. During the 
building of the present Burlington postoffice 
structure, he was engaged in the work of 
the su])ervising architect's office, of the 
treasury department, he having charge of all 
the accounts. 

For many years Mr. Lahee has been very 
]iromincntly connected with the musical or- 
ganizations of Burlington. While a student 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



463 



in tlie Uiiiversit}- of Iowa he was a member 
of its military organization, and on leaving 
school joined the Second Regiment of the 
Iowa National Guards and became chief 
musician of the regiment. He has been a 
member of the Hayner Orchestra and of 
the Burlington Boat Club band, and was 
the founder and organizer of an orchestra 
which he continued to direct for one year, 
during which time it became well known 
and popular. At the expiration of that 
period the organization was taken in charge 
by Professor Schramm, and has since been 
known as the Schramm Orchestra. He also 
founded an orchestra in connection with the 
Presbyterian Sunday-school, and was for 
a time its director, taking a very strong 
personal interest in its progress and welfare, 
and stimulating in its members a spirit of en- 
thusiasm which made the organization justly 
celebrated in local musical circles. He is a 
charter member of the Burlington Commer- 
cial exchange, and in his social connections 
enjoys an enviable standing. He has mem- 
bership relations with the Burlington Golf 
Club, and is also a member of the Burling- 
ton Boating Association, of which he served 
as secretary for eight consecutive years. He 
is an attendant of the First Presbyterian 
church, with whose musical work he has 
been prominently connected for a number of 
years, having at various periods taken 
charge of the Sunday-school music, a posi- 
tion in which his unusual talents in this di- 
rection were of marked benefit, and re- 
sulted in a distinct rise in musical ideals and 
accomplishment, thus implanting an influ- 
ence which is yet apparent to a distinctly 
perceptible degree. In all his labors he has 
held in view a purely unselfish purpose, 
without any thought of self-aggrandizement, 
and simply from his love of good and con- 



scientious work inspired b\' lofty aspirations. 
He has thereby won the general respect and 
achieved a success which is well rounded 
and complete. 



STEPHEN J. BECKMAN. 

Stephen J. Beckman, attorney-at-law, 
of Burlington, was born in this city Dec. 
-7. 18/3' his parents being Stephen and 
Mary (Eversman) Eeckman. The father 
was a native of West Phalen, Prussia, born 
Jan. 6, 1826. The mother's birth occurred 
at Iburg, near Osnabruck, Prussia, Nov. 
20, 1845. Stephen Beckman, Sr., came to 
the United States in i860, crossing the At- 
lantic to New Orleans, and thence proceed- 
ing up the Mississippi River to St. Louis, 
where he remained until 1863, having 
charge of a dairy there. He afterward 
went to Oquawka, 111., where he conducted 
a wagon shop. He met with financial re- 
verses there ; for the building of the rail- 
road bridge at Burlington proved the death 
knell of Oquawka, and business of all 
kinds diminished in the town. Finding his 
efforts there no longer profitable, Mr. Beck- 
man removed to Burlington, where he con- 
ducted a wagon-making shop until 1872. 
He then entered the employ of the Bur- 
lington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad 
Company, continuing in that service as one 
of its trusted representatives in the shops 
for a quarter of a century. He died June 
27, 1898. 

His wife was sixteen years of age when 
she came to the United States, landing at 
New Orleans. She at once made her way 
to Burlington, and two years later gave 
her hand in marriage here to Mr. Beckman. 
She died Jan. 10, 1901. In their family 



464 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



wore seven children, (jf whom Sleplien J. 
is the fifth. Tlie others still living are: 
George C. a mechanic residing in Daven- 
port. Iowa; Clara, the widow of H. W. 
Lucliner. and a resident of liurlington ; 
'.\nna: 1 knry ].. who follows carpentering 
in Ihirlington ; and .Vannie .A., a stenog- 
rapher for the Drake Hardware Company, 
of this city. One son, John, died in infancy. 
Stephen J. I'ecknian pursued his educa- 
tion in St. John's parochial school until 
thirteen years of age, after which he spent 
two years as a public-school student in 
Burlington. When a youth of fifteen he 
entered u])on his business career as a de- 
livery Ix)y in the postoftice. being thus cm- 
ployed for a year and a half, after which 
he spent one year as a student in Elliotts 
Business College. He was for seven years 
employed in llertzlcr's shoe store, but 
throughout this period ii was his ambition 
to become a member of the bar. He began 
reading law when only fifteen years of age, 
and he occupied his leisure hours largely 
in this way. He had always looked to the 
law as a profession, and his efforts were 
directed toward that end. 

At length, when he had saved from his 
earnings a sum sufficient to enable him to 
meet the expen.ses of a college course, he 
entered the State University Sept. 13, 
1899, and was graduated from that insti- 
tution June 12, lyoi. He had clerked 
every day in a shoe store at Iowa city dur- 
ing his university course, studying law at 
nights, and thus had made his way through 
college, and he had money left at the close 
of the course. He afterward made a tour 
of Colorado and tin- West, looking for a 
favorable location, but decided that lUir- 
lington afforded sufficient opportunities, and 
accordingly opened an office in this city in 



.\ugust, lyoi. Here he has since remained 
engaged in active practice, and his strong 
and imyielding ()urpose, his devotion to 
his clients' interests, and his cajiability re- 
sulting from a "thorough mastery of \cga\ 
principles, have been the salient factors in 
wimiing him a desirable position at the 
liurlington bar. 

In UJ04 .Mr. Beckman was the Demo- 
cratic candidate for the office of city so- 
licitor, and though he was defeated, he 
ran a thousand votes ahead of his ticket, a 
fact which indicated his personal poi>u- 
larity and the confidence reposed in him by 
the general public. He has always been 
a stanch advocate of Democratic princijiles. 
in religious faith he is a Catholic, and is 
connected fraternally with the Knights of 
Columbus. .\ young man of strong force 
of character, with good intellectual endow- 
ments and laudable ambition, he is making 
rapid i)rogress as a representative of the 
bar, and deserves much credit for what he 
has already accomplished. 



NICHOLAUS KELT. 

Xaiioi,.\us Ilici.r, who follows farming 
on Section 12, I'nion township, is a self- 
made man, who. recognizing the value of 
earnest labor and jierseverance, has through- 
out his business career wrought along those 
lines tuitil ho has become the owner of a 
good farm property, making him one of the 
substantial citizens of his community. He 
was born in Bavaria. Ciermany, I"eb. 2. 1841, 
a son of Nicholaus and KalJierine Helt, who 
W'Cre natives of the same kingdom, and 
spent their entire lives there as farming 
people. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



465 



Nicholaus Helt remained a resident of 
Germany until i860, when at the age of 
nineteen years he sailed for America, taking 
passage on a westward-bound vessel at 
Havre, France, and eventually landing at 
New Orleans, after sixty-seven days spent 
upon the water. He immediately came up 
the Mississippi River as far as Burlington, 
and has since made his home in Lee and 
Des Moines counties. He started to earn 
his living in the New World by working as 
a farm hand, and after a few years he pur- 
chased property with the money earned 
through his own labor and saved through 
his economy. He has since carried on agri- 
cultural pursuits on his own account. From 
1865 until 1890 he lived in Augusta town- 
ship, and now makes his home on Section 
12, Union township, where he has a well- 
improved farm. 

In 1865 Mr. Helt was united in marriage 
to Miss Margaret Schulteis, a native of Ger- 
many, who came to America when two 
years of age with her parents, Henry and 
Elizabeth Schulteis. They landed in New 
York, and spent some time in Pennsylvania, 
after which they came to Iowa, and were 
among the pioneer settlers of Des Moines 
county. Eight children were born to Mr. 
and Mrs. Helt : Katherine ; Anna ; Chris- 
tina ; George, who died in 1903. at the age 
of thirty-one years ; Emma ; Julia : William : 
and one that died in infancy. 

The family attend and support the Lu- 
theran church. In his political views Mr. 
Helt is a Republican, but does not consider 
himself bound by party ties at local elections, 
often casting his ballot regardless of party 
affiliation. W^hile living in Augusta town- 
ship he served for a number of years as 
township trustee, and is now serving for 
the second year in that office in L'nion 



township, proving a capable ofificial. About 
eight years ago he made a trip back to his 
native land, visiting the scenes of his child- 
hood and renewing the friendships of his 
early years, although many of his early 
companions had died or moved away. This 
time it took him but seven days to cross 
the ocean, while on his first voyage he was 
almost ten times as long — a fact which 
illustrates the great advancement made in 
methods of ocean travel. He is fully con- 
tent with America as a place of residence, 
for here he has gained a good home and a 
comfortable competence. 



MAJOR FRED S. HOLSTEEN. 

Major Fred S. Holsteen, popular and 
prominent in legal, political, military, and 
social circles in Burlington, where he 
is engaged in the practice of law, and 
where his influence has been beneficially 
felt in many lines of activity and achieve- 
ment, was born July 5, 1873, in the city 
which is yet his home, his parents being 
Sophus Freidrich Edward Kneiss Hol- 
steen and Emma Amelia (Oelschlager) 
Holsteen. The first of the family to come 
to America was his grandfather, Nicolaus 
Heinrich Freidrich Kneiss, who was a 
doctor juris, and for a number of years 
practiced law in Preetz, Germany. He 
came to America vvith his oldest son, 
Sophus, in 1846, to set his son up in busi- 
ness, and assist in making a home for 
him ; aliout two years later, he had his 
second son, Charles, also come to Amer- 
ica. In the fall of 1851 Nicolaus H. F. 
Kneiss returned to Germany without his 
sons, and immediately after landing he 



+66 



BIOGRAPHICAL REFIEW 



was taken sick and was transferred to tlie 
local Masonic Hosiiital, where he died on 
Nov. 29, 1851, and was buried in the local 
St. Catherine's cemetery. His widow, 
Soi)hie Christine Kiiciss. resided, later on, 
alternately in Preet/., Rensburg, and 
Itzehoe, and died at the latter place on 
Sept. 25, 1886, at a very advanced age, 
leaving three chililren : Sophus and 
Charles, named above, both residents of 
Des Moines county, Iowa; and Regina 
Louise Wilhclmine (Kneiss) Bruhn. then 
residing at Itzehoe, now of Sude, Ger- 
many. 

.Sophus Holsteen was born in Germany, 
Oct. 23, 1829, reccivetl a university educa- 
tion, and after establishing his home in 
America, engaged in the drug business. 
.\t length his health failed him, and he 
purchased land in the suburbs of Burling- 
ton, where he carried on farming for sev- 
eral years. He has long since, however, 
abandoned active business cares, and is 
now living on his farm in Benton town- 
shi|). Des Moines county, Iowa, in hon- 
orable retirement. He spends his winters 
in various places, having been for two 
years in Nova Scotia, while at other times 
he has sojourned through the winter 
periods in southern California. He was 
twice married, and his first wife and two 
children died in the same week. He af- 
terward wedded Emma A. Oelschlager, 
and they became the parents of fourteen 
children, of whom ten are yet living — 
eight sons and two daughters. 
. Fred S. Holsteen, born u]ion his father's 
farm near the suburbs of Burlington, is 
a brilliant example of what a young man 
mav <\o for himself. Until fifteen years 
of age he attended the country scliools 
througli tiie winter months, while in the 



summer seasons he worked upon the 
farm. He then obtained his father's per- 
mission to go to Nauvoo, 111., where, 
through his labor, he met tlie expenses 
incident to a course in the high school 
of that city, lie ajjplied himself with 
such assiduity to his studies that he was 
enai)led to complete a four-years' course 
in three years, and was valedictorian of 
the graduating class of 1893. Until he 
had attained his majority he spent his 
summer months in working upon his 
father's farm. Not content with the edu- 
cational privileges that he had already 
secured, and strongly desirous of making 
furtlier jjrogress in the line of intelleclual 
development, alter reading law for a short 
time in the office of Power, Huston & 
Power, of Burlington, he entered the Bur- 
lington Institute College, and was grad- 
uated in 1895: and later the Iowa State 
University, and was graduated from the 
liberal arts course in 1898; while in 1900 
he comjjleted tlie law course, was ad- 
mitted lo the bar in Iowa, and thus be- 
came qualified lor the practice of the pro- 
fession which he has made his life work. 
Throughout the period of his college 
course he was very busy. In his youth 
he displayed the great energy and execu- 
tive force which have ever been dominant 
factors in his career, and have made him 
one of the successful and popular young 
men of his native city. During his second 
year at college he took part in the sopho- 
more debate as the rei)resentativc of the 
Zetagathian Society, in the fall of 1805. 
and the following year was in class 
debate. In his senior year he represented 
the Zetagathian Society in preliminary 
debate, and was one of the three chosen 
for the intercollegiate debate. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



467 



When he entered college he became a 
private in the military department of the 
university, and was promoted succes- 
sively to the rank of first sergeant and 
captain. He was also appointed profes- 
sor of military science and tactics, and 
commandant of the university battalion 
with the rank of major, succeeding Lieu- 
tenant H. F. Ely, of the United States 
regular army, in the spring of 1899. Dur- 
ing his sophomore year in the university 
he was elected as assistant business man- 
anger of the S. U. I. Quill, the paper of 
the university, and the following year was 
made manager, which position he retained 
and capably filled until the beginning of 
his senior year in the law course. In his 
junior law year he was selected by Pro- 
fessor Willis, in charge of the Iowa City 
Academy, to teach political science and 
civil government, which place he filled 
with honor. In his senior year in the col- 
legiate department of the university he 
was president of the Zetagathian Society, 
a position to which only seniors are eligi- 
ble. Not only did Mr. Holsteen satisfac- 
torily perform these various duties that 
devolved upon him, at the same time pur- 
suing his studies in the university and 
relying on his own efforts for financial 
support, but he made an excellent record 
as a student, and thus entered upon life's 
work thoroughly prepared for his chosen 
department of activity. 

However, desiring to put his theoretical 
knowledge to the practical test, he 
entered the law office of Dodge & Dodge, 
at Burlington, with whom he read law for 
a year following his university course. 
His ambition still being unsatisfied, in 
the fall of 1901 he entered the law depart- 
ment of Yale Universitv, from which he 



was graduated in the following June. He 
was selected to represent the law depart- 
ment in the contest with representatives 
of other departments, and was one of the 
six finally selected from all departments 
as the representatives from Yale Univer- 
sity. He was also chosen as one of the 
three from the law department to debate 
with representatives from other depart- 
ments, and was decorated with a hand- 
some gold medal at the close of the debate 
as a badge of excellence. During the 
spring term he was honored with the 
presidency of the Kent Club, of Yale. 

Following the completion of his course 
at Yale, Major Holsteen returned to 
Burlington to engage in his chosen pro- 
fession, engaging largely in the practice 
of economy and slightl}' in the practice 
of law. Here he opened an office, and 
practiced alone from August, 1902, until 
February, 1903, when he became asso- 
ciated with the law firm of Dodge & 
Dodge, in whose office he had formerly 
read law. This association continued 
until July 29, 1903, when the firm of Hus- 
ton, Holsteen & Yaley was formed, con- 
sisting of Judge E. S. Huston, Fred S. 
Holsteen, and Horace J. Yaley, which 
continued one year, when on July 29, 
1904, Mr. Yaley died. Since then the 
firm is Huston & Holsteen, which ranks 
with the leading law firms of the city and 
State. He is thus actively connected 
with the profession which has an impor- 
tant bearing upon the progress and stable 
prosperity of any section or community, 
and one which has long been considered 
as conserving the public welfare by fur- 
tliering the ends of justice and maintain- 
ing individual rights. His reputation as 
a lawyer has been won through earnest, 



468 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



honest labor, and liis standing at the bar 
is a merited tribute to his abiHty. 

In i8</j Mr. Holsteen joined the Iowa 
National (juard as a private, and was 
later promoted to the rank of first ser- 
geant, then ea])tain, and is now major 
of the I'ifly-fonrth Repjiment. He is 
identified with \arious social and political 
organizations, and is recognized as a 
leader in the ranks of the Republican 
party in his county, serving as a member 
of till* Republican county central commit- 
tee, of which he is now chairman. 

Fraternally, he is connected with Malta 
Lodge, Xo. 318, Ancient Free and .Ac- 
cepted Masons, of which he was secretary 
for two years, and he is a member of Bur- 
lington Camp, No. 6088, Modern Wood- 
men of America. He is likewise secre- 
tary and treasurer of the Burlington 
Commercial E.xchangc, and has served as 
secretary of the Burlington Boating .Asso- 
ciation. Of the college fraternal societies 
he is a member of the Phi Kappa Psi ami 
Phi Delta I 'hi. Endowed by nature with 
strong intellectual powers, he has by 
earnest study and close a])plication devel- 
oped his native talents, and the consensus 
of public opinion ranks him with the lead- 
ing young lawyers, influential men. and 
represenative citizens of Burlington and 
his native State. 



PHILIP ASHLEY CRAPO. 

" Not a general giving his orders. 
Not an officer wearing the gold. 
But a true-hearted private in .service. 
With the strength of a warrior of old. 

" Not the glory of fighting in battle, 
Not the glory of winning the day. 



Hut the gIor>' of doing his duty 
When his country's need pointed the way. 

" Not a life with its joyous home-coming. 
Not a life with ambition fulfilled; 
For duty and death met together. 
And his great heart of honor was stilled " 

The above lines were writen as a tribute 
to riniip .\shley Crapo. It is certain that 
the death of no young man of lUirlington 
has ever occasioned deeper or more wide- 
-spread regret. He gave his life to his 
country, being the only Burlington soldier 
of the Spanish-.\merican War who was 
called upon to make this sacrifice. Bom 
in this city on the 25th of July, 1873, a 
son of Philip M. and Ruth .\. Crapo, he 
died at Camp Cuba Libre, Jacksonville, 
Fla., Sept. 18, 1898, while serving as a 
member of Company F, of the Fiftieth Iowa 
Volunteers. He attended the public schools 
of the city and entered the high school, 
where he spent a half year. His education 
thereafter was continued in the Phillip 
Exeter .\cademy, at Exeter, N. IL, which 
he entered in the fall of 1887, completing a 
four years' course there with credit in 1891. 
He was a thorough and diligent student, 
making high grades in his studies, and was 
alive to every interest in life, and justly 
regarded his education as a preparation 
for life's practical and responsible duties. 
While in the academy he organized among 
the students the Western Club, and was its 
first president. His preparatory course be- 
ing completed, he entered Harvard College; 
but deciding almost immediately thereafter 
to become a member of the bar, he was 
transferred to the law school, froin which he 
was graduated in 1894. While a student 
in Cambridge he was nnich interested in 
college athletics, and was at one time man- 
ager of the baseball team. Later he was 





C:* 




(^ 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



471 



president of the Omaha Tennis Association, 
nor were his interests aside from his pro- 
fession only in athletic lines, as is indicated 
from the fact that he was selected as his- 
torian of the Nebraska branch of the Sons 
of the American Revolution. Returning to 
Burlington he passed the examinations 
which secured his admission to the Iowa 
bar, ranking as one of the best two of 
twenty-five candidates. Soon he was ad- 
mitted to the Nebraska bar, and for a year 
engaged in practice in Omaha ; but his laud- 
able ambition led him to seek the broader 
field and greater opportunities of the 
American metropolis, and in the spring of 
1897 he removed to New York city. There 
he again successfully passed the required 
examinations whereby he was admitted to 
practice in the Empire State. 

In the meantime Mr. Crapo had become 
much interested in the great political ques- 
tions of the day. Although a young man 
he possessed a public spirit that would have 
been creditable to one of twice his years, 
and the important issues which divided the 
two parties claimed his earnest thought and 
consideration. While residing in Nebraska 
he had been a member of the Republican 
cit\' committee, and later was elected a mem- 
ber of the State central committee. Follow- 
ing his removal to New York he gave to the 
world his opinions upon the questions of 
finance in a short treatise of much credit en- 
titled " Science of Aloney," and this work 
being completed, he then entered upon the 
practice of law, in which he continued until 
the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. 
He had displayed as a lawyer ability that 
marked him as a man of much prominence 
in the legal profession. He brought to 
his chosen work certain rare gifts. His was 
a high type of physical and intellectual 



manhood, and all that he did was character- 
ized by thoroughness and accuracy. He 
had, too, the enthusiasm of a young man, 
though he often displayed the mature 
judgment of those many years his senior. 
He enjoyed the commendatory appreciation 
of many men of prominence in legal circles 
in New York, and he gained there a very 
excellent clientage for one of his years ; 
but when he seemed at the very beginning 
of a brilliant and useful career, the cur- 
tain was slowly rising upon the last act in 
his life drama. 

The history of the causes of the Spanish- 
American War is too well known at this 
time to need recounting here. Ashley 
Crapo was a diligent student of the signs of 
the times, and after the proclamation of war 
he at once manifested his desire to join the 
army. Giving up a lucrative law practice 
in New York, he returned hundreds of miles 
to the West and went to Camp McKinley, 
at Keokuk, and enlisted as a private of Com- 
pany F, in the Fiftieth Iowa Regiment. In 
charge of a squad he proceeded at once to 
join his company at Camp Cuba Libre. 
Speaking of his military service the Eve- 
ning Gazette of Burlington said : " Here, 
bred though he was in the very lap of lux- 
ury, he exemplified the quality for which 
the American is known the world over, and 
at once adjusted himself to the plain fare, 
the hard drilling, and almost drudgery of the 
private soldier. He took his place in the 
ranks as a private soldier, willingly, yes, 
joyfully. For two months he drilled faith- 
fully and uncomplainingly, shirking no duty 
of any kind. He enlisted with but one 
purpose in view — to fight for his country ; 
and nothing, however unpleasant, made him 
turn froiu the patriotic path he had chosen. 

" Later, though still ranking as a private, 



472 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Crapo was detailed as regimental 
quartermaster's clerk, a duty which he ful- 
filled as capably as he drilled and worked. 
When finally he was stricken with malarial 
fever, he refused to give up, and uncom- 
jilainingly continued his duties. Finally his 
condition became serious, and he was un- 
able to leave the rude bed in the still ruder 
' shack ' or house. Still, though the sur- 
geons advised his removal to the hospital, 
and offered him a furlough if he wished to 
return to his Iowa home, he refused, pre- 
ferring, as he told every one, ' to stay with 
the boys.' 

" He was finally taken to Saint Luke's 
Hospital, in Jacksonville, and his parents, 
hastily summoned, were at his bedside ; but 
typhoid had set in, and he steadily became 
weaker until his death resulted. 

" Among his associates, his comrades in 
the company and in the entire regiment, 
Private Crapo was well liked. Without ex- 
aggeration he was the most popular man in 
the company. Big and brave, both in 
stature and in heart, not a soldier but liked 
and admired him. His ' shack,' or rather 
his home in the company street, was a 
favorite gathering place, and Private Crapo, 
better educated than the majority, with 
ready wit and willing to entertain every 
one, was the life of the nightly assemblage 
often until long after ' taps.' His many good 
fjualities were appreciated by private and 
officer alike." 

His colonel, D. \'. Jackson, said: "It 
always seemed a wonder to me that a young 
man of his education, experience, and 
tastes, could so readily conform to the hard 
usages of military life, and so cheerfully put 
up with the discomforts that a private 
soldier is compelled to endure, and many 
times I have looked at him admiringly as 



he passed by, faithfully discharging every 
duty assigned to him. Death seems to 
love a shining mark. No acquisition of 
territory or wealth can make up to the na- 
tion the loss of such lives." 

With the thoughtful consideration for his 
parents which was ever one of his strong 
characteristics, Ashley Crapo desired that 
his parents should not be notified at first 
of his illness : and when the news finally 
reached tluMn. the mother was at Burling- 
ton, but the father was in Hartford, Conn. 
Each started for the bedside of their son, 
arriving in Florida on the same day, and 
were with him at the last. They then re- 
turned with his remains to Burlington, 
where he was accorded all the honors of a 
soldier's burial, the remains being met at 
the station by members of the Sixth Bat- 
tery and the Grand Army Post, of Bur- 
lington, together with members of Company 
F. The Congregational church, in which 
the funeral services were held, was most 
beautifully draped by members of the 
Woman's Relief Corps and Soldiers' Aid 
Society, flags forming a background from 
the altar up to the ceiling, while the floral 
decorations were most profuse and beauti- 
ful. The funeral sermon was delivered by 
the Rev. Dr. Salter, who said : " We now 
mourn the death of one whose life was full 
of promise and hope, the pride of our 
hearts, of his home, of our city, of our 
schools, of our country. Endowed with a 
clear and vigorous mind -that was enriched 
by the best culture, and prepared for active 
participation in the pursuits of business or 
of his chosen profession, at his country's 
call an enthusiasm for humanity inspired 
him to leave the bright jirospects of pro- 
motion and advantage that were before him, 
and offer all, and offer his life upon the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



473 



altar of the republic. He knew the perils 
and hazards of war. He had heard them 
from lips that he honored and revered. He 
knew also how through such perils the 
nation had been saved, and its career and his- 
tory been crowned with new luster for future 
times. A patriotic fire glowed in his bosom. 
Such was his sense of the nation's honor 
and glory, of its high place among other 
nations, that he would allow no personal 
consideration to hinder him from the sacri- 
fice he willingly made with all a lover's 
ardent devotion. Determined to share in 
the conflict, the privations and hardships 
of camp life he bore with uncomplaining 
fortitude. Burdened with arduous and 
extra duties, he would not allow failing 
strength or wearisome fatigue to afford him 
a reason for seeking relief and rest, but 
with the firm persistence of his nature kept 
at his work until disease seized upon him 
with relentless grasp, and that young and 
vigorous frame, that bright and pleasing 
countenance, that warm and tender heart, 
succumbed to the inevitable hour of waste 
and dissolution and death. 

" He was proud and happy to be a soldier 
of the republic, and a grateful nation honors 
his name and memory. It was not his 
fortune to face the enemy upon the field of 
battle, but his courage and devotion, his 
zeal and resolution, were the same as that 
of those who fought under Dewey or Schley 
or Sampson, or at Santiago. 

" The war was filled with unexampled 
and entirely unexpected results. No greater 
marvels were ever accomplished in so short 
a space of time by the arbitrament of war 
in any of the campaigns of history. It is 
the faith of home that the cause of hu- 
manity, that the cause of liberty, that the 
cause of good government, that the cause of 



civilization, has received a great advance- 
ment throughout the world. The one hun- 
dred days of the war, it is said, have made 
one hundred years of progress for human 
society. Other nations will be stimulated in 
the interest of advancing civilization, and 
a better time will be made to dawn for mil- 
lions of people that have long been under 
the ban of cruelty and oppression. 

" To these high objects the life and -the 
death of Ashley Crapo have contributed his 
full measure of devotion and sacrifice. He 
died for all these interests — his country. 
Ah, my brethren, let us look at it truly, 
and let us say : He died for our country, 
for you, and for me, for the principles of 
the national life, for the sacred cause of 
liberty and union in the republic, now more 
than ever manifested to be ' one and insepa- 
rable.' " 

It would be impossible in a work of this 
character to give all of the resolutions of 
respect and sympathy which were passed, or 
to tell of the words of condolence that 
came to the family uttering the praise of a 
soldier boy. Resolutions were passed by 
Washington Camp, No. i, Nebraska Pa- 
triotic Sons of America, of which he had 
become a member on the r3th of June, 1896, 
in which was the following : — 

" Resolved, That we have lost one of our 
brothers in the prime of youth, with a long, 
bright future before him — one who en- 
deared himself to each one of us by his 
tender sympath}- and manly courage, his 
cheerful manners and his moral rectitude; 
and we cherish his memory and hold sacred 
his death as a Patriotic Son of America, for 
he exemplified his love of country, not only 
with his lips, but with his life, by giving 
himself up to his country's service, and 
dying for her." 



474 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Tlic resolution passed In Matthics Post. 
G. A. R., of Burlington, said : — 

" Born among us in happy condition of 
life, bred under gentle influences, we recall 
a pleasant child whose bright promise his 
youth and manhood amply and easily ful- 
filled. His g(X)dly presence corresponded 
with his mental and moral stature ; of vig- 
orous and inquisitive mind and retentive 
memory, he was a successful student. 

" Diligent in business, with pleasant ad- 
dress and winning manner, simple and sin- 
cere, he had fairly begun a career of great 
usefulness in his profession of the law. 
Self-reliant and self-exacting, he was al- 
ways true to himself, faithful to every duty 
as it came to him, ' standing for the right 
as it was given him to see the right." 

■■ The soldier in nowise lowered the 
standarfl of the civilian. To his last con- 
scious moment he was resolute, steadfast, 
devoted, dutiful, as one following a high 
calling. .And respect was had to his offer- 
ing, his sacrifice was accepted, and he en- 
tered into life." 

The .^ons of the .-\nierican Revolution, of 
Nebraska, the Douglas County (Nebraska) 
Bar, and the Burlington Bar also passed 
resolutions, as did Harvard College ; and in 
the Han'ard Volunteers appeared the fol- 
lowing: — 

" There are no more battles now. The 
men are returning and we see them about 
the college as before, but of course not all 
who went in the spring ; for the work that 
these men hail set out to do would not 
[)ermit of that. And to those whom wc 
shall not see here, either this year or the 
next, who fought as their teaching had 
told them, and did it well, to them full honor 
is o\\ ing. and to them is given in sadness the 
great love of this University of Harvard. 



Hollister, I-'urness, Sanders, Crapo, Adsit, 
Lahman, Heiishaw, Wheeler, Stover, Tal- 
rott — they are the men who have gone. 
They died in service, and when they were 
buried, L'nilv-d Stales troops stood at at- 
tention." 

From his college comrades, from the 
friends of his early boyhood, from his as- 
sociates of the bars of Nebraska and of New 
York City, came words of commendation, 
of praise, and of love concerning and for 
Chilip Crapo. .All who knew him were 
mnnbered among his friends, and it was 
because of his personal characteristics — his 
deej) sympathy, his readiness to do a favor, 
his ajjpreciation of good qualities in others, 
and his delight in all that makes life really 
worth living. Each letter that came seemed 
to breathe the same thought — " we had 
learned to love him." .\t the grave the 
military salute was given and the last taps 
were sounded, and wrajiped in a flag of 
his country, for which he had given his life, 
the remains of I'hiliji .Ashley Crapo were 
interred : but the great circle of his friends, 
and they were as numerous as the circle 
of his acf|uaintance, have the firm belief that 
that which is great, and good, and noble is 
eternal, and may well entertain the spirit 
of James Whitcomb Riley's beautiful 
lines : — 

" I can not say and 1 will not say 
riiat lie is (lead— lie's just away. 
With a cliccry smile and a wave of his hand. 
He has wandered into an nnknowii land. 
And left ns dreaming how very fair 
It needs must be. since he lingers there. 

"And you, O you, who the wildest yearn 
For the old-time step and the glad return — 
Think of him as faring on. as dear 
111 the love of '{"here as the love of Here; 
Think of him still the same, I say — 
lie is not dead — he is just away." 



DES MOIXES COilXrV. IOWA. 



475 



GEORGE J. STEWART. 

One of the oldest business men of Bur- 
lington, Iowa, and one who has pursued a 
long and successful career in this city, is 
George J. Stewart, of the Stewart & Hay- 
den Co., plumbers. Mr. Stewart was born 
Dec. 15, 1842, in Edinburgh, Scotland, of 
good old Scotch ancestry, and when sixteen 
months old came to America with his par- 
ents, James and Barbara (Hill) Stewart, 
landing at the port of Xew York, and com- 
ing thence directly west and locating at 
Peoria. 111. The father, who was a baker 
by trade, worked there in a shop for a time, 
and later established and successfully con- 
ducted a business for himself, but at the 
beginning of the Civil War he, with a son, 
James, now of Junction City, Kans., en- 
listed in the Sixty-fifth \'olunteer Infantry, 
serving through the greater part of the 
war as a private in the Army of the Cum- 
berland, and in the year 1864 died in Geor- 
gia of disease. In that southern land he 
was buried, amid the scenes of his sacrifice 
for the country's cause, and the place of 
his sepulture is not known to this day. The 
demise of his wife preceded his, she having 
died in 1857. at Peoria, and where she is 
buried. Both were people of the highest 
personal character, and were of the class 
who have given to our nation many of her 
most faithful and distinguished sons. They 
were the parents of five children, only three 
of whom, however, grew to maturity, these 
being, in order of birth : George J., our sub- 
ject ; James, of Jvinction City, Kans., who 
was for many years a plumber at Fort Riley, 
Kans.; and Mrs. Barbara Cameron, a 
widow, of Cass county. III. 

In Peoria, George J. Stewart grew to 
manhood's estate, and obtained his educa- 



tion, and then, desiring to prepare himself 
for the work of life by learning a trade, 
he went to St. Louis to apprentice himself 
as a plumber. But while in that city he 
witnessed one of the opening acts of the 
great drama of the Civil War, the taking of 
Camp Jackson, with the capitulation of the 
Southern troops, and being filled with en- 
thusiasm for the cause of the North in its 
opposition to human slavery, he enlisted, 
while on a visit to his grandparents at 
\'irginia, Cass county. 111., in Company D, 
One Hundred Fourteenth Illinois \'olunteer 
Infantry, — a regiment composed principally 
of Sangamon county men, who had per- 
sonal acquaintance with President Abraham 
Lincoln. His enlistment was in 1862 as a 
private, under Colonel Judy and Captain 
Berry, and he was with the Fifteenth, Six- 
teenth, and Seventeenth Army Corps, serv- 
ing for a period of three years, and taking 
personal part in many hotly contested en- 
gagements, among which were the battles 
of Jackson, Miss., the battle of Black River 
Bridge, the famous siege of Vicksburg, 
the siege of Mobile, and the two days of 
fighting at Nashville under the command 
of General Thomas. In spite of all this 
arduous and dangerous duty, and after three 
years of continuous service in the heart of 
an enemy's countrx-, he emerged from the 
conflict without a scar of battle, and re- 
turned to Illinois to resume the responsibil- 
ities of a life of peace. 

Proceeding thence to St. Louis, he 
worked awhile as a journeyman plumber, 
and in 1867 came to Burlington, where 
he was similarly employed until 1869, when 
he became associated in the business of a 
regular ])lumbing establishment w\th W. F. 
Hayden. using the firm style of Stewart 
& Hayden. This partnership was most 



476 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEIV 



pleasantly and iirofitably contiiuied until 
Mr. Haytlen's failinp hcaltii prompted the 
or}^anization of tile ])artnership into a cor- 
poration, of which Mr. Hayden was 
president, and Mr. Stewart, secretary and 
treasurer. Mr. Hayden died in May, 1903, 
but his estate is still re|)reseiited in the firm, 
which, since its incorporation, has been 
known as the Stewart-Hayden Company. 
The business, consisting of plumbing and 
steam-fitting, has always been conducted 
on North Main Street, and for many years 
at the present location. No. 310. the build- 
ing occupied being a part of the corporate 
holdings. Mr. Stewart speaks most appre- 
ciatively of his late partner, Mr. -Hayden, 
and of their pleasant business and social 
relations. 

In 1870, Mr. Stewart was united in mai*- 
riage to Miss Anna E. Valentine, who was 
born at Keosauqua, Iowa, and to them have 
been lx)rn five children, only two of whom 
survive. Carrie W., the younger of these, 
is at home with her i)arents. and Alice B. 
is the wife of W. I'.. I'ilger, of Burlington, 
a clerk for the lirm of Biklen & W'enzer, 
wholesale grocers. The family home, a 
modern frame structure of generous dimen- 
sions, is at 31(1 South Gunnison Street. 

Mr. Stewart's lively interest in public 
affairs has led him to become a stanch 
supporter of the Republican party, in whpse 
declaretl princi])Ies he is a believer, but he 
has never sought public recognition in the 
way of office, preferring to stand by his 
record as a private citizen. He is a member 
of Matlhies Post, \o. 5, Grand Army of 
the Republic, of which he has been com- 
mander for the past two years, an office he 
still holds. He has attended the State en- 
campment at Des Moines, as well as the 
national encampment held a few years ago 



at Chicago. l-"or many years he has been 
a faithful worker in the I'irst Methodist 
Episcopal church, and at the present time 
is an honored member of its official board, 
by whom his counsel is valued as that of 
one gifted with ability and one whose ex- 
jK'rience has been wide and diversified. 

-Mr. Stewart enjoys the distinction of 
being the oldest plumber in tlie city of Bur- 
lington, the county of Des Moines, and 
jjrobably in the whole eastern ])ortion of 
the State of Iowa. While age is not a merit 
in itself, his wealth of years is a fitting 
crown for a life well spent, an appropriate 
ornament of a strong and self-reliant char- 
acter, self-respecting and res])ected, honored 
and honorable. Success has been his in full 
measure. lx)th in the material and the 
higher aspects, and he has earned it fairly, 
by his own exertions, without the help of 
circumstance, kindred, or influential friends, 
and it comes to him as a right and just 
reward. Ever ujjright, and |)racticing the 
severest integrity in all his relations with 
mankind, he enjoys the unqualified respect 
of all and the jjrofound regard of those who 
know him best, while his social nature and 
genial disposition have made him countless 
friends. Reverently to inscribe the chron- 
icles of such a life is the most sacred tluty 
of the historian. 



CHARLES H. BIKLEN. 

Thk measure of man's success is not 
determined by the heights which he has 
reached, but is measured according to his 
starting-point. ICntering business life in 
a humble cajiacity, Charles H. Biklen has 
progressed along lines of enterjirise and 
perseverance until he has made for himself 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



+77 



a creditable place in tlie commercial circles 
of Burlington, being proprietor of a de- 
partment store, which stands as the visible 
evidence of his diligence, energy, and close 
application. The German element in our 
American citizenship is a valued one, and 
of this he is a representative. 

A native of VVurtemberg, Germany, he 
was born in Unterturkheim, July i6, 1840, 
his parents being Louis H. and Dorothea 
(Warth) Biklen, also natives of that coun- 
try. The father was a stonecutter by 
trade, and thus supported his family until 
his death, which occurred when he was 
sixty years of age. His wife died at the 
age of seventy-four years. They were the 
parents of eight children. Charles H. Bik- 
len, the youngest of the family, was only 
about a year old when his father died. At 
the usual age he entered the public schools, 
where. he remained till fourteen years old, 
and continued to reside in his native prov- 
ince until sixteen years of age, when he 
and his brother Louis joined their brother 
Gottlieb in Burlington. They sailed from 
Havre, France, to New York, being thirty- 
seven days in crossing the Atlantic on a 
sailing vessel. They arrived at Burlington 
Nov. 22, 1856. Here Charles H. Biklen 
began earning his living by working in the 
confectionery manufactory of Runge & 
Brothers, with whom he remained for four 
and a half years, thoroughly mastering the 
business in principle and detail. He after- 
ward clerked for his brother in Ottumwa, 
Iowa, for six months, and then returned to 
the trade of candy-making, in which busi- 
ness he continued until 1885. He began 
business on his own account in 1862, and in 
the venture met with success, giving to 
the public a grade of goods which insured 
a continuance of the public patronage. 



His trade constantly increased, and he con- 
tinued the manufacture of candy until 1893, 
when he withdrew from that branch 'of the 
trade. He had also conducted a restaurant 
in connection with the other branch of his 
business, but closed out both lines in the 
year mentioned, and established a depart- 
ment store, at 419 Jefferson Street, where 
he has since carried on business. Again, 
in his judicious selection of his stock, he 
has pleased the general public, and his busi- 
ness has been marked by a steady annual 
growth that is very gratifying. As his 
trade increased he was obliged to enlarge 
his store, and in 1900 he added the ad- 
joining store. No. 417, now occupying all 
the floors of 417 and 419 Jefferson Street, 
and conducting an extensive business. 

In 1865 Air. Biklen was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Caroline C. Siegle, who was 
born in Unterturkheim, Wurtemberg, Ger- 
many, and came to America in 1854, with 
her parents. Christian and Marguerite Sie- 
gle, who landed at New York, and thence 
made their way to Peoria, III., where they 
were living at the time of their daughter's 
marriage. The father died in Peoria, at the 
age of eighty-three years, and the mother 
died there at the advanced age of ninety 
years. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Biklen have 
been born five children : Bertha, the wife 
of Rev. Philip Blaufuss, of Creston, Iowa ; 
Louise M., at home; William C, a com- 
mercial traveler ; Matilda, at home ; and 
Herman, who is engaged in business in 
Burlington. 

Mr. Biklen has never had occasion to 
regret his determination to try his fortune 
in America, for his ready adaptability en- 
abled him to adjust himself to the different 
surroundings and varied business condi- 
tions of the New World, and he has made 



478 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



each step in his business career count for 
advancement and accompHshmcnt, lirook- 
ing no obstacles that could be overcome by 
persistent energy and strong determina- 
tion. Work — persistent, earnest work — 
has been the secret of his success, which 
has indeed been worthily won. Mr. Bikien 
has now a pleasant home at 523 South Sev- 
enth Street, Hurlington, where, with his 
family, he is found lia])pily surn^unded 
when not engaged in his business. 



CARL N. NELSON. 

Carl N. Nelson, who in a brief period 
has risen to ])rominence in LUirlington as an 
architect of extraordinary ability, was born 
in Sweden, the son of Lars and Anna Nel- 
son, who are still living, the father in the 
seventy-third year of his age. and the moth- 
er in her si.xty-third. Mr. Nelson accom- 
panied his i^arcnts to America when but 
fourteen years of age, locating in Gibson 
City, 111., where the father was engaged in 
farming, and where he attended the public 
schools for two years, and later pursued a 
four years' course of study in a technical 
school in order to secure thorough prepara- 
tion for his chosen work. During the years 
of his study he supported himself by his 
own efforts, and by perseverance secured a 
fine education for his profession, (^n the 
conclusion of his stiulii's he entered the of- 
fice of an architect in Galesburg, III., where 
he was engaged in the practical work of his 
profession for a number of years. He then 
located in Burlington, and since that time 
has enjoyed a rapidly increasing success, 
having been the architect and supervisor of 
construction of manv of the handsomest and 



most important residences erected in Bur- 
lington during the last four years, among 
them being the residences of J. V. Richey, 
L. C. Wallbridge, and C. E. Otto; also the 
Lincoln School, an impressive structure. He 
has also done similar work in Washington, 
Winficld, Mediapolis, and many other sur- 
rounding towns, and has for this season of 
1905 a number of important jobs. 

At Edgar, Nebr., December, 1888, our 
subject wedded Miss Tena Olsen, who is 
a daughter of Samuel Olsen. Both her par- 
ents were born in Sweden, and came to the 
I'nited States, locating in Jefferson county, 
Iowa, where Mrs. Nelson was born and 
reared. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have three 
children. .\lna, \'eda, and Tessie. Mr. Nelson 
has never taken an active part in public affairs 
as a member of a political party, preferring 
to act independently in all matters affecting 
the general welfare. In his fraternal con- 
nections he is a member of Herald Lodge, 
No. 54, Independent ( )rder of Odd Fellows, 
in which he has filled all chairs, and of Eu- 
reka Encampment, No. z. which has also 
conferred upon him the honors of office. 
He is a member of the Lone Tree Fishing 
and Gun Club, and enjoys an enviable social 
standing, for his ability has won him uni- 
versal admiration, while reputation has come 
to him by reason of his sterling traits of 
character and attractive personality. 



HENRY LEMBERGER. 

Henr'/ Lf.mberger, for many years 
])romincnt in the i)tihlic and industrial ac- 
tivities of Burlington, was born May 4. 
1840, in Louisville, Ky., a son of John 
G. and Katherine (Birtsch) Lemberger. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



479 



The father of our subject, who was by trade 
a stonecutter, as was also the grandfather, 
was born in 1809 in Stuttgart, Wurtemberg, 
and emigrated to America in 1828, landing 
at Pliiladelphia after a voyage of sixty-five 
days. In Philadelphia he learned the trade 
of a baker, remaining in that city for 
two years, then going west to Champaign 
county, Ohio, where he found work on a 
canal at his old trade of stonecutting, an 
employment which yielded him but fifty 
cents a day. Thence he went to Louisville. 
Ky., in 1838, and in 1841 he came to Bur- 
lington by way of the IMississippi River. 
The river becoming frozen, however, when 
he reached Keokuk, he traveled from there 
by ox-team, arriving in Burlington in 
March. Here he followed his trade until 
i860, and in 1864 he became the partner 
of his son, our subject, in a manufacturing 
business. At his trade he was quite suc- 
cessful, and it was he who supplied the 
cut stone for the college at Galesburg, 111., 
a great deal of the stone which he used 
being taken from a quarry near Glad- 
stone, then called Sagetown. In Cham- 
paign county, Ohio, he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Katherine Birtsch, who 
was born in the city of Baden in 1813, and 
came to America in 1828. landing at Bal- 
timore, but after a voyage lasting for the 
remarkably extended period of ninety-four 
days, and during which, by reason of unfore- 
seen delays, the passengers were constrained 
to subsist for a time on half rations, and 
finally on a fourth ration. To I\lr. and Airs. 
Lemberger were born ten children, of whom 
only si.x, however, grew to maturity. These 
were as follows : Fred, who was mortally 
wounded at the battle of Helena, Ark., 
July 4, 1863; Henry; Charles, who served 
through the Civil War, in Company F, 



Fifty-seventh Illinois Infantry, and is now 
farming in this county ; Minnie, wife of 
George M. West, and lives in Los Angeles, 
Cal. ; John L., now of Los Angeles, Cal., 
who enlisted in the Iowa \'olunteer In- 
fantry, and served four months, or until 
the close of the war ; and Jacob F., also of 
Los Angeles. P'athcr and mother were both 
members of the Lutheran church, and in 
his political faith Mr. Lemberger was a 
Whig, and later a Republican. He was a 
man held in high esteem by the public and 
all who knew him, being called to several 
positions of honor and trust, including the 
offices of city alderman and township trus- 
tee, and was against his will made candidate 
for the office of recorder in 1873, but his 
death occurred in October of that year, and 
before the holding of the election. 

Henry Lemberger, the subject of this 
review, was educated in the public schools 
of Burlington, and at the beginning of the 
Civil War in 1861 enlisted in the Iowa 
Lances, a full regiment organized for the 
government service, and excellently drilled. 
The regiment was not called into the field, 
however; and was disbanded after drilling 
for three months, during which it was en- 
camped on West Hill, in Burlington. In 
1864, Mr. Lemberger, taking his father into 
partnership, established a cigar factory in 
this city, continuing it with much success 
until 1877. In 1881 he again started a cigar 
business, conducting this venture until 1884, 
in partnership with Mr. L. M. Pilger, and 
running it exclusively as a wholesale busi- 
ness. In 1876 and 1877 he was elected for 
two terms as road supervisor, and during 
the former years he was for six months 
superintendent of the North Hill street-car 
line, of which company he was president 
upon its organization in 1875, ^"d later 



48o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



became secretary and treasurer, positions 
which he held until the prtiperty was sold. 
In 1885 he was elected marshal of the city 
of Burlington, and was re-elected three 
times, serving four terms aggregating four 
years. He then became night sergeant of 
the police force, acting in that important 
capacity until .\]jril, 1891, when he resigned. 
Some years later he held the office of con- 
stable at intervals for four years, and was 
also a member and the president of the 
school board of Sunnyside district for manv 
years before it was included in the control 
of the city board. In lyoo he again became 
city marshal of Burlington by appointment 
of the mayor, discharging the duties of that 
position for two years with great credit to 
himself and benefit to the peace and good 
order of the municipality, and iluring the 
period he was also chief of police, ex officio. 
On Oct. 14, 1865, he wedded Miss Louise 
Wollmann, daughter of John Wollmann, 
of Burlington, who brought his family 
from Germany in 1854. Mrs. Lemberger 
was born Oct. 31, 1843, 'TkI cJ'cd Sept. 
24, 1886, universally regretted among her 
acquaintances and friends, among whom 
the fine traits of her character won her deep 
regard. To Mr. and Mrs. Lemlx-rger were 
born six children, two of whom died at the 
age of five years, and those living are as 
follows : Gustave A., shipping clerk with 
K. D. Winters & Company ; Henry W., a 
saddler in St. Louis : Fred G., a linotype 
operator in the office of the Hazi'k-Eyc, Bur- 
lington ; and Louise W. Our subject occu- 
jjics a comfortable home at 1857 Lem- 
berger Street, named for him by the city 
council of Burlington, ami lu-re he leads 
a retired life, although he maintains his 
vineyard and small orchard for the sake of 
the interest which he finds in their care and 



supervision. Always active in politics, Mr. 
Lemberger was a Kcpublican until 1872, 
but since that time has been a member of 
the Democratic party. He cast his first vote 
in the first ward of lUirlington in i86i, and 
since that time has never missed participa- 
ting in an election, and has always voted in 
the same ward. He is of genial and cordial 
disposition, and enjoys a wide friendship, 
while the strict and rigid rules by which 
he has squared all his dealings with his 
fellow-men have won him unvarying re- 
spect. As a public officer, his record is one 
of great efficiency and constant devotion to 
duty, often in circumstances requiring the 
highest courage and determination in times 
of personal danger, so that it may be said 
of him tliat to every private relation he has 
been true, to every public trust faithful, and 
ever steadfast in following his own sense 
of duty and right. 



DR. FRANK P. HANAPHY. 

PKoii.\itr,v no calling or profession re- 
([uires greater imr more unselfish devotion 
on the jiart of those who would follow 
it successfully than does that of medjcine. 
Dr. Frank P. Hanaphy,no\v engaged in the 
practice of medicine and surgery at Au- 
gusta, has won his way upward by con- 
stant and persistent effort, as well as by 
the exercise of natural abilities of a high 
order, urged thereto l)y a laudable desire 
to serve his fellow-men. Dr. llanaphy 
was born near Mount Pleasant, Henry 
county, Iowa, on .\pril 11, 1864, a son of 
Peter and Bridget (Cloonan) Hana])hy. 
The parents were both natives of Kings 
county, Ireland, whence they came to 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



481 



America, and settled in New Jersey in 
1851. The father, who was all his life a 
farmer, brought his family to Iowa about 
1856, locating near Mount Pleasant, 
where his death occurred in the eighty- 
seventh year of his age. Politically, he 
was identified with the Democracy, and in 
his religious faith was a lifelong member 
of the Roman Catholic church. The mother 
died in 1889 at the age of seventy-three 
years, and both are buried near Mount 
Pleasant. They were the parents of four 
children, as follows: Patrick, who was 
born in Ireland, and now resides at 
Shawnee, Oklahoma, where he is engaged 
in the wholesale candy business as a man- 
ufacturer; James, who is a resident of 
Henry county, Iowa ; Margaret, wife of 
Charles Muldowney, of Roosevelt, Okla- 
homa ; and Dr. Frank P., subject of the. 
present review. 

The education of Dr. Hanaphy was be- 
gun in the rural district schools, and after 
attending the city schools of Mount 
Pleasant for a time, he entered Howe's 
Academy at that place. He pursued the 
full course of study, and after being grad- 
uated from the institution, as a convenient 
step along the road of advancement, 
taught school for about four years in the 
district schools of Henry county. Am- 
bitious to enter the medical profession, 
he then matriculated in the medical de- 
partment of the Iowa State University, 
from which he was graduated March 7. 
1889, with the degree of M. D. Ambi- 
tious of still farther progress in his chosen 
work, he in 1894 took a post-graduate 
course in the Chicago Polyclinic, thus 
rendering his equipment peculiarly com- 
plete. Upon his graduation from the 
university he began professional practice 



in the city of Burlington, continuing 
there for two years, at the expiration of 
which period he was tendered the ap- 
pointment of surgeon for the Gulf, Colo- 
rado & Santa Fe Railroad, with head- 
quarters at the railroad company's hos- 
pital at Temple, Texas. After being in 
charge of the hospital for three and one- 
half years, — a time which he holds espe- 
cialh' valuable from the viewpoint of ex- 
perience gained, — he returned North and 
resumed his practice at Burlington, con- 
tinuing there until 1896 with very satis- 
factory success. During the year 1894-95 
he occupied the office of city physician of 
the city of Burlington. In 1896 he re- 
moved to Augusta, having engaged in 
practice there continuously since that 
time, and the field of his labors has grown 
rapidly, at the present time extending 
throughout the greater portion of six or 
seven townships, located in Des Moines, 
Lee, and Henry counties. 

On July 2, 1902, Dr. Hanaphy wedded 
Miss Emma Gross, who was born in Des 
Moines county, a daughter of John and 
Anna (\\'ilkes) Gross. Mr. and Mrs. 
Gross are well-known residents of Au- 
gusta, and a sketch of their family and 
lineage will be found elsewhere in the 
present volume. To Dr. and ?ilrs. Hana- 
phy have been born two sons, Keran Paul 
and Francis Patrick, both born in Au- 
gusta. Dr. and Mrs. Hanaphy with their 
sons, are members of the Catholic church. 
Dr. Hanaphy has long been interested in 
matters of politics as a member of the 
Democratic party, in whose ranks he has 
been a worker, but has never sought the 
honor of public office for himself, believ- 
ing that his first duty lies in the direction 
of his professional work. 



482 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'IEW 



FRANK ALFRED JOHNSON. 

A Carefl'l and methodical farmer, 
a conscientious citizen, a good neijjhl)or 
and friend, and a sincere Cliristian, l''rani< 
A. Johnson lias l)y his own nnaidecl 
efforts won such a meed of success that 
the historian is glad to record his name 
as an incentive to those who may become 
discouraged l>y tlic seeming monotony 
and endless routine of daily duties, 
l-'rank Alfred Johnson was the son of 
John \ugust and Hattie (Davis) John- 
son, and first saw the light in Huron 
township. Dcs Moines county, Jan. 10, 
iS-i. He was reared on the farm, ac- 
(juiring in ycjutli the habits <>l industry 
and frTigality which ha\e been so potent 
in spelling success for him in later years. 
He received his education in the tlistrict 
schools of Huron township, and after fin- 
ishing his schooling, remained on the 
home farm tmtil he was twenty-two years 
of age. 

.•\t this tinu- he fell that the time had 
come for him to branch out into l)usiuess 
for himself, and accordingly rented the 
Lamb farm, one mile west of Mcdiapolis, 
where he lived for two 3'ears, and then 
rented the Swank farm in Huron town- 
ship for a term of five years. This was 
an estate of three liundred and twiiity 
acres, of which he had the entire control. 
Hefore his lease on this ])lace had expired, 
he bought what is known as the Wood- 
side farm, consisting of two hundred ,-ind 
eight acres, and for a time superintended 
operations on both of these large tracts, 
thus showing a high degree of executive 
ability, as well as a thorough working 
knowledge of the i)ractical side of farm- 
ing on a large scale. The following year 



he moved onto this W'oodside farm, and 
liveil there until he sold it to James 
i5isho|). He then bought eighty acres of 
rich land from Mrs. Hedge, which he has 
made his home farm, and has improved 
it in many ways since it has come into 
his possessi(jn. He has increased the 
productivity of the soil, has tiled the land, 
has built new buildings to accommo- 
date the abundant i)roducts of the soil 
and the fine stock that he has ]iut on it, 
and has enlarged the buildings that were 
already on it. He has made a sjjecialty 
of cattle- and hog-raising, keeping high- 
grade stock, and showing l)y his success 
that the keeping of the best not nnW 
raises the wealth of the eoninninily and 
gives it higher rank among farming local- 
ities, but also makes more certainly for 
the financial success of the breeder him- 
self. Mr. Johnson has thirty head of cat- 
tle, of the Hereford breed. He is also a 
very successful breeder of I'oland China 
hogs, having some years raised as many 
as one hun<lred and lifty. and now ha\ing 
about seventy-five. 

.Mr. Johnson was married April 15, 
\^)(^. his bride being .Miss Hclda Swan- 
son. ^[rs. Johnson claims Sweden as the 
land of her nativity, having been born in 
that country Oct. 26. 1H77, the daughter 
of Gustav .Adol])!! anil Charlotte (Strand) 
.Swanson. Mrs. Johnson's father died in 
1 88 1, and her mother afterward married 
C. M. .\nderson. and now makes her 
home in Mediapolis, this county. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Johnson three children ha\e 
been born: F.dith. born Jan. <). iS*)"; Mil- 
dred, born Xov. 15. i8<)<): and Everett, 
born July 4, n;02. 

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson arc both mem- 
bers of the .Swedish Lutheran church, are 




FRANK ALFRED JOHNSON. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



+85 



devoted to the doctrines and ])ractice of 
the Christian faith, and liavc ever been 
generous in the support of charitaljle and 
benevolent movements. Mr. Johnson is 
very active in the work of the church, in 
which he holds the office of deacon. He 
has made a study of most of the public 
questions of the day, and has taken con- 
siderable interest in matters of jjolitics, 
acting with the Republican party, and has 
given much thought and effort to the up- 
building of his own immediate commu- 
nity. He is usually appointed as delegate 
to the county conventions, and has at dif- 
ferent times been asked to take the office 
of trustee of Huron township, and also 
the same office for Yellow S])rings town- 
ship, but has found it advisable to decline. 
Mr. Johnson is a mendjer of the Mod- 
ern Woodmen, in the camp of Mediapolis, 
and has many warm and admiring friends 
among the Neighbors of this fraternity. 
He has taken a vital interest in the prog- 
ress of educational interests in the com- 
munity, serving with great efficiency as 
one of the school directors at the present 
time. In all his enterprises he has been 
very successful, and the ability thus dis- 
played, combined with his well-known 
character of integrity and frank and open 
methods in all his dealings, has made him 
many friends, who give him their con- 
fidence and respect. 



SEIBERT MAGLE. 

Seibert Magle, who was at one time 
an enterprising and respected farmer and 
valued pioneer settler of Des Moines county, 
was born in Germany, about 1812. In 
1835, when he was about twenty years 



of age he emigrated to America. He had 
been reared as a farmer l)oy, and .had a 
fair common-school education. He made 
the voyage alone to the New World, and 
came direct to Iowa, where his first work 
was on the dam for a null at Augusta. 
There he earned fifty cents per day. His 
cash capital when he landed in New York 
was but half a dollar, but determination 
and energy formed the Ijasis of success, 
and as years passed by he accumulated a 
handsome competence. He was married 
to Miss Maria Lee, who came to America 
with her parents, Conrad and Elizabeth 
Lee, who settled in Union township. 
They, too, were in limited financial cir- 
cumstances, and took up land from the 
government. The acquaintance which 
Mr. and Mrs. Magle had formed in the 
Fatherland was renewed, and in Union 
township their marriage was celebrated. 
Soon afterward Mr. Magle secured a 
small tract of timber land, and he and a 
neighbor owning a cow and a horse, be- 
tween them made a team in this way, 
which they used in cultivating their fields. 
Subsequently Mr. Magle sold this prop- 
erty, and purchased prairie land in Union 
township, near Burlington. He bought 
there two hundred and forty acres of 
land, for which he paid twelve and a half 
dollars per acre. He then took up his 
abode in the small frame house that was 
upon the place, living there until it was 
destroyed by fire. He afterward built a 
two-story brick residence, which is now 
the property of his son, Peter Magel. 
There Seibert Magle spent his remaining 
days. He became blind twenty-two years 
prior to his death, but was always able to 
transact business. As the years passed 
he became a wealthy man, and his sue- 



486 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



cess was certainly well merited, for it was of activity, whereby he has become one of 
the result of his careful management, the substantial residents of this part of 
keen business discernment, and above all, the State. He is a native son of the 
his untiring labor. In his political views county, his birth having occurred in 
Mr. Magle was a Democrat, but never Union township, July 21, 1843. He spent 
sought or desired office. He held mem- his boyhood days upon the home farm, 
bership in the German Lutheran church, and in the district scho(jls of the neighbor- 
taking an active ])art -in its work, and as- hood acijuired a good education. On at- 
sistcd materially in the advancement of taining his majority he started out in life 
the cause of Christianity in his neighbor- for himself, and was employed as a farm 
hood. In 1896 he was called upon to hand by the month for two years. He 
mourn the loss of his wife, and he sur- rlid not save much during that period, but 
vived her only until .\ug. 9, 1897, their late,- lie rented land from his father, and 
remains being interred in Rock S|)rings thus gained his start. After leasing land 
cemetery. They were among the worthy for about six years he ]iurchased one hun- 
pioneer people of Des Moines county, re- dred acres at fifty dollars per acre, locat- 
spected for their many excellent traits of iug on Section 6, Union township. This 
character, and they left behind them an he began to farm in 1867. Eighty acres 
untarnished name as well as a consider- of the place was prairie, while twenty 
able estate. Of tluir cliildren ten reached acres were covered with timber. There 
mature years, while eight are still living, he lived for a year after his marriage, at 
The family record is as follows: William, the end of which time he ])urchased one 
a resident of I'.urlington ; Henry ; Charles, hundred acres of his present farm from 
who is living in Fremont county, Iowa: liis brother-in-law. i)aying for this fifty 
Mary, the wife of Julius Schafer, of Bur- dollars per acre. His original home here 
lington; Conrad, of Fremont county; was a log cabin, but he has since erected 
Theodore, who was killed by the kick of modern buildings, and in fact has one of 
a horse, leaving a family of four children, the finest country homes of the county, 
who reside in Fremont county ; Margaret, the place being su])|)lied with water- 
the wife of Henry Stcyh, of Hurlington; vvorks, while hot and cold water is piped 
Peter, who lives in Burlington; Benja- to all parts of the house and also to the 
min, a resident of Union township; and barn. There are good outbuildings for the 
Elizabeth, who became the wife of Wil- shelter of grain and stock, and everything 
Ham Hillgardner, of I'nion township, now about the farm is most convenient. He 
dead, and left nine children. lias also extended its boundaries by addi- 
Henry Magle, a retired farmer, and the tional purchases, and now has ;dioul two 
])rcsident of the I'.urlington Rural Tele- hundred and fifty-five acres, 
phone Company, resides on Section 17, In the fall of igo^, feeling the need of a 
Union townshijj, Des Moines county, telephone, Mr. Magle began agitating the 
where he has a beautiful home, which, subject, and he and two other farmers 
with its splendid equipment, is indicative of the neighborhood determiTUMl to organ- 
of his progressive spirit and also his life ize a local telephone system, having no 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



487 



idea of making this an extensive business, 
but simply an accomodation for their own 
use. Several neighborhood meetings were 
held in order to discuss the subject of a 
mutual company, but it was found that 
this idea would not be practical ; so Mr. 
Magle, in connection with E. W. Romkey 
and N. C. Hanson, decided to organize a 
stock company. Mr. Romkey was made 
president and Mr. Magle vice-president, 
while N. C. Hanson became secretary and 
treasurer. They started with thirty-six 
phones and about thirty miles of wiring, 
but this has been extended to three hun- 
dred miles, and there are now nearly 
three hundred subscribers. It has proved 
a paying investment as well as a marked 
convenience to the rural district. 

On Dec. 22, 1870, Mr. Magle was united 
in marriage in Union township to Miss Cath- 
arine Walker, who is a native of that town- 
ship, and a daughter of James O. and Louisa 
(Short) Walker. She had good school ad- 
vantages, and was reared in her native 
county. Three children have been born 
unto them: Rosa M., now the wife of John 
Stein, living on the home place with their 
one daughter, Catharine Louisa ; Charles 
Henry, who married Lutie Penny, and 
lives in West Burlington ; and James 
.Seibert, at home. 

Mr. Magle was reared in the Demo- 
cratic faith, his father and his brothers be- 
ing adherents of the Democracy ; but his 
study of the (juestions and issues of the 
day led him to give his support to the 
Republican party, and he voted for Abra- 
ham Lincoln in 1864. He has never been 
an office-seeker, but upon the solicitation 
of his fellow-townsmen he accepted the 
position as assessor, serving for four 
years, and was also trustee for three 



years. He is a supporter of the Method- 
ist Episcopal church. He has always 
jjeen a man of action rather than of 
theory, and possesses much force of char- 
acter and strong individuality. Looking 
at life from a practical standpoint, he is 
successful ; and that he has utilized his 
opportunities to good advantage, and ex- 
ercised his intellectual talents with force, 
is indicated by the fact that he is to-day 
one of the substantial agriculturists of 
Des Moines county. 



BENJAMIN MAGEL. 

Benjamin M.\gel, numbered among 
Des Moines county's most prosperous agri- 
culturists, and now residing on his large 
farm in Section 6, Union township, was born 
at the old family home in Section 11 of the 
same township, on Dec. 29, 1862. His father 
was Seibert Magle, well known in Des 
Moines county as a successful farmer. Sei- 
bert Magle was born about six miles from 
Giessen, in the province of Hesse-Darm- 
stadt, Germany, on Jan. 5, 1812, and in 
his native place received a fair education 
in the common schools ; but his parents were 
poor, so that at a very early age he was 
obliged to begin earning a living by his own 
efiforts, and also to aid in the support of 
the family. According to the meager data 
obtainable, he seems to have been the only 
son of his parents, but there were at least 
two sisters. Being of an enterprising dis- 
position, he decided while yet a young man 
to emigrate to a new country, where oppor- 
tunities were more abundant, and in 1835 
came to America with a party of homeseek- 



488 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ers. When they landed at Baltimore, he 
had not a cent of money, but he possessed a 
watch and a ffun, and these articles he sold 
for about $25, which was all the capital he 
had on which to begin life in a strange land. 
He at once started westward -with the party, 
traveling by way of the Ohio and Missis- 
sippi Rivers, although part of the journey 
was made overland. liorses were hired to 
haul the chests of household goods and ])ro- 
visions, while the men walked, and the 
women cither walked or rode as they 
pleased. The intention of llie party was 
to reach what is now the city of Burling- 
ton, then called I'lint Mills, but by some 
mistake they went to a point about eight 
or nine miles farther up the river, on the 
Illinois side, near the present site of Oquaw- 
ka. The error was soon correctetl, how- 
ever, and the young German ])ioneer found 
himself at Burlington without money or 
other resources except his own strength, 
determinafion, and practical ability. He at 
once secured employment in iielpiiig to build 
the first dam across the Skunk River, wliicli 
was erected to secure jiower for a grist-mill. 
For this work lie w;is paid at the rate of 
twenty-five cents a day, out of which sum 
he paid for his board and lodging. With 
the party of immigrants, of which the father 
of our subject was a niemlKT. also came Miss 
Mary Lecht, accomjianied by her brother 
Conrad, and on .\pril i, 1837, she was 
united in marriage to Mr. .Magel. Subse- 
quently he and Conrad I'feitT associated 
themselves togelhcr and entered a "home- 
stead " of public land, building on it one log 
house for the use of the two families. W'hen 
the national government became ready to 
put the land on the market they -were with- 
out money, but rather than lose their home- 
stead, thev borrowed monev of a Mr. Kas- 



scl, paying fifty per cent a year for it, and 
thus saved their possessions. 

( )n his homestead the elder .Magel re- 
sided until about 1848 or 1850, when he 
removed to a fann which he had bought 
nearer Burlington. In 1855 the family suf- 
fered an almost overwhelming misfortune 
from a visitation of fire, which destroyed 
their home. It was at midnight on a night 
in January of that year, with the snow cover- 
ing the ground a foot deep, and they suf- 
fered great hardship, besides losing almost 
everything they possessed, for insurance 
was by no means usual in those days. The 
house, however, they soon rebuilt, and there 
Seibert Magic passed the remainder of his 
life, by strenuous exertion and great care 
recouping his loss and becoming compara- 
tively wealthy. There also his death oc- 
curred on Aug. 9, 1897. Twenty-two years 
prior to his death he became totally blind, 
but this did not incapacitate him for busi- 
ness transactions and the general supervision 
of his affairs, in which he always retained 
an active and intelligent interest. The death 
of his ^vife preceded his own by six months, 
the date of her demise being Dec. 6. 1896. 
They were the parents of eighteen children, 
of whom eight died in infancy, while of 
those who attained years of maturity eight 
still survive. 

The boyhof)d of Benjamin Magel was 
passed in the work of the home farm and in 
the acquirement of a good education in the 
district schools. From his earliest years he 
performed a .share of the farm work, and 
later worked occasionally for neighboring 
farmers, but the nioiu-y he earned in this 
way he always turned over to his father until 
after attaining his twenty-first year. After 
that he rented his father's farm for a share 
of the protluce for several years, and in this 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



489 



enterprise he had excellent success. In the 
city of Burlington, on Jan. 28, 1892, he 
wedded Miss Katherine Gutekunst, a native 
of that city, and daughter of J. Martin and 
Katherine (Helcher) Gutekunst. The par- 
ents of Mrs. Magel are both natives of Ger- 
many, and combine in themselves many of 
the characteristic virtues of their nationality. 
To Mr. and Mrs. Magel have been born two 
children : Harold, aged nine years, and 
Marie, now in her seventh year. 

In 1892 Mr. Magel purchased his present 
large farm of two hundred and thirteen 
acres in Union township, removing to the 
new home on March i, 1893, and here he 
has surrounded his family with the comforts 
and many of the luxuries of life. He has 
brought the farm to a high state of improve- 
ment, remodeling a number of the buildings, 
erecting bams and other necessary struc- 
tures, and introducing a general atmosphere 
of neatness and order. Mr. Magel is a man 
deeply interested in the progressive move- 
ments of the times, and is a careful student 
of public questions. In his political attitude 
he maintains individual independence, and 
while his first ballot at a presidential contest 
was cast for Grover Cleveland, he supported 
the candidacy of President Roosevelt in 
1904. Public spirited in every way, he also 
takes an interest in church work and relig- 
ious affairs. He was reared in the faith 
of the German Evangelical denomination, 
and he and Mrs. jNIagel attend the services 
of the church near their home. 



CLARENCE J. MAGEL. 

Clarence J. Magel, of Union township, 
belongs to a prominent family which is well 
known through the county, his father being 



a life-long resident of the township, and his 
paternal grandfather was one of the early 
pioneers. Clarence J. Magel is a son of 
Peter and Alice (Blakeway) Magel, and 
was born on the old homestead he now occu- 
pies, June 16, 1883. His father was born on 
an adjoining farm in 1849, and is a son of 
Seibert Magle, a fine old gentleman whom 
it was a pleasure to know and count as a 
friend. The father of our subject always 
lived in the neighborhod where he was born, 
and started out in life a poor man, but has 
now by great industry, rigid economy, and 
honest principles accumulated two hundred 
and twenty-three acres of the best land in the 
township, and is able to retire from the 
activities of life, and is spending his time in a 
pleasant home in Burlington. A more com- 
plete sketch of him will appear in this 
volume. 

Our subject received his early education 
in the district school, and then later was a 
student at Elliott's Business College in the 
city of Burlington for six months. He then 
returned to the home farm and assisted his 
father till he retired in 1905. After this 
Mr. Magel assumed entire charge of the 
farm, and devotes all of his time to general 
farming and the raising of full-blooded 
stock. 

Jan. 18, 1905, Mr. Magel was married 
to Miss Rosa Ihrer, of Union township. 
She is a daughter of William and Rosa 
(Warth) Ihrer, and was born and educated 
in Burlington, Iowa, but later moved with 
her parents to Union township. She is a 
consistent member of the German Lutheran 
church. Mr. Magel is a good Democrat, 
and always rallies to the hearty support of 
the party, but does not care to be an active 
politician in the holding of any office. If 
he continues as he has begun — active, ener- 



4UO 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA'IEH' 



getic and exhibiting good-will toward all — 
we bespeak that in a sliort time he, too, will, 
like his father, be able to retire and enjoy the 
fruits of his earlv labor. 



PETER MAGEL. 

Peter Magel, a retired farmer now living 
on Garfield Avenue, in Burlington, is well 
and favorably known to the people of Des 
Moines county, where he has for over half 
a century been a witness of its expansion, 
growth, and substantial progress. He is a 
son of Seiliert and Marie (Lee) Magle, and 
was bom near Rock Springs, Union town- 
ship, Feb. 15, 1849. His education was 
ac(|uired in the IJuena Vista school and the 
German school in Burlington, after which he 
returned to his home, and remained till lie 
was about twenty-two years of age in the 
employ of his father. In 1871 he rented a 
part of his father's farm, which he farmed 
till 1876, when he purchased ninety-one acres 
of land of his father and built a nice home, 
where he lived till he retired from farming. 
From time to time Mr. Magel added to his 
farm as follows: During the '80's he 
bought thirty-one acres from F. J. Warth ; 
in 1898 he purchased the old homestead, con- 
sisting of one hundred and twenty-eight 
acres, and in 1900 bought forty acres from 
the Stei)licns heirs. He has put good and 
substantial buildings on the home place, and 
has also tiled the land, which fact makes 
it better for general use. Besides being 
engagetl as a general farnier and stock-raiser, 
Mr. Magel was engaged in the cultivation 
of small fruit, and in 1903 set out six hun- 
dred fruit trees of various kinds. He also 
owns five hundred and thirtv-three acres. 



uf which three hundred and sixty acres are 
improved, in Graham county, Kansas, which 
he bought in 1884. 

Jan. I, 1879. Mr. Magel married Miss 
.Alice Blakcway, daughter of John C. and 
Narcissus Blakeway. They are the parents 
of two children: George Seibert, born Oct. 
I, 1879, ^"<i married Miss Emma Grothe 
March 15. 1905: John Clarence, Ixirn June 
16, 1883. married Miss Rosa Ihrer Jan. 18, 
1905. Mr. .Magel is a sound Democrat, and 
served as school treasurer in L'nion township 
for eighteen years and road supervisor for 
ten years. April 17, 1903, he bought a large 
house in the city which he is im])roving, 
and where he can live very comfortably after 
so many years of activity. He has rented his 
farm to his .sons, who are well known in this 
vicinity. Mr. and Mrs. Magel are both at- 
tendants of the Methodist church. His rec- 
ord is a fair example of what industry, in- 
tegrity, and willing hands can accomplish ; 
and though l'nion township could ill afford 
to lose a citizen who was held in such high 
regard, still riurlington is to be congratu- 
lated as claiming Mr. Magel as one of her 
honored residents. 



GEORGE SEIBERT MAGEL. 

GicoKGE Seii'.kkt M.\CiEL, a well-known 
ami highly respected farmer of l'nion town- 
ship, is indebted to no one but himself for the 
progress he has made in life, aside from a 
good education, for obtaining which an op- 
jxirtunity was given him by his father. He 
started out empty handed, but as this recor<l 
will show, has made the best u.se of all of his 
o])portiuiities, and now is on the road to 
riches and comfort. 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



4QI 



He is a son of Peter and Alice (Blakeway) 
Magel, his birth occurring on his father's 
adjoining farm, Oct. i6, 1879. His father 
was one of the most successful agriculturists 
of the county, where he owned a very large 
tract of land, and where he lived and farmed 
till he retired in 1905, when he moved to 
Burlington, where he has a pleasant home. 
The sketch of his father and brother, Clar- 
ence J., niay be found elsewhere in this 
review. 

Our subject as a lad was bright and ever 
ready to attend the district school, where he 
made rapid progress ; and later spent some 
months at Elliott's Business College, where 
he gained a fair knowledge of mercantile 
life. During his boyhood days he had always 
helped his father with the farm work, and 
had become quite familiar with the care and 
feeding of stock : and so when his school 
life was ended, he still preferred to remain 
on his grandfather's farm. In 1905 he 
began to farm independently, and occupies 
and operates about one hundred acres of his 
father's farm, which is about three miles 
from Burlington. March 15, 1905, Mr. 
JMagel was married to Miss Emma Grothe, 
a daughter of Fred C. Grothe, who now lives 
retired on South Adams .Street. Mrs. Magel 
was born and educated in the city of Burling- 
ton, Iowa, and is a great help to her husband 
and an agreeable acquisition to the neigh- 
borhood. Mr. Magel generally casts his 
vote independently, preferring to assist those 
whom he thinks best qualified to hold offices 
of trust, and at the same time bring credit 
to the community. Mr. Magel has largely 
inherited those characteristics of his father 
and grandfather that are calculated to make 
a thrifty and enterprising farmer, and these, 
together with strong will and firm determin- 
ation, will bring success to any man. 



Through his straightforward and strict 
adherence to the principles of rigiit, he has 
made many friends in the county. 



FRANK CHARLES TABOR. 

h'KANK Charles Tabor, for many years 
very prominently identified with the business 
interests of the city of Burlington, Iowa, and 
now living at his pleasant home at 501 S. 
Ninth Street was born Aug. 27, 1861, at 
Webster City, Iowa, his paternal and mater- 
nal ancestry being of New York and Ver- 
mont, respectively. The family emigrated to 
the West during the pioneer period, and 
became intimately connected with the early 
history of Iowa in its more vital phases, the 
grandfather, Charles .\my, a druggist by 
profession, being in public life, and elected 
the first treasurer of Calhoun county. The 
father, who followed the trade of cabinet- 
making, enlisted in an Iowa infantry regi- 
ment as a soldier for the Civil War, and 
after a service of eighteen months was dis- 
charged on account of wounds received in 
battle, from the effects of which he after- 
ward died. The mother is also deceased, 
and but one sister and one brother of our 
subject survive. 

When eight years of age Mr. Tabor re- 
moved with his parents to Calhoun county, 
and it was there that he received his educa- 
tion in the public schools. On the comple- 
tion of his formal schooling, he became an 
apprentice to the printing trade in the office 
of the Lake City Blade, under the propri- 
etorship of T. B. Hotchkiss. In this posi- 
tion he continued for a number of years, 
meantime working his way to the rank of 
journe_\nian. and in 1884 came to Burling- 



4^2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ton to take a place in tlie office of the Hazck- 
Eyc, llien publislicd l)v Jno. \\ . llurdette, 
One year later he was transferred by Mr. 
Burdette to the job ])rinting department, 
and acted as foreman of his printing jjlant 
for about four years, meeting with full suc- 
cess in the difficult duties of this responsi- 
ble position, and at the same time acquiring 
that experience which afterward contributed 
so largely to his success in independent busi- 
ness enterprises. On .severing this connec- 
tion, Mr. Tabor, in association with a 
number of other gentlemen, formed the 
Commercial Printing Company, a stock 
company with a capitalization of $10,000, 
which proved to be a profitable venture in 
a pecuniary sense; and .Mr. Tabor finally 
acquired the other interests by purchase, 
becoming the sole proprietor, and in this 
capacity continuing the business very suc- 
cessfully for eight years. He then combined 
his business with the Burlington Paper Box 
l-'actory, forming a corporation under the 
name of the Tabor-Burns Company, becom- 
ing president of the new company ; and in 
this capacity he directed the policies of the 
combined enterprise until Nov. i, 1904, 
at which time he sold his stock, and after a 
four ninuths' vacation, liought a halt inter- 
est in the plumbing business, incorporating 
under llu' name of McElhinney & Tabor 
Company. 

On July I, 1886, Mr. Tabor wedded Miss 
Emma J. Anderson, daughter of .\. P. and 
Helen (Parson) Anderson, and to their 
union have been born nine sons and daugh- 
ters, as follows : Ruth, who died at the age 
of seven years ; Amy ; Etta ; Ada, who died 
when fifteen months of age : Bessie, whose 
death occurred in her seventh year ; two 
sons who died in infancy ; Edith ; and Earl. 

Always public-spirited, but never caring 



to claim for himself the honors of public of- 
fice, Mr. Tabor gives his political allegiance 
in matters of national policy to the Repub- 
lican party, of which he is a valued member, 
but in questions of local government con- 
sults his personal estimate of the issues and 
men involved rather than the narrow de- 
markation of partisan lines, i'raternally, 
he sustains pleasant membership relations 
with the Modern Woodmen of America, 
the N. P. L., the Iowa State Traveling 
Men's Association, and the Court of Honor, 
and having at heart the higher interests of 
the community, is a generous contributor 
and zealous worker for the cause of religion, 
being a member of Grace Methodist Epis- 
copal church, of whose board of trustees he 
is a member, and for the past two years has 
been president, an office which he niAV 
holds. 

liy the e.xercise of care, diligence, and 
sound judgment, combined with methods 
of absolute rectitude in all his dealings, Mr. 
Tabor has acquired a very comfortable com- 
])etcncy, and at the same time his genial 
disposition has gained him many friends ; 
while his unimpeachable integrity and the 
sterling qualities of his character have won 
him the universal regard, and made his 
name and record a matter of just pride to 
iiis ado])ted ci^)-, so that by whatever scale 
of success his life be measured, it will not 
be found wanting, but constitutes a fitting 
exam])le for the emulation of ambitious 
voutli. 



MILLARD B. CALKINS. 

MiLi.ARD B. C.M-KiNS, of Burlington, was 
for many years identified with horticultural 
and agricultur;d interests in Des Moines 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



493 



county, and for the past six years has been 
solicitor for the firm of Leyda & Company, 
dealers in monuments. His has been an 
eventful record, characterized by honor and 
usefulness, and he is especially deserving of 
mention for the part which he performed in 
connection with the preservation of the 
Union during the dark days of the Civil 
War. 

Mr. Calkins was born in Seward, Scho- 
harie county, N. Y., and is descended from 
a very ancient English family. Authentic 
record is obtainable concerning one of the 
ancestors, William Colkins (for so the name 
was then spelled), who lived at the time of 
King John, about a. d. 1200. Hugh Calk- 
ins, the earliest American ancestor, was 
born in Chepston, Monmouthshire, Wales, 
in 1600. Stephen Calkins was a resident of 
Sharon, Conn., and his son, Elijah Calkins, 
was a Revolutionary soldier, serving with 
the patriot army. The records show that 
over four hundred and thirty members of 
the Calkins family served in the Civil War, 
and the family has been represented in six 
different wars of the country, including the 
Indian wars, the Revolution, the War of 
1812, the Mexican, the Civil, and the Span- 
ish-American War. Hezekiah Calkins, son 
of Elijah Calkins, was the grandfather of 
Millard B. Calkins. For more complete his- 
tory of the early family, see the Calkins 
genealogy. 

Elijah C. Calkins, son of Hezekiah Calk- 
ins, was born in Schoharie county. New 
York, and became a farmer b^' occupation. 
He was also connected with woolen, saw, 
and grist mills in Xew York. His wife died 
in that State March 3, 1855, and in 1857 he 
located in Burlington, coming to the West 
with two daughters. In his later years he 
was in poor health, and he ilied in 1873. 



at the age of seventy-four years, his re- 
irains being interred in Shiloh cemetery, 
southwest of Burlington. He engaged in 
Inisiness as a salesman of nursery stock, 
books, etc., and lived an active life, al- 
though he did not accumulate nnich wealth. 
He was' a devoted member of the Meth- 
odist church. His wife, who bore the 
maiden name of Harriet Hedge, was born 
in Connecticut. Mr. Calkins was twice 
married, his first wife being Miss Patra, by 
whom he had three children, of whom two 
reached adult age, Elijah H.. and Lorenzo 
D., but both are now deceased. By the 
second marriage there were four children, 
namely : John S. Calkins, of Los Angeles, 
Cal. ; Millard B. ; Celia, the wife of Na- 
thaniel Backus, of Gainesville, Ga. ; and 
Anna E., the widow of John Cannon, and 
a resident of Gainesville. 

Millard B. Calkins removed from the Em- 
]5ire State to Burlington in 1855. The fall 
before the father and two sisters came our 
subject made the trip -with his brother, John 
S., and for eleven months he was employed 
in a dairy in this city. He afterward did 
some farm work, and later with his brother, 
his wife and sister, drove across the country 
to Nebraska, where he remained for two 
years, during which time he secured two 
claims. He was then only eighteen vears 
of age. He carried brick and mortar for 
the construction of public works in that 
State, and while thus engaged he lost his 
claims, one of which was jumped by an- 
other man, who held it, Mr. Calkins being 
then in his minority. Later he returned to 
Burlington, and worked with his brother, 
in which way he accumulated some means, 
which he invested in nursery stock, and then 
established a nursery at Cape Girardeau, 
Mo. He had ih'^re iwciitv two thousand 



4U4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



apple trees on three acres of ground, which 
he leased. 

About that time the war broke out, and 
Mr. Calkins, jumping on a stage, left Mis- 
souri and came to liurlington. While he 
was in Cape Girardeau effort was made to 
force him into the Confederate army, but 
he evaded them and returned to this city, 
leaving his nursery stock to thrive as best it 
could. In July, l86l, he enlisted in the 
home guards in I'nion township, and on the 
loth of October of tiic same year he cnlistetl 
at Burlington in Company K (under Cap- 
tain John Campbell), Tourteenth Imva In- 
fantry as a private, serving until Feb. 6, 1863. 
He was under Captain Leonard (after- 
ward major), Colonel Shaw, and General 
Smith as division commander, and the regi- 
ment was attached to General Grant's army. 
Mr. Calkins engaged in the three days' fight 
at Fort Donelson, on the 131!). 14111. and 
15th of February, 1862, the fort surrender- 
ing on the following day. He was also in 
the battle of Shiloh on the 6th of April, 
1862, being with the brigade which was 
styled by the rebel General Johnston, the 
"Hornets' Nest Brigade. '■" It was under 
command of General Tuttle, and comprised 
the Second, Eighth, Twelfth, and Four- 
teenth Iowa Regiments. The troops re- 
maining uninjured after the battle were 
taken prisoners by Johnston's army, and • 
ke[)t in an oi)eii cornfield the first night. e\- 
))oseil to a cold rain, and were then marched 
on the double-quick to Corinth, put in box 
cars, and taken to Memphis, arriving the 
next evening. Four days later they were 
transferred to Mobile, where Mr. Calkins 
lay ill with typhoid pneumonia for six weeks. 
Those who were able were then exchanged, 
and returned to the front. Mr. Calkins was 
kept a prisoner during his illness, and was 



then sent to Montgomery, Ala., and thence 
to Chattanooga, Tenn., where for three 
weeks he was ill with lung fever. He was 
afterward sipk in Atlanta for three weeks, 
and was taken from there dead, as it was 
supposed. The car, thought to contain the 
dead, was sidetracked : but it was discov- 
ered that life was not extinct in Mr. Calk- 
ins, and he was taken to the hospital. For 
three months he was at Macon, Ga., and was 
kept with his mess comrade, who refused to 
allow him to be taken to the hospital. He 
regained his health there, although he 
weighed less than one hundred pounds. He 
was then taken to Libby Prison on a seven 
days' trip by train, many of the boys dying 
during that journey. He was at Libby for 
a week, after which he was paroled, and 
taken to Akin's Landing, a distance of 
twelve miles ; after which he was sent by 
boat to Annapolis, Md., and after five 
weeks went to Harrisburg. thence to Chi- 
cago, and later to St. Louis, where he was 
mustered out and honorably discharged. 
He was for six months and fifteen days held 
as a prisoner, and was ill all of that time : 
but while at Annapolis he gained fifty-one 
pounds in five weeks. He was discharged 
on account of disability occasioned by lung 
and heart trouble. In 1864 he enlisted in 
the State militia at Burlington, and was 
made lieutenant under Captain Comstock. 

On the 19th of October, 1864, Mr. Calk- 
ins was married to Miss Serena Seamans. 
of Burlington, who was bom in Des Moines 
county, a daughter of B. B. and Jane 
(Crawford) Seamans. Her parents, born 
in Pennsylvania, were reared in Ohio, and 
were married in that State. They came to 
Des Moines county about T834, at a time 
when Indians still lived in this locality, and 
the father entered land about five miles 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



495 



west of the city. At one time he owned 
a thousand acres of land in Des Moines 
county, including the old Governor Cham- 
bers farm of over five hundred acres. He 
went to California in 185 1 because of failing 
health, taking with him five hundred dollars 
in gold. He thought the trip might prove 
beneficial, but he died fifteen days after 
reaching his destination. He was an Aboli- 
tionist His father was one of the patriots 
of the Revolutionary War, and B. B. Sea- 
mans had in his possession various guns, 
powder flasks, and leather ammunition 
sacks, which wei^e relics of that struggle. 
After the death of her first husband Mrs. 
Seamans' married David Larrison, also now 
dece'ased. Her death occurred in 1886, 
when she was ninety-three yeafs of age. 
Mrs. Calkins had seven brothers and one 
sister, and three of the family are now liv- 
ing. Her eldest brother, B. B. Seamans, 
was the first white child born in Des jNIoines 
county, the date of his birth being July, 
1835. He died in 1901, at the age of sixty- 
six years, while visiting in Missouri, and 
his remains were interred in Aspen Grove 
cemetery. The living members of the Sea- 
mans family are Mrs. Calkins ; James, of 
New Mexico ; and Louis, of Zanesville, 
Ohio. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Calkins were born 
five children : Edwin J\I., who married 
Elizabeth ]\I. Cockerell, and is living in Se- 
dalia, Mo. ; Ella L.. the wife of Albert Lud- 
wig, of Arlington, Nebr. ; Anna J., the wife 
of Wellington Knight, of Burlington ; Kate 
L. : and LeRoy D., a resident of Sedalia, 
Mo. There are also six grandchildren. 

Following his marriage Mr. Calkins 
engaged in farming for seven years in Dan- 
ville township, where he owned and operated 
one hundred and sixtv acres of land. 



He afterward bought forty acres in Flint 
River township, ■where he was engaged in 
farming, fruit-raising, and in the nursery 
business for twenty-one years. He devoted 
his attention to small fruit, to the dairy 
business, to the cultivation and sale of his 
nursery stock, supplying a local demand and 
also making some shipments. He continued 
upon that property until September, 1892, 
when he came to Burlington, and purchased 
the residence property which he now occu- 
pies at 814 South Fourteenth Street. For 
the past six years he has been soliciting for 
Leyda & Company, dealers in monuments, 
and to some extent he also deals in real 
estate. 

j\Ir. Calkins belongs to Matthies Post. 
No. 5, G. A. R., which he joined on its or- 
ganization, and he attended the State En- 
campment at Davenport. His wife is a 
member of the Woman's Relief Corps, and 
is now serving as color bearer. He belongs 
to the Congregational church of which Dr. 
Salter is pastor. He' was baptized and also 
married by that divine. He served as dea- 
con of the West Burlington church, and 
has long taken an active, helpful, and in- 
terested part in church work. His father 
was an old-line \Miig, and Mr. Calkins has 
always been a Republican. He has served 
in some local township offices, was a mem- 
ber of the school board for ten years, and 
for one year served as secretary. He is 
one of the oldest settlers of the county, 
having witnessed the development of the 
county for a half century, and no one has 
been more loyal to the interests of the lo- 
cality and of the State. His life has been 
characterized by honorable purposes and 
worthy action, and he is one of the respected 
and esteemed residents of Des Moines 
countv. 



496 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 

EDWIN B. CONKLING. 



The Conkling family is too well known 
in eastern Iowa for the subject of this 
review to need any special introduction 
to the readers of this volume. Edwin B. 
Conkling is a son of John S. and Columbia 
(Orchard) Conkling, and was born on his 
father's farm, where he now resides, in 
Washington townshiji. Des Moines county, 
March 4. i8fj8. 

His father was born in Indiana, and 
came to Iowa in an early day, locating 
in Washington township, Des Moines 
coimty. Here he purchased eighty acres of 
good farm land, which is a part of the 
present farm on Sections 29 and 32, where 
our subject lives. There were no im- 
provements of any kind on this place, and 
Mr. Conkling at once set about preparing 
a home for his family. He put up a good 
and substantial house, a large modern 
barn, and other buildings necessary for 
the shelter of stock ' and grain. From 
time to time, he has added to his farm, 
(ill it is now one of the largest in the 
township, consisting of one hundred and 
seventv acres, all of which is under culti- 
vation, yielding him annually a good 
profit. 

Mr. Conkling lived on this place till 
about five years ago, being engaged in 
general farming and raising of a good 
grade of stock, making a si)ccialty of 
raising a high grade of hogs. He then 
removed to a smaller farm in the same 
township, which he also owned. After 
residing on this place for two years he 
moved to the city of Des Moines, where 
he is now leading a somewhat retired life, 
devoting |>art of his time, however, to the 
buying and selling of real estate. 



Mr. Conkling is a man who is public 
spirited, prosperous, and progressive : an 
advocate for all that would tend to im- 
prove the community, and is held in high 
esteem by all who know him. He has 
always been greatly interested in educa- 
tional matters, and was a member of the 
school boartl in the township where he 
lived so long, being president of the 
board for upwards of fifteen years. He 
is a stanch Republican, and has served as 
road supervisor of the township for many 
years. 

The mother of our subject was born in 
Illinois, coming to W'ashington township, 
this county, when quite a little girl ; here 
she received her education and grew to 
womanhood. Mr. and Mrs. Conkling are 
the ])arents of five children, three of 
whom are still living: Jojin and Frank, 
both dead ; Edwin, subject of this review; 
Elta is a stock-man in Mediapolis, Iowa ; 
Mabel married Mark Seeds, a farmer of 
Mediapolis, Iowa. 

Mr. and Mrs. Conkling own a beauti- 
ful home in Des Moines,, besides retain- 
ing the farm in Washington township. 
They are prominent and influential mem- 
bers of the Baptist church, Mrs. Conk- 
ling being acti\c in church work, while 
Mr. Conkling served as superintendent of 
the Sunday-school in Washington town- 
ship for thirty-five years. 

Mr. Conkling, of this review, attended 
the district schools in his native town- 
shi]), and then assisted his father on the 
farm till lie was eighteen years old. when 
he came to Burlington. Iowa, and spent 
one year at the r>a]itist Institute. Re- 
turning from college, he remained on the 
home ])!;ni- til! he reached his majority, 
when he started West, and purchased a 



D 



2: 
a 

n 
O 
•2 

>l 

■5 
■o 

> 
o 

> 

1 — I 

V 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



499 



ranch in the State of Washington, which 
he ran for some three years. Preferring 
Iowa as a place of residence he came 
back to his father's farm, where he has 
since lived, carrying on practical farming 
and stock-raising, making a specialty of 
Aberdeen Angus cattle and thoroughbred 
Poland China hogs. Politically, he has 
followed in the footsteps of his much- 
respected father, and rarely misses an 
opportunity to swell the Republican 
votes. He, too. has been a member of 
the school board. 

Sept. 20, 1888, Mr. Conkling married 
Miss Stella Walker, daughter of Jesse 
and Marie (Chrissinger) Walker. Her 
father was born in Virginia, and her 
mother in Pennsylvania. They came to 
Iowa at an early date, and settled in Des 
Moines county, north of Burlington, 
where they were prosperous farmers for 
many years. Later they removed to Henry 
county, where Mr. Walker purchased a 
farm. They reiided in Henry county till 
a few years ago, when Mr. Walker re- 
tired from active life, and they are now 
spending the evening of their lives in a 
pleasant home in New London, Iowa, 
where they can attend the Methodist 
church regularly, of which church both 
are members. They are the parents of 
seven children, six of whom are living, 
and all but Mrs. Conkling have removed 
from Washington township. 

Unto ]\Ir. and Mrs. Conkling have been 
born three children : Eva, born in Henry 
county, Iowa, Aug. 26, 1889; Gladys, 
born in Des Moines county, Iowa, Dec. 
26, 1894; Carroll, born May 19, 1901, in 
Washington township. 

Mr. Conkling's interests center along 
lines which tend to promote the welfare. 



improvement, and progress of his town- 
ship and county. He has advanced vari- 
ous business activities in Washington 
township, taking a helpful part in many 
progressive movements and enterprising- 
measures. He is a man of resourceful 
business ability and marked energy, whose 
influence in commercial, as well as agricul- 
tural circles has contributed to the general 
prosperity of his native county. His entire 
life having been passed in this part of Iowa, 
he is widely known, and his many good 
qualities have gained for him favorable 
regard. 



HENRY GIESELMAN. 

Henry Gieselman, a pioneer farmer 
of Des Moines county who has been ac- 
tively engaged in farming for over half a 
century, is a son of Frederick \Mlliam 
and Anna Catherine Margaretha ( Xie- 
meier) Gieselman, whose birth occurred 
in Westphalia, Prussia, Germany, ]\Iarch 
8, 1842. His father was born Feb. 10, 
1815, and his mother Feb. 28, 181 5. both 
being natives of Prussia. They had 
seven children, of whom the following 
four are still living: Henry, of this re- 
view ; Andrew ; Hannah ; and Frederick. 
They came to America in 1853, and lo- 
cated first in St. Louis, Mo., coming to 
Burlington in the fall of 1854, where they 
bought a farm of twenty acres. Here 
they lived for forty years, until the 
father's death, which occurred Jan. 24, 
1893. aged seventy-seven years. His 
wife preceded her husband to the better 
land some four months, her death occur- 
ring Sept. 22, 1892. 



500 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



< )ur subject attended tlie public schools 
for three years and a half in his native 
place: and as he was only eleven years old 
when his parents broujjjht him to Aukt- 
ica. he tinislicd his education in the 
schools of r.urlinjjton township. After 
layinp aside his text-books he "remained 
on his father's fami, where he took an 
active i>art in the work till 1870. when 
he bought a farm of eighty acres in Section 
24, of ]'"linl River tnwn-^liip, where he 
•has lived ever since. 

June 27, 1870, Mr. Gieselman was mar- 
ried to .Miss Anna Maria Schulz, daugh- 
ter of ChristofF and Mary (Schulz) 
Schulz. This union was blessed with 
eleven children, of whom all are at home 
but four: Frederick; Anna, married 
Henry Ilagerly: Minnie; Hannah, mar- 
ried Edward Rhinesmith ; Matilda; Mary ; 
Henry, of West Burlington ; Emma ; 
Augusta ; William ; .Albert. With mature 
years these members of a sturdy Gertiian 
family have developed those characteristics 
which distinguish the citizens of Germany, 
and have become helpful and prosperous 
citizens. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gieselman are devoted 
members of the German M. E. church, of 
\\'est liurlington, where he is a trustee 
and an exhorler. He has always given 
his ])olitical allegiance to the Republican 
party, but has never aspired to office, 
though he has always supported his party 
to the best of his ability. He has a com- 
modious country residence, has erected a 
modern barn, and made other iniprove- 
nunts (III his place, and to-day his farm 
is considered one of the finest and best in 
the beautiful valley of the township, 
where his family have a wide and favor- 
able aciiuaintance. 



.Mr. (lieselman has given love and loy- 
alty to the country of his adoption, where 
as a man among men he holds the confi- 
dence and esteem of those with whom he 
comes in contact in either a business or a 
social way. and where he has also set a 
most worthy example to his children, of 
whom in return he is justly proud. 



WILLIAM JOHN EDGAR. 

Wii.i.iAM John Edgar, a native son of 
Des Moines county, well known within its 
borders as a practical and enterprising 
farmer, was born March 23, 1863, on the 
Korf farm, his parents being David and 
Martha (McElhinney) Edgar. His pater- 
nal grandi)arents were James and Nancy 
(McCaw) Edgar. David Edgar was born 
in County Derry, Ireland, Aug. 20, 1838, 
and remained a resident of the Green Isle 
of Erin throughout the greater part of his 
boyhood and youth. In 1857, however, he 
bade adieu to friends and native land and 
crossed the .\tlantic to .America, making 
his way direct to Des Moines county, where 
he engaged in farming, a pursuit that he 
has since followed. He had resided here 
for about six years when, in 1863, his par- 
ents came to Des Moines county, where 
they spent their remaining days. 

David Edgar was married Dec. 29, 1859, 
to Miss Martha McElhinney, who died 
June 2, 1872. They were the parents of 
eight children: James L. ; Samuel Elder; 
William John ; Thomas McCaw ; Robert 
^fartin; Nancy .Ann, the wife of John E. 
Nelson, of this county ; Elizabeth Ida, the 
wife of George Thomson, of Canonsburg, 
Pa.: anil Marllui ]., who is the wife 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



of Lee W. Hcnslcigh, of Blanchard, Iowa. 
After losing his first wife, Air. Edgar 
was again married, his second union being 
with Julia Wells, and their children are as 
follows : George G. : Isaac M. ; Charles 
F. ; Ellen E., the wife of Alfred Kilpatrick ; 
and Emily L., the wife of S. !M. Hartsell, 
of Pennsylvania. David Edgar has fol- 
lowed farming ever since coming to Des 
Moines county, now almost a half century 
ago. He is well known as an enterprising 
agriculturist and reliable business man, and 
is worthy the esteem in which he is uni- 
formly held. 

William John Edgar began his education 
in the schools of Yellow Springs township, 
afterward attending school in Louisa 
county, the Academy in Morning Sun, and 
also the Sherman School, in Henry county. 
He has always carried on general agricul- 
tural pursuits, and for ten years was also 
engaged in laying tile, employing a large 
corps of men in this work. He has prob- 
ably put in more rods of tile than any other 
man in the county, and has thus done much 
to render wet land fit for cultivation, trans- 
forming unimproved tracts into fields of 
rich fertility. He has engaged in farming 
throughout his entire career, and it is now 
his principal occupation. 

In 1900 he purchased the Thomas Mc- 
Clements farm, com])rising one hundred 
and fifty-one and a half acres, in Sections 
20 and 21, Yellow Springs township. Here 
he carries on general farming, his fields 
annually returning him golden harvests. 
He also feeds about' forty head of cattle 
and raises about fifty hogs each year, and 
his stock when placed upon the market re- 
turns him a good income on his investment. 

In 1892, at the home of the bride, 
in Louisa county, Iowa, Mr. Edgar was 



united in marriage to Miss Bessie Martin, 
who was born in that county Aug. 25, 1876. 
She is a daughter of Thomas and Susan 
(Higbee) Martin. Her father has fol- 
lowed farming there throughout the greater 
part of his life, and both he and his wife 
are still residents of Louisa county. He 
lived retired for a time, but has recently 
returned to his old homestead there. Mrs, 
Edgar pursued her education in the public 
schools of Louisa county. By her marriage 
she has become the mother of four chil- 
dren: Clement Martin, born July 16, 1893; 
Lemuel Stanley, born .Sept. 10, 1897; Lois 
Martha, born Aug. 14, 1900; and Lela 
Leona, Sept. i, 1902. 

Mr. Edgar exercises his right of fran- 
chise in support of the men and measures 
of the Republican party, and is now serving 
as school director ; but he has never been 
active in seeking ofifice, preferring to give 
his undivided attention to his business af- 
fairs. He was reared in the Reformed 
Presbyterian church, and is a worthy rep- 
resentative of an honored pioneer family 
of this county. His entire life has been 
spent in this part of the State, and he is a 
typical son of Iowa, active and energetic in 
his business affairs, and so directing his 
labors as to bring good results. 



JAMES RICHARD WATSON. 

Farming and stock-raising are carried 
on extensively in Des Moines county bv 
many ]:)romincnt representatives of agri- 
cultural life, the natural resources of 
the State offering excellent opportunities 
in this direction. James Richard Watson, 
thus engaged, has met with gratifying 



502 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



success, and at the present time is known 
as one of the leading stockmen of Yellow 
Springs township. 

A native of England, he was born in 
Yorkshire, .\pril 8, 186(1, his parents being 
James and Emma (Stocks) Watson, who 
in 1868 left their native country for the 
New World. They did not tarry in the 
East wluii they landed in the L'nited 
States, but made their way at once to Des 
Moines county, Iowa, where the father 
purchased land. He became the owner of 
one hundred and thirty-three acres on 
Sections 1 and 12, and fifty-nine and a 
fraction acres on Section 6, and at his 
death he owned two hundred and five 
acres, all in Yellow Springs townshij). 
This was well improved with modern 
equipments, and became a very desirable 
property. .After Imyinf;- his farm, how- 
ever. Mr. Watson lived for a year in Kos- 
suth, and then spent five j'cars in the old 
house on the farm now owned by W. C. 
Hutchcroft, on Section u. uliicli property 
he rented for twenty-one yejirs. He re- 
mo\ecl to his own i)ropcrty in 1878, ann 
there the family home has since been 
maintained. He was a general farmer, 
and fed the grain he raised to the stock. 
He al.so made a number of substantial im- 
provements, |ii(i(lming a j^re.it trans- 
formation in the api)earance of the farm, 
and also in its ]jroductiveness and value. 

In the family of James and Emma Wat- 
son were born seven children : Mary 
Louisa, the wife of Stephen Riggs Ibbott- 
son, of Los .\ngeles county, California; 
Sarah Eliza, tlie wife of George Washing- 
ton Co.x, formerly of Yellow S])rings 
township, and now living in Edison, Xebr. ; 
John William Edwin, living in .-\ra])ahoe, 
I'nrnas countv. Xebr.; I'eter, living in the 



same place; James Richard, of this re- 
view; one who died in infancy; and .\nna 
Lenora, who resides with Mrs. Co.x in 
Xebraska. 

James R. Watson was only two years 
old when brought by his parents to .Amer- 
ica, and was therefore reared in this coun- 
ty, his education being ac(|uire(l in the 
district schools; while under his father 
he received instruction concerning all the 
work of the farm. He has devoted his en- 
tire life to agricultural jnirsuits, and is 
still living upon the old family homestead 
in Yellow Springs township, where he 
has made many im])rovements. Here he 
has erected fine farm buildings, including 
two large barns, one thirty-six by sixty 
feet and the other fifty-six by seventy 
feet. There is also a sixteen-foot addition 
running the entire length of the barn, and 
twenty-one and a half feet in height. He 
has under cultivation about three hun- 
dred acres of land, and annually harvests 
large crops. He is extensively engaged 
in feeding cattle and hogs; and by the 
assessor's books in H;04, he sold one hun- 
dred and twenty-one thousand, four hun- 
dred and si.xty-two pounds of beef, bring- 
ing five thousand, nine hundred and 
seventy-five dollars and ninety-four cents; 
while forty-three thousand, one hundred 
and eighty-four ])Ounds of ])ork brought 
twenty-two hundred aiul sixty-eight dol- 
lars and forty-eight cents. His hogs are 
mostly of the Jersey Duroc breed. He 
annually feeds on an average of five car- 
loads of cattle and two car-loads of hogs, 
and his stock-feeding interests prove a 
most ])rofital)le branch of his business. 

In his political views .Mr. Watson is an 
earnest Republican. :md served for one 
term .is to\\n>lii|) trustee, lie was also a 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



503 



member of the school board for six years, 
acting as its president for four years, and 
the cause of education found in him a 
helpful friend, advocating the employ- 
ment of competent teachers and the rais- 
ing of the standard of school work. He is 
a zealous and faithful member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and has 
filled nearly all the offices in the North- 
field church. He has alSo been president 
of the Epworth League and assistant 
superintendent of the Sunday-school, and 
his co-operation in the various church 
activities has been far-reaching and bene- 
ficial. 



WILLIAM ROBERT CARMEAN. 

William Robert Carmean was born 
in Burlington, March 5, 1876, a son of 
Frank and Elizabeth At. (.Moore) Car- 
mean. The father was born in Ross coun- 
ty, Ohio, April i, 1839, and on Feb. 12, 
1863, was united in marriage to Miss 
Elizabeth Ann Ivloore, a daughter of Rob- 
ert and Jane (Davi^) Moore. He was a 
farmer and butcher, and in 1845 came to 
Des Moines county, Iowa, where he spent 
his remaining days, living a life of indus- 
try and thrift that gained for him the 
sincere regard of those with whom he 
came in contact. He died Oct. 5, 189Q, 
at the age of sixty years. 

In the Carmean family were four chil- 
dren : Foster, born May 5, 1865, died in 
July, 1901 ; Anna Jane, born Sept. 20, 
1869, was married to Ephriam Welsh, and 
died April 5, i8()2, leaving one child, Em- 
ma Edith, born July 9, 1891 ; Cora E., 
born July 10, 1873, is now the wife of 
T. L. Orr, of Mediapolis. 



William I^obert is the fourth member 
of the family. The mother, still surviving 
her husband, is now living with Mr. Wat- 
son. William R. Carmean was educated 
in the public schools of Northfield, and 
has always followed the occupation of 
farming, for the past nine years being in 
the employ of J. R. Watson, one of the ex- 
tensive farmers and stock-raisers of Yel- 
low Springs township. 



MILLARD FILLMORE REID. 

Millard F. Reid, residing at his pleas- 
ant home at 863 North Street, has been an 
industrious and respected citizen of Bur- 
lington for about thirty years, and is now 
one of the leading brick contractors of the 
same city. He is a son of David and Emma 
(Wilson) Reid, and was born in the city 
of Philadelphia in 1853. His father was 
also a native of the Quaker City, being born 
in 1826, where he learned the trade of a 
brick mason. Here he was married. In 
i860 he went to Princeton, HI., where he 
was actively engaged at his trade, remain- 
ing for fifteen years. In 1874 he came to 
Iowa and located in Burlington, working 
as a journeyman for some years, and later 
carrying on contracting. The substantial 
residences of the late A. G. Adams on Fifth 
Street and of Judge Mason, deceased, on 
North Sixth Street, were among the prom- 
inent buildings which he erected. In 1893 
Mr. Reid moved to Omaha, Nebr., where 
he contracted for some six years with much 
success, and where his death occurred in 
1899. His remains were buried in Aspen 
Grove cemetery in Burlington. Mr. Reid 
was a very quiet and an unpretentious man, 



504 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



a skilled mechanic, whose business princi- 
ples were above reproach, and his death 
was mourned by many friends and rela- 
tives in the several places in which he hacl 
resided. Mrs. Reid is a native of Phila- 
delphia, where she was born in 1834, and 
lived there till she was married. Her 
parents lived in Burlington for many years, 
and were much esteenied and respected by 
all who knew them. They were devoted 
members of the Methodist church, which 
they both attended regidarly till they be- 
came too feeble. 

After the death of Mr. Reid. Mrs. Reid 
and family moved to Chicago, where they 
still reside. She has been wonderfully 
blessed, as all of the seven children born to 
her and Mr. Reid are spared to cheer and 
comfort her in her widowhood. The chil- 
dren arc as follows: Millard F., of this 
review; David, a printer, and lives in 
Omaha, Nebr. ; Frank, an express messen- 
ger on the Chicago, Burlington and 
Quincy Railroad, and makes his home with 
his motluT ; Mary, the wife of William 
Burnett, traveling man of Chicago. They 
have one child, Anna, married Edward 
Vanderpool, bookkeeper of the Booth 
packing company, of Chicago. They are the 
parents of three children : Charles, an ex- 
press messenger on the railroad, and lives 
at home with his mother. Mrs. Reid is of 
a bright and happy disposition, and has 
made many sacrifices for the general good 
of her family, and her greatest delight is 
in relieving those on whom the hand of 
affliction has been laid. Her quiet and 
dignified manner is much admired by her 
host of friends. 

Our subject received his education in the 
public .schools of Princeton, 111. In that 
citv he learned the trade of a bricklaver 



with his father. He came to Burlington 
with his parents in 1874, and for a number 
of years worked for the older contractors 
of the city. He has been contracting for 
himself since 1903. Among the recent 
buildings which stand as examples of his 
skill are the following: Residence of James 
Moir, Young Men's Christian Association, 
and Carpenter's jewelry store. He is now 
building the Clinton Copeland wholesale 
candy house. 

In August. 1873. Mr. Reid married Miss 
Emma Schramm, a daughter of Fred and 
Louisa (Rosenhauer) Schramm, who were 
natives of Germany, and came to .America 
at an early day and located in Burlington. 
Mr. and Mrs. Schramm were the parents 
of four children: Emma, wife of our sub- 
ject ; Charles, who resides in Davenport, 
Iowa ; Ida, married James Melchcr, now of 
Walla Walla. Wash. ; Anna, the wife of 
Wm. Barber, of Bozeman, Mont. Mr. 
and Mrs. Schramm are both dead. Unto 
Mr. and Mrs. Reid seven children have been 
born, who are all living and have reached 
maturity : Frank C, married Rosa Hoppe, 
and is a brick contractor and partner of 
his father ; Harry, the husband of May 
Leonard, lives in Burlington, where he 
works for his father as a brick-mason ; 
Gertrude, the wife of Sherman Hill, a 
traveling man of Chicago: Mabel, now Mrs. 
Charles Unterkircher. of Burlington, whose 
sketch may be found elsewhere in this 
book ; Elsie, at home ; Ruth, makes her 
home mostly with her sister in Chicago; 
V'erna, a student in the city schools. 

Mr. Reid has generally given his support 
to the Democratic party. He has never 
sought public office. Fraternally, he is a 
member of the Woodmen of the World, 
and was the |)resident of the bricklayers' 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



union for two years. He is very fond of 
all sport, and is a fine marksman. Like his 
father, he is of a very social and genial dis- 
position, possessing a warm heart. His work 
is of the best, and his business principles 
are honest and upright. Though but a 
young man, he has achieved much success 
in life, and we predict a still brighter future 
for him, which is the voice of his many 
friends. 



JEROME BOCK. 

To render complete this account of the 
business interests of Burlington, Iowa, and 
of Des Moines county, it is necessary to 
make extended mention of Jerome Bock, 
who ranks as one of the oldest nurserymen 
in the city, as well as one of the best known. 
Mr. Bock was born April 21, 1822, at 
Glatz, Prussia, a son of Joseph and Johanna 
(Zenka) Bock. The family had long been 
residents of that city, and were celebrated 
for their hardy physical constitution and 
longevity, the grandfather, Valentine Bock, 
having attained the age of ninety-two 
years, while his wife, who was killed by 
accident, was eighty-one years old at the 
time of her death. The maternal grand- 
father of our subject, Frederic Zenka, who 
was by trade a shoemaker, died at the age 
of eighty-four years. Joseph, father of 
Jerome Bock, was gardener to a nobleman 
at Glatz, and served in the war of the 
Allies against Napoleon, being with Blucher 
at Waterloo, and thus contributing to the 
final defeat of the emperor of the French. 
He attained to the age of seventy-nine years, 
and the mother of Jerome Bock was more 
than ninety years of age at her decease. 

Mr. Bock learned the trade of gardener 



under the direction of a nobleman's gar- 
dener in his native land, and at the age of 
twenty-two years went to England to take 
a position in the Royal Botanic Gardens. 
He was in London during the time of the 
great World's Fair, wliich was one of the 
first of the series of gigantic expositions of 
modern times, and remained at the Royal 
Gardens for seven years, thus gaining much 
valuable experience. He then, with two 
brothers, Joseph and William, crossed the 
Atlantic Ocean to become gardener to a 
gentleman at Montreal ; but not being 
pleased with conditions in Canada, he went 
to Boston in 185 1, and was there con- 
nected with the nursery business for a pe- 
riod of five years. In 1856 he traveled over 
Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois in 
search of a location, but being best pleased 
with Iowa when he came to this State in the 
latter part of that year, he located in Bur- 
lington, forming a partnership here with 
Keally Brothers in the nursery business, 
and the firm continued under the style of 
Neally Brothers & Bock for twelve years. 
This was the largest nursery firm in south- 
eastern Iowa, and established the first com- 
mercial greenhouse in Burlington. 

On the termination of the partnership, 
Mr. Bock purchased a tract of forty acres 
on South Madison Street, where, at No. 
2600, stands his residence, a pleasant home, 
surrounded by the ornamental triumphs of 
the gardener's art. While in Boston he 
wedded Miss Susan Hill, daughter of John 
Hill, of Boston, and to them were born in 
Burlington two sons and two daughters, as 
follows : William, now a locomotive en- 
gineer ; Helen, wife of Simon Chapman ; 
x\gnes, wife of Elmer Sykes ; and Walter, 
who died when a promising young man of 
eighteen years. Mrs. Bock is also now 



5o6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



deceased, Ikt (kiitii h.imiii; nccurred in 
i8«)<>. In a business way Mr. Bock has been 
unusually successful, and his work as a 
nurseryman and gardener has always been 
for him a labor of love. He it was who in- 
troduced the growing of evergreens for 
ornamental purposes in Burlington, and 
when he came to Boston from Canada he 
brought the first dicentra, or bleeding- 
heart, ever seen in the United States. As 
an example of his enterprising spirit, it 
may be mentioned that he sent a large 
nursery stock to the city of Denver over- 
land by ox-team before the laying of a trans- 
continental railroad. He has taught the 
trade and business to his two nephews, 
Josejih and Ernest Bock. 

In addition to his business Mr. Bock has 
always borne his share of the burden in 
matters of public interest, and in his polit- 
ical alliance was first a member of the 
Democratic party, voting while in Boston 
for Franklin Pierce for president of the 
United States : but since that time has been 
a Republican, having been converted to that 
view by careful consideration of existing 
problems. He has been a constant student 
and reader, acquiring wide general infonna- 
tion, and as one who appreciates his higher 
duties, is a supporter and member of the 
Congregational church, as was also his de- 
ceased wife. He has acquired a complete 
mastery of conversational English, and is 
an entertaining talker, always speaking with 
ability and with a breadth of view which re- 
veals the powers of his mind. To almost 
all the people of Burlington ht is well 
known, and the purity of his private life 
and integrity of his business career have 
endeared him to all. and won him that 
respect which is one of the most precious 
rewards of an upright life. 



WESLEY REEVES BONER. 

In the settlement of the West the pio- 
neers had to face many trials and diffi- 
culties. They had gone far from the con- 
veniences and privileges of civilization. 
Markets were remote, and communication 
difficult. The prairies were like the ocean, 
and the roads primitive in the extreme, 
or existed only in possibility. Distances 
now measured by hours then required 
many days, and the journey from Burling- 
ton to Chicago was a tax on a stout heart. 
Schools were few and far between, while 
those few which dotted the immense wil- 
tlerness were of very inferior grade. But 
the hearts of the hardy frontiersmen were 
brave, and nothing discouraged the build- 
ers of the great States that are now 
mighty empires in themselves. They im- 
proved the land, bridged the rivers, built 
the roads, founded what are now great 
cities, and in due time came the railroad 
and the telegrajjh and the mail to bring 
the ends of the country together. The 
east and the west, at last, were next-door 
neighl>ors: space was eliminated: time 
was annihilated. To the prairies of Iowa 
came the art and refinement of Xew Eng- 
land ; learning was no longer strange, and 
the schoolmaster was abroad in the land. 
The empire State beyond the great river 
had come into its own. The men who 
helped in this great transfonnation should 
always be reverently remembered. It was 
no light task, the building of an empire, 
that they undertook. Among them, and 
entitled to an honored place, was the man 
whose name heads this article. He is not 
now among the living, but in his day he 
played a man's part in the settlement of 
Des Moines countv. and is remembered 



f 



V 




^/f/2. 



'^^-^^^z^cyi^^ 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



509 



thrjughout its extent as a man of fine 
character and upright spirit. 

Wesley Reeves Boner was born in Vir- 
ginia county, Ohio, Sept. 12, 1815, a son 
of James and Sarah (Reeves) Boner, and 
when yet in his youth accompanied his 
parents to the West, traveling by way of 
the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and ar- 
riving in Burlington in April, 1838. On 
the site of the now flourishing city but 
two houses stood at that time, and to the 
father of our subject fell the honor of 
making the first trail westward from Bur- 
lington, while he himself made the sec- 
ond. The family on its arrival was com- 
pelled to take shelter in a building origi- 
nally constructed for a stable, on the 
property of a Mr. Hohl;but they shortly 
left Burlington, and went to the Long 
Creek neighborhood, where there was a 
small settlement comprising five families. 
The father eventually settled on the 
county line west of Danville, where he 
did his work and lived his life and passed 
to the life beyond. His wife is remem- 
bered as an early member of ' the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church in Des Moines 
county, and as a faithful and constant at- 
tendant at its services. They lie buried 
in the Long Creek cemetery. 

On Feb. 6, 1845, Mr. Boner was united 
in marriage to Miss Rebecca Hanna, and 
their first home was that which is now the 
residence of his son-in-law and daughter, 
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Raikes. Hither 
he brought his bride, and here they lived 
for many years. Mrs. Boner, who was a 
member of the Methodist church, died in 
April, 1862, survived by five children, four 
of whom were born at the old home place, 
while the youngest was born at Long 
Creek. Brief mention mav be made of 



these as follows : Marshall W., who re- 
sides at Middletown, Iowa; Marcelene, 
wife of William I!. Raikes ; Clara, wife of 
A. P. Caldwell ; Lessie E., wife of J. G. 
Miller, of Union township ; and Austin, 
who is a resident of Long Creek. Mr. 
Boner remarried on March 4, 1869, his 
second wife being Mrs. Sarah Anna 
Raikes, of Cambridge, Ohio, who died 
May 3, 1882. 

Our subject began life for himself as a 
comparatively poor man, receiving little 
aid from any source, and depending al- 
most entirely on his own efforts and indi- 
vidual resources for success, and how well 
he succeeded in a pecuniary sense is 
shown by the fact that he accumulated 
more than 1,000 acres of valuable Iowa 
farming lands in the course of his career, 
although he disposed of all his landed in- 
terests before his death, and for a time 
he made his residence at the home of his 
daughter, Mrs. Raikes, his death occur- 
ring here on Nov. i, 1897. His remains 
repose in the cemetery at Long Creek, 
where rest the mortal ashes of so many 
of the honored dead to whose loyal and 
faithful toil are due the blessings and ad- 
vantages now enjoyed by their descend- 
ants. He was in his younger days a very 
active man, both mentally and physically, 
for he had a mind of unusual power, as 
well as a magnificent physical develop- 
ment ; but on account of the naturally in- 
creasing weight of age, his latter years 
were spent in retirement. He bore a part 
in aftairs of government as a member of 
the Democracy. 

Mr. Boner's life was one of constant 
usefulness and success, and in all his 
dealings he strove to be strictly honest 
and impartial, always seeking to guard 



SIO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



against doing any man an injustice, pre- 
serving at all times an upright, honorable 
and absolutely unwavering course of in- 
tegrit}-, — a mode of life which brought its 
own reward in the esteem of all who 
knew him as he was. In his career as 
farmer and business man his qualities of 
foresight and ready appreciation of an 
opi)i)rtunity. added to an unfailing perse- 
verance in all circumstances, however ad- 
verse, brought him worldly wealth, and 
enabled him in his latter years to enjoy in 
ease the fruits of a well-spent life. 



WILLIAM WALKER. 

Wii.i.iAM \\'.\i.KER, a prosperous farmer 
residing on a farm of one hundred and 
forty-five acres on Sections 1 1 and 14. Flint 
River township, lias spent his entire life in 
Des Moines county, his birth having oc- 
curred Oct. 20, 1853. on the farm which is 
yet his ])]ace of residence. He was the only 
child of Thomas and Martha (Phillips) 
Walker, who were natives of Yorkshire, 
I'.ngland, and came to America about 1848. 
T1k\ were married in England, and crossed 
the Atlantic on a sailing vessel, reaching 
the United States coast after a long and 
tedious voyage. After spending a winter 
in Canada, they came to Iowa, settling in 
Des Moines county, where the father pur- 
chased eighty acres of land, comprising the 
tract upon which the home of our subject 
now stands. There he made a home for 
himself and family, and placed almost all 
the improvements upon his farm. He 
erected a good and substantial brick dwell- 
ing, also built good barns and other out- 
buildings for the shelter of crojjs and stock, 



and contimied the work of improvement 
year after year until the farm became one 
of the valuable properties of this part of 
the county. He was a prosperous and pro- 
gressive man, and his value as a citizen 
was widely acknowledged. He gave his 
political support to the Republican party. 
His wife died March 18, 1884. and his death 
occurred \\)v. i, 1893, when he was laitl to 
rest by the side of his wife in Flint River 
township. 

In his youth William Walker attended 
the common school of the neighborhood, 
and through the summer months assisted 
his father in the work of the fields. He 
has always remained upon the old home- 
stead; and he cleared a large part of the 
land, and also made some of the improve- 
ments. He has added sixty-five acres to 
the original farm, and now has about one' 
hundred and fifteen acres untler cidtivation, 
the well-tilled fields yielding to him golden 
harvests. He is also engaged in the raising 
of cattle and hogs for the niarket, and both 
i)ranclies of his business are proving profit- 
able. He has a good threshing outfit, and 
for the past twenty-five years has engaged 
in threshing during the season. He has 
also extended his efforts to other business 
enterprises, having been chosen jiresidcnt 
of the I-'lint River Telephone Com])any on 
its organization, since which lime he has 
acted ill tii.'it cajiacity. 

Dec. 13. 1879, Mr. Walker was united in 
marriage to Miss N'iolet W'att. a daughter 
of James ami Margaret (McLaughlin) 
Watt, both of whom were natives of Ire- 
land, and came to the L'nited States in the 
early '50's, settling in Flint River township, 
where the father carried on farming. Roth 
he and his wife died here at an advanced 
age. I.'nto Mr. and Mrs. Walker have bceti 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



511 



born seven chiklren. of whom six are living: 
Ethel, the wife of John Hasenkamp, assist- 
ant superintendent of the county poor farm ; 
Euranus, at home ; Frank, who died at the 
age of nineteen years, and was buried in 
Flint River township ; James and OUie, both 
at home ; and Alvin and Alpha, twins. All 
of the children were born on the home place, 
and were educated in the public schools. 

Mr. \\'alkcr exercises his right of fran- 
chise in sup])ort of the men and measures 
of the Re])ublican party, and at the present 
time is holding the office of township trustee, 
in which capacity he has served for the past 
twelve years, a fact which indicates his 
efficiency in office and the confidence and 
trust reposed in him by the public. He has 
also been a member of the school board for 
many years, and is a warm friend of the 
cause of education, believing in the employ- 
ment of competent teachers, that the chil- 
dren may have training that will well fit 
them for the practical and responsible duties 
which come when school days are over. He 
is equally progressive and enterprising in 
business, while he and his wife have the 
high regard of their social acquaintances, 
and enjoy the friendship of many with 
whom they have been brought in contact 
during the long years of tlieir residence 
in this countv. 



WESLEY HOWARD. 

Incontest.\dly established by the logic 
of history is the proposition that Iowa owes 
much of her greatness to the efforts of men 
of Southern birth and lineage, and the name 
of Mr. Howard is entitled to a high place 
upon the illustrious roll of her makers and 



builders. A native of Tennessee, he was 
born in White county, Dec. 25, 1825, a son 
of Ignacius and Mary (Duncan) Howard. 

Ignacius Howard, a native of eastern 
Tennessee, was a farmer, following that 
occupation in Tennessee, and later in Illi- 
nois, whither he removed when his son 
Wesley was nine years of age, locating six 
miles north of La Harpe. He remained 
there only about eighteen months, however, 
at the expiration of which period he again 
removed, coming to Des Moines county, 
Iowa. In the spring of 1837 he located in 
Benton township, where he purchased a 
half section of valuable agricultural land. 
This land was then in its natural and wild 
state, entirely uncultivated, and he at once 
proceeded to clear away the primeval forest, 
place the soil under the dominion of the 
plow, erect buildings, and establish a home 
for himself and family. Here he resided 
for a long term of years, but finally removed 
to Henderson county, Illinois, where he 
shortly afterward died at the age of seventy- 
four years. His wife, also a native of 
Tennessee, long survived him, and died in 
California, at the advanced age of ninety- 
one years. 

Wesley Howard obtained his early educa- 
tion in his native State, and later accompa- 
nied hfs parents in their removal to Illinois 
and to Des Aloincs county. During his 
youth and young manhood he shared the 
arduous toil of the pioneer home in Benton 
township, thus receiving the best possible 
training for the success which he achieved 
in after life. In his twenty-sixth year he 
decided to emljark upon an independent en- 
terprise, and purchased a farm of his own, 
comprising one hundred and sixty acres of 
land which was jiartially improved, but still 
offered a magnificent field for the exercise 



512 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of that enterprising spirit which has always 
distingfiiishcd liini. He resided u|X)n that 
farm for a number of years, but in 1865 re- 
moved to Danville township, where he en- 
gaged extensively in general farming and 
stock-raising fur the reniaindcr of his active 
career. He still owns a fine and very pro- 
ductive farm of eighty acres three miles east 
of the village of Danville, which he has 
brought to a high state of cultivation and 
maintains at the toi)most <lcgree of prac- 
tical cfhciency, having introduced into its 
operation many modern improvements and 
methods, which stand as a monument to his 
enlightened [)olicy. He now resides in the 
village of Danville, where he has a jjleasant 
home which is the center of generous hos- 
pitality and true friendship. 

Dec. 4, 1851, Mr. Howard was united in 
marriage to Miss Charity A. Perry, who 
was b<irn in Washington county. IV-nnsyl- 
vania, accomi)anying her parents to Iowa in 
1845. She is the daughter of Thomas J. R. 
and Peggy (Gaston) Perry. Her father, who 
was born in the State of Delaware, and after 
coming t<i Iowa owned a large farm near 
I'urlingloii, was a man of great natural 
talents, and attained to a position of emi- 
nence in public afTairs. For many years he 
served the community in which he lived as 
justice of the peace, and was for two terms 
a member of the Iowa State Legislature, 
taking ])art in many of the most im])ortant 
public movements of his time, anil ac(iuiring 
a vast influence throughout the State. His 
death occurred in I'nion townslii]) in the 
eightieth year of his age. His wife, who 
was a native of Pennsylvania, and was of 
Presbyterian faith, died at the old family 
home near Ilurlington when seventy years 
of age. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Howard have been bom 



five children, as follows : Amanda, who died 
at the age of twenty-one years; Perry L., 
now residing on a farm near Hepler, Kans., 
married Miss Laura \'an Dyke, and has 
three daughters. Myrtle, Elsa, and Helen; 
Thomas, who tiled at the age of foiir years ; 
James, now residing on his father's farm in 
Danville township, where he has been the 
recipient of public honors, having held the 
i>ffice of township assessor for the past nine 
years, married Miss Hattie Jackson, and has 
three children, Murle, (irace, and Wallace; 
and William, who at sixteen years of age 
was drowned in Skunk River while bathing. 
Mr. and Mrs. Howard have long been 
members of the P)aptist church, in which 
they are influential workers, and to whose 
supjxirt they have always contributed gen- 
erously of their means. Mr. Howard is a 
life-long student of public questions in their 
])olitical aspects, and has consistently acted 
with the Republican ]>arty, although never 
asking any preferment for himself, nor any 
])ublic recognition whatsoever. His course 
lias been one of uniform loyalty, upright- 
ness, and integrity, and as a snflficient re- 
ward he now enjoys the esteem of all. 



JOHN CLARK BAILEY. 

JniiN Ci-AKK r>.\iLi;v, a son of John 
and Martha (I'ausett) Bailey, was born 
Feb. 18, 1861, in Henderson, 111. His 
father was a native of X'irginia, hut was 
reared in Kentucky, and in i860 became 
a resident of Illinois, locating at that time 
in Henderson. During the infancy of his 
son John, he removed with his family to 
Mercer county, Illinois, and in 1886 he 
came to low'a, settling ujjon a farm on 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



513 



Section 25, Huron township, Des Moines 
county. Through the succeeding ten 
years he devoted his energies to the cul- 
tivation and improvement of his land 
here, dying the 9th of May, 1896, when he 
was seventy-two years of age. 

Mr. and Mrs. Bailey were the parents 
of seven children : Mary, who has de- 
parted this life; Emma, who died at the 
age of fifteen years; William H., who is 
living in Huron township ; George T., 
who resides in Monmouth, 111. ; John C. ; 
Sarah, the wife of William Garmer, a 
resident of Columbus Junction, Iowa; 
and Lola, the wife of Jefferson Day, who 
is living in Mercer county, Illinois. After 
the death of her husband Mrs. Bailey was 
again married, becoming the wife of 
Abraham Taylor, and they now live on 
the old homestead farm. 

John Clark Bailey was reared bv his 
parents in Alercer county. Illinois, and is 
indebted to the public-school system of 
that State for the educational advantages 
he received. He worked at farm labor on 
the old homestead during his boyhood 
days, and has always engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits until the present year, 
when he has been doing carpenter work. 

In the fall of 1885 he came to Huron 
township, and settled on the farm which 
his father purchased, superintending its 
cultivation and improvement for nine 
years. In February, 1894, he bought one 
hundred and sixty acres of land, situated 
on Sections 13 and 14, Huron township, 
belonging to David Grimes's estate, and 
at once located on that property, devot- 
ing it to general farming purposes. He 
has over one hundred head of Poland 
China hogs, and in one year his sale of 
hogs has brought him thirteen hundred 



and fift}' dollars. In 1903 Mr. Bailey 
erected a large and substantial barn 
forty by forty-eight feet. The farm build- 
ings are models of convenience, and are 
kept in good repair. Everything about 
the place is attractive because of its neat- 
ness and thrift, and Mr. Bailey is well 
known as an enterprising agriculturist, 
his methods being practical and pro- 
gressive. 

On Sept. 10, 1887, Mr. Bailey was 
united in marriage to Miss Chattie 
Thompson, who was born in South Bur- 
lington township. May 9, 1867, and is a 
daughter of Theodore and Frances (Pat- 
terson) Thompson. Three children have 
been born unto them : John Wesley, 
born July 27, 1890; Ebbie, March 14, 
1893; and Elizabeth, April 12, 1900. 

Politically, Mr. Bailey is a Democrat, 
believing firmly in the principles of the 
party, and doing all in his power to pro- 
mote its growth and insure its success. 
He was elected trustee of his township 
in 1897, but would not serve. For two 
years, however, he has served as school 
director. He prefers to do his public 
dut}- as a private citizen in order that he 
may be left free to give most of his time 
and attention to his business affairs. He 
is now a prosperous farmer, wide-awake 
and enterprising, so managing his busi- 
ness interests that each year he adds to 
his income. 



CHARLES FREDERICK WILLIAM 
BUHRMASTER. 

Charles F. W. Buiirmaster belongs to 
one of the largest German families in Bur- 
lington. He is the son of Henry and Louisa 



51 + 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



(I'ranp) liulirniastcr (the latter in (jernian 
spelle<I Kestergarteii ). His birth Iwik place 
in Germany, in the suburbs of Minden, Feb. 
9, 1844. Mis father brought his large family 
to America the following May after the birth 
of our subject, coming in one of the old- 
time sailing vessels by way of New Orleans, 
and reaching the city of IJurlington. Io\ya, in 
the fall of the same year. .Mthough they 
were about sixty-three days on the ocean, 
and had some storms, still tliey enjoyed the 
trip, and -were ready to take the boat up the 
river to their place of destination. He 
farmed for a number of years in Flint 
River township, and, in i8<^)3 moved from 
the farm to become a citizen of Burlington. 
He held his farm of ninety-three acres for 
a few years after coming to the city, and 
finally sold it to advantage to a man by 
name of .McClaren, and it is now owned 
by a Mr. IVterman. He engaged in the real 
estate business, and also did teaming, and as 
the years passed by he accumulated con- 
siilerable city jiroperty on North Seventh 
Street, and built several good lirick huilii- 
ings. Till' death of his wife, who had 
shared in all the trials and sacrifices of a 
poor man with a large family, occurred in 
1870, on the 2^\.h of December, at the age of 
sixty-two years. .Although Mr. Buhrmaster 
had reached a period in life when it was no 
longer necessary for him to work as much 
or as hard as in his younger days, still he 
was ahvays U]) and stirring, and would tell 
his friends he preferred to work out rather 
than to rust out. He joined his wife in the 
better land when he was sixty-nine years 
old, his death occurring May 23, 1873. 

Our subject was denied the privileges 
accorded to most boys, as he was only able 
to attend the common schools near Latty. 
Iowa, for a little over six months, when he 



was put to work on his fathers lariii, and 
was content to finish his education in the 
broad school of experience, business, and 
general reading. After assisting his father 
to clear liis land of much of the timber 
thereon, and doing a man's work for 
eighteen years, he came to the city of Bur- 
lington, anil ■ at once I)egan to learn the 
trade of blacksmith and wagon-maker with 
the late John Burg, with wliom he re- 
mained for seven years. During this time he 
had become accomplished in all the various 
dei)artments of the large wagon shoj). and 
was ready to accept a position in any place 
t>f a similar character. He was employed in 
the Bennet & Frantz factory for one year, 
and then went to Leavenworth, Kans., and 
started in the plow business with his cousin, 
but did not continue long in this under- 
taking. In 1868 he bought out John Grei- 
ner in the wagon-making business located 
on Jefferson Street, in Burlington, Iowa. In 
the course of time the grade of this street 
was changed, and as it injured his ])lace of 
business, he decided to move, and accord- 
ingly purchased the property on the south- 
east corner of Sixth and Washington 
Streets, and erected thereon all the buildings 
necessary for his factory. .\t this time tlie 
finn read, Gerlinger. Buhrmaster & Co. 
They continued for seven years, when the 
former bought out the company, and in 1884 
Mr. Buhrmaster became sole crwncr and 
proi)rietor of this flourishing manufacturing 
establishment, and has since conducted the 
business alone, employing a full force of 
men. In January, 1905, he took Jacob 
Jabeline as a partner in the implement busi- 
ness which he has in connection with the 
wagon sho]). but the blacksmith and wagon 
departments stay just as they always did. 
He manufactures both lieavv and light 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



515 



wagons and sleds, and always has plenty of 
work waiting his attention in the repair 
shop, and keeps several men busy shoeing 
horses. 

April 26, 1865, Mr. Buhrmaster married 
Miss Catherine Hoffmeyer, daughter of 
Henry and Catherine (Hoffmeister) Hoff- 
meyer. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Buhrmaster ten 
children were born, eight of whom were 
born at his present home on the corner of 
Seventh and Spring Streets, and two were 
born on Eighth Street, between High and 
Franklin Streets. The children are as fol- 
lows : An infant, deceased ; Clara Louisa, 
married James Candey, and lives in Haver- 
lock, Nebr. : Henry Bartholomew, one of the 
officers of the Smith Hardware Company, of 
Burlington : Charles, died at the age of nine 
months ; Sarah, the wife of John G. Reichle, 
who is captain of Company H ; Charles, 
commercial traveler for the Smith Hardware 
Company ; Edward, a graduate of a medical 
school in St. Louis ; Adena, Emma, and 
Chester, all at home. 

Politically, Mr. Buhrmaster is a stalwart 
Republican, but has never had time or the 
inclination to be an aspirant for office. He 
and his good wife and family are members 
of the German Methodist church, and are 
ever willing and ready to assist in any way 
whatever that will promote the prosperity 
of the church and the advancement of the 
gospel. Mr. Buhrmaster has been a mem- 
ber of the board of this church for about 
twenty-five years.- 

Ever since his coming to Burlington, in 
1861, he has constantly exhibited the great- 
est of activity, and his dealings with all men 
have always been above reproach. His word 
has ever been considered as good as his 
bond, arid while he has ever lived in a 
plain and unostentatious manner, still he has 



made friends among all classes of men, and 
he is justly entitled to the respect and esteem 
of the whole community in which he has 
lived so long. 



ADDIS EMMET PARKER, M. D. 

The field of medical practice has ever 
enlisted among its representatives men 
of the strongest mental capacity and of 
broad humanitarian principles, who, rec- 
ognizing the great responsibilty which 
devolves upon the practitioner, put forth 
their strongest and best efforts, making 
their labors therefore a blessing to man- 
kind as weW a.s a source of individual 
profit. Dr. Addis E. Parker, now de- 
ceased, was in his active life acknowledged 
as one of the most capable physicians of 
Des Moines county, his scholarly attain- 
ments, professional skill, and broad hu- 
manitarianism making him stand as a 
man among men, one of the representa- 
tive citizens of the county. 

Dr. Parker was a native of New York, 
being born in Chenango county. New 
York, on July 11, 1831. After completing 
his education in the public schools, he re- 
solved to make the practice of medicine 
his life work, and accordingly entered 
upon a thorough course of preparation. 
He acquired his professional training in 
the LTniversity of Michigan, at Ann Ar- 
bor, from which institution he was grad- 
uated with honor. During most of his 
professional career, he was a practitioner 
of I<Zossuth, to which town he had come 
about 1840, as a nine-year old child, with 
his parents. During the years of prac- 
tice that followed, he became well-known 
and a prominent figure in medical circles 



5i6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



throughout this part of the State. Dur- 
ing his long years of practice, he saw 
many changes made in the practical work 
of his profession, old methods being 
superseded by new and improved ones; 
and being a man fond of study, and de- 
voted to research, he always kept pace 
with the progress of the profession. 

Dr. Parker was twice married, his first 
wife being Miss Anna Green. By this 
marriage he had one son, Grant B., who 
was horn July 21, 1864, and who makes 
his home in Chicago, being a mail car- 
rier in that city. Dr. Parker's second 
marriage occurred May 23, 1878, when 
he was married to Miss Ursula M. Hukill, 
daughter of Charles Wesley and Leah M. 
(\'annicc) Hukill, of whose lives a com- 
plete sketch is given elsewhere in this 
volume. To this union were born two 
children: Ella M., born Aug. 23, 1881 ; 
and Charles Emmet, born April 30, 1883. 
Regarding his jjrofession as a life work 
eminently worthy of his best efTorts, Dr. 
Parker gave his time and attention al- 
most exclusively to the practice of medi- 
cine and to the acquirement of further 
knowledge concerning the science until 
the time of his death, when he was still 
in what should have been the prime of 
life. Me (leparlcd iiinrtal life Dec. 7, 
1890, leaving a memory fragrant with 
helpful service and good deeds. His was 
a strong and significant character, com- 
bining a good measure of business aljility 
with humanitarian i)rinciples, and con- 
tributing in an imi)ortant measure to the 
upbuilding of the county in which he 
passed the greater part of his life. 

He was a member of the Methodist 
Episcopal church, of Kossuth. Politic- 
.t11\-, lie was a strong Republican, but 



never aspired to office. He was a mem- 
ber of the State Medical Society, and of 
the Des Moines County Society as well. 
He was an Odd Fellow, belonging to the 
Mediapolis Lodge. 



CHARLES M. CARMAN. 

Charles M. Garman, numbered among 
the honored dead of Des Moines county, 
was for many years a most respected and 
inlluential citizen of L'nion township. He 
was a farmer, and as George Washington 
said, "Agriculture is the most useful as 
well as the most honorable occupation of 
man." He was active in public life as 
the champion of all progressive measures 
for the benefit of his community, and his 
labors were of far-reaching eflFect in pro- 
moting the welfare and upbuilding of the 
county. Whatever was right and honor- 
able, whatever tended toward improve- 
ment and progress along material, intel- 
lectual, or political lines, received his 
endorsement ; so that, honored and re- 
spected in this life, his loss was deeply 
(le])lored when his labors were ended. 

Mr. Garman was born in Lebanon 
county, Pennsylvania, Aug. 21, 1831. 
His ancestors, of German lineage, settled 
in that State at an early day. His par- 
ents, Henry and Catherine (Killingcr) 
(lannaii. were also natives of Pennsyl- 
vania, and in 1846 they came to Iowa, the 
father purchasing one hundred and ten 
acres of land on Section i, LTnion town- 
ship, Des Moines county ; but he was per- 
mitted to enjoy his new home for only a 
brief period. Overtasking his strength 
one day in the harvest field, he was taken 




CHARLES M. GARMAN. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



519 



ill, and died soon afterward. His wife 
died in 1856. They were both members 
of the Lutheran church, but prior to her 
death Mrs. Garman joined the Baptist 
church. In Pennsylvania, where they 
lived, and in Iowa they were held in sin- 
cere and deep regard by many friends 
Their family numbered ten children. 

Charles M. Garman was fifteen years of 
age when he came with his parents to 
Iowa. He was reared upon a farm, and 
throughout his entire life engaged in tilling 
the soil. In 1855 he started out in life for 
himself by renting one hundred and fifty- 
three acres of land, on which he began gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising. His busi- 
ness in the latter direction became quite 
extensive, and his sales were large. He 
prospered from the beginning, and was soon 
enabled to purchase one hundred and ten 
acres of land, thirty acres of which was 
timber, the remainder tillable. He raised 
good crops, using the latest improved 
machinery to facilitate his farm work. In 
addition to the raising of cattle he handled 
a fine grade of Hambletonian horses, being 
the first to introduce that stock into Des 
Moines county. He was always a lover of 
good horses, owning some fine ones, as 
Twinkle, 2.27^4 ; Whiskers, 2.i8>i; and 
Shellmont, 2.2434- 

Mr. Garman was married in Burlington, 
Dec. 21, 1870, to Miss Alary J. David, a 
native of that city, born Jan. 9, 1842, a 
daughter of Barton T. and Mary A. F. 
(Rosser) David, natives of Mason county, 
Kentucky. Her father was born in that 
county, Nov. 11, 1818, and was a son of 
Michel and Cecelia (Thorp) David, who 
came from Heidelberg, Germany, to the 
United States, and settled in Mason 
county, Kentucky, where both he and his 



wife died. He served as a private soldier 
in the Revolutionary War. Barton T. 
David was first married to Miss Mary A. 
F. Rosser, who was born in Mason county, 
Kentucky, Nov. 14, 1819, and died 
in Burlington, Iowa, July 28, 1855, her 
remains being interred in Aspen Grove 
cemetery. She was the mother of seven 
children : Virginia, the wife of Dr. J. G. 
Stricklett, a resident of Springfield, 111. ; 
Mary J., now Mrs. Garman ; Melissa R., 
who is the widow of David A. Smith, and 
resides in California ; James M.. who died 
Sept. 16, 1897; Charles P., who died in 
childhood ; Susan S., the wife of Enos 
Thomas, of Boulder, Mont. ; and Frances 
A., the wife of C. W. Waite, of Burling- 
ton, Iowa. Mrs. David was a member of 
the Baptist church, and was a most esti- 
mable lady, devoted to her family, her 
friends, and her church. For his second 
wife. Barton T. David married Miss Cath- 
erine Eleanor Boniwell, who was born in 
Maysville, Ky., Dec, 13, 1821, and they had 
one daughter, Elizabeth C, now the wife 
of E. R. Gray, of Seward, Alaska. 

Barton T. David came to Burlington, 
Iowa, in 1835. He conducted a general 
store in Water Street, which he followed 
until a few years prior to his death, which 
occurred March 8, 1896, while his second 
wife passed away Jan. 29, 1871. He was 
a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, and he gave his political 
support first to the Whig party and after- 
ward to the Republican party. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Garman was born 
but one child, Mary Kathryn, who was 
born Sept. 4, 1876, and is at home with 
her mother. They are both members of 
the Baptist church, and have many friends 
in the community. 



S20 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Garman died very suddenly, on 
March 23, 1903. and was buried in Aspen 
Grove cemetery, at lUirlinpton. Iowa. In 
politics he was active and prominent — 
a stalwart su])])orter of the Republican 
party. From iSfx) until 1H65, inclusive, 
he served as supervisor for his township, 
this covering the period of the Civil 
War. His activity in behalf of his com- 
munity and county ilid not end lure, how- 
ever, for through seven years he was the 
secretary of the .Xgricultural Society, and 
one of its directors. In 1875. upon the 
organization of the Des Moines County 
I'armers' .Mutual Insurance Company, 
and also the Fair Association, he became 
secretary of each, and acted in that capac- 
ity until his death. At one time he re- 
ceived the nomination from his party for 
representative, but declined to become a 
candidate. His fellow-townsmen had 
great confidence in him, because of his 
ability, his devotion to the general good, 
and the i)romi)t and reliable manner in 
which he performed every task or duty 
entrustefl to him. He awakened warm 
friendshi]) and dee]) regard, and his loss 
was deeply regretted by many friends, 
but most of all in his own home, where 
he was a loving and devoted husband and 
father, doing all in his power to ])romote 
the ha])piness and welfare of his family, 
who were dear tt) him. 



JACOB SCHROCK BAUGH- 
MAN. D. O. 

M.\n'.s worth in the world is determined 
by his usefulness, by what he has accom- 
])lished for his fellow-men, and he is cer- 



tainly deserving of the greatest honor and 
regard whose eflForts have been of the great- 
est benefit to his fellow-man. Judged by this 
standard Dr. Jacob Schrock Baughman, one 
of the leading osteopathic physicians in 
Iowa, may well be accorded the distinction 
of being one of the eminent citizens of Bur- 
lington. Xot alone as a practitioner of oste- 
opathy has he become widely known, but also 
as an inventor and scientist, disseminating 
kiiiiwledge along various lines that has had 
an immeasureable efTect in the -world. His 
deep research and investigation have ren- 
dered more effective the labors of his pro- 
fession, and have also touched upon many 
lines of scientific study relating to man's 
mission in the world and the best use to 
which he may put his jjowers. 

The grandparent of Dr. Baughman came 
from Pennsylvania to Ohio in the earlv 
times. This old gentleman, D. X. Baugh- 
man, married Miss Anna Gerber, and was 
the first man in America to originate the 
idea of i)egging shoes ; but as his parents 
(lied wlun lie was but fifteen years of age, 
he was bound out to a master who in time 
became very wealthy from the idea of his 
foster child's invention. Mr. Baughman 
died in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 
1848, and Mrs. Baughman passed away in 
Davis county, Iowa, in 1876. 

Dr. Baughman is a son of Christian and 
Catherine (Plank) Baughman, -who were 
natives of Ohio, the father being born in 
Wayne county Oct. 30, 1825, where he was 
educated and became a prosperous farmer 
and extensive stock-raiser, handling draft 
horses known as Percheron horses. He was 
a large, well-built man, possessing all the 
cHaracteristics that produce an honored citi- 
zen and an ideal man in his family. He was 
drafted into the Civil War. but did not go, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



521 



and paid one hundred acres of land to a 
substitute. He died in Davis county. Iowa, 
Oct. 15, 1893, in his sixty-eighth year. 

Catherine (Plank) Baughman, mother of 
our subject, was born in Wayne countw 
Ohio, in 1826, and was a daughter of John 
Plank, who was a great genius. He was a 
cabinet-maker by trade, and made the first 
clock known as "grandfather's" clock when 
a very young man. There is one of these 
old-fashioned clocks in the home of his son, 
J. J. Plank, who resides in Pulaski, Iowa, 
and is prized very highly. Mrs. Baughman 
passed away in Davis county in 1876, and 
is buried there in the Pulaski cemetery be- 
side her husband. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Baughman were born 
the following children : Elizabeth A., of 
Pulaski ; John, died when two years of age ; 
David Kertz, of Aspen, Colo. ; Anna, died 
when four years old ; Jacob Schrock, of this 
review ; Jonathan J., a young man of ex- 
emplary habits in the closest application of 
the word. His life was full of Christian 
deeds, and he took great interest in the 
church and Sunday-school, where he had a 
class of fifteen young men. He died when 
twenty-seven years old, and the regard and 
high esteem in which he was held was veri- 
fied in the large attendance of friends at his 
funeral, many attending from Bloomfield, 
and ;\Iilton, Iowa, and from Alexandria and 
Memphis, ]\Io. : Mary Celestia, died at the 
age of twenty-seven years ; Lavina May, lives 
in Pulaski, as does also her brother William 
C, who is a farmer and stock-man. The 
last named has been repeatedly elected as 
the superintendent of the Mennonite Sun- 
day-school, having served six years, and has 
been school director for a number of years, 
and served as county assessor to the satis- 
faction of all. 



Jacob Schrock Baughman, of this review, 
was born in Pulaski, Davis county, July 6, 
1858, where he was reared on his father's 
farm. Owing to the great distance to school, 
and the scarcity of help in planting season, 
his early education was much neglected, but 
in the fall after he became of age, he had 
prepared himself sufficiently well to teach 
his first term of school. Thereafter he 
taught and went to school until after he 
was twenty-seven years of age. He also 
attended the Lombard College at Galesburg, 
111., and was a student of the State Normal, 
of Kirksville, Mo., a graduate and a post- 
graduate of the Kirksville School of Osteop- 
athy, being a member of the class of 1900. 
He came to Burlington in -1887, having lived 
in Topeka, Kans., two years previously, and 
has resided here ever since with the excep- 
tion of the year 1904, which he spent in 
Washington, D. C, practicing osteopathy. 
He is now located on Sixth and Division 
Streets, where his pleasant office at 523 
Division Street is also presided over by his 
bright and accomplished wife, who is also 
associated with him in his chosen profession. 

In 1887 Dr. Baughman was married to 
Miss Melvina \'aneton, and it was about 
this time that he made known some of his 
inventions. In this line his work was for 
the improvement of " dress-cutting charts," 
in which at the time of his marriage his 
wife had part interest. This they completed 
together, and copyrighted it under the name 
of the " Glove Fitting Garment Cutter ; " 
made application for a patent on an inven- 
tion in "Adjustable Pattern Plates " for cut- 
ting ladies' dresses, and the patent was 
granted in February, 1890, since which time 
it has been widely exploited in the United 
States and Canada, some of the goods being 
shipped to England and other countries. In 



522 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



June, 1890. another patent was granted in 
the same Hnc and added to the above. On 
June II, 1895, he was granted a patent on 
a new invention on Down Spouts Filter 
for Cisterns, Ixjth in the United States and 
Canada. This invention has upon its own 
merits been called for quite extensively. 
I'pon e.xhibition at the Illinois State Fair, 
it won the silver medal, the highest award 
for improvements in water filters. Its sim- 
plicity enables any one to use it and always 
keej) it in good working condition. On Jan. 
4, 1900, he made ajiplication for a patent 
on a Head Bandage, and in May of that 
year this patent was issued to him. This 
invention, like many others, had its origin 
in necessity. Dr. llaughman, at this time 
being a student in the new healing art, 
osteopathy, had just gone through a very 
severe spell of sickness, which left him very 
weak, and consequently, through lack of vi- 
tality, he was unable to kee]i his mouth 
closed during sleep, thus causing a dryness 
of throat and wakeful nights. It was neces- 
sary therefore to prevent this trouble, and as 
a result the above itivciuion was perfected 
and patented. In juiu-. 1901, a ])atent on 
Improved Plates for Cutting Ladies' Dress 
Skirts was obtained. This appealed so fa- 
vorably to the modistes of our Eastern cities, 
that he also applied for and obtained letters- 
patent (111 tlR' same in England and Canada. 
This, taken with the .Xdjustable Tailor Sys- 
tem, patented by liini. ni;ikes bis system the 
only automatic calculating machine ever in- 
vented for cutting ladies' dresses. It abso- 
lutely divides the entire garment according 
to measure taken and style desired. No fig- 
uring of any kind is necessary. On I'ebru- 
ary, 1902, his claims on one of the most 
novel articles yet placed before the public, 
were allowed, and the patent issued to him 



June 24, 1902. This invention pertains to 
a new and useful .Menu Card Holder, pro- 
vided with jHish buttons so arranged on 
either side of the holder that the guest is 
enabled at his leisure to push any button 
opposite the article of food ^vhich may be 
wanted in bis order. \\"ithout any words 
Ix-ing passed between the guest and waiter, 
the order is then filled. The waiter being 
enabled at a glance to tell what is desired, 
he ])resscs another button arranged at top 
of the card-holder and thus releases the 
card in full. This instrument will revolu- 
tionize the hotel waiting business, and enable 
guests to be served without the annoyance 
of calling off the order, or having to put up 
with the usual mistakes made by waiters for 
want of memory. His later patents were 
taken out through the offices of E. G. Sig- 
gers, Washington, D. C. 

In January, 1900, Dr. Baughman asso- 
ciated with him in his practice. Dr. Xanny 
Randolidi Hall, -who entered the School of 
Osteopathy, of Kirksville, Mo., under the 
direction of Dr. A. T. Still, in 1899. She 
is also a graduate of the .American College 
of Osteojjatbic Medicine and Surgery, Gii- 
cago. III., and a post-graduate of the school 
in Kirksville mentioned above. While in 
the college in Chicago she had the privilege 
of attending the clinics in Cook county hos- 
])ital under all of the medical schools of the 
city. While thus engaged these i)arties de- 
signed and Completed a chart illustrating 
physiological chemistry, this being the first 
time in the history of medicine that this com- 
plex subject has ever been so simplified as 
to present it in all of its functions to be 
viewed in its womKrful workings by the 
eye of man. This |)roved so popular that 
there has been issued to them, through the 
efficient work of Mr. Siggers, a copyright 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



523 



in the United States and Great Britain. 
This chart is hailed by all students of phy- 
siology and physiological chemistry as the 
simplest and yet the most complete arrange- 
ment of the subject ever published. The 
lounial of the Scienec of Osteopathy, Chi- 
cago, says : "In this chart, true to the order 
as well as progress of functions and organs, 
the authors trace the proteid, fat, and carbo- 
hydrate of food from the mouth through 
the meshes of mastication, digestion, etc., 
diagrammatically illustrating all the changes 
that take place. We have an excellent 
bird's-eye view of the great chemical labo- 
ratory of the human body at work, apart- 
ment after apartment in the great com- 
pounding and modifying work of the body 
revealing their secrets. Organ after organ, 
tissue after tissue, until none are silent, speak 
of the activity in the chemical actions and 
reactions upon which the body life is based." 
On Sept. 18, 1 90 1, the authors of the chart 
were united as partners for life in the holy 
bonds of matrimony, at the home of the 
bride's father in Washington, D. C. She 
is a daughter of Captain George Washing- 
ton and Mary (Randolph) Ball, and was 
born in Fluvana county, Virginia, Jan. 18, 
1865. The parents were both natives of 
Virginia, the father being born in Loudon 
county, 1828, and the mother in Fauquier 
county in 1826. Mrs. Ball is now the near- 
est living relative of George Washington, 
the first president of the United States, and 
her beloved mother was a first cousin of 
Bishop Randolph, of Virginia. Mr. Ball 
was a very successful genealogist in Wash- 
ington, D. C, making out family pedigrees 
and tracing their records, and was ably as- 
sisted for awhile by his daughter, who is 
now the wife of Dr. Baughman. He has 
lived a retired life in the same city for the 



past fifteen years. Mrs. Ball passed away 
in 1880, in Alexandria, Va. i'nto Mr. and 
Mrs. Ball were born eight children : Charles 
Fayette, resides in Virginia, and is a trav- 
eler for Armour, of Chicago ; Mary Ran- 
dolph Ball, lives in Washington with her 
aged father ; Burgess, died at the age of 
twenty-six years in 1880; R. T. Mason, now 
pay inspector in the United States standing 
navy stationed at San Francisco, Cal., where 
he has been in the navy since 1881 ; Landon 
M., married W. F. Hill, of North Carolina, 
where he is an engineer in the Fish Commis- 
sion for the government ; Robert Randolph 
was a surgeon in the standing army, and 
died in 1897, aged 37, leaving two children — ■ 
Thomas Fauntleroy and Robert Randolph ; 
Elizabeth Carter, now Mrs. Giles Cook 
Lane, a physician of Virginia ; Nanny Ran- 
dolph, now Dr. Nanny Ball Baughman, of 
Burlington, Iowa. Dr. Baughman and his 
wife have been blessed with two children : 
William Washington Ball, born in Burling- 
ton, Iowa, July 19, 1902, and Mary Ball, 
born Oct. 7, 1904, in Washington, D. C. 
The doctor has been a constant and de- 
voted Christian since early boyhood, and is a 
faithful member of the Methodist church, 
while his wife, Dr. Nanny Baughman, is 
one of the devoted members of the Epis- 
copal church. He is a Republican, but 
does not aspire to any office within the gift 
of the people. Dr. Baughman is also a 
Mason, belonging to Malta Lodge, Iowa 
Chapter, No. i, and St. Omer Commandery, 
of Burlington, and also a member of the 
Kaaba Temple of the Mystic Shrine, of 
Davenport, Iowa. In 1903 he was elected 
as president of the Iowa Osteopathy Asso- 
ciation, and is now president of the eastern 
Iowa Osteopathy Association. Dr. Jacob 
S. and Dr. Nanny R. B. Baughman are 



524 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



both youiifi ill life, yet by their great ability 
and upright lives have established reputa- 
tions e(iuale<l by few : and though they now 
have a fine practice, — their patients coming 
from ail parts of the State, — still \vc predict 
for them mucli greater success in the future. 



CHARLES WESLEY HUKILL. 

Celebrated for his kindly nature, his 
good deeds, and his loyal devotion to his 
family, his friends, and his country, was the 
subject of this sketch, who has now gone 
to his reward in the life beyond. In the 
reality of that future life lie ever professed 
a firm faith, and for it he prepared through- 
out the days of his earthly existence. He 
was 1)1 >rn in Switzerland county, Indiana, 
July 14, 1819, the son iif James Foster and 
Rebecca (Stewart) Ihikill. The father 
came of an old \\'elsh family, being born 
in Wales about 1795. 

James I'^oster Hukill came with his par- 
ents from Wales to America in childhood, 
coming first to Kentucky, then later, as 
better o])portunities were presented to him, 
to Indiana. He was a well-educated man, 
and followetl the jirofcssion of school-teach- 
ing. In addition to his interest in educa- 
tional matters, he took great satisfaction in 
doing all that lay in his power to advance 
the cause of justice and right in the com- 
munity, acting with efficiency as justice of 
the peace for many years. \\'hile living in 
Indiana, he was united in marriage to Miss 
Rebecca Stewart. To them was born a 
large family of children, two of whom died 
young. They are: Allen Wiley, Edwin R., 
James Foster, Elizabeth, Sarah (deceased). 



Caroline, and Indiana. Charles Wesley, 
now deceased, was the fourth in order of 
birth. 

Charles Wesley Hukill, the subject of this 
review, received his education in the sub- 
scription schools of Indiana, an education 
much limited by the lack of school facilities 
in those early days. In 1842 the entire fam- 
ily came to Iowa, and the father took up 
one hundred and sixty acres of rich farm- 
ing land from the government. A year or 
two later he sold eight}' acres of this land to 
his sun Charles. The family lived together, 
and worked together in bringing the land 
under cultivation and in making the im- 
provements, until the ileath of the father, 
which occurred in 1855. when he was alxiut 
sixty years of age. 

On Oct. 18, 1852. .Mr. Hukill was united 
in marriage to Miss Leah M. X'annice, 
daughter of .\braham and Klizaljeth (Dim- 
errec) \'annice. Her father, .Abraham Van- 
nice, was born in 1815, and died in 1866, 
while the mother was born in 1825, and 
lived until 1880. Mrs. X'annice was one of 
a family of nine children who were Ixirn, 
as follows: Isaac, born in 1829, died in 
1901 : James, born in 1831 ; Xancy .\nn. 
liorn in 1827; Leah M.. wife of our subject, 
horn 1833; Lucy, h(3rn 1835; Emily, born 
1837; Wesley .M., born 1839: Abraham. 
horn 1841 ; Jessie H.. who died in infancy. 
At the death of his father. Mr. Hukill 
bought eighty acres of his father's estate, 
and added to this from time to time until at 
his death he was the owner of a farm con- 
sisting of two hundred and forty acres, and 
the family are still the owners of the same. 
In 1S35 he built his home, which was a log 
cabin ; but by skilful management he so 
prospered in his farming that later he built 
a small frame Jiouse. He improved the wild 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



525 



land, equipped liis farm with tiie most ap- 
proved apparatus, introduced new ideas into 
its operation, and by the exercise of sound 
and practical business judgment, succeeded 
in securing- a most gratifying return for his 
time and thought. In 1880 he buiU their 
present large, modern, substantial dwelling- 
house, in the midst of beautiful grounds, 
and here his family enjoys the fruits of their 
united care and toil. 

To j\Ir. and Airs. Hukill were born six 
children, three sons and three daughters, 
of whom all except the oldest daughter are 
still living. The children are as follows: 
Rebecca, born .Aug. 30, 1853. died Aug. 23, 
1895 ; John Wesley, born Feb. 26, 1855, lives 
in Oklahoma ; Ursula AI., born Feb. 18, 
1857, is the widow of Dr. Addis E. Parker, 
of whose life a complete sketch is given 
elsewhere in this history ; William W., born 
March 7, 1859, now a resident of Colorado, 
.where he is interested in mining : Hannibal 
Lincoln, born Feb. 12, 1861, now a farmer 
located in Colorado ; and Rose Ella, Ixirn 
Oct. 30, 187 1, who resides at home, is a 
trained nurse, and is at the present time 
located in Alediapolis. 

Ever ready to do the right, as it was given 
him to see the right, Mr. Hukill, as is also 
his devoted wife, was an active worker in 
the Methodist Episcopal church : and his 
efficiency in that work was of such a high 
degree that he was called upon to hold the 
office of steward for some time. His last 
years found him faithful, even as his whole ^ 
life had been one beautiful illustration of 
Christian faith. He passed to the better 
world Jan. 8, 1897. He was reliable in busi- 
ness, progressive in ideas, and at all times 
ready to aid in the promotion of the welfare 
of the community. His co-operation could 
always be counted upon in support of any 



measure for the general good, and his pleab- 
ant, genial manner made him well liked by 
all, and caused his death to be deeply de- 
plored. His widow still occupies the old 
home, having lived at this place since 1855. 
She takes great interest in church work, and 
other matters of importance to the neighbor- 
hood, and is a lady of many excellent traits 
of character. 



GUST. SACRISON. 

Gust. Sacrisox is the name of a 
venerable resident of Des Moines county, 
Iowa, whose home is on Sections 14 and 
1 5 of Huron township, where he is now 
passing the closing years of a long and 
useful life. Far down the hill the shadows 
fall and stretch awa}- behind, yet his 
heart still sings of youth, and the crown 
of years rests but lightly on him. Though 
his life is a link to bind us to the remote 
past, he is still hale and hearty, and bears 
himself with that vigor and buoyancy 
thar mark a peculiar vitality. His natural 
force is still unabated, and his mind clear 
and vigorous ; so that conversation with 
him is a privilege and an instruction. 
Such men are rare in any community, and 
especially so in a region where a single 
life may unite the wilderness and the 
peopled State, so that they are always 
reverently regarded by the thoughtful. 

Mr. Sacrison was born in Yonkopings 
Lan, Sweden, Feb. 19, 1828, the son of 
John and .Anna (Lebaline) Sacrison. His 
parents lived on a farm, and he was 
brought up to follow that vocation, which 
he has made his life work ever since. .\t 
that time there were no schools in his 



526 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



liart of the country, and all the education 
lu- received was what his mother had time 
to teach him. lUit although his op- 
portunity to obtain hook-learning was 
very limited, he ac(|uired much ])ractical 
knowleilge of other kinds, including a 
knowledge of men. gained by exjierience 
and careful observation through the pass- 
ing years of his long life ; and these forms 
of wisdom have proved very potent in 
spelling the magic word "success" for 
him. 

.Mr. Sacrison reached America on July 
i6. 1866, coming by way of New York 
directly to Burlington, Iowa. His first 
employment was with a Mr. Xeile, who 
was running a nursery there at that tiii;e. 
and he remained in that place for six 
weeks, fie then came to Huron town- 
ship and went to work t)n a farm, work- 
ing for Henjamin Luckenbill. w ith whom 
he stayed for two years. 

By the end of this time he felt suffi- 
ciently familiar with tlie language, the 
peo|de. and their manners and customs 
of living, to feel warranted in starting to 
work for himself. .Vccordingly he rented 
sixty acres of land. :iiid farmed it for the 
ensuing two years. His business-like 
management, economy, and frugal way of 
living made this a very successful ven- 
ture, -SO that by the end of the two years 
he had accumulated enough money to be 
able to buy a farm of his own. 

lie pureh.-ised forty acres of tindier 
land in .Section 15, Huron townshii), buy- 
ing it from Mr. Sheridan. This land he 
cleared and stumped, built a cnmmodious 
house and a good barn, and ili.iiimd tlie 
l)lace from trackless wihlerness to a weli- 
cared-for modern farm under the best of 
cultivation. Among other improvements, 



he has put in a tine bored well of a depth 
of one hundred and thirty-three feet. 

.As the years have brought a great and 
greater degree of success to him, he has 
added to the farm from time to time, till 
now he has one hundred and sixty acres 
of rich, fertile farm lands in Sections 14 
and 15. all under cultivation; and his is 
one of the best-kept farms in that town- 
ship. Besides his work in general farm- 
ing, he has raised some (battle, keeping 
higii-grade stock. He has at present 
about thirty head of Polled Angus and 
Red Polled cattle. He raises about forty 
head of hogs annually, and also a few 
Xorman Percheron horses. 

.Mr. Sacrison was first married before 
leaving Sweden, being united in 1844 to 
.Miss Anna Selberg. To them eight chil- 
dren were born, of whom only one is now 
living, the son Charles, who now lives in 
Colorado. Mrs. Sacrison died March 16, 
1868. and lies buried in Dolby cemetery, 
in this township, .\pril i, 1868, Mr. Sac- 
rison was married a second time, his wife 
being Mrs. Charlotte Scott, daughter of 
Jonas and Mary (Carlson) Nelson. Mrs. 
Sacrison had five children by her mar- 
riage with William F. Scott, two of whom 
are living, and three dead, as follows: 
Samantha, July 19, 1855, deceased; 
William 1'.. born -\ug. 21. 1859; Flor- 
ence IC. born Now 18. 1857. deceased; 
James 1).. born July u. 1862: Frank 
."-leott. l)nrii ."^ejit. \C). 1864. deceased. 
James D. Scott now makes his home with 
.Mr. and Mrs. Sacrison. He has acted as 
game warden for the past five years, and 
is still holding that position. 

.Mr. Sacrison has given his attention 
principally to business affairs, and has 
never aspired to the tenure of public 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



527 



office; but at the same time he never fails 
to discharge the duties of a citizen, giv- 
ing his allegiance to the Republican par- 
ty, in the ranks of which he is an active 
and efficient worker. 

In his religious connection he retains 
the faith of his forefathers, being a mem- 
ber of the Swedish Lutheran church, and 
has observed a lifelong fidelity to the 
teachings of this denomination. But the 
true key to his character lies in the fact 
that he is a self-made man, that he started 
in the struggle with the world equipped 
only with his own strength and ability, 
and that he 'has by his own unaided ef- 
forts raised himself to his present hon- 
ored position in the community. For this 
he deserves great credit, the more so be- 
cause his methods have always been 
marked by the strictest honesty and in- 
tegrity, and he has been fair, upright, and 
impartial in all his dealings. Indeed, 
these facts in his career have won for 
him a high reputation for honor through- 
out Des Aloines county, and he is uni- 
versally admired and respected for what 
he has achieved. He is still a hale and 
hearty old man, and not a day is permitted 
to pass without his doing something 
about the farm. Yet the long years are 
behind him, and his friends are proud of 
him. A beautiful setting for the closing 
period of a noble career. 



HENRY BREUER. 

Henry Breuer, coming to this country 
empty handed, has won the proud Amer- 
ican title of self-made man, his diligence 
and close application enabling him to work 



his way upward from a humble financial 
position to one of affluence. 

He was born in Prussia, Germany, Sept. 
15, 1838, his parents being Henry and 
Charlotte (Bulk) Breuer. He was educated 
in the public schools of his native land, and 
when eighteen years of age he crossed the 
Atlantic to America, taking passage on one 
of the old-time sailing vessels, which was 
nine weeks and three days in reaching the 
harbor of New Orleans. He proceeded up 
the Mississippi River by boat to Keokuk, 
and as the river was then frozen over, he 
continued the journey by wagon to Burling- 
ton, arriving in that city about a week before 
Christmas, 1857. 

As he had no capital he at once sought 
employment, and began grubbing land for 
Mr. Horsenkamp. Later he was employed 
at chopping wood by the month ; and after 
the first year spent in this country he entered 
the employ of his uncle, Fred Breuer, with 
whom he continued for four years. He 
afterward spent three years in the employ of 
his father-in-law, Samuel Witte, and later 
began farming on his own account, oper- 
ating a tract of rented land the first year. 

In 1867 he purchased from T. Beckman 
eighty acres of land, one-half of which 
was on Section 22, and the remainder on 
Section 27, Franklin township. He also 
bought from Frank Orndorff, in 1885, a 
forty-acre tract on Section 23, so that he 
now owns one hundred and twenty acres of 
good land. He carries on general farming, 
and his efforts are winning success. He has 
worked persistently and energetically, over- 
coming all obstacles and difficulties by his 
determined purpose and laudable ambition, 
and he is now accounted one of the substan- 
tial agriculturists of his community. , 

In January, 1864, Mr. Breuer was mar- 



528 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ried to Miss Mary Witte, a daughter of 
Sanuicl and Sophia (Hultzman) Witte. 
They became the parents of eight children : 
Henry, Louisa, Jolin, Mary, Wilhani, Caro- 
line, Edward, and Lydia. The last named 
died at the age of five years, while the 
eldest daughter is now the wife of Frederick 
Sielernian. 

Mr. Dreuer is a valued member of the 
German Evangelical church, in which he 
has served as trustee for thirty years. In 
politics he is a Democrat in his views, but 
does not consider himself bound by party 
ties. He has served as trustee for one term, 
but prefers to devote his energies to his gen- 
eral farming interests, wherein he is meeting 
with success. His life history proves what 
may be accomplished by a man of deter- 
mined and unfaltering diligence in a country 
where effort is not hampered by caste or 
class. 



FRIEDRICH HERMAN THIE. 

I'kiedricii Herman Thie is a native 
son of the city of T.urlington, born May 
lo, iHAS. TTis ])arents were Henry and 
Christina Thie, who in his infancy re- 
moved from Burlington to Franklin town- 
ship, establishing their home upon a farm. 

The mother died in 1905. at the age of 
'sixty-two years, her birth having occurred 
in Meissen, Germany, May 17, 1843. '" 
her girlhood days she was brought to 
America, and has been a resident of Des 
Moines county for many years. Feb. 25, 
1862, in Burlington, she gave her hand in 
marriage to Henry Thie, and they became 
the parents of seven children: Henry, 
Charles, William, and John, all living 
near Mcdiapolis on a farm ; Fricdrich H., 



ol Dodgeville, Iowa; and Herman and 
Louisa, at home. 

Mrs. Thie was a consistent Christian 
woman, having long held membership in 
the Evangelical St. Johannes church, in 
Flint River township, and she was loved 
and respected by her neighbors and many 
friends, to whom she always cordially ex- 
tended the hospitality of her home. Mr. 
Thie yet survives, and is a leading agri- 
culturist of his community. He is also 
prominent in i)ul)lic affairs, and is now 
serving as one of the snjtervisors of the 
county. 

Friedrich Herman Thie spent his youth 
upon the homestead farm in Franklin 
township, and is indebted to the district- 
school system for the educational priv- 
ileges he enjoyed. He put aside his text- 
books at the age of twenty years, and 
afterward gave his undivided attention 
to the fann work until twenty-five year.>> 
of age, when he began farming on 
his own account, renting land for two 
years. 

In 1893 his father bought a farm from 
Mr. Berry, which farm our subject oper- 
ated for a time, later buying it. He has 
since resided upon this place, which is 
situated in Sections 26 and 27, Franklin 
township, comprising sixty acres in the 
latter section, and eighty acres on the 
former. He usually feeds a car-load of 
cattle each ye.ir. and raises about forty or 
fifty head of Poland China hogs annually. 
His stock-raising interests are bringing to 
him a gratifying measure of success, and 
his fields also yield rich harvests in return 
for the care and labor he liestows upon 
them. He is practical in his methods, and 
thoroughly reliable in all of his business 
dealings. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



52 g 



On April 6, 1893, Mr. Thic was married 
to Miss Amalie Riepe, a daughter of J. 
H. and Julia Ann (Breuer) Riepe. Mrs. 
Thie was born in Flint River township, 
July I, 1870, and has always lived in this 
county. There are three children by this 
marriage: Raymond, born Sept. 6, 1896; 
Meta, born May 13, 1898; and Abner, 
Nov. 5, 1 90 1. 

The parents are members of the Ger- 
man Evangelical church, and are worthy 
young jjeople of the community, having a 
wide circle of friends, who esteem them 
higlily for their genuine worth. Polit- 
ically, Air. Thie is a Republican in his 
sympathies, and usually supports the party, 
but does not consider himself bound by 
party ties. He regards the welfare and 
progress of the comnnmity as more essen- 
tial than partisanship. 



CASPER HEIL. 



Casper Heil, one of the prominent Ger- 
man-American residents of Burlington, who 
has for a third of a century occupied a lead- 
ing position in business circles here in con- 
nection with important productive industries 
of the city, is now the president of the Cas- 
per Heil Brewing Company, which owns 
and operates the Casper Heil Brewery, 
and manufactures the well-known " Heil's 
Beer." He has risen from comparative ob- 
scurity to his present ccwimanding position 
in connection with the industrial interests 
of the city. 

A native of Germany, lie was born in 
Baden, in December, 1830, his parents 
being Fidaland Anna (Speck) Heil. In 
his native country he learned the cooper's 



trade under the direction of his father, and 
in 1852, when in his twenty-second year, 
he came to the United States, sailing from 
Havre, France, to New York, where he ar- 
rived after a voyage of forty-two days. 
Continuing his journey across the country, 
he reached Burlington, Iowa, on the 12th 
of August, and here secured employment 
as a cooper, working in that way until 1866. 
During the last decade of that jjcriod he 
was conducting a cooperage shop of his own 
and developed an excellent business, em- 
ploying as many as twenty-four men at a 
time. He worked along progressive lines, 
and his strenuous labor and capable manage- 
agement yielded him a gratifying measure 
of success. Thinking that he might have 
still better opportunity for advancement and 
financial prosperity in other departments of 
commercial activity, he embarked in the 
brewing business, in Des Moines, in Jan- 
uary, 1866, remaining a resident of that 
city until 1872, when he purchased a brew- 
ery at Burlington from the firm of Bauer & 
Schafl^ner. He at once commenced to re- 
build and remodel the plant, and has since 
added to the building until it is now one 
of the finest structures in the city, its cost 
being not less than seventy thousand dol- 
lars. For a number of years after he began 
in the brewing business he was alone, and 
so capably did he manage his afifairs that 
very gratifying success attended the enter- 
prise. In 1888 he had to close the brewery 
on account of the State law. Many men, 
similarly affected in a business way bv the 
new law, gave way to depression. Not so 
with Mr. Heil. With undaunted courage 
he adjusted himself to the new conditions, 
looked about for other opportunity for busi- 
ness investment, and, with three other men 
prominent financially, he organized the 



530 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Granite ISrick Company, with a capital of 
thirty-five th<nisanrl dollars, and installed 
the plant which since that time has been 
operated successfully in the manufacture of 
paving brick, and filling a needed place in 
the economy of industrial enterprises in 
Burlington, there being no paving-brick 
factory nearer than Galesburg, 111. After 
successfully operating this plant for fifteen 
years, the company sold it in 1903 to the 
Burlington Construction Company. 

In the meantime,, in 1892, — at the time 
of another change in the law, — Mr. Heil 
resumed brewing operations, still alone, but 
under the name of the Piurlington Brewery. 
He remodeled the plant, installing a refrig- 
erating machine for cooling, it being the 
first put into breweries in that section. In 
1894 the business was incorporated under 
the name t)f the Casper Heil Pjrewing Com- 
pany, with a capital stock of sixty thousand 
dollars, the officers being: Casper Heil, 
president; Oscar Heil. vice-president and 
superintendent; ami Herman A. Heil, 
treasurer and secretary, tlu' latter two be- 
ing sons of Casper Heil, whom he a<!mitted 
to the business after providing them with 
good educational privileges. In 1896 
further additions were made, and now the 
plant covers one hundred and fifty by one 
hundred and twenty feet on Jefiferson 
Street, near Central Avenue, most of the 
buildings being four stories in height, of 
red brick and of fine architectural design. 
From time to time modern imjirovements 
have been added, and the business has in- 
creased with such rapidity that the output 
now exceeds six thousand barrels annually. 

In March, 1861, Mr. Heil was united in 
marriage to Miss Susanna Ziegenhein, who 
was born in Burlington, and is a daughter 
of Theodore Ziegenhein. a native of Ger- 



many. There have been seven children born 
of this marriage : William, who is a brewer 
in Hannibal. Mo. ; Hannah, the deceased 
wife of Herman Mathes; Minnie, who died 
in childhood, in Des Moines; Ida (called 
Patty), the second wife of Herman Mathes ; 
Mollie and Nettie, at home; Oscar and 
Herman .\.. who are engaged in business 
with their father. Mr. Heil has a fine home 
on West Jefiferson Street, where he has 
lived since 1891. 

In his political views Mr. Heil is a stal- 
wart Democrat. His has been a notable 
business career, for he landed in \ew York 
with only ten dollars in money. His earlier 
environment, too, necessitated immediate 
occupation, while his laudable ambition to 
attain success served as an impetus for un- 
tiring labor. As the years have gone by, 
through the utilization and mastery of op- 
portunities which have come to him, he has 
gained for himself prosperity, and has won 
a position among the representative busi- 
ness men of Burlington. 



FREDRICK J. KUHLEMEIER. 

Fredrick J. Kciilemeier, whose intense 
and well-directed activity is rapidly becom- 
ing a forceful factor in the progress and 
prosperity of Burlington, is a director of 
the Merchants' Life Association and the 
superintendent of one of its most important 
departments, with offices in the National 
State Bank building in that city. He 
occupies a conspicuous position among the 
successful younger business men of his city, 
and in his business relations and dealings 
has applied the principles of a private life 
in which fidelitv to dutv, trustworthiness, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



531 



and consideration of others have been 
salient features. 

A native son of Iowa, Mr. Kuhlemeier 
was born at Charles City, this State, March 
10, 1873, the son of the late Hon. August 
H. and Lena (Cramer) Kuhlemeier. 

August H. Kuhlemeier, father of our 
subject, was born in Lippe Detwald, Ger- 
many, Dec. 10, 1846, and immigrating to 
America in 1853, settled in Freeport, 111., 
where he later began his business career 
as clerk in a dry-goods store, subsequently 
taking a position as traveling agent for a 
compatriot who was engaged in business 
at Freeport. Manifesting extraordinary 
business ability, he received rapid advance- 
ment, and going from promotion to promo- 
tion, became general agent for Iowa, Ne- 
braska, and Dakota, in which capacity by 
tireless energy and wise control of those 
under his charge, he built up an enormous 
and highly profitable business. In 1870 he 
removed to Burlington, here becoming reve- 
nue collector for the fourth district of 
Iowa by appointment of the Cleveland ad- 
minstration. He organized the Merchants' 
Life Association, becoming its first presi- 
dent, and occupied that position until his 
death. As a man who enjoyed the implicit 
confidence of the public and of financial 
circles, he was enabled to place the com- 
pany in a prominent position from the 
start, securing for the enterprise its full 
share of prestige among older institutions 
of recognized standing. Possessing in- 
domitable resolution and great personal 
force, any undertaking to which he lent his 
efiforts was destined to succeed, while his 
keen judgment and remarkable power of 
anah"zing a business situation were of im- 
measurable benefit to the company and 
carried it to triumphs even beyond the ex- 



pectations of those who gave it their 
heartiest support. 

Outside his business activities, he played 
a notable part in the political life of his day, 
exercising a commanding influence in the 
councils of the Democratic party, of which 
he was a stanch adherent and supporter, 
and in recognition of his talents and the 
sterling virtues of his character he was at 
one time returned by Des Moines county 
as her representative in the State Legislature 
of Iowa, while during an extended term of 
years he was frequently called by an im- 
portant constituency to serve their interests 
as a member of the city council. .A.11 these 
public trusts he executed with the efficiency 
and conscientiousness which characterized 
everything he did, and the loss which the 
communit}- sustained in his death was one 
that can not soon be repaired. 
* At Charles City, on June 3, 1872, he 
wedded Miss Lena Cramer, and to them 
were born three sons : Frederick J., the sub- 
ject of this review; August 'R. ; and 
Harry F. 

Fredrick J. Kuhlemeier has been a resi- 
dent of Burlington since infancy, and it is 
to the public-school system of his city that 
he owes his preliminary education, though 
not all of the educational advantages which 
he enjoys, for after completing his literary 
course there, he pursued further studies 
under the direction of private tutors. 

He inaugurated his business career as 
a traveling salesman for the Burlingfton 
Basket Company, in whose employ he con- 
tinued for three }ears, scoring a number of 
notable successes, winning the commenda- 
tion of his employers, and forming many 
valuable friend.ships throughout a wide 
extent of territory. At the e.xpiration of 
that period he became chi'^f clerk to the 



532 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



superintendent of construction in charge 
of the erection of the Federal building in 
Burlington, and a year later, upon the 
organization of the Merchants' Life As- 
sociation, he entered its em])lov as book- 
J\CC|)cr, and was also elected a member of 
the board of directors, an office which be 
still holtls. His f)resent position is that of 
superintendent of agencies — one requiring 
in its incumbent a high development of 
tact and executive force, and which may be 
said, in fact, to constitute the keystone of 
the whole structure of the business, since it 
is upon the successful administration of this 
department that the healthful condition of 
the entire institution de])ends. Of these 
necessary and invaluable qualifications Mr. 
Kuhlemeier has shown himself to be the 
fortunate possessor, and the vigor and 
quick perception which he has !)rouglit to 
his work are winning for liim increasiil^ 
appreciation among his associates, and with 
the general public who appreciate merit and 
a spirit of enlightened enterprise. 

On Sept. 30. 1903, .Mr. Kulilemeier was 
united in marriage to Miss Carrie Craw- 
ford, daughter of Mrs. Jane Crawford. 
Mrs. Kuhlemeier is a native of Des Moines 
coimty, where she has always resided, and 
is a woman of many social gifts and con- 
nections, being a member of the .Musical 
Club, the King's Daughters, and the Pres- 
byterian church, in all of which she is a 
prominent worker. Mr. Kuhlemeier is a 
member of the Benevolent and Protective 
Order of Elks, the P.urlington I'.oat Club, 
and the Burlington Golf Club; and as one 
who has always taken a vital interest in 
public affairs, he has long been active in 
Democratic politics, and 1)\ his intlucnce 
and ability has been able to perform much 
valuable service, enjoying extreme poi)u- 



larity among the younger element of the 
party, while the conservative and solid 
qualities of his character have brought him 
the reward of universal favor and esteem. 
He has a wide circle of acquaintance, and 
his genial and warm-hearted disposition is 
well calculated to win him friends. 



HYRAM MESSENGER. 

IlvK.v.M .Messenger is a man whose 
career illustrates the value of sound busi- 
ness principles aiiplied to every under- 
taking. He is a general farmer, the i)ro- 
prictor of a fine estate consisting of very 
choice land in Yellow Springs township, 
Des Moines county, and has risen to a 
l)roiiiincnl place in his chosen calling by 
the use of jjrecisely the same ])rinciples 
that make for famt and fortune wherever 
manly character and business integrity 
manifest themselves. He has studied the 
situation in which his interests are in- 
volved, has determined what is right and 
])roiK'r to do, and then has gone ahead 
with boldness and enterprise, to work out 
tin- problems in his own life and field of 
labor. This plan of life has resulted in 
such a measure of success that his name 
deserves and receives an honorable place 
in this chronicle. 

Hyram Messenger, son of William and 
Julia (Brown) Messenger, was born l^eb. 
7, 1832. in lluiiango county. New \ ork. 
Here he livetl until he was fifteen j-ears 
of age, receiving his education in the dis- 
trict schools. .\l that time his father 
moved his family to Yellow Springs 
townshij). Iowa, where the boy Hyram 
was allowed to complete his education. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



The father, in partnership with his 
brother, bought a farm of two hundred 
and twenty acres ; and also, without a 
partner, bought another farm at Yellow 
Springs. On the latter he made his 
home for a number of years, but at last 
went to Colorado, where he lived till the 
time of his death, which occurred at 
Black Hawk, when he was about seventy- 
five years of age. His wife passed away 
in Muscatine county, Iowa. 

Hyram Messenger also went to Colo- 
rado, but after spending three months in 
that State and three months in Missouri, 
he came to the conclusion that there were 
greater opportunities open for him in 
Iowa than in either of those States, so 
returned to this township, where he has 
made his home ever since. 

He bought the farm which he now oc- 
cupies in 1864, and has made all the im- 
provements upon it himself. The farm 
consists of one hundred and forty-nine 
acres of rich land in Section 31, and is 
well suited to general farming, such as 
Mr. Messenger carries on. Besides this 
work of general farming, of which Mr. 
Messenger has made such a notable suc- 
cess, he also raises some cattle, having 
about ten head of cattle and about twice 
as many hogs. Mr. Messenger has his 
farm well equipped with modern imple- 
ments, and has erected a commodious 
barn and other buildings as need for them 
arose, as well as a fine, comfortable 
dwelling-house. 

Mr. Messenger has shown himself to be 
a public-spirited man, a careful student 
of those questions of public policies that 
affect the community, and a man who is 
ready to serve the community in what- 
ever way he may be called upon. He 



has served as assessor for the township 
for two terms, giving the best of satis- 
faction. He is a member of the Presby- 
terian church, faithful to its doctrinal 
teachings, and conscientious in his prac- 
tice. As a recognition of these qualities 
he has been called upon to serve as trus- 
tee and deacon in the church for a num- 
ber of years. 

In Alarch, 1857, Mr. Messenger was 
united in the bonds of wedlock to Miss 
Jane Harper. Mrs. Messenger was born 
in Ohio, the daughter of David and Han- 
nah (Wallace) Harper. She was a de- 
voted Christian woman, much esteemed 
among her acquaintances for her genial 
social qualities as well as her many vir- 
tues. She died on the home place, about 
1885. Mr. and Mrs. Messenger were the 
parents of seven children, of whom three 
died in infancy ; the others are ; Albert, 
road supervisor ; Charles, of Colorado ; 
Allie and Anna, at home. 

The Messengers are very highly es- 
teemed in the community, where their 
helpful and useful lives are swiftly pass- 
ing in a round of good deeds and quiet 
fostering of all that is generous and in- 
spiring in life around them. 



EDWARD AUGUST BECKMAN. 

Edward August Beckman, who owns 
and operates a farm of two hundred and 
twenty acres in Yellow Springs town- 
ship, was born in Danville township, 
Des Moines county, near Middletown, 
June 8, 1858, his parents being John E. 
and Louisa (Granaman) Beckman. In 
his j'outh he attended the district schools. 



534 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and throughout his entire life he has fol- 
lowed farming, having early begun work 
in the fields. He followed the plow when 
still a youth, and throughout his entire 
life has carried on agricultural pursuits 
with the exception of a brief "period 
passed in the West. In 1885 he went to 
California, and for three years he worked 
by the month in the gold mines at Ilay- 
den Hill, Lawson county. In the fall of 
1887, however, he returned home, and 
in the spring of 1888 purchased the farm 
which he now occupies from Garrett & 
Starker, of the Iowa State Savings Bank, 
paying forty-five dollars per acre for this 
property. It is now one of the finest 
farms in Yellow Springs townshi|), and 
comjiriscs one hundred and twenty acres 
on Section 23. forty acres of which 
he purchased from Mr. McKewen, forty 
acres from John McMillen, and twenty 
acres of timber land lying in Huron 
township. His possessions aggregate two 
hundred and twenty acres, and he has a 
valuable property, the fields being richly 
cultivated, and return him golden har- 
vests. Everything about his place is 
kept in an excellent state of improvement 
and repair, and in all his farm methods 
he is practical and progressive, while 
upon his place are all the equipments and 
accessories found upon a model farm. 

Feb. 15, 1888, Mr. liecknian was united 
ill marriage to Miss Mary I-'eldman. a 
daughter of John and Mary (Ries) Feld- 
man. She was born in Franklin town- 
shi[), Des Moines county, Sept. 18, 1859, 
and has always lived in this part of the 
State. Two children grace this mar- 
riage: Oswald Edward, who was born 
April 22. i8r/): and Margaret Louise, 
whose birth occurri<l .\i>ril 2'^, 1900. 



In his political views Mr. Beckman is 
a stalwart Republican, but without as- 
piration for office, preferring to give his 
time and attention to his business inter- 
ests. He was reared in the Lutheran 
faith, but is now a member of the Pres- 
byterian church, and for two years has 
served as deacon. His life has been 
characterized by honorable principles and 
without ostentation or display, and has 
shown in his life work many sterling 
traits of character which commend him 
to the confidence and respect of his fel- 
low-men. 



GEORGE S. JAMISON. 

The name which gives title to this review 
has long been familiar to Des Moines county 
people in both business and literary circles, 
and is one that will command immediate and 
universal interest. Although a native of the 
" Emerald Isle," Mr. Jamison is of Scotch 
ancestry, the tradition in the family being 
that in the time of the Claverhouse perse- 
cutions the ancestors of the present genera- 
tion were driven from Scotland, whence 
they went to Ireland, and permanently 
settled. He was born at Newtownards, 
County Down, Ireland, Sept. 16, 1849, ^ son 
of James and Mary (Patterson) Jamison, 
both now deceased. The father, who was a 
wholesale and retail merchant, died in 1884 
at the age of sixty-seven years. He may 
be said to have belonged to a race character- 
ized by longevity, as his father attained to 
the age of ninety years, and his mother to 
eighty-nine. Our subject is one of a fam- 
ily of four brothers and six sisters, of which 
he is the only member that ever came to 
.■Kmerica, while only one other now survives. 




GEORGE S. JAMISON. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



537 



this being David, a clergyman, pastor of the 
Second Presbyterian church at Newtown- 
hamilton. 

Mr. Jamison began his education in the 
national schools, took a subsequent course 
at Turnley Academy, and completed his 
studies at the Royal Academical Institution 
at Belfast, later traveling in England and 
Wales. He then served an apprenticeship 
in the wholesale dry-goods business with 
Lindsay Brothers, Donnegal Place, Belfast ; 
but deciding to try his fortune in the New 
World, he embarked for America on April 
17, 1 87 1. Landing at New York, he first 
spent some time in the oil regions of Penn- 
sylvania and adjacent territory; but he felt 
that in the great West lay his proper field 
of activity, and after proceeding as far as 
the Missouri River on a tour of inspection, 
he selected Burlington for his future loca- 
tion, and arrived here in June, 1871. Li this 
city and on farms he did manual labor for a 
time, until he secured a place as bookkeeper 
with H. H. Scott, a dry-goods merchant. 
Thus he passed the first two years, at the 
end of which, his literary abilities attracting 
attention, he was offered and accepted a 
position as an editorial writer for the Hawk- 
Eye, in which he continued until he formed 
a similar connection with the Burlington 
Daily. During the year of 1874 he acted as 
press-agent for the Forrester Dramatic 
Company, of New York, and on his return 
here took the editorship of the Burlington 
Daily Gazette, doing much in the period of 
his incumbency to add to the popularity of 
that newspaper. Seven years he spent in 
the employ of the Chicago, Burlington & 
Quincy Railroad, first in a clerical capacity 
in the freight office until 1876, then as night 
clerk for four years, and from 18S0 until 
1882 in the local freight office as claim clerk. 



This connection he terminated to become 
identified with the Burlington Insurance 
Company, for which he acted as a general 
correspondent and loss clerk for twelve 
years, or until the failure of the company 
in February, 1894, at which time he estab- 
lished a general insurance agency to handle 
the local business of a number of the older 
companies. In this enterprise he has 
achieved success, at the present time con- 
trolling a large volume of business, and 
occupying a leading position among the in- 
surance agents of this portion of Iowa. 

Since his naturalization, Mr. Jamison has 
been a stanch Republican in his political 
affiliation, having cast his first ballot for 
Rutherford B. Hayes for president, and has 
taken an. active interest in all affairs of local 
government. As a recognition of his serv- 
ices to his party, he was made its candidate 
for the office of county auditor, and his 
popularity is attested by the fact that al- 
though the county was Democratic, he re- 
ceived the largest vote accorded to any 
member of the ticket. In his fraternal rela- 
tions he is a member of Excelsior Lodge, 
No. 268, Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, in which he has filled all the chairs, 
and is a member and past chief patriarch of 
Eureka Encampment, No. 2, having been 
representative from District 28 to the Grand 
Lodge for six terms, and also has member- 
ship connections with Burlington Council, 
No. 530, of the Royal Arcanum. 

On Christmas day, 1876, he wedded Miss 
Ida C. Hawkins, of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, 
daughter of deacon Eli Hawkins, who was 
among the early settlers of Henry county, 
and to them have been born two children : 
James E., at present in the employ of the 
Burlington Paper Company as a book- 
keeper ; and Jeannette, a student at the Iowa 



538 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



State L'nivcrsity. Mr. Jamison has exer- 
cised a marked inriiience upon public affairs 
in Iowa as a prominent editor, by means 
of his forceful literary style and vigorous 
handling of local and general issues. V\'hile 
he was engaged in active newspaper work, 
his editorials were widely copied and com- 
mented upon, and were universally regarded 
as expressive of the attitude of the Middle 
West toward current questions — an esti- 
mate fully justified by their broad and lib- 
eral tone and rcjircsentative character. His 
purely literary work he still continues, for 
since leaving the office of the Burlington 
Ha'ti'k-Eye he has regularly contributed 
book reviews, a class of work for which he is 
eminently fitted by culture and natural apti- 
tude or taste, and these have ever been 
marked by ability, fairness, and close dis- 
crimination, as well as a high order of lit- 
erary excellence. His personal standing in 
the community is one that may indeed be 
called enviable, for he has many friends, 
and by reason of a uniformly honorable 
course enjoys general and sincere respect. 



CARL AUGUST ANDERSON. 

Fuu nearly a cjuarter of a century Carl 
August Ander.son has been identified 
with tlu- building interests of Burling- 
ton, most of the time as a prominent 
contractor. Mr. Anderson was born Jan. 
15, 1857, a son of Andrus and Johanna 
(Carlson) Johnson, in VVestergotland, 
Sweden, and received a good preliminary 
education in the public schools, from 
which he graduated. His early training 
was later supi)lemented by several years 
of study in a high-class technical school 



in the citv of Stockholm. His father 
being a cabinet-maker, Mr. Anderson 
learned that trade, and also that of car- 
pentering, mastering both with thorough- 
ness in all their details, both of theory 
and practice, and in addition securing a 
position which afforded him a g^eat deal 
of mill experience, which he has since 
found to be exceedingly valuable to him. 
For seven years he acted as foreman, hav- 
ing charge of extensive building opera- 
tions, and part of this duty comprised the 
making of all plans and measurements 
from which the actual drawing were 
made. 

Mr. Anderson was very successful in 
his native country, but feeling that bet- 
ter opportunities for self-development 
and advancement awaited him on this 
side the Atlantic, he came to America in 
1881, landing at Boston on November 10 
of that year and coming direct to Bur- 
lington, where he has since resided with- 
out interru])tion. Here he began work 
for the ChicagtJ, Uurlington & Quincy 
Railroad Company in the construction of 
their shops. On the completion of that 
engagement he was in the employ of 
various contractors for a number of 
years while familiarizing himself with 
.American conditions. 

In 1891 he began contracting on his 
own account, and has since built many 
private residences, business houses, and 
public edifices which add greatly to the 
artistic and substantial appearance of the 
vicinity, among them being the county 
l)oor farm building, costing $14,000. for 
which he did the contract work and the 
county fiirnisluil the material; four busi- 
ness houses on Jefferson Street : the 
South Hill school, $7,300: the Lincoln 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



539 



school, on Sixth Street, $16,500; a school 
building- at LaHarpe. 111., $15,000; the 
Chittenden & Eastman business block ; 
the large factory building of the Murray 
Iron Company ; a church structure at 
Galesburg, 111., $5,000, and the residences 
of LaMdnte Cowles, Mrs. Ed. Gardner, 
Mrs. John Fisher, Professor Sheldon, and 
many other of Burlington's most magnifi- 
cent residences. Mr. Anderson has the 
contract and is now building the new 
poorhouse on the county farm, the old 
one having been burned in the spring of 
1905. 

Mr. Anderson has been twice married, 
first on June 9, 1882, to Miss Emma 
Louise Larson, daughter of Peter and 
Anna Charlotte Larson, by whom he had 
three children : Hulda, now ]\Irs. Gugen- 
heimer, of Burlington ; David G., now an 
apprentice to his father in the carpenter's 
trade; and Ruth, a student in Elliott's 
Business College of Burlington. Mrs, 
Anderson died Dec. 3, 1890, when a young 
woman, she having been born Dec. 31, 
1869. 

June 17, 1896, Mr. Anderson wedded 
Miss Tillie Johnson, daughter of John 
and Inga (Bengtson) Johnson, and to 
them have been born two children : 
Lydia, aged seven years; and Eva, aged 
three. 

As a man of enlightened intelligence 
and education, Mr. Anderson has always 
taken a livelj' interest in public ques- 
tions, and in matters of national poli- 
tics supports the Republican party, al- 
though in local affairs he preserves an 
independent attitude. He has never as- 
pired to public preferment, but during 
the two years from 1900 to 1902 acted 
as building commissioner for the city of 



Burlington, a position in which he ren- 
dered efficient service. 

Fraternally, he is a member of the 
Modern Woodmen of America, and in his 
religious relations is identified with the 
First Swedish Baptist church, and has 
been for many years one of its deacons 
and trustees, which offices he now holds. 
A man of high personal character, his 
record is one of honor, integrity, and un- 
failing uprightness ; and while he has 
achieved a pronounced success in busi- 
ness, he has ever held to the highest 
principles and rules of conduct, so that 
his is a reputation unsurpassed. 



JEREMIAH KITCHEN. 

Jeremiah Kitchen, who for many 
years resided in Des Moines county, and 
was identified with various business in- 
terests, was born Feb. 24, 1838, in the 
city of Burlington, his parents being 
Thomas and Mary (David) Kitchen. The 
father was a native of Pennsylvania, born 
in 1807, while the mother's birth occurred 
in Kentucky, in 1810. He was a tailor 
by trade, and removed to Iowa in pioneer 
times, becoming one of the early resi- 
dents of Burlington. He afterward went 
to Honey Creek, 111., and spent his last 
days upon a farm, his death occurring in 
1851. In his family- were seven children, 
but only two are now living, Mrs. Sue 
Mercer, and ]\Iary Eliza, the wife of John 
Beere, of Mediapolis. 

Jeremiah Kitchen was a student in the 
public schools of Burlington in his early 
youth, and also attended a school con- 
ducted by Mr. Graff. He afterward 



540 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



worked ii])(jii till- farm of liis uncle, John 
S. David, and later began learning the 
printer's tratie in the office of the Hazn-k- 
Eye. After the outbreak of the Civil War 
he espousetl the Union cause, enlisting at 
.Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in Company E, 
I-'irst Iowa Cavalry, on July 31, 1861. 
After serving three years he re-enlisted in 
July, i8(i4, 3nd was honorably discharged 
Feb. 15, 1866, under special orders at 
Austin, Texas. 

June 8, 1871, Mr. Kitchen was married 
to Miss .\nna T. Cotgan, who was born 
Dec. 2^. 1847. in County Cavin, Ireland. 
Her fatiier. Charles Colgan, was born in 
Ireland in 1823. He was a farmer, and 
came to America in 1848 on one of the 
old-time sailing vessels, being three 
months on the water. He settled in West- 
chester, Pa., living for three years upon 
a farm, and in 1851 came to Burlington. 
He clerked at the McCutcheon House for a 
year, and afterward went to West Bur- 
lington, wlierc he boarded the employees 
that were building the Chicago, Burling- 
ton & Quincy Railroad, being thus en- 
gaged for several years. His daughter, 
Mrs. Kitchen, was one of the first girls 
to ride on the engine after the railroad 
was completed, making the run to the 
river. 

Later Mr. Colgan engaged in garden- 
ing, and also conducted business as a 
stone-mason contractor. He afterward 
went West to the mines, but subse- 
quently returning to West Burlington, was 
there employed as a salesman in the Go- 
hegan grocery store for three years. He 
also spent seven years as clerk in the 
Barret House. He passed away Sc])t. _'i, 
1900, his remains being interred in the 
Catholic cemetery. His wife's people 



were farmers. She passed away several 
years before the death of her husband, 
her demise occurring in 1881. Mr. Col- 
gan was a Democrat in his political 
views, and served as market master of 
Burlington for a number of years, and 
also as street commissioner. In the Col- 
gan family were seven children, of whom 
two are living; Mrs. Kitchen, of this 
review; and Margaret, the wife of Will- 
iam Clark, of Indianapolis, Ind. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Kitchen were born 
three children: George L., born Oct. 7, 
187J, in Burlington, was a clerk in this 
city for some time, and died July 10, 1899. 
.\rthur Rufus, born Oct 17, 1874, was 
also employed as a clerk, and died May 
2, 1896. Mary Ruth, born .April 13. 1883, 
in Burlington, was married to George 
Lewis Heck, who was born Feb. 24, 1881, 
and was a son of George and Elizabeth 
(Yackel) Heck. The parents had but one 
daughter. Mabel .\.. who is now married. 
Mr. Heck is now traveling for Chittenden 
& Eastman Company. There is one child 
of this marriage. Ruih M.. who was born 
May 18, 1003. 

.Mr. Kitchen was a Republican in poli- 
tics, but never aspired to office. He was 
one of the members of the hook and lad- 
der compan}' of the fire dei)artment. Sub- 
sequent to his return from the war he 
again worked at the printer's trade, and 
later was em])loyed in the railroad shops. 
For nine years thereafter he was in the 
employ of Donohue & McCosh, ami after- 
ward with the McCosh IJarb-Wire Com- 
pany. Later he worked for the Burling- 
ton Lumber Com])any, being thus en- 
gaged up to the time of his death, which 
occurreil June 23, i<)00. Mrs. Kitchen is 
a caterer, and has attained prominence in 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



541 



the business to which she devotes her 
energies. 

The Kitchen family have been quite 
prominent in religious work in Burling- 
ton and Des Moines county. Mrs. Mary 
Kitchen was one of the original members 
of the Baptist church in Burlington, and 
Airs. Kitchen of this review presented the 
large Bible and hymn book to the Bap- 
tist church when it was dedicated. 

Mr. and Mrs. Heck are members of the 
Methodist church, and Mr. Heck was 
president of the Baraca class for years. 
Mrs. Huston was a teacher of this class 
until she went away, and Mrs. Heck has 
been president of the Philethea class of 
the Sunday-school. Mr. Heck has in his 
possession a beautiful book bound in in- 
laid olive wood, which was presented to 
him by Mr. Crossley. It contains pressed 
flowers from the principal cities of the 
Holy Land. The influence of the family 
has ever been on the side of progress and 
improvement. Mr. and Mrs. Colgan were 
members of the Catholic church, and thus 
in both branches-Mrs. Heck is descended 
from ancestors whose efforts in behalf of 
right were strongly and beneficially felt. 



FRANK E. JOHNSON. 

Fr.\nk E. Johnson, a leading agri- 
culturist of Flint River township, resid- 
ing on Section 27, has spent h4S entire 
life in Des Moines count)^ his birth hav- 
ing occurred in Burlington, on the 13th 
of January, 1861. His parents were 
August and ^Matilda Johnson, both na- 
tives of Sweden, whence they came to the 
United States in childhood, settling in 



Burlington. The father was employed in 
various ways there in early life, and for 
several years after his marriage engaged 
in teaming. Later he purchased a farm 
in Union township, Des Moines county, 
and continued its cultivation until about 
1898, when he sold that property and 
again took up his abode in Burlington, 
where he is now leading a retired life. 
He lost his wife when their son Frank 
was only eight years of age. They were 
the parents of five children, all of whom 
are living. 

Frank E. Johnson acquired his prelim- 
inary education in the district schools 
near his home, and also spent two win- 
ters as a student in a business college in 
Burlington. He was seven years of age 
when his father removed to the farm in 
Union township, and there he was reared, 
early receiving practical training in the 
methods of cultivating the soil and caring 
for the stock. He continued to aid his 
father in the cultivation of the old home- 
stead up to the time of his marriage, 
which occurred when he was twenty-four 
years of age, when he began farming on 
his own account by renting a tract of 
land. He leases the farm on which he 
now resides, on Section 27, Flint River 
township, comprising one hundred and 
twenty-four acres of land. In 1903 he 
purchased fifty-six and a half acres lying 
on Sections 2y, 33, and 34, Flint River 
townshij), which he rents to a tenant. 
Aside from the farm on which he resides 
Mr. Johnson rents another farm in the 
same township, of one hundred and forty- 
five acres, which he operates in connec- 
tion with another tenant. He is very 
practical in his methods, and everything 
about his place is kept in condition, while 



542 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



till' iR-at aijpearancc of his farm indicates 
liis larcfiil supervisimi. 

In liis ijolitical views .Mr. Jolinson is a 
stalwart Republican, deeply interested in 
the success of the party, and is now serv- 
ing for the second term as assessor of his 
township. He has also been a member 
of the school board for a number of 
years, and is a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of the World. 

On the 13th of March, 1885, was cele- 
brated the marriage of Mr. Johnson and 
Miss Elizabeth Keitzer, who was born in 
Union townshi]). l)es .Moines county, and 
is a daughter of John and Margaret Keit- 
zer. The father was l)orn on the ocean 
when his parents were en route for .Amer- 
ica. They continued across the country 
to Iowa, settling in I'urlington township, 
Des Moines county, and afterward they 
removed to Union township, where they 
still reside. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Johnson 
have been born three children: Maud, 
born in L'ninn t(iwnshi|); and Mlsie and 
'J'ruic, horn in Mini Riser townshi]). 



FRANK H. SOWDEN. 

Frank H. Sowden, whose intense and 
well-directed activity has been the salient 
element in his success as a dealer in paints 
and wall-papers, and a contractor in paint- 
ing, decorating, and frescoing, is one of the 
native sons of Burlington whose business 
record is a credit to the city. He was born 
Aug. 2, 1857, a son of Qiarles and Phoebe 
'(Parkin) Sowden. the former a native of 
Leeds, England, and the latter of Meltham, 
that country. They were married in the 
land of their nativity in 1825, and crossed 



the .-\tlantic to the I'nited States in 1845. 
The father was a machinist and " engine 
driver," acting as engineer on the railroad 
between .Manchester and Sheffield ere leav- 
ing England. The voyage across the At- 
lantic -was made on the " Hindoostan," and 
covered six weeks. They sailed from Liver- 
pool on the i"th of March, 1845, and 
reached Burlington early in May. Here 
Charles Sowden secured a position as ma- 
chinist in the foundry and shops of Charles 
Heiidrie, where the L'nion depot now stands. 
Two years later he went to Muscatine, Iowa, 
where he established a foundry and machine 
.shoi), carrying on business there for three 
years, after which he returned to lUirling- 
ton and here opened a foundry and ma- 
chine shop, which he conducted frum 1852 
until his death, having his i)lant where is 
n(T\v the green sward north of the depot 
building of Burlington. He conducted a 
general foundry and machine shop, building 
stationary engines, manufacturing archi- 
tectural irnn work, and employing about 
fifty men, including machinists, molders, and 
blacksmiths. .Vs the years passed bv, his 
business increased, and he added annually 
to his cajjital. He died Jan. 13. 1K75. and 
his remains -were interred in .\spcn Grove 
cemetery. Pie left an estate valued at forty- 
three thousand dollars, of which Richard 
Spencer and Peter Fawcett were made ad- 
ministrators. His widow is still living, 
making her home at 930 Valley Street. 
They were the jiarents of fourteen children, 
of whom ten were living at the time of the 
father's death, but one has since passed away. 
The others are: James, at home; Thomas, 
wlin is conducting a machine shop on South 
I'ourth Street : Charles, who is with the Bur- 
lington & Missouri Railroad at Wymore, 
Xebr. ; Frank H. ; Robert, who is with the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



543 



Murray Iron Works, of West Burlington ; 
Jane, the wife of W. J. Jarvis, of Chicago; 
Harry, a machinist at the Murray Iron 
Works ; William, who is also employed 
there ; and John, a machinist. 

In the public schools of Burlington, 
Frank H. So-wden acquired his more spe- 
cifically literary education, and later prepared 
for the duties of the business world by a 
course in Bryant & Stratton's Business 
College, in Burlington. He became book- 
keeper for his father at the age of fifteen 
years, and acted in that cajjacity until his 
father's death, when he entered upon an ap- 
prenticeship to Fred Schramm, to learn the 
painter's trade, and has since been connected 
with this line of industrial activity. He 
has followed this pursuit in Burlington, Chi- 
cago, St. Louis, and other places, and he 
began business on his own account in Bur- 
lington, as proprietor of a paint shop, in 
1880. After three years he embarked in 
the grocery business at 318 North Third 
Street, where he continued for two years, 
when he sold out and again resumed paint- 
ing, as a member of the firm of Murphy & 
Sowden. After eighteen months he or- 
ganized the firm of Murphy, Meers & Sow- 
den, and opened a paint and wall-paper store 
at 412 Jefferson Street, where he continued 
for two years. He next removed to Chi- 
cago, where he was connected with the 
wholesale and retail wall-paper establish- 
ment of Janeway & Company for three 
years. Again locating in Burlington, he 
has since been at the corner of Fourth and 
Washington Streets, dealing in wall-paper, 
paints, moldings, picture-frames, and paint- 
ers' supplies. He also does business as a 
sign writer, decorator, and frescoer, and 
has done the interior finishing and decorat- 
ing in many of the finest churches, resi- 



dences, and other buildings of Burlington. 
His business, growing year by year, has 
reached extensive and profitable proportions, , 
and he is to-day one of the leading repre- 
sentatives in his line in the city. 

Mr. Sowden was married in Burlington, 
in 1884, to Miss Ella E. Agnew, a native 
of this city, born April 12, 1858, and a 
daughter of Patrick Agnew, deceased. Mrs. 
Agnew is yet living, her home being on 
South Third Street. Mrs. Sowden has 
three sisters and four brothers : Thomas ; 
Mary, wife of J. J. Curran ; John ; James ; 
Alice, who is stamp clerk in the postoffice ; 
and Lizzie. LTnto Mr. and Mrs. Sowden 
have been born six children : Bessie, Hugh 
M., Harry C, Helen, Jack, and Paul. 

Mr. Sowden is quite prominent in fra- 
ternal circles. He belongs to Des Moines 
Lodge, No. I, Ancient Free and Accepted 
Masons ; Burlington Lodge, No. 84, Be- 
nevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; 
and the Royal Arcanum. In the Elks 
Lodge he is a past exalted ruler, the present 
esquirer, and was representative to the grand 
lodge at St. Louis, in 1898. In the Royal 
Arcanum he has held all the offices, is a 
past regent, and represented his lodge at 
the grand lodge in Des Moines in 1902. 
He belongs to the Carthage Lake Club, and 
in his political views is a Democrat. His 
home is at 817 Summer Street; the house 
is one of the old landmarks of the city, 
having been built by Dr. Chamberlin, but 
improvements have made it a comfortable 
and attractive home, and it is also noted for 
its generous and pleasing hospitality. In 
his business career every step has been 
thoughtfully made and has been a step in 
advance ; and although he received little 
assistance at the outset of his career, his 
masterv of the business, his careful manage- 



5+4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ment of his affairs, and his unfaltering dili- 
gence have made him one of the most suc- 
cessful and foremost representatives of his 
department of industrial activity in his native 
city. 



GEORGE BOECK. 

George Boeck, active in the business 
circles of Burlinjjton. where he is en- 
gaged in meat-packing, belongs to thai 
class of worthy citizens that the Father- 
land has furnished to the New World; 
and possessing the dominant (pialities of 
his race, — industry and persistency of 
purpose, — he has steadily worked his way 
upward until a gratifying measure of suc- 
cess has come to him as the reward of his 
labor. Me was born in (^roszbieberau, 
Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, May 2, 1841, 
his parents being Adam and Katherinc 
(Merker) Boeck. The father was a 
butcher by trade, and was the sixth in 
direct line of descent in the family who 
had followed that calling. 

.'MI of the brothers of Mr. Boeck have 
been butchers, ami bis sons have con- 
tinued in the same line of activity. John 
Boeck, grandfather of George I'oeck. was 
a butcher and also a farmer, and he like- 
wise conducted a tavern. The old home 
of the family .was near Gespenz, and the 
nearest market cities were Darmstadt and 
Frankfort, to which jilaces they often 
drove cattle, hogs and sheep. John Boeck 
had four sons and two daughters. 

.Xdam Boeck was a soldier, and served 
for six years in the dragoons in Germany. 
As far as is known, all of the ancestors 
lived to advanced ages, and .Adam Boeck 
reached the venerable age of ninety-two 



years, his birth having occurred in 1800, 
while his death occurred in 1892. His life 
was not then terminated by illness, but 
was occasioned by a fall down a stairway. 
His wife, Katherine, died in 1890, at the 
age of eighty-six years, as the result of a 
broken leg. In their family were nine 
children, three sons and six daughters, 
who reached mature years. The others 
of the family to come to America were the 
daughter Katherine. who came to P)ur- 
lington with .\dam I'unk, in order to live 
with her niece, Mrs. George Phillip 
Krieschbaum, a sister of Mr. Funk, who 
was returning from a visit to his relatives 
in the Fatherland. She afterward married 
Leonard Bosch. Later another sister, 
Susan Boeck, came to I'.urlington, and 
was afterward married to John Bosch. 

George Boeck. whose name introduces 
this record, learned the butcher's trade 
under the direction of his father. The 
year 1837 witnessed his arrival in the New 
World. Crossing the .\tlantic to New 
York, he proceeded westward to Burling- 
ton, where he sought employment in the 
line of his trade, being thus occupied until 
1864, when having acquired some capital 
through his labor and economy, he 
opened a shop of his own. He has since 
built up a large business as a meat dealer 
at 208-212 Fifth Street, where he has a 
comi)lete packing establishment, employ- 
ing twenty-six men, and having a large 
output. His business has been constantly 
developed through his careful manage- 
ment, and he is to-day in control of a 
profitable trade. 

In 1864 Mr. Boeck was married to Miss 
Hannah Roth, who was born near Hof, 
Bavaria, in 1840. and came to Burlington 
in 1852 with her ])arents. Lawrence and 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



545 



Mary Roth. The father died soon after 
his arrival in the New World, but the 
mother lived for many years. They had 
four children who reached adult age : 
John Roth, the only son, who is living re- 
tired in Burlington ; Ivaty, the wife of 
George Dehn; Mary, deceased; and Han- 
nah, wife of the subject of this sketch. 

Five children have been born unto Mr. 
and Mrs. Boeck : Anna, the wife of Louis 
Wallbridge, cashier of the First National 
Bank of Burlington ; Katie, the wife of E. 
C. Gnahn, a book-seller of Burlington; 
George who married Julia Gary, is in 
business with his father; Edward C., who 
married Carrie Howe, is engaged in the 
meat business ; Albert and Edward, both 
also in the meat business. 

In his political views Mr. Boeck, is a 
stalwart Republican. He is fraternally a 
thirty-second degree Mason, belonging to 
Des Moines Lodge, No. i. Ancient Free 
and Accepted Masons ; Iowa Chapter, No. 
I, Royal Arch Masons; St. Omer Com- 
mandery. No. 15, Knights Templar; the 
Consistory at Davenport ; and Kaaba 
Temple, of the Mystic Shrine, also of 
Davenport. He is likewise a member of 
Burlington Lodge, No. 84, Benevolent 
and Protective Order of Elks. 

Mr. Boeck has visited Germany three 
times since establishing his home in the 
New World, — first in 1864, remaining 
three months; again in 1870, when he 
made a short business trip ; and in 1878, 
when he was accompanied by his wife 
and two daughters, remaining four 
months in the Fatherland. He visited 
the World's Exposition at Philadelphia 
in 1876, at Chicago in 1893, at St. Louis 
in 1904, and through travel has greatly 
broadened his knowledge of the world. 



For almost half a century he has been 
a resident of Burlington, and has there- 
fore witnessed many changes here, as the 
city has developed in harmony with mod- 
ern ideas of progress and improvement. 
The hope that led him to leave his native 
land and seek a home in America has 
been more than realized. He found that 
opportunities come to all, and that suc- 
cess depends upon their utilization and 
mastery. Accordingly he bent his efforts 
to the accomplishment of the task which 
he assigned himself, and as the years 
have passed his resolution, perseverance, 
and reliability have won for him a desir- 
able competence. 



GEORGE A. MILLER. 

George A. Miller, who for many years 
was prominently identified with educational 
interests in the West, and whose advocacy of 
all that tends to benefit humanity has made 
him a valued factor in every community in 
which he has resided, now makes his home 
in Burlington. He was born in Vermont, 
Sept. 18, 1836. His father, Nathaniel 
Miller, was a native of Bridgewater, Vt., as 
was the paternal grandfather, who likewise 
bore the name of Nathaniel ?\Iiller. The 
mother of our subject, Mrs. Nancy (Paull) 
Miller, was a native of Barnar^l, Vt., and a 
daughter of Jeremiah Paull, of Massachu- 
setts, whose wife, Jane Strowbridge, was 
a native of Middleboro, Mass. Mr. and 
Mrs. Nathaniel Miller, Jr.. became the par- 
ents of five children, four sons and a 
daughter, of whom three are living ; Samuel 
E., a resident of New Bedford, Ma.ss.; 
George A. ; and Edwin R., who served as 



546 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



a soldier of tlie Civil War, and is now 
living in Meriden, N. H. The father died 
when his son George was but thirteen years 
of age, and the mother, surviving until Jan. 
24, 1870, passed away in Berlin, Vt., at the 
age of seventy-one years. 

George A. Miller, following his father's 
death, was bound out to a farmer, who was 
to allow him three months' schooling each 
year, and when he attained his majority was 
to give him a suit of clothing and one 
hundred dollars. But when he was four- 
teen years of age he was released from this 
contract and began working by the month 
as a farm hand. Ambitious to secure an 
education, he worked ])ersistcntly, saving 
his money until his capital was sufficient 
to enable him to continue his studies in 
an education of higher grade than the dis- 
trict schools. He attended the Kimball 
Union Academy, at Meriden, N. H., and 
also Barre Academy, at Barre, \'t., com- 
pleting his acacfemic education by gradua- 
tion from the former. Subsequently he was 
graduated from Dartmouth College, at 
Ilaiinvcr, \. H., with the class of 1863, 
winning the degree of Bachelor of Arts. 
His education was acquired entirely without 
pecuniary assistance, and while pursuing 
the higher branches lie taiic^ht in the public 
schools. 

The elemental strength of his character, 
thus manifest, proved the basis of his suc- 
cess in later years, and led to his prominence 
in educational circles. He first taught at 
the age of eighteen year, having charge of 
a country school at East Montpelier, Yt., 
" boarding around " among the pupils. He 
afterward engaged in teaching at Hyannis, 
Mass., later taught in the high school of 
South Weymouth, and was ])rincipal there 
for a vear : after which he came to the 



Middle West and taught in the high school 
at Elmwood, 111., where he was principal 
of the public schools for three years, and in 
1869 he removed to Nebraska, locating on 
a farm. He b(3ught land in Johnson county 
with college scrip, this land costing him less 
than one hundred dollars for a quarter sec- 
tion, but it is now worth five thousand 
dollars. 

He did not long devote his energies to 
farming, however, but resumed his educa- 
tional labors at Tecumseh, Nebr., where 
he taught at an early day for two years. 
In 1872 he came to Burlington, and was 
]irincipal of the North Hill school in 1872-73. 
The following year he became principal of 
the West Madison school and remained in 
charge there until 1901. In 1898 he sus- 
tained injuries which gradually brought on 
invalid conditions and necessitated his re- 
tirement from the field of educational labor 
in 1901. 

For many years he had been active in the 
dissemination of knowledge in connection 
with tlic i)ub]ic-school system of the country, 
and had made for himself a foremost place 
among the teachers of this city and the 
Middle West. He was active in county 
institute work, lecturing upon the system 
of pedagogy and the history of the United 
States, and he frequently attended the meet- 
ings of the Southeastern Iowa Teachers' 
Association. 

Professor Miller was married, July 31, 
1867, in Wilbraham, Mass., to Miss Mar>' 
A. Smith, a native of Massachusetts. Her 
I)arents were .Vlbert and Betsy (Doane) 
Smith, the former a representative of an 
old Cape Cod family. Her father was 
a sea captain, voyaging to the West In- 
dies, Panama, and equatorial ports. He 
is now deceased, while Mrs. Smith is 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



547 



living in Natick, Mass., at the age of 
eighty-seven years. Their son, Arthur 
LeRoy Smith, now at Newchwang, China, 
was a sea pilot for forty years. Mrs 
Lyman C. Brown, a sister, is living at 
Natick, Mass., and Mrs. E. O. Clark re- 
sides in Springfield. The other daughter, 
Mary A. Smith, became the wife of Pro- 
fessor Miller. They became the parents 
of five children, of whom only two are liv- 
ing: Mary B., a graduate of the Burlington 
high and training schools, and a teacher in 
the West Madison school ; and Edward P., 
a graduate of Iowa College, at Grinnell, 
now engaged in the hardware business in 
Marshalltown, Iowa. He married Edith 
Pence and has two sons, Paul and Pence. 
The daughter, residing at home, is most 
devoted to her father in his invalid condi- 
tion, giving him every care and attention 
possible. Three of the children died in early 
life. 

During the period of the Civil War, Pro- 
fessor Miller attempted to join the army, 
but was rejected on account of physical dis- 
ability, and later, when drafted, was again 
rejected. During the later days of the re- 
bellion, however, he was at Camp Parole, 
near Annapolis, in connection with the 
sanitary commission. 

In former years Professor Miller was a 
member of the Ancient Order of Druids, 
and represented Patterson Grove, of Bur- 
lington, at the State meeting of Druids in 
Des Moines, when that organization was 
in a very flourishing condition. He was 
a charter member of Patterson Grove. 

The family are members of the Congre- 
gational church, and in its work Mrs. Miller 
and her daughter take a very active and 
jielpful part. Professor Miller, while un- 
able to engage actively in church work, is 



still deeply interested in the welfare and 
progress of the city in which he has made 
his home for almost a third of a century, 
and in which his labors have been so elifect- 
ive in advancing the intellectual and moral 
development. 



SAMUEL JOHN R. HUSTON. 

Samuel John R. Huston, now exten- 
sively engaged in the raising of cattle and 
hogs in Yellow Springs township, was born 
in Fayette county, Indiana, in 185 1, his par- 
ents being John and Susanna (Craig) Hus- 
ton, both of whom were natives of Ireland. 
The father crossed the Atlantic to America 
in 1819, and settled in Indiana ; and his wife 
also made the ocean voyage a few years 
later, and became a resident of Fayette 
county, Indiana. They removed to Iowa, 
and spent their remaining days in Des 
jMoines county, the father's death occurring 
in 1898, when he had reached the venerable 
age of ninety years, while his wife passed 
away Aug. 7, 1893, at the age of eighty 
years. They were the parents of nine chil- 
dren, of whom five are yet living: IMary J., 
now the wife of James Henderson ; Isabella, 
at home : Susanna, the wife of J. W. Reed ; 
Samuel John R., of this review ; and J. J., 
a minister of Connellsville, Union county. 
Pa. : Rosanna, became the wife of H. W. 
McConnell, and is now deceased : while 
three of the children died in infancy in In- 
diana. The parents were laid to rest in 
the cemetery in Yellow Springs township. 

Samuel John R. Huston was reared in the 
usual manner of farm lads, and. acquired a 
public-school education. He came to Iowa 
in 1865, settling in Yellow Springs township, 



548 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFAnEW 



where he ])iirchasetl ciglity acres of land. 
He added to tliat until in the home farm were 
three hundred and twenty acres. Later he 
invested still more extensively in property, 
and is to-day the owner of about seven 
hundred acres of valuable land ; while his 
brother owns eighty acres west of this farm, 
in Washington township, and also three hun- 
dred acres in Louisa county. Mr. Huston 
feeds about three hundred cattle and about 
six hundred head of hogs annually, being one 
of the extensive st(x:k dealers of the county. 
The improvements on his farm have all been 
made by him, and comprise splendid build- 
ings and well-tilled fields. He uses the latest 
machinery to carry on the work of the fields, 
and everything about his farm is kept in ex- 
cellent condition, showing his careful super- 
vision and progressive spirit. As a business 
man he is energetic, directing his labors so 
that they prove resultant factors in the ac- 
quirement of a handsome competence. He 
is a member of the Reformed Presbyterian 
church, and has a wide and favorable ac- 
([uaintance in the county, which has been 
his home for forty years. 



THEODORE W. BARHYDT. 

None of the American colonies had a 
sturdier foundation in al! the qualities 
that make for the upbuilding of a State 
than that contributed by the Knicker- 
bockers of New Amsterdam. They came 
of a heroic race, and when they migrated 
to .America they brought with them their 
habits of industry, thrift, moral integrity, 
love of country, and devotion to religious 
principles. 

.\ninng the early settlers of \cw York 



were the ancestors of Mr. and Mrs. Theo- 
dore Wells Barhydt, of Burlington, — 
Jerominus Hanse Barheit (the colonial 
spelling of the name) and his brother An- 
dreas were from Holland. They were 
farmers, and settled in "Ye Great Flatt 
near Coxsaxie," on the west bank of tlu 
Hudson River, some time jirevious to 
1665. There they builded their pioneer 
home, and toiled and prospered, and their 
descendants spread over the surrounding 
country and up the Hudson into .Albany, 
Schenectady, and contiguous counties. 
The genealogy of the Burlington descend- 
ants is as follows: Jerominus Hanse Bar- 
heit, 1665; Johannes, married 1701 ; Hicr- 
oninuis, married 1737; Johannes, married 
1761 ; Jerominus, married Jan. 4, 1789; 
Nicholas, born June 13, 1813; Theodore 
Wells Barhydt, born April 10, 1835. 

Mr. T. W.Barhydt's grandfather, Jero- 
minus, was torn near Schenectady in 1763. 
He was a farmer, and a member of the 
Dutch Reformed church. He served in 
the War of the Revolution, as did also 
his brothers and many relatives. The 
Knickerbockers, it is to be noted as a mat- 
ter of history, were zealous patriots, and 
espoused the cause of liberty with great 
zeal and unflinching constancy. There 
were no Tories among them. Jacobus, a 
brother, was given a commission in the 
army by General Gates for gallant serv- 
ices at Bemis Heights in the battle of 
Saratoga, when General Burgoyne was 
defeated and surrendered. After the war 
Jacobus returned to his home. Jerominus 
also served as i|uartermaster in the War 
of 1812. 

Jerominus was married in Jaiui.iry. 
1789, to Cornelia Becker, who was born 
in I7''i0 ill Schoharie county, then on the 




'^ J^ /^ o^L^ oLt- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



borders of the settlements. She was a 
daughter of Garrett Becker and Annatje 
Van Dyke, whom he married Dec. 29, 
1737. When she was a little girl, her 
father, Garrett Becker, owned the middle 
stockade in the town of Schoharie, built 
for the defense of the settlers from attacks 
by the French and Indians. Cornelia 
helped the women and children in the de- 
fense, molding bullets and doing what- 
ever was in their power in such exigen- 
cies. After their marriage they settled on 
a farm near Schenectady. The Van 
Dykes served in the Revolutionary War. 
Her uncle, Cornelius Van Dyke, was a 
lieutenant-colonel in First Regiment, New 
York Volunteers. The first ancestor of 
the Becker family was Jan Jeurianszen 
Becker, who emigrated after marriage 
from Amsterdam, Holland, in 1652, and 
settled in New Amsterdam. He was a 
petty officer with General Stuyvesant. He 
was a man of public activities. He was a 
"voorleser" (reader) in the old Dutch Re- 
formed church, which was the parent or- 
ganization of the present Collegiate Re- 
formed church on the corner of Fifth Ave- 
nue and Twenty-ninth Street, New York. 
The first building was located within the 
old Dutch fort, at the foot of the island, 
and was founded in 1632. The present so- 
ciety has extensive properties, probably 
ranking in wealth next to Trinity. Presi- 
dent Roosevelt is a member of this 
church. Mr. Becker was also the Dutch 
official schoolmaster, a notary, etc. Later 
in life he removed to Beaverwyck (Al- 
bany) where he died. He left many de- 
scendants; one of his sons, Johannes (an 
ancestor of T. W. Barhydt) removed 
from Albany to Schoharie county, and 
held various civil offices. 



Nicholas, son of Jerominus, was the 
youngest of a family of thirteen children. 
He was born near Schenectady in June, 
1813, received a common-school educa- 
tion, and learned the shoe business. In 
politics he was a Whig. He was raised in 
the tenets of the Dutch Reformed church, 
but after marriage he united with the 
Presbyterian church, of which his wife 
was a member. In May, 1834, Nicholas 
was married in Newark, N. J., to Miss 
Phoebe Headley Gardner, who descended 
from an old Knickerbocker family in that 
city. Her father was Aaron A. Gardner, 
shoe manufacturer. Nicholas had gone to 
Newark to learn the business, and fell in 
love with the daughter of his employer. 
After the birth of their first child, Theo- 
dore, they removed to Schenectady. 
Nicholas died April 4, 185 1, and his wife 
April 27, 1842. 

Theodore Wells Barhydt was born 
April 10, 1835, in Newark, New Jersey, 
and was educated in Schenectady, where 
he was married to Miss Eleanor C. Chris- 
tiancy, a native of that city. She is a 
daughter of Isaac C. Christiancy, who 
was born near Schenectady. The first set- 
tler of her father's family was Christiaan 
Christiaanse, in 1671, who became a prop- 
erty owner in Schenectady. Her mother 
was Miss Maria -Veddcr. The Vedder an- 
cestry is traceable to Herman Albertse 
Vedder, who was a trader in Beaverwyck 
before the year 1657, and who married in 
1672. He removed to Schenectady, and 
in 1673 was appointed one of the three 
magistrates. Both families were of the 
Holland stock, with numerous descend- 
ants scattered through that section of the 
State. Mrs. Barhydt, is a member of the 
Society of the Daughters of the Revolu- 



552 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tion, and eligil)lc as a Colonial Dame. 
The family has heirlooms which they 
cherish as mementoes of the past, among 
them a Bible brought from Holland long 
before the War of the Revolution, by the 
Rev. W. \'an Dyke, who used it in his 
l)ul])it, both in Holland and in Schoharie 
county, Xevv York. 'Jhe Rev. \'an Dyke 
was ono of ^^r. I'.arliydt's rlislant fore- 
fathers. 

Mr. and Mrs. P.arhydt arrived in Bur- 
lington March 24, 1855. and he began 
clerking in C. H. Sweetser's shoe store in 
tlu- I '.arret House block, the present site 
of the Tama building. Mr. Barhydt cast 
his first vote for Jatnes Buchanan for 
president. In 1857 Mr. James Tizzard was 
appointed postmaster, and he selected 
young ISarhydt for one of his clerks. In 
June, 1859, Mr. Barhydt engaged in the 
shoe business, for which his experience 
had <|ualified him. The postmaster was 
associated with him, under the firm name 
of Tizzard & Barhydt. Tlicy opened a 
store in llie Parsons block. In the s])riiig 
of i860 Mr. Barhydt bought Mr. Tizzard's 
interest, and rented a store-room in the 
Luke Palmer block, on the present site of 
the (jerman-.Xmerican Savings Bank. At 
that time the Burlington Ha'wk-Eye was 
published on the third fioor, and when it 
was removed, Mr. Itarhydt occupied the 
three floors, and engaged in a combined 
retail and jobbing trade. In 1861 he re- 
moved the jobbing department to the 
Isaac Kaiser building, next to Jno. H. 
Gear & Co.'s wholesale grocery house. In 
1870 he removed to larger quarters in a 
building on the east side of Main street, 
soutli of his present ])ro])erty. the Delano 
Hotel. Later he Ijought the J. S. Kimball 
& Co. pro])erly on the southwest corner 



of Main and Jefi'erson ."Streets, and occu- 
pied the corner first floor for his retail 
trade and the upper floors and the adjoin- 
ing building south for the wholesale 
trade. Later, Mr. Barhydt retired from 
the jol)bing trade, but retains an interest 
with -Mr. .\. H. Brown in the retail trade. 

liarly in his business career he de- 
veloped a predilection and marked ca- 
pacity for banking, practically beginning 
operations in th;it line in i8(>o, when he 
began buying and selling goUl, silver, 
gold-dust, and uncurrent money, then 
popularly known as "stump-tail." Miners 
and traders from Idaho, Montana, antl 
Colorado brought gold-dust, wliose in- 
trinsic value must he determined by ex- 
jiert tests, as did also many dealers and 
traders in farm produce, live-stock, and 
general merchandise, who were anxious 
to dispose of uncurrent money whose 
changing values involved risk in holding. 
-Mr. Barhydt studied the situation care- 
fully, and by business connections with 
leading Chicago and eastern bankers, was 
enabled to handle the perilous business 
with skill and success. 

In 1870 ^Ir. P.arhydt helped to organize 
the Merchants National Bank, and was 
president from 1870 to 1904, when he 
claimed the well-earned right to retire 
from active lousiness pursuits and devote 
his remaining years^ to leisurely travel, 
social enjoyments, and the conservation 
of his extensive business and financial in- 
terests ill r.iirliiigton, Chicago, New 
York, Boston, Los Angeles, and else- 
where. His long incumbency of the presi- 
dency of the bank, covering a period of 
nearlv thirty-four years, gave him the dis- 
tinction of dean of Iowa bankers. 

Mr. Barhydt wasalderman in 1860-70, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



553 



and president of the board of trade in 
1 87 1, and has been identified with numer- 
ous local enterprises, among which are 
the building of the Burlington, Cedar 
Rapids & Minnesota Railroad, and the 
Burlington & Southwestern Railroad, in 
both of which he was a director; and the 
Burlington & Northwestern and Burling- 
ton & Western Railroads, of which roads 
he was director and president for many 
years. He was one of the originators and 
director and treasurer of the first street 
railway, and of the original water works 
company. Mr. Barhydt is a member of 
the famous Holland Society, New York, 
of which President Roosevelt is an hon- 
ored member. He is also a member of 
the Sons of the Revolution, and he has 
been a delegate a number of times to the 
National Society. He is a member of the 
Transportation Club, of New York, a 
Mason, a Knight Templar, and belongs to 
the various social clubs of Burlington. 

Probably few, if any, of our citizens 
have more closely identified themselves 
with the various local interests, and been 
more of a helping factor in the upbuilding 
of Burlington, than has Mr. Barhydt. 



ROBERT MOIR. 



As illustrating the hardy character and 
many virtues possessed by those men of 
Scottish race who have elected to pursue 
careers of usefulness in the New World, 
the life of Robert ]\Ioir, now deceased, is 
worthy of the profoundest and most care- 
ful study. Mr. Moir was born at Forres, 
Scotland, Oct. 30, 1824, and the date of 
his coming to America was 1842. He 



first located in New York City, where he 
met Miss Mary Nicol, who afterward be- 
came his wife, and where he remained for 
a period of seven years. In that city he 
was associated with his three brothers in 
the dairy business, but in 1847 one of their 
number, Alexander Moir, visited the 
West, and located at Oquawka, 111., it 
then being freely predicted that the little 
river town was to become the metropolis 
of the West. There he entered the busi- 
ness life of the place as a lumber mer- 
chant, being for several years associated 
with Mr. S- S. Phelps. In 1844 James 
Moir, another brother, coming to St. 
Louis on business, was attracted by the 
possibilities of the rapidly growing town, 
and settled there, becoming the partner 
of James Culver in a general merchandise 
business. 

In 1849 o'-ir subject, with his brother 
William E., also came west to Oquawka, 
and A\'iniam and James then formed a 
partnership with David E. Roberts, to 
conduct a distilling business under the 
firm style of W. & J. Moir & Company; 
but upon the retirement of Mr. Roberts, 
in 1 85 1, they extended their operations to 
banking, in connection with lumber, gen- 
eral merchandise, logging, and milling. 
In 1856 William Moir died, followed by 
his brother James in 1863, and the firm 
was reorganized by Robert Moir under 
the name of Robert ]\Ioir & Company, he 
taking into partnership his nephew, 
James Peterson, and his brother-in-law, 
John C. Nicol. Mr. Nicol retired from 
the enterprise in 1872, and Mr. Patterson 
in 1875, and Mr. Moir then associated 
with him his son, John, using the style of 
Robert Moir & Son. This partnership 
was terminated, however, bv the sad cir- 



554 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ciimstance of his son's death in 1876, but 
the business was continued under the 
same name. The banking firm of Robert 
Moir & Company, originally consisting of 
four brothers, William, James, Alexander, 
and Robert, all natives of Scotland, and 
all men of great executive ability, was 
one of tlic oldest in northwestern Illinois, 
and was very widely known. The busi- 
ness embraced a vast territory in sur- 
rounding counties and States, and in- 
cluded the control of a large amount of 
railway and banking stock in Chicago and 
other large cities. Mr. Moir was also 
well known in this cit)', being, indeed, 
one of the most prominent figures in the 
financial circles of the Middle West. 

Shortly after coming West Mr. Moir re- 
turned to New York, and in that city, on 
May 25, 1849, was united in marriage to 
Miss Mary Nicol, a native of the Empire 
State, the date of her birth being Sept. 16. 
1826. They then returned to Oquawka, 
to take up their life together among the 
pioneer conditions of the new Western 
country, where they were to pass the 
greater ])art of their long and useful ca- 
reers, and to win the respect and warm 
regard of all. In the early 'Go's Mr. Moir 
built there the store and residence which 
he made the home of himself and his 
family for so many years, only giving it 
up on his removal to Burlington. This 
edifice was of the old-fashioiu'd tvpc, built 
ol brick auci stone, extreme]}' massive in 
structure, and entirely without useless 
ornament, calculated to withstand the 
tooth of time and the ravages of the ele- 
ments — typical, so to speak, of the deter- 
mined, enduring, and noble character of 
the man who built it. To .Mr. and Mrs. 
Moir were born several children, as fol- 



lows : Robert, Martha, James, and .\lex- 
ander Moir; Mrs. Ida Tracy, of Burling- 
ton ; and .Mrs. .Mary King, of Peoria, 111.; 
John and W illiam are dead. 

For many years the bank at Oquawka 
was conducted as a private institution, but 
when Mr. Moir, feeling the increasing 
weight of declining years, decided to re- 
tire from active life, and removed to Bur- 
lington a short time before his death, his 
sons ami others associated with them, or- 
ganized it into the First National Bank 
of Oquawka, with a capital stock of $50,- 
000. Those interested in this consumma- 
tion were H. F. Mc.Mister, Robert Hud- 
son, Robert Moir, Jr., James Moir, Alex- 
ander .Moir, and H. B. SafFord. 

.Mrs. Robert Moir died at Oquawka, 
.Sunday morning, Sept. 8, 1901, and 
tile funeral and interment were at that 
place on Sept. 12, eleven o'clock in the 
forenoon. She was an earnest member 
and worker in the Baptist church, and 
her character knew no limits of charity, 
kindness, and human sympathy for all 
about her, of whatever condition in life. 
Robert Moir did not long survive the 
death of his wife, his own demise oc- 
curring at half-past five o'clock on Dec. 
19, 1901, at the home of his daugh- 
ter, Mrs. George S. Tracy, 512 North 
Seventh Street, Burlington, Iowa. .\ 
s|)ecial train conveyed the deceased and a 
large number of friends to Oquawka, 111., 
where, December 20, an impressive funeral 
service was held in his old home, attended 
by many distinguished men from sur- 
rounding cities, whose esteem he had won 
by his strength and ])urity of purpose. 

As a pioneer of western Illinois, he did 
much toward .the upbuilding and advance- 
ment of that section, inseparably con- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



355 



necting his name for all time with the 
story of its progress from primitive con- 
ditions to the high prosperity which it 
now enjoys. He was a successful banker 
and merchant, by strict and conscientious 
attention to his afifairs acquiring a very 
considerable fortune. Yet he ever pre- 
served the profoundest sense of honor 
among all the complex relations of busi- 
ness, keeping his reputation without a 
blemish or a stain, and as the crov\'ning 
glory of his life he transmitted to the 
sons, who are continuing his work, that 
determination and loftiness of character 
which have been so long associated with 
his name. 



ALBERT B. HAWKINS. 

Albert B. Hawkins, for many years 
well known in the progressive business 
circles of Burlington, and secretary of the 
Merchants" Life Assurance Company since 
its organization, was born in Stafford, 
Monroe county, Ohio, Oct. 15, 1851, the 
son of Reuben and Jane A. (Ziegler) 
Hawkins. Both parents were descended 
from families of southern Pennsylvania, 
who resided in either York or Lancaster 
county, and the early members of the Haw- 
kins family were represented in the nation's 
war for independence. The father, who 
was a merchant, removed with the family 
to Kansas in 1864, settling at Ottawa, where 
his death occurred in October, 1892, and 
that of his wife in 1878. 

Mr. Hawkins received only limited edu- 
cational advantages, but in his desire for 
self-improvement left the work of the farm 
in Kansas in the year 1869 for a period of 



nine months, and attended school. His 
first business experience was in his brother's 
hat store at Burlington, Iowa, and later he 
entered the postofifice at that place as mail- 
ing clerk for one year. At the end of that 
time he became a traveling salesman, selling 
hats and caps for the firm of Phillips & 
Hawkins, in whose employ he continued in 
that capacity for ten years, achieving a 
very considerable success. On severing 
this connection he engaged in an inde- 
pendent enterprise in Kansas City for a 
year and a half, after which he went to 
Texas, where with a brother, S. S. Haw- 
kins, he operated a cattle ranch comprising 
four thousand to five thousand cattle. Be- 
ing located two hundred miles west of 
Fort Worth, which was the nearest rail- 
road station, he was of course practically 
out of touch with civilization, though not 
exposed to the dangers attending frontier 
life at an earlier day. In 1884, however, 
while with three others in New Mexico 
seeking a location for a ranch, he was able 
to assist a number of unprotected settlers 
who were in great peril from Geronimo's 
raiders, escorting them from their lonely 
ranches to the setlements, and thus saving 
them from the death which the savages 
inflicted upon so many others. Mr. Haw- 
kins continued in the cattle business for 
seven years, but at the end of that period 
traveled extensively. In 1893 he was in 
Honduras, and also visited Balize, Porto 
Cortez, and San Pedro, reaching the latter 
place b}' way of the Honduranian rail- 
road, the country along which is especially 
interesting by reason of the utterly primi- 
tive conditions which are constantly in evi- 
dence. The trip to Central America was 
seven weeks in duration, and during this 
time he witnessed an attempted revolution 



556 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of the conventional Spanish-American type. 
Mr. Hawkins has always exhibited a fond- 
ness for the sport of hunting, to which he 
devoted a great deal of time in Texas and 
New Mexico, while he has also visited in 
Canada on two occasions for the same pur- 
pose. In 1898 he, with fuiir companions, 
went to Alaska, takiiip part in the famous 
rush of prospectors from Seattle to Skag- 
uay. Leaving the former city May i, and 
traveling over the White Pass to Lake 
Bennett, they there built a boat, and then 
rowed down the Yukon River to Dawson, 
a distance of six hundred miles, and there 
took a river boat, on August 16, to St. Mi- 
chael's. Thence they secured ship passage 
to Victoria, British Columbia, where they 
took a steamer for Seattle, and arrived in 
Burlington Sept. 17. Some prospecting 
was done, around Dawson, but sight-seeing 
was the main object of the expedition. 

During four years of his residence in 
Burlington, Mr. Hawkins conducted a re- 
tail hat store ; but seeing greater oppor- 
tunities in another field, he sold the business 
and became one of the organizers of the 
Merchants' Life Association, which was 
incorporated in 1894. The original officers 
were A. H. Kuhlemeier, president ; Albert 
I'.. Hawkins, secretary; W. G. Mercer, 
treasurer; John H. Gillespie, vice-presi- 
dent ; John J. Seerley, legal adviser. Our 
subject has occupied the office of secretary 
since the inception of the institution, and 
by his aggressive enterprising policy, com- 
bined with executive ability and conserva- 
tive judgment of a very high order, has 
contributed in a most important degree to 
the phenomenal success which it has 
achieved and still enjoys in an increasing 
measure. Having its beginning but a few 
years ago, when it existed merely as a 



well-formed plan supported by the energy 
and capital of a few exceptionally gifted 
men, the company has in a marvelously 
brief space of time risen to high rank 
among institutions of this character, and 
to-day affords protection for six thousand 
to seven thousand policy holders, for whom 
it carries aggregate risks of from $12,000,- 
000 to $13,000,000, a condition of pros- 
perity which reflects the most unqualified 
credit upon its sponsors. To its success our 
subject has devoted the most earnest and 
conscientious thought and endeavor, and 
the result has most amply justified the 
soundness of the plan of which he was the 
principal formulator. Among other in- 
terests, he is also proprietor of a mercantile 
establishment at Malvern, Iowa, which he 
has owned for twenty years. 

In 1878, at Malvern, Iowa, Mr. Hawkins 
was united in marriage to Miss Helen W. 
Boehner, who was born at Galveston, 
Texas, a daughter of Hibbert Boehner, a 
native of Nova Scotia. Mr. Boehner was 
for thirty-eight years a captain in the mer- 
chant marine, but died on Dec. 25, 1904, 
in the ninetieth year of his age. The 
mother of Mrs. Hawkins, Louise (Moir) 
Boehner, was born in the Isle of Wight, 
England, and died at an advanced age in 
1901. To Mr. and Mrs. Hawkins have 
been born one daughter and two sons: 
Edith Louise, a graduate of Burlington 
High School; Kenneth !'.., now a student 
in Harvard College ; and Maxwell A. 
Mrs. and Miss Hawkins are members of 
the Episcopal church, with the various 
phases of whose work they are prominently 
identified, and to whose support our subject 
is a contributor. Mr. Hawkins has never 
sought public honors, but his interest in 
affairs of government is based on careful 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



557 



consideration, and he has uniformly acted 
with the RepubHcan party. He is active in 
the social life of the city as a member of 
the Burlington Boating Association and the 
Crystal Lake Club, of which latter he is a 
charter member, and enjoys a wide ac- 
quaintance. A man modest in the estimate 
of his own merits and abilities, it may be 
said that the variety of enterprises in which 
he has achieved success bespeak a versa- 
tility and a strength and determination of 
character that are indeed rare, especially 
in the light of the fact that he began life 
without resources, and has been in the best 
sense the architect of his own fortunes. 



JAMES H. JACOBY. 

The prosperity of Burlington rests prin- 
cipally on its activities along lines of pro- 
ductive industry, and an excellent repre- 
sentative of the manufacturing interests 
is James H. Jacoby, long successful as a 
manufacturer of trunks on a large scale. 
Mr. Jacoby was born in Burlington, April 
8, 1854, a member of an old family which 
first appears in the State of Pennsylvania, 
near Johnstown, and the son of Alexander 
and Mary (Buhrmaster) Jacoby. The 
grandfather of our subject, Peter Jacoby, 
and his wife, came from Pennsylvania to 
Iowa, and located at Burlington in 1846 ; 
and although originally a cabinet-maker, 
he became, on his removal to Burlington, a 
pattern-maker in a foundry. He was one 
of a large family, comprising eight broth- 
ers and two sisters, all of whom are now 
deceased, his own demise occurring when he 
was about sixty-eight years of age. while his 
wife survived him, and died at the age of 



seventy years. Mr. Jacoby's father was a 
foreman in the O. H. Schenk pork-packing 
house, in which he was employed for thirty- 
three years, or until the closing of the es- 
tablishment through the failure of the fimi, 
after which he went to Albuquerque, N. 
Mex., where he entered the service of the 
Santa Fe Railroad Company. In the latter 
employment he continued until his death 
in 1901. The maternal grandparents of 
Mr. Jacoby, Henry Buhrmaster and wife, 
were among the early settlers of this por- 
tion of the State. They first located on a 
farm in the northern part of Des Moines 
county, whence they later removed to Bur- 
lington, and resided on North Hill for the 
remainder of their lives. They reared a 
large family, nearly all of whom are now 
in business in Burlington. Mr. Jacoby is 
himself one of a family of six, as follows : 
John, James H., Denise, Schenk, and 
Dixon, the latter having died at the age of 
ten years. 

In the common schools of his native city 
James H. Jacoby received his early educa- 
tion, and at the age of seventeen years he 
began the work of his life by accepting em- 
ployment with Samuel R. Barger, trunk- 
maker, under whom he learned the trade, 
and continued to work for thirteen years. 
He then formed a partnership with Mr. 
Barger's foreman, W. L. Adams, with 
whom he established an independent man- 
ufacturing business, and after a period 
of thirteen years of successful operation, 
purchased Mr. Barger's factory and busi- 
ness. Three years later, on the death of 
his partner. Mr. Jacoby purchased his in- 
terest, and the enterprise has since been 
conducted under the name of J. H. Jacoby. 
The factory is the only one of the kind in 
southeastern Iowa, and is a large establish- 



558 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ment, occuiniii}^ iDiir lloors, and carrying 
an immense stock. 

On Sept. 9, 1880, Mr. Jacoby was united 
in marriage to Miss Emma Held, of Bur- 
lington, daughter of John and Louise Held, 
natives of Germany. John Held came to 
America about 1840, and for a long tenn 
of years acted as traveling salesman, be- 
coming well known to the people of Bur- 
lington and neighboring cities. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Jacoby have been born four children, 
as follows : Edwin, who is a stenogra[)her 
in the office of Mr. Bartlett, master me- 
chanic of the Kansas City Line of the Chi- 
cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad ; 
Anna, who is at home ; and Roland and 
James, students in the Burlington high 
school. Politically, our subject has been a 
life-long Democrat, although not active in 
partisan work. His fraternal relations are 
quite extensive, and in this field of activity 
he has ever taken a practical and vital in- 
terest. He is a member of the local \\'ood- 
men of the World, and is at present one of 
its managers, while ho has always been most 
prominent in its affairs. He was the first 
member initiated after the organization of 
the camp, although he assisted in the organ- 
ization. He has served the camp three 
times as delegate to the head camp, and is 
the president of the Woodmen of the World 
Building Association, of which he was one 
of the influential organizers. In the organ- 
ization of the Eratcrnal Choppers at this 
place he was also one of the prime movers, 
and was a member of its board of directors 
from that time until its merging with the 
Mystic Toilers, on whose directorate he is 
now serving. His part in the fraternal 
affairs of Burlington has been a notable 
one, and one for which he merits all praise, 
while he has added to the well-being of the 



city by his success in building up and main- 
taining the important business which bears 
his name, and by the purity and upright- 
ness of his course in all the varied relations 
of life, has won the respect and regard of 
all, being well known in Burlington and 
throughout a large contiguous territory, 
and enjoying an extensive circle of friends. 



JOHN JAMES ROBB. 

Jqhn James Robb owns and operates 
one hundred and seventeen acres of land 
in Sections 7 and 8, Yellow Springs town- 
ship, and is successfully engaged in the 
breeding of Shorthorn cattle and Poland 
China hogs, in which regard he has gained 
more than a local reputation as a stock- 
dealer. 

.V native of Pennsylvania, he was born 
in \\'ashington county, Dec. 6, 1864, his 
jiarents being R. C. and Mary (Mc- 
Laughlin) Robh. When the son, John 
J., W'as six years of age. the parents re- 
moved from Pennsylvania to Lafayette 
county, Indiana, where he had the priv- 
ilege of attending school for three years. 
They then started westward, establishing 
their home in Des Moines county, Iowa, 
and luTi- he com]ilctcd his education in 
the district schools and by study through 
a winter's term in the academy at Morn- 
ing Sun. He was reared to farm life, and 
has always followed that occupation, 
early gaining a knowledge of the best 
methods of tilling the soil and caring for 
the stock. Ambitious to acquire a farm 
of his own, he saved his earnings in 
earlier years, and in 1888 he purchased 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



559 



one hundred and seventeen acres of land 
in Sections 7 and 8, Yellow Springs town- 
ship. He has placed much of this under 
cultivation, and the soil being rich the 
farm returns good harvests for the care 
and labor he has bestowed upon it. Most 
of the improvements are the work of his 
hands, and he now has good buildings 
upon his place. 

He is perhaps better known, however, 
as a dealer in stock than a raiser of grain, 
and is a successful breeder of Shorthorn 
cattle, having now upon his place about 
thirteen head of thoroughbred cattle. He 
also has seventy-five head of Poland 
China hogs, and is an excellent judge of 
stock, so that he is enabled to make ju- 
dicious purchases and profitable sales. 
His opinions are largely regarded as au- 
thority concerning all stock-raising inter- 
ests in this county. His l?ind is all under 
cultivation, every acre of it being tillable, 
and he has tiled the place, and put every- 
thing about his farm in good shape. 

Jan. 3, 1889, Mr. Robb was united in 
marriage to Miss Elizabeth Reed, a 
daughter of Matthew and Mary (Walkin- 
shaw) Reed, who was born Jan. 24, 1864, 
in Yellow Springs township. Their mar- 
riage has been blessed with one daughter, 
Edna, whose birth occurred March 2, 
1894. The parents are members of the 
Reformed Presbyterian church, and are 
interested in its work and in all pro- 
gressive measures tending to benefit the 
county. Mr. Robb, however, concentrates 
his labors and energies upon his business 
pursuits, and his persistency of purpose 
and well-directed efforts have brought to 
him gratifying success, so that he is now 
one of the substantial agriculturists of his 
communitv. 



JOHN HAFNER. 

John Hafner, of Burlington, president 
of the Keehn-Hafner Manufacturing Com- 
pany, and known throughout the business 
circles of the city as an exponent of modern 
and progressive ideas, was born Nov. 7, 
1866, in South Germany, the son of George 
and Johanna (Schmidt) Hafner. The ear- 
lier members of the family were farmers, 
and served as soldiers in the numerous wars 
of the country ; but the grandfather of our 
subject was a merchant, while the father 
was a soldier, and immediately after com- 
pleting his military service, emigrated to 
America, going first to Ohio, in 1867. 
Thence he came West and located at Bur- 
lington, where for ■ several years he was 
assistant city engineer. His death occurred 
approximately twenty years ago, but the 
wife and mother is still living. 

Mr. Hafner received his education ift St. 
John's parochial school, and while attending 
this institution he spent the hours not de- 
voted to study in learning the binder's trade. 
Later he went to Chicago for the same pur- 
pose, continuing there for two years as a' 
workman in a high-class bindery. He then 
returned to Burlington, and established a 
confectionery business on South Hill, which 
he conducted with very gratifying success 
for five years. With the capital thus se- 
cured he organized the Keehn-Hafner 
Manufacturing Company, printers, binders, 
blank-book makers, and manufacturing sta- 
tioners, this being in 1897, since which 
time Mr. Hafner has devoted his time and 
eflfort exclusively to the work of the com- 
pany. 

On April 27, 1898, Mr. Hafner was 
united in marriage to Miss Anna Kuepper, 
daughter of Frank Kuepper, an early 



560 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



settler of Des Moines county, and to them 
have been born two children, Frances and 
Carl. The family are all members of St. 
John's Catholic church. Mr. Hafner has 
never borne an active part in affairs of 
practical politics, but gives his support con- 
sistently to the Democratic party, in whose 
principles and mission he holds a profound 
faith. Fraternally, he has membership con- 
nections with the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen and the Knights of Columbus. 
As one who has formed his own fortune 
without outside aid and exclusively by his 
personal efforts, he is entitled to high com- 
mendation, for he has achieved a very gen- 
erous measure of success, and is rapidly 
bringing the business under his charge to a 
leading position in this portion of Iowa. 
Fairness, promptness, and courtesy are the 
watchwords of his business system, and the 
practical virtues which these represent are 
given vital force by the energ\', determina- 
tion, and aggressiveness of his character, 
combined with his sane and sound judg- 
ment and appreciation of business oppor- 
tunity. He has many friends, and enjoys 
the esteem and universal regard of all who 
know him. 



SIMEON BEARDSLEY. 

As AX able representative of the 
younger business and jirofessional ele- 
ment, and a member of one of the most 
distinguished families of Des Moines 
county, Simeon Beardsley is intimately 
identified with the vital interests of this 
section, where his influence has ever been 
exerted on the side of true progress. Mr. 
Beardsley was liDrn at r.iirlington, Iowa, 



Aug. 22,, 1872, a son of Dr. Charles and 
Eliza McCloud (Pool) Beardsley, and his 
father was a native of the Buckeye State, 
having been born and reared on a farm 
near Columbus. Ohio. The father of our 
subject, after receiving his preliminary 
education in the public schools, attended 
college for the purpose of pursuing a 
course of study in medicine, and on re- 
ceiving his degree began practice in Os- 
kaloosa, Iowa, having decided that the 
West offered superior opi)ortunities for 
advancement. Later he entered the 
newspaper field, becoming the publisher 
of the Oskaloosa Herald, and in this new 
venture he displayed decided talent, and 
met w ith very gratifying success. .\t the 
close of the Civil War he removed to 
Burlington to accept an editorial position 
with the Hawk-Eye, and here the highly 
individual quality of his work brought 
him enthusiastic recognition on the part 
of the public throughout Iowa and sur- 
rounding States. His daily contributions 
to the editorial colunms were eagerly 
awaited and widely discussed. He gave 
much time and thought to matters of pol- 
itics, and through his writings exercised 
a marked iiillnence upon the ])ublic aflfairs 
of the State, while his careful and forceful 
editorials were a potent factor in shaping 
the sentiment of the entire Middle West 
with regard to national issues and ques- 
tions of governmental policy. In recog- 
nition iif his services, he was appointed, 
in 1879, fourth auditor of the treasury de- 
partment, and removed with his family 
to the city of Washington, D. C, where 
he continued to reside for a period of six 
years. L'j)on returning to Burlington he 
resumed his active interest in low'a pol- 
itics, and for a number of vears served 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



561 



as chairman of the Repuljlican State cen- 
tral committee. Previously Des Moines 
county had chosen him as her represent- 
ative in the State Senate of Iowa, and 
during his senatorial term, besides influenc- 
ing needed legislation in the interest of 
his constituency, he acquired a variety of 
experience in statecraft which rendered 
his services peculiarly valuable as State 
chairman of his party's committee; and 
it may be said with truth that to him was 
due in large measure the continued su- 
premacy of the Republican party in Iowa. 
After serving a term as oil inspector, by 
appointment of Governor Larrabee, he 
retired, devoting his remaining years to 
literature and the work of the church, he 
being a prominent member of the Con- 
gregational church, of Burlington, and 
serving for a number of years as superin- 
tendent of its Sunday-school. His death 
occurred in December, 1896, in the si.xty- 
sixth year of his age, the date of his birth 
having been 1830. He was rich in the 
friendship and esteem of many of the 
leading men of his time, and the regret 
for his passing was universal. 

Airs. Charles Beardsley, mother of 
Simeon Beardsley, was, like her husband, 
born and reared on an Ohio farm. After 
attaining to years of womanhood she 
came to Iowa, locating at Oskaloosa, and 
it was while singing in the choir of a 
church at that place that she learned the 
identity of the tall and handsome young 
man in the audience who afterward be- 
came her husband. She is now residing 
on a farm near Clarks, Nebr. All her 
children are living, except one, a daugh- 
ter, ]\Iay, who died in infancy ; Florence 
was married in i8go to Edward M. Neal- 
ley, of Burlington, a well-known student 



of sociology, and resides with her hus- 
band near Santa Ana, Cal. ; Charles, a 
gra<luate of Harvard, for some years an 
instructor of economics in his alma mater, 
and now living with his mother ; George, 
at one time instructor in English litera- 
ture at the Indiana State University at 
Bloomington, also makes his home with 
his mother at the present time ; Simeon, 
fourth child of Dr. and Mrs. Beardsley, 
and the subject of this review; John, a 
graduate of the State University of Iowa, 
and while in attendance at that institu- 
tion, met Miss Anna Wyman, whom he 
subsequently married, and with their two 
small sons now resides at Upland, Cal. 

Mr. Beardsley, whose name forms the 
caption of the present article, was united 
in marriage on Thanksgiving day, 1904, 
to Mrs. Catherine (Dailey) Seward, of 
Burlington, and they have a pleasant 
home at Danville. Mr. Beardsley has 
been for some years the editor and pub- 
lisher of the Danville Nezcs, which he pur- 
chased in January, i8g8, from the firm 
of M. A. Kirkpatrick & Son. Since that 
date, with the exception of two brief 
periods during which the business was 
leased, first in 1903, to Mr. W. C. Moore, 
and in 1904 to Mr. Roy Speelman, he has 
conducted the enterprise with the aim of 
issuing a presentable country weekly. 



SAMUEL ELDER EDGAR. 

Samuel Elder Edg.\r. well known 
as a leading stock-raiser of Yellow 
Springs, township, making a specialty of 
the breeding of pure-blooded .Angus cat- 
tle, was born Jan. 22. 1863, in the town- 



562 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ship where lie still resides, his parents 
being David and Martha (Mcllhinney) 
Edgar. 

No event of special importance oc- 
curred to vary the routine of farm life 
for him in his youth. He was educated 
in the district schools of Des Moines and 
Henry counties, therein mastering the 
common branches of English learning. 
During the summer months he worked in 
the fields, taking his ])!ace behind the 
plow al an early age. 

He has always followed farming, with 
the exception of about ten years, when 
he took contracts for digging ditches, 
making many such waterways in Yellow 
Springs and Washington townships. In 
later years, however, his attention has 
been more closely confined to his farm- 
ing operations, and he has met with grat- 
ifying success in this w-ay. 

In lyoi he ])urchased from R. Huston 
the farm of one hundred and tifty and a 
half acres, in Yellow Springs township, 
on which he is now living. He devotes 
his time and energies to the further cul- 
tivation of the fulds. and to the raising of 
stock. In the latter branch of his busi- 
ness he is particularly successful, and is 
now raising pure-bred Angus cattle, hav- 
ing a herd of al)out fifty head. He also 
raises about sc\xiity luad nf Poland 
China hogs. 

Dec. 9, 1886, our subject married Miss 
Ella J. Wilson, a daughter of Sampson 
and Ellen (Reynolds) Wilson. • Mrs. 
Edgar was born at Newburg-on-the- 
Hudson, N. Y., Nov. 3, 1863. and in 1867 
was brought by her parents to this coun- 
ty, the family home being established in 
Washington township. The father con- 
tinued to carry on farming for many 



years, and died July 26, 1899, at the age 
of eighty years, his birth having occurred 
Feb. 5, 1819. His remains were interred 
in the Sharon churchyard. His widow 
still survives him, and is now living in 
Morning Sun. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Edgar has 
been blessed with two sons: Lloyd Mc- 
Ilhinney, born March 9, 1894; and Edgar 
Wilson, born Aug. 31, i(;oo. 

Mr. and Mrs. Edgar hold membership 
ill the Reformed Presbyterian church, 
and have a wide circle of friends in this 
count)', where Mr. Edgar has spent his 
entire life, and where his wife has lived 
from her early girlhood days. 



JOHN P. SWYGARD. 

John 1'. Swygard, one of the pros- 
perous merchants of Mediapolis, and who 
has held several of this city's offices of 
trust with credit and favor, is a native of 
Iowa, having been born in Louisa county, 
May 13, 1862. His parents were honest 
and industrious farmers of the county in 
which our subject was born, and being 
farmers of only moderate means they 
could give their son but a common-school 
education for a limited time, as they 
needed his help on the farm as soon as 
he was old enough to plow and feed the 
stock. John remained with his father on 
the farm till he was a man of twenty-one 
years, when he went to Mediapolis and 
began to karn the harness-making busi- 
ness. He worked at this trade for about 
two years with John Laubscher, and then 
accepted a position in the general store 
of Parrolt iv Inilnicr, which firm was 



o 

a 

> 

O 



> 

z 
o 

o 
> 
c 
o 
K 
H 
W 
I'd 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



565 



known later as that of C. H. Parrett. 
Here he remained for ten years, becom- 
ing well acquainted with all departments 
of the store, making a record as a No. i 
salesman, and winning the good-will of 
hundreds of the daily customers of this 
great store. 

In 1894 Mr. Swygard bought out the 
interest of Mr. Morehead in the grocery 
located in the Tuttle building, known as 
the grocery of J. D. Clement & Company. 
At the end of four years Mr. Swygard 
bought out Mr. Clement, and formed a 
partnership with his brother, James Ed- 
ward. They conducted a good grocery 
together with much profit and success 
till March i, 1904, when Oscar Henry 
Walker became a member of the firm ; 
and in connection with their large gro- 
cery they added a new department which 
was filled with gents' furnishing goods, 
carrying about $20,000 worth of stock. 
Their business grew right along, their 
trade extending over a large part of this 
section of the county. In September, 
1904, they again enlarged their place of 
business, and changed it to a general 
store, carrying only lirst-class goods, and 
it is known everywhere as one of relia- 
bility. It is one of the largest stores in 
Mediapolis, and one of which both pro- 
prietors and citizens are justly proud. 

Fraternally, ]\Ir. Swygard is an hon- 
ored member of Garner Lodge, No. 379, 
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in 
which he has held all the high offices ; also 
a member of Lodge No. 226, Ancient Free 
and Accepted Masons. He is a strong 
Republican, and has served his party as 
town councilman and as a member of the 
school board. He is now serving as 
treasurer of the cemetery association. 



The marriage of Mr. Swygard, which 
occurred Jan. 4, 1888, united him with 
Miss Lillie Jenora Cassing. She is the 
daughter of John Henry and Sarah Ellen 
(Cook) Cassing. By this union three 
children have been born: Jessie Elma; 
Frederick Stanley, who died Dec. 12, 
1896, aged five years ; and Chalmer Alli- 
son, whose death occurred Dec. 20, 1897, 
at the age of two years. 

In religious faith Mr. and Mrs. Swy- 
gard are members of the Methodist 
church, where they attend regularly, and 
where he has been an honored trustee for 
several years. 

In summing up the record of Mr. Swy- 
gard, we find that he has always been a 
man of honest, upright principles and 
great activity, one who has always been 
true to his friends and ever loyal in the 
discharge of both private and public 
duties. His fortune has been built upon 
strong moral principles and unswerving 
integrity, and it is for these qualities that 
he is honored among his fellow-men. 



PAUL H. SCHAEFER, M. D. 

Dr. Paul H. Schaefer, who is engaged 
in the general practice of medicine, sur- 
gery, miscroscopy, and electro-therapeutics, 
and who though a member of the profession 
for only three years, has already gained a 
patronage which many an older physician 
might well envy, was born in Burlington, 
July 19, 1879. His father, William 
Schaefer, is a native of Germany, and came 
to the United States when about twelve 
years of age, since which time he has been 
a resident of this citv. He learned the 



s66 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFAIFJV 



hardware business in early life, and later 
was associated with William Erb, under the 
finn name of Erb & Schaefer, in the con- 
duct of a hardware store un Main Street. 
He possesses the musical talent so charac- 
teristic of his nationality, has engaged in 
teaching music to some extent, and for a 
number of years was a member of Fischer's 
Band, playing the I'Vencli horn. For the 
past ten years he has been connected with 
the music house of deneral James A. (niest. 
being at the liead of the tuning and finishing 
department, a position for which he is 
splendidly qualified. I le niarrieil Augusta 
Krekel, who was born in l^)uisiana, of 
German parentage, their wedding being 
celebrated in P>urlington. They became the 
parents of three children: Paul 11.; Will- 
iam, who is employed in the piano factory 
of James :\. (juest: and .Minnie, the wife 
of Frank Foehlinger, a photographer of 
Burlington. Mr. Schaefer is a member of 
the Odd I'\'llows Lodge, and both he and 
his wife are connected with the Rebckali 
Cha])tiT, ill- is well kiiiiwn and iiitluciitial 
in German-.\merican circles, and in the 
business and musical world. He and his 
family are members of the Lutheran church. 
.\t the usu;d age Dr. Schaefer entered the 
public schools, and advanced through suc- 
cessive grades, until he had completed the 
high-school course by graduation with the 
class of 1898. Wishing to engage in the 
practice of medicine as a life work, he 
matriculated in the meilical department of 
the State University, at Iowa City, and later 
continued his studies in the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons, at Chicago, being 
graduated with the class of ujo2. He 
afterward received a hospital appointment 
in the Brainard polyclinic at Chicago, and 
sub?ec|uently came direct to Burlington. 



where lie opened an office in October, 1902. 
He has practiced here continuously since, 
with a constantly growing patronage, and 
has already attained creditable and grati- 
fying success. He engages in the general 
l>ractice of medicine, surgery, microscopy, 
and electro-therapeutics, and has a fine 
microscope and also an X-ray machine. 
He is examining physician for the Mer- 
chants' Life .Association, the I'.rotherhood 
of Locomotive I'iremen, the .\ncient Order 
of United Workmen, the Woodmen of the 
World, the Degree of Honor, the Wood- 
men's Circle, and the .Mudirn .N'ational 
Reserve, and is now cnimty physician. 

Dr. Schaefer belongs to various fraternal 
organizations, including Malta Lodge. Xo. 
318, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; 
Dcs Moines Cha])ter. Xo. 1, Royal .Arch 
.Masons: the Woodmen of the World. 
Ancient ( )rder of United Workmen, and 
the .Modern Xational Reserve, while in the 
line of his jjrofession he is comiected with 
the Des .Moines County .Medical .Society. 
He exercises his right of franchise in sup- 
port of the men and measures of the 
Republican party, is active in its work, and 
iluring the last two campaigns served as 
ward comitteeman of the west precinct of 
the seventh ward. He belongs to Bethany 
Lutheran church, and is esteemed for the 
(|ualities of an ujjright manhood as well as 
for his professional skill, which has already 
won for him notable success, and will lead 
to still greater advancement in the future. 



JOHN H. BRANDT. 

A w 1.1. 1. -KNOW N citizen and resident of 
Augusta. Des Moines county, Iowa, is Johr» 
11, Brandt, whose connection with the ma- 



DES MOIXES COUXTV, lOlVA. 



567 



terial prosperity of the village is important. 
A native of Germany, he was born near 
Hanover on Dec. 14, 1837, and came to 
America in 1859, landing at New York, 
where he remained for about nine months, 
and whence he came to Iowa in the spring 
of i860. His father died when he was but 
seven years of age, but his mother came to 
America, and her death occurred fifteen 
years ago at Fort Madison, Iowa. 

On his removal to Iowa in i860, Mr. 
Brandt located at Fort Madison, making 
that his place of residence until 1875, during 
which time he was variously employed, first 
as a laborer and later as guard and teamster 
at the State penitentiary in that city. In 
January, 1864, however, he enlisted for the 
service of his adopted country in Company 
C, First Iowa Cavalry, with which he went 
to the front to take part in the Civil War. 
His term of service lasted over two years, 
and he was finally mustered but of the army 
in the spring of 1866, at Austin, Texas. 
He participated in a number of skirmishes, 
and was called upon for the performance of 
nuich arduous duty. For his loyalty he now 
receives a pension of twelve dollars monthly. 

At the close of the war Mr. F.randt re- 
turned to Fort Madison, and in 1875 re- 
moved to a farm in that county, engaging in 
the practical work of farming for some 
years. He later changed his place of resi- 
dence to Denmark, Lee county, and after 
engaging in farming there for a number of 
years, he purchased property in Augusta 
township, Des Moines county. He bought 
some town lots, and now owns three and 
one-half blocks in the village of Augusta, 
also a number of houses, which he rents. 
In 1862 he married Miss Rose Diedrick, 
who was born in Ohio, and came to this 
State when quite young. She is now de- 



ceased, her death having occurred March 7, 
1902, at the age of sixty-two years, and her 
passing was a matter of heartfelt regret, for 
she was a woman of beautiful character, 
while her example and encouragement are 
missed in religious work, she having been 
a member of the Christian church. She 
was the mother of three daughters, as fol- 
lows : Lydia, who is now deceased, and was 
the wife of John Blackman, of South Da- 
kota ; Alonzella. who is the wife of James 
Edwards, a teamster of Burlington, and has 
four children, John, Tennis, Nellie, and 
Margaret : and Flora, who is the wife of 
James Jackson, a railroad section foreman, 
of Burlington, and has had two children, 
;\Iona, who died at the age of twelve years, 
and Clare. 

In his political affiliation a member of 
the Republican party, Mr. Brandt has ever 
loyally supported that organization, but has 
not himself asked for the honors of office. 
His one fraternal connection is with the 
Grand Army of the Republic, and in his 
religious relations he is identified with the 
Lutheran church. He has ample cause to 
regard with complacency his present posi- 
tion in die world, for when he arrived in 
the country his entire worldly possessions 
consisted of five dollars in monev. From 
this humble beginning he has risen bv his 
own merit, and so well has he performed 
his part that he now finds himself sur- 
rounded by the comforts and many of the 
luxuries of life. 



JOSEPH KNAPP. 

Joseph Knatp, son of Earnhardt Knapp, 
was born in Baden, Geriuany, Sept. 11, 
1850, and there began his education in the 



568 



BIOGRAPHICAL REV I Ell' 



public sc1kx)1s. Wlii-n only a boy he be- 
came an orphan by the death of his father 
and mother, and at an early age began to 
depend upon his own efforts to advance 
himself in the world, to secure a livelihood 
and to equip himself with an education. 
His father and an elder brother were black- 
smiths by trade, and with them he worked 
until his father's death and the entrance of 
liis brother into the German army. At the 
age of seventeen years he decided to seek 
his fortune in America, and crossing the 
Atlantic he came to the West, and located 
in Burlington, Iowa. Here he completed 
his education, attending the public schools, 
and was for a time in the employ of the 
blacksmithing and carriage-making firm of 
Goerling & Buhrmaster, with whom he re- 
mained four years. He also worked in 
Kingston and Oskaloosa about two years, 
and was for a time in St. Louis, and on his 
return to this city re-engaged with his for- 
mer em|)loyers. In 187A, however, he was 
able to establish a business of his own, and 
this he did, taking u]) his present location 
at 1424 North Eighth Street. He does here 
all kinds of blacksmithing. repairing, and 
wagon-making, and it; in addition an expe- 
rienced shoer of fine horses, although he 
does not make a specialty of this work, but 
accepts all that is offered. He has been 
very successful in his business, and has by 
industry, honesty, and courtesy built up a 
large ])atronage. 

On Jan. 27, 1880, Mr. Knapp married 
Miss Emma Kru.se, and to them have been 
born six children : Louis, Charles, Hattie, 
Joseph, Emma, and Clarence. Mr. Knapp 
was reared in the Catholic faith, but does 
not at the pre.sent time adhere to any relig- 
ious denomination. .Although a member 
of the Democratic party, he gives his atten- 



tion principally to his business interests, 
and has never taken a part in politics, con- 
tenting himself with casting his vote in 
favor of good government. 



JACOB ARNOLD. 

J.\cou Arxou), one of the early settlers 
of Des Moines county, and a highly respect- 
ed citizen of Franklin township, residing on 
his farm of one hundred acres in Section 18, 
is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having 
occurred in Luzerne county, Jan. 26, 1834. 
He remained in the State of his nativity 
until twenty-two years of age, and acquired 
his education in tlu- public schools there, 
while upon the home farm he performed 
various kinds of labor, thus materially as- 
sisting his father. His parents, Abraham 
and Elizabeth (Schliker) Arnold, were also 
natives of Pennsylvania, where the father 
engaged in farming all his life, thus becom- 
ing a representative of agricultural interests 
in Luzerne county. He died Jan. 24, 1879, 
at the age of eighty-six years, five months, 
and ten days, and his wife ]iassed away 
April 4, 1885. at the age of seventy-five 
years, seven months, and eighteen days. 
Their remains rest side by side in a cemetery 
in Luzerne coimty. They were both loyal 
and devoted members of the Methodist 
church, in which Mr. .Arnold served for 
some time as steward, and his political alle- 
giance was given to the Republican party. 

Jacob .\rnold is the only member of his 
father's family that came to Iowa. When 
twenty-two years of age he left the old 
homestead in the Kevstone State, and 
started out on his own account. Coming to 
Iowa, he settled in Franklin township, Des 



DES MOIXES COUXTV, IOWA. 



569 



Moines county, where he remained for a 
year, and then returned to Pennsylvania, 
where he resided until May, 1859. At that 
date he took up his abode in Lawrence 
county, Illinois, where he was engaged in 
general farming until August, 1862, when 
he put aside business and personal consider- 
ations and offered his services to the govern- 
ment, enlisting as a member of Company I, 
One Hundred and Thirtieth lUinois In- 
fantry, with which he served until the close 
of the war. He took part in many of the 
prominent battles, and was at the siege of 
Vicksburg. In April, 1864, he was captured 
at Mansfield, and was held as a prisoner of 
war until the close of hostilities, being in- 
carcerated at Tyler, Texas. When the war 
was over, he was honorably discharged, 
being mustered out at Springfield, 111., in 
June, 1865. He was often where the leaden 
hail fell thickest, and again was stationed 
on the lonely picket line ; but wherever he 
was found, he was loyal to the cause which 
he had espoused. 

At the close of his military service Mr. 
Arnold came again to Iowa, and purchased 
forty acres of land in Franklin township, 
constituting the nucleus of his present home 
place. He cleared the timber and made a 
home for himself and family, and here he has 
lived continuously ever since, devoting his 
attention to general agricultural pursuits, 
and to some extent following stock-raising. 
The years as the}- have passed have brought 
him prosperity in return for his untiring 
labor, and he added to his home place until 
he now owns one hundred acres of produc- 
tive and valuable land, nearly all of which 
is under cultivation. 

Mr. Arnold was married in March, 1856, 
to ]Miss Ellen \'andemark, a daughter of 
Elijah and Margaret (Bellis) \'andemark. 



Her father came to this State from Luzerne 
county, Pennsylvania, in 1859, settling in 
Franklin township, where he devoted his 
energies to farm work. • Purchasing land 
from time to time as his financial resources 
permitted, he was at his death the owner of 
over two hundred acres. His birth had oc- 
curred in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and 
he passed away in Franklin township, after 
a successful and prosperous life. His wife, 
also a native of Luzerne county, died in 
Franklin township at an advanced age, and, 
like her husband, was held in warm regard 
by all who knew her. ?\Irs. Arnold, like- 
wise a native of Luzerne county, pursued 
her education in the schools there, and 
came with her parents to this State. 

Unto our subject and his wife were bom 
eleven children, and with one exception all 
were natives of Des Moines county: Elijah, 
a farmer residing in Oklahoma, married 
Effie Smith, of this county, and has five chil- 
dren. Bertha, Ira and Irene (twins), x\rthur, 
and Elijah ; Abraham, born in Illinois, 
and now residing in Burlington, married 
Amelia Strothman, by whom he has five 
children, Jesse, Clara. Lewis. Herbert, and 
Rollin : Sarah Arnold, wife of Scott Gulich, 
a farmer who owns and operates sixty acres 
in Franklin township, and they have two 
children, Loren and Arnold ; Laura, wife of 
Phineas Landrum, of Pleasant Grove town- 
ship, and has one child. Myrtle ; Clara, the 
wife of Herman Rasmus, of Mediapolis, 
and has four children, Esta, Fern, Earl, and 
Sarah ; Hattie, the widow of Edward 
Thomas, and resides upon her father's farm ; 
John, the owner of a farm of sixty acres in 
Franklin township, married ^laggie Smith ; 
Dolly, resides in Mediapolis ; Jacob, living 
on the home farm; Mary, became the wife 
of Charles Olcott, and died at the age of 



570 



BIOGRAPHICAL Rlil'lEW 



twciity-ninc years; .-iii'l '<m- tliat died in 
infancy. 

Mr. .\riiold and his wife are members of 
tile .\letlii)dist I%|)iso>))al duirdi. and have 
taken a lielpful interest in its work. In 
I)olitics lie has been an earnest Republican 
since casting liis first vote for Jolin C. Fre- 
mont. He lias lickl the office of trustee of 
I'ranklin townshi]) for one term, and, deeply 
interested in school matters, has done effect- 
ive service locally for the cause of education, 
serving as secretary of the board, and as a 
school director for a (|uarter of a century. 
His efficient service, his military record, 
his business career, and his private life all 
entitle him to the warm regard and esteem 
of many friends, and have made his life 
worthy of emulation in many respects. 



CYRUS GREEN. 



O.NK of the early settlers of I)es .Moines 
county, and one wlm has been honored 
with many offices within the gift of the 
people, and has served with great ability, 
and is now s])eiidiiig the evening of 
his active life at his pleasant home in 
Washington township, is Cyrus (ireen. 
He is a son of Thomas and Sarah 
(Marsh) (ireen. and was born in Mus- 
kingum county. Ohio. Jan. 2j. 1825. The 
father was a farmer, and died in Ohio; 
and later the mother came to Iowa, but 
did not live long afterward. Our subject 
received his early education in his birth- 
place, and remained on his father's farm 
till lu' w.is t weiity-tliree years of age. 
which was a great lielj) to his father. 
About this time he went to Perry county, 
Ohio, and purchased a farm of one hun- 



tlred and twenty acres, where he was act- 
ively engaged in general farming for four 
years. In 1852 he moved to Iowa, and 
located fir.st near C"airo, Louisa couuty. 
where he rented a farm and farmed it for 
two years, and then took up a residence 
on a |)lace near Morning Sun, Iowa, 
where he met with much success as a 
farmer, and which he calletl home for two 
years, llis ne.xt move was to come tf) 
Washington townshi]). l)es Moines coun- 
ty, where he ])iirchased his jiresent farm 
of eighty acres in Section 3, upon which 
he has li\ed ever since. .Vot a spade had 
been ])ut into this land when he bought 
it, and it i)resented a very wild aii<l rough 
ap])earance : but .Mr. (Ireen set about at 
once to bring it under cultivation, and 
though he had much of it to do by him- 
self, still to-day his land is of the best, 
.ind all cultivated, and yielding golden 
harvests each year. .Mr. ( 'ireen has a nice 
and comfortable house, a gooil barn, and 
several substantial buildings for stock and 
grain, ami uses all of the modern farm 
machinery. 

.Mr. (ireen has been a Republican all of 
his life, and has held the office of super- 
visoi for the last fifteen years. He has 
ever taken much interest in eclucational 
matters, and has represented the tow'n- 
shi|) as school director and secretary of 
the board for many years. He has al.so 
manifested a great deal of interest in re- 
ligious matters, and is a member of the 
Presbyterian cluirch. where he has been 
trustee for some time. 

When Mr. (ireen was about twenty- 
four years of age he was married to .Miss 
Mary Fickle, who was born in I'erry 
county, Ohio, and died when twenty-four 
years old, leaving five children, four of 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



571 



whom are now living: Lucretia, married been blessed with two children, Joseph 

Anderson Jarvis, resides in Kansas, and and Zella ; Nellie, the wife of Frank Grow, 

has a large family of children; George who lives in Nebraska; May, resides at 

W., a farmer, near ^lartinsburg, married home; Grant, of Washington township. 

Miss Emma Brockway, now deceased, married Miss Martha Helt, and by this 

leaving one unnamed child, who died soon union four children have come to them : 

after its mother. He married for his sec- Fern, Eveline, Donald, and E|elbert ; Fred- 



ond wife Miss Alice Miller, and they have 
five children: Mary, Leonard, Myrl, Jes- 
sie, and .\nna ; John, also a farmer in 
Washington township, married Miss 



erick and Hosea, both of whom died in 
infancy; Martha F., the wife of David 
McCahan, a farmer in Louisa county; 
Blanche, married Albert Grow, a farmer 



Mary Bashford, and they are the parents residing in Nebraska; Jessie, at home 

of six children : Martha, Nellie. Lena, with her parents. 

Clara, Acil, and Howard; -Millard, resides Mr. Green has witnessed many changes 

on a farm in \\'ashington township, mar- of all kinds during his residence of over 

ried Miss Clara Bozarth, and they have forty-five years in Des Moines county, 

two children. Ivy and Harry: Benjamin W'hat was timber-land fifty years ago, or 

F., died in infancy. in many cases hills and hollows, are now 

Mr. Green's second wife was Miss May built up into cities and villages, which are 

Jane Tatman, who was born in Mary- supplied with all the modern conveni- 

land, and came to Perry county. Ohio, ences which tend to lessen man's labors, 

when quite young, and who became the Mr. Green is certainly a self-made man, 

mother ct two children, Mary and :\Iar- and though he has met difficulties and 

tha, both of whom died in infancy. Mr. obstacles in his path, he has overcome 

Green was called upon to mourn the these by determined purpose and resolute 

death of his second wife, and in the course will, steadily working his way upward, 

of time, married for his third wife Mrs. and commanding the respect and admira- 

Arminda Brown, widow of David Brown, tion of his fellow-men by reason of his 

Mrs. Brown had two children, Perley B., honorable life and unfaltering course, 
editor and proprietor of the Harlan Re- 

publican, resides in Harlan, Iowa, mar- 

ried Miss Eva Dougherty, and they are 
the parents of six children : Leah. Har- 
old, Edna, Bessie, David, and Margaret; 
Mary married Frank O'Kell. a farmer in 
Washington townshi]), ami has one 
daughter, Bertha. 

By the marriage of Mr. Green and Mrs. 



ROBERT A. McELHINNEY. 



An esteemed and honored resident of 
Washington township, Des Moines county, 
is Robert A. McFlhinney. who was torn in 
the city of Philadelphia. Pa., Feb. 12, 1840. 
Brown, nine children have been born. His parents, Samuel and .Vnn (Elder) Mc- 
seven of whom are living: James L., a Elhinney, were both born in Ireland, and 
farmer, living in \\'ashington township, came to America in earlv pioneer times, 
married Miss Rosa Stoner. and they have settling in Philadelphia, where Mr. McEl- 



572 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



hinncy was engaged for a number of years 
in the buying and selling of stock. In 1840 
they came to Iowa, and located in Louisa 
county, where they remained for a few years 
anil then removed to Des Moines county, 
purchasing a farm in Yellow Springs town- 
ship, upon which he was actively engaged 
in farming and stock-raising till his death, 
wliicii occurred when he was seventy-three 
years old. He was a member and elder in 
the Reformed Presbyterian church. In pol- 
itics he gave his vote and hearty support to 
the Republican party. The devoted mother 
of our subject died a few years before her 
husband. They were the parents of eleven 
children, six of whom are still living. 

Robert McElhinney, subject of this re- 
view, received his early education in the 
common schools of Yellow Springs town- 
ship and in the district schools of Louisa 
county, Iowa. He assisted upon the home 
farm till he was twenty-one years old, when 
he moved to a farm of one hundred and 
sixty-three and one-half acres on .Section 
12, given to him by his father, and which 
is located in \\ashington township. Here 
he has lived ever since, having made all of 
the many improvements on the jjlace, build- 
ing a good and substantial building for a 
residence, and other necessary outbuildings 
for the protection of stock and grain. 

He is a progressive and successful farmer 
and stock-raiser, and has his fami well under 
cultivation, using all modem machinery and 
implements. Since coming to tliis township 
he has seen a great many changes for the 
betterment of the county, and he certainly 
deserves credit for always being ready and 
willing to assist and do his full share in any 
undiTlaking that would bring abrmt a condi- 
tion that would in any way tend to improve 
the township. 



On Feb. 12, 1861, Mr. McElhinney was 
twenty-one years of age, and celebrated 
the day by being united in marriage to 
Miss Margaret Jane McClurkin, who was 
a daughter of Matthew McClurkin. who 
settled in Louisa county at an early day, and 
died on the road to California during the 
gold excitement. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Mc- 
Elhinney ten children were born, eight of 
whom are living : William J., a farmer of 
Louisa county, Iowa, married Lizzie Cham- 
bers, and they have one child, W'illetta ; 
Samuel P., a farmer residing in Washington 
township, married Miss Mary Chambers, 
and they are the parents of three children, 
Elbcrn, Clyde, and Isabelle ; Annie, wife of 
Thomas Robb, a farmer of Yellow Springs 
township, and the mother of one child, 
Mary Margaret ; Ella May, married J. M. 
McCloy, a farmer of Colorado; Margaret, 
at home; Mathew, lives in Minnesota; Rob- 
ert W., at home ; Winnie L., a teacher in the 
public schools in \''ellow Springs township, 
at home. All of their children were born 
in Washington township, and two died 
there. 

The beloved wife and mother of this 
large family passed away at the home place, 
Feb. 25, 1899. She was a consistent member 
of the Covenanter church, where her hus- 
band still holds membership. Mr. McEl- 
hinney was reared in the Republican faith, 
and in early manhood .shared his father's 
political opinions, but never was an aspirant 
for public office. He has lived a just and 
helpful life, the position which he now holds 
in the esteem of his fellow-citizens being the 
result of faithfulness in every duty which 
has become his as a resident of the com- 
nnmity. We take great i)leasure in being 
able to ])lace before the public the life his- 
tory of so prominent a man. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



573 



JOSEPH H. BARTON. 

There is no name in Washington town- 
ship more highly respected or one more 
famiUar to tlie community than the one 
which heads this review. Mr. Joseph H. 
Barton has been identified with Des Moines 
county for sixty years, and has always been 
enterprising and active in all movements 
that would in any way improve the county ; 
and a review of this county would certainly 
be incomplete without his record. He was 
born in Franklin township, Des Moines 
county, jNIarch 31, 1845, and is a son of 
Henry and Nancy Elizabeth (Wyatt) Bar- 
ton. 

His father, who was born in Cheshire, 
England, came to America about 1840, and 
settled in Iowa, where he soon purchased a 
farm of one hundred acres of wild timber 
land in Franklin township, Des Moines 
county. He at once began to clear the place, 
and built a log house and log barn, living 
in the former for many years in real pioneer 
style. From time to time, as success came 
to Mr. Barton, he added more to his farm, 
till he had a beautiful place of four hun- 
dred acres. He later erected a large and 
substantial brick dwelling, which is still 
standing on the farm. He was a man who 
could manage his work with the best of 
results, was careful in all things, and his 
hard and untiring labor connected with gen- 
eral farming was rewarded with success. 

Mr. Barton was not spared to really enjoy 
the fruit of his work and early hardships, 
for in 1856, while erecting his new home, 
he took sick, and entered into his eternal rest 
when about fifty-five years of age. A man 
of his day in all things, and of rare ability, 
he was sadly missed in the community, but 
years may come and go, and still his name 



will be written indelibly in the minds and 
hearts of the coming generation as one who 
assisted to make the county prosperous. 

Mrs. Barton was also a native of England, 
where her marriage occurred. She came to 
America with her husband, and performed 
well all the many duties that fell to a wife 
and mother in those early days. She was a 
noble Christian woman, and took much 
pleasure in active church work in the Meth- 
odist church, of which she was long a 
faithful member. She laid down the bur- 
dens of this life in 1885, at the old home 
place, and rests by the side of her husband 
in the cemetery at Franklin JNlills. Mr. and 
Mrs. Barton were the parents of nine chil- 
dren, of whom six are living. 

Our subject obtained his education in the 
common schools of Franklin township, and 
as his father passed away when he was only 
nine years of age, the care of his mother and 
the mana'gement of the farm devolved upon 
him as soon as he was old enough. He re- 
mained on the home place, engaged in gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising, till seventeen 
years of age, when he went to Washington 
township and purchased one hundred and 
sixty acres of land, upon which he erected a 
large two-story frame dwelling, a modern 
barn, and several other buildings for his 
stock and grain. He is a prosperous farmer, 
and an extensive feeder and shipper. 

About six years ago he bought the ele- 
vator at Roscoe and enlarged it, more than 
doubling its capacity, and has since been 
very successful in the grain business. In 
addition to these various enterprises, Mr. 
Barton owns two thirds of the Roscoe store, 
which is now managed by his son, C. H. 
Barton. He was also one of the organizers 
of the Citizens' State Bank, of Mediapolis, 
Iowa, and has been the vice-president ever 



574 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



since. He still owns forty acres of the old 
home farm in l-'ranklin townshij). 

Oct. 24, 1867. .Mr. i'arton married Miss 
X'erlina Griffith. She is a daii}j<iter of 
James Griffith, and was born in I'lint River 
township, where her father was an early 
settler, living on one farm there for over 
sixty years, a fact we think can not Ix- 
e(|iialed in the county. .Mr. Griffith died in 
Flint River township in 1903, aged seventy- 
nine years. He was a man possessing high 
moral principles, and was respected by all. 

Mrs. Barton received her education in the 
schools of Irt iKili\e townshi]). where she 
grew to womanliiMid and was married. She 
is a devoted member of the Methodist 
church. As the years have jiassed, Mr. and 
Mrs. Barton have had eight children added 
to the household, of whom seven are liv- 
ing: James Henry, is a farmer residing in 
\\'a.shington townslii]). lie married Miss 
I 'earl Cline. a daughter of Henry Clinc, an<I 
they have three children living, Raymond, 
Ruth, and lUirreil Joseph. Kathcrine is the 
wife of Jiiliii W . Tlioiiias. who lives near 
Roscoe, Washington township, and they 
have four children, Kverett, Blanche, \'era, 
and Cecil. Julia is at home, l^dward J., 
married Nellie Ermina Knke, a daughter of 
James Enke. They live in \\'ashington 
township, and have two children, James 
Allis, and Lois Pearl. Charles married Miss 
Lulu Kurtz, daughter of Charles Kurtz, 
who is a farmer of Washington town- 
ship. They have one child. Surrell. and live 
at Roscoe, where Mr. I'larton i> manager of 
the general supply store, and also express 
agent and station agent for the Burlington 
Railroad Com])any. Lulu and Mark are at 
home. Nellie died when four years of age. 
The children were all born in I'ranklin 
township, where also they were educated. 



Mr. Barton belongs to that class of UR-n 
whose enterprising spirit is used not alone 
for their own benefit. He has not only ad- 
vanced tlie general g(X)d and ])romoted pub- 
lic ])ro.s])erity, but has ably managed indi- 
vi<lual interests, and all who know him 
have the highest admiration for his good 
c|ualities of heart and mind. 



AUGUSTUS B. H. FORKEL. 

.XriilSTlS BlCKNIl.SKT llKNK'i I'oKKEL. 

now in his seventieth year, and numbered 
among the oldest business men in the city 
of Burlington. Iowa, was born July 16, 
1835, in Coburg. Cierniany, a son of Chris- 
tian and Elizabeth (I^mgut) Forkel, and 
was educated in the common and high 
schools of his native place, being graduated 
from the latter at the early age of fourteen 
vears. While a student in school he also 
began learning the trade of harne.ss-making 
and saddlery, in which he speedily perfected 
himself after the conclusion of his studies. 
He early went to X'ieima, traveled in Hun- 
gary, and thence to Gerletz, Berlin, and dif- 
ferent places. From Berlin he came to 
.\merica in 1834, embarking June 1st in a 
sailing vessel, as there were only two steam- 
ships engaged in ocean passenger traffic at 
that time, and landing on this side the M- 
lantic, .September 13. 

Before deciding upon a permanent loca- 
tion in this country, .Mr. l-'orkel traveled a 
great deal, visiting ilifferent cities, inclu- 
ding Washington, Buffalo, Cincinnati, De- 
troit, and in 1S56 came to Burlington, He 
later, however, proceeded to Davenport, 
where he lived for a time: but in 1863 re- 
turned to Burlington, establishing himself 



DES MOIiXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



575 



in business here in 1866. Continnousl}' 
since that time he has been actively engaged 
in business in Burlington, and now enjoys 
the distinction of being one of the oldest 
business men on Jefferson Street. 

On April 26, 1866, he wedded Miss 
Louisa Bercht, a daughter of Francis 
Bercht. Mrs. Forkel is now deceased, her 
death occurring at Mount Pleasant, Nov. 
28, 187S. She was a woman of lovable and 
admirable personality, well educated, having 
been a student at the Ursaline College of St. 
Lx)uis. 

To the service of his adopted country Mr. 
Forkel gave his best efforts during the time 
of the war between the States, enlisting at 
St. Louis on April 20, 1863, in Company F. 
Nineteenth Missouri Militia, in which he 
continued for two years, acting as Provost 
Guard, doing hospital antl transportation 
duty, caring for the wounded, transferring 
prisoners, and doing whatever duty was re- 
quired by the circumstances of those 
troubled and terrible times. 

At 6i8 Jefferson Street, Mr. Forkel 
bandies all kinds of harness, saddles, and 
everything pertaining to the business, be- 
sides executing every species of repairs. All 
bis work is done by hand, including a large 
part of the manufacture of his regular stock 
of goods, he making a specialty of hand- 
made collars. In the latter class of work he 
uses the Scotch method, and is the only 
workman west of Chicago now making col- 
lars entirely by hand and absolutely without 
the aid of machinery. 

Politically, Mr. Forkel is possessed of 
very pronounced opinions, which he ex- 
presses with convincing force, and in tlie 
exercise of his duties as a citizen he acts 
independently of all party organizations, 
casting his vote in favor of whatever man 



or measure best embodies his personal 
views. He is a valued member of the 
Knights of Honor, and has had the honor 
of election to all the offices within the gift 
of the Burlington Lodge. He was reared 
in the faith of the Evangelical Lutheran 
church, and although he has not maintained 
that connection, he considers himself a mem- 
ber of the great church of uijiversal human 
brotherhood. He has enjoyed uniform suc- 
cess in the conduct of his business, and as 
one who has done his duty at all times as a 
man and a citizen, has followed an u))right 
course of life, and manifested the quality of 
loyalty in friendship, his reputation is fair, 
stainless, and honorable, and many speak 
his praise. 



JOHN LANE. 

One of the prosperous farmers of Yel- 
low Springs township, who began life as 
a poor boy, with nothing but his energv 
and willing hands to aid him, and who 
has now acquired a comfortable home as 
well as established a good reputation, is 
John Lane. He is a son of John and Ann 
( Chapman ) Lane, and was born in the 
county of Norfolk, England. 'His father 
was a man of very limited means, being 
a farm laborer, and consequently the edu- 
cation of our subject was very meager. 
His mother died when he was only five 
years old, and he has earned his own liv- 
ing since he was but fifteen years of age. 
At the age of fifteen he went to York- 
shire, England, where he resided for 
many years. He was also married in 
\"orkshire, Jan. 20, 1866, to Miss Ann 
Hutchcroft, a daughter of John and Mary 
(Ripley). They have f^een blessed with 



576 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



six cliildrcii : Julin George, lives north- 
east of Winfield about six miles; William 
James, resides in Yellow Springs town- 
ship; Anna Elizabeth, the wife of D. W. 
Hutchcroft, and lives one mile south of 
Kossuth ; Charles Arthur, a resident of 
Yellow Springs township ; Sarah Eliza, 
married John Schmidt, and makes her 
home in Pleasant Grove township ; and 
Francis Chapman, lives and works the 
home farm. 

In the spring of 1808, when the oldest 
child was just one year old, Mr. and Mrs. 
Lane came to America by way of New 
York, and at once proceeded to Burling- 
ton, and later went to Kossuth. Here 
Mr. Lane worked out f(jr two years, and 
then for the next seventeen years lived 
on rented farms. In 1892, through his 
untiring efforts and great economy, as- 
sisted very materially by his good help- 
mate, he was able to buy his present farm 
of one hundred and twciit\- acres in the 



southwest corner of Section 



He has 



improved the farm greatly, and now has 
most of it under cultivation. His pleas- 
ant home is open and welcome to all, and 
is probably one oi the best in the town- 
ship. Mrs. Lane ])assed away in 1902 at 
the age of si-\ty-five years. She was a 
woman whose life was full of good deeds, 
and one whom it was a pleasure to know, 
and she was greatly beloved by all with 
whom she came in contact. 

Mr. Lane is an old member of the 
Methodist church, which has received 
much aid from his generous hand. He 
has ever been a strong Re])ublican. and 
at one time was school director in the 
township. There is jinibably no man in 
Des Moines county who has made more 
progress in business than Mr. Lane. He 



has struggled on and upward with a fixed 
purpose, and now in the evening of life is 
well deserving of rest and comfort. His 
worldly possessions are not his only 
treasures, as he has ever lived a moral, 
conscientious life, has been a kind neigh- 
bor, and a true friend, and it is with pleas- 
ure we point to him as an example to the 
young men among his acquaintance. 



JACOB BUMGARDNER. 

J.\coii BLrMGARPNKu, a representative 
farmer of Des Moines county, living on 
Section 8, I'nion town.ship, is a native of 
Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in 
Daujihin or Lebanon county, on the 24th 
of July, 1838. His parents were John and 
Anna (Kimport) Bumgardner, both of 
whom are natives of Pennsylvania, and re- 
moved to Cumberland county, that State, 
(luring the early boyhood of their son Jacob. 
.After about six years they came to Des 
Moines county, Iowa, in 1849. ^^^ •* >''^'"" 
they lived in a brick house that is now 
owned by Samuel Senti. but was then the 
property of David Ernest. The father was 
in such limited financial circumstances that 
he could not even purchase a cow, though 
one could have been bought at that time for 
ten dollars. The family numbered ten chil- 
dren, of whom Jacob is the second. The 
journey westward had been made by the 
canal from Cumberland county to Pittsburg, 
thence by steamer to Burlington. The 
father had been a teamster in Pennsylvania, 
driving four and six horses, but hoping that 
he might eventually become the owner of a 
farm here, he turned his attention to agricul- 
tural pursuits, renting a tract of land. His 



r. 



C 



c 

2 



2 

c 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



579 



wife died when their son Jacob was about 
sixteen years of age, and in the early 'so's 
the father went to California in search of 
gold. He traveled eastward to New York, 
and thence sailed for the Isthmus of 
Panama. Crossing that narrow strip of 
land, he afterward embarked on the Pacific 
waters for San Francisco ; and when he 
reached California, he made his way to the 
mines. In that locality he engaged in team- 
ing, and became the owner of mining inter- 
ests. He had left his children in Union 
township, and they remained together until 
two of the daughters were married. The 
home then being broken up. Mr. Bum- 
gardner decided to do for himself as soon 
as he became of age. 

Not long after Jacob Bumgardner at- 
tained his majority, he and his brother, 
William H. H. Bumgardner, also went to 
California, making the journey by way 
of the Isthmus in i860. There they 
worked in the mines until the fall of 1862, 
when the brother joined a company of one 
hundred who enlisted in the Union army- 
They made the trip back to Boston to join 
a regiment, and were all members of the 
same company. They were known through- 
out the war as the California Hundred. 
William H. H. Bumgardner was in cavalry 
service, and was wounded in Loudon county, 
Mrginia, by Mosby's guerillas, his in- 
juries terminating his life. In 1863 the 
father died in California, being then about 
fifty years of age, and his remains are in- 
terred on Iowa Hill, in Placer county. 

In 1864 Mr. Bumgardner returned by 
way of the Isthmus, New York, and Canada 
to his old home in Iowa. He had been here 
only ten or fifteen days when his patriotic 
spirit being aroused by the continued at- 
tempt of the South to overthrow the Union, 



he enlisted in Company F, Fort_\-fifth Iowa 
\'olunteer Infantry for one hundred days, 
and was sent to Wolf River, Tenn., to do 
guard duty. On the expiration of his first 
term of enlistment he was again enrolled as 
a soldier, becoming a member of Company 
C, Fifteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry, with 
which command he was sent to Atlanta to 
join Sherman. He participated in the cele- 
brated march to the sea, and was with Sher- 
man's army until after the grand review in 
Washington, D. C, at the close of the war. 
Returning to Des Moines county, he settled in 
Union township, where he purchased land 
in connection with his brother-in-law, A. S. 
Perr\-. They continued business together 
until Mr. Perry was elected sherifl: of the 
county, when the land was divided. 

On the 24th of August, 1865, Mr. Bum- 
gardner was married in Union township to 
Miss E. J. Perry, who was also a native of 
Pennsylvania, and a daughter of John R. 
and Jane (Estep) Perry. She was about 
fifteen years of age when the family came to 
Iowa, settling in Union township. She was 
liberally educated, attending school in Bur- 
lington for a couple of terms after comple- 
ting the public-school course, and she was 
a successful teacher in both Des Moines and 
Lee counties prior to her marriage. Mr. and 
Mrs. Bumgardner began their domestic life 
upon a farm. He purchased sixty acres of 
land, which he still owns, and to it he has 
added from time to time, as his financial 
resources have increased, until he now has 
nearly three hundred and seventy-four acres. 
This is divided into three farms, and his 
property is so well improved that he receives 
therefrom an excellent annual income. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Bumgardner 
has been blessed with five children : William 
H. H., the eldest, born in 1866, acquired a 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFJV 



lair i-diicaticiii, and iiiarriud Mlla < )rm. by 
whom he lias one child. ( )nia. Their home 
is in Union tmvnship. Carrie \'>. is the wife 
of K. C. S. Miller, a resident near Mexico, 
Mo., and they have seven children, Edith J., 
Ida E.. Lester |.. Ray E., Ruth, Lcona, and 
Carl. Walter 1'.. livitig near Wapello, Lou- 
isa county. Iowa, married Miss Mary Dell- 
zell. and has one child. .Max C. : Elmer, who 
operates the home farm, married Julia I kit. 
and has one son. Millard. IJertha L is the 
wife of Fred .\. Woodward, and has three 
children, l-'llis and Willis (twins), and Flor- 
ence. riKJr home is near .Agency. Iowa. 

In his ])oIitical views .Mr. I'.umfjardner has 
always been a stanch Republican, casting 
his first presidential ballot for L'. S. Grant. 
iu i8()S. lie has l)een interested in good 
schools, the cause of education finding in him 
a warm friend, his service's as a .school di- 
rector several terms being especially helpful, 
and has held the office of .secretary of the 
board for twenty-five years. .Mways inter- 
ested in his ])arty and its ujibuilding. he has 
done what he could to advance its welfare, 
and has served as a delegate to various con- 
ventions. His wife became a member of 
the Baptist church of liurlington prior to 
her marriage, but .Mr. and Mrs. I'.umgardner 
n<nv attend the Methodist E])iscoi>al church. 
He belongs to Matttiies Post. (i. .\. R.. at 
LUirlington. and in all matters of citizenship 
he is as true to his country in days of peace 
as when he followed the old flag on the 
Southern battle-fields, \iewed from a busi- 
ness standpoint, his life has certainly been a 
successful one, and he enjoys the full confi- 
dence of the business comnnmity. Starting 
out for him.self em|)ty-hande(l. he possessed 
the determination which enables one to over- 
come difficulties and obstacles; and as years 
advanced. In- lias so managed bis business 



affairs that he is to-day one of the substan- 
tial agriculturists of L'nion township. 



JOHN F. KUHLENBECK. 

joii.v I'. l\riiLENi!i-:cK. as one who in 
the time ot national peril otTere<l his life as 
a sacrifice for the salvation of the country 
of his adoption, and through long suc- 
ceeding years of peace has contributed to 
her material and moral upbuilding, is en- 
titled to a |)lace in any list of notable 
citizens in this ])art of the West. .A na- 
tive of (iermany. he w'as born near Han- 
over, June 4. 1840. and resided at the 
place of his birth until his fourteenth 
year. At that early age he formed the 
resolution Xo emigrate to America, and 
embarking on a sailing vessel, started 
alone, .\ftcr a voyage of more than thir- 
teen weeks in duration he landed at .\'ew 
Orleans, whence he immediately set out 
for .St. Louis, Mo., taking the Mississip])i 
Ki\er route. In that city he served an 
apprenticeship of three \ears. learning 
the trade of shoemaking. which he sub- 
setpiently followed for fifteen years. 
Thus he lost no time, hut ;it once entered 
into uscfid eni])l(>ynunl, with the result 
that he established himself on an inde- 
|)eiident basis of sell-support in the New 
World, and laid the foundation for a suc- 
cessful career. 

In iS^k:) Mr. Kuhlenheck came to Iowa, 
locating in I'.urlington. l)es .Moines 
county, where he engaged in the work 
of his trade until August 14. 1862. on 
which date he enlisted iu Company D, 
Twenty-fifth Regiment Iowa Volunteer 
Infantry, and went to the front to bear a 
man's part in the great struggle for the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



preser\-ation of the L'nion. His was a 
long, arduous, and trying service, for he 
was engaged in twenty-four Ijattles, in- 
cluding some of the most fiercely con- 
tested conflicts of the war, besides par- 
ticipating in the now famous historic 
movement known as Sherman's march 
to the sea. In one of the battles of this 
march he received a bayonet wound, but 
nevertheless managed to remain on duty 
with his company. He received honor- 
able discharge at the city of Washington 
on June 6, 1865, and was there mustered 
out of the military service, to which he 
had tlevoted three years of his vigorous 
young manhood. For his service at that 
time a grateful government now tenders 
him a modest pension. 

At the close of the war .Mr. Kuhlen- 
beck returned to I)es Moines county and 
located in Pleasant Grove, purchasing a 
lot of two acres and establishing his home 
here. To his original ptirchase he added, 
until his holdings aggregated twenty- 
eight acres of fine farming land near the 
village, and on this he conducted agricul- 
tural operations and the usual amount of 
stock-raising for some years, meeting 
with excellent success from the first. In 
1869 he erected a large and substantial 
business building in the village of Pleas- 
ant Grove, in which he established a gen- 
eral store, carrying a thoroughly com- 
plete stock, and by industry, tact, and 
integrity building up a magnificent mon- 
ument to his own abilities and character 
in the shape of a great volume of busi- 
ness. This enterprise he conducted 
continuously for thirty-five years, when 
he sold the business to his son. He still 
resides, however, at his home in Pleasant 
Grove. 



At L(3uisiana, Mo., in 1859, Mr. Kuh- 
lenbeck was tuiited in marriage to Miss 
.Mary Lirewer, of that city, who was born 
in (Germany, a daughter of Fred and Car- 
oline lirewer, and came to America with 
her parents when but a small child. The 
father settled in Flint River township, 
l)es Moines county, Iowa, where he was 
a. farmer, following that occupation until 
his death there at an advanced age. The 
mother is also now deceased, and both 
are buried in Flint River township. Mrs. 
Kuhlenljeck has long been devoted to re- 
ligious work, and is a member of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church. Dur- 
ing their residence in Des Moines county, 
there have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Ivuhlenbeck seven children, all of whom 
are living, as follows: Jc^hn, now en- 
gaged in managing his father's farm in 
Pleasant Grove township, married Miss 
Lydia Fleenor, daughter of Hiram Flee- 
nor, and has two children. Ruby and 
Fdna ; Henr\-, a farmer of Pleasant 
Grove township, wdiere he owns a fine 
farm of one hundred and three acres, mar- 
ried Miss Annie I'lrich, and has four 
sons, Frederick, Lawrence, Albert, and 
()scar: Harty H., a resident of the vil- 
lage of Pleasant Grove, where he owns 
and operates a blacksmith shop, married 
.Miss Alzora Stafiford, and has one son, 
I""rederick ; Clara, married Ira Smith, and 
has one daughter, \^illie ; Malinda, the 
wife of Frederick Palmer, of Burlington, 
and has one daughter, Lettie ; Frank, now 
a rural mail-carrier, and residing at the 
old home place, married Miss Delia Rose, 
and they have one son, Hilton ; Jessie, 
married David Thomas, a farmer of Ben- 
ton township, Des Moines county, and 
has two daughters. lulith and Roy. 



582 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



P'raiik Kiihkiibeck, youngest son of 
Mr. and Mrs. Kuhlenbcck, extended the 
military record of the family at the time 
of the Spanish-American War, first as a 
member of the Sixth Battery, in which he 
held the position of veterinary sergeant, 
and he afterward enlisted for the Phil- 
ippine service. He spent a year in the 
islands, during which time his rank was 
that of quartermaster-sergeant of the 
Thirty-ninth Regiment, United States 
Volunteers. He saw much active service, 
participating in the battles of Calambo. 
Lcapa, Tanavvan, and San Papilo, and 
received honorable discharge Sept. 19, 
1900, at San Francisco, Cal. 

A lifelong Republican, Mr. Kuhlen- 
bcck has never neglected his duty as a 
citizen and as one having an interest in 
all affairs touching the general welfare. 
On the other hand, he has never sought 
public office, although from a sense of 
duty he has served for a number of years 
in the capacity of supervisor of highway's. 
He is a member of the I-uthcran church, 
to whose work he contributes generously 
of his ample means, and in his fraternal 
relations is identified with Sheppard Post. 
Grand .\rmy of the Republic, of Medi- 
apolis. 



WILLIAM ORR. 



W'li.i.iAM Okr was born May 23, 1827, 
in West Virginia, and died in August, 1896, 
when in the seventieth year of his age. He 
came to Des Moines county, Iowa, when 
about twenty-six years of age, thus casting 
in his lot with the early settlers whose 
efiforts proved the foundation for the present 
prosperity and upbuilding of the county. 



He was a school-teacher by profession, 
and for a number of years was thus engaged 
in Morning Sun, Iowa. He was also pro- 
prietor of a store in Morning Sun for a 
time. 

After a residence of ten years in this 
county he was married to Miss Catherine 
Logan, who was boni Aug. 20, 1840, and 
whose death occurred Oct. 16, 1893. 
Through his wife he later inherited two 
hundred and twenty-five acres of land in 
I-'raiiklin township, the parents of our sub- 
ject having been pioneer settlers of Des 
Moines county. The father died July 2, 
1884, at the advanced age of seventy-seven 
years, and his wife passed away in 1878 at 
the age of seventj'-six years. They were 
members of the Reformed Presbyterian 
church, and were people of the highest 
respectability, who enjoyed in full measure 
the confidence and esteem of those with 
whom they were associated. Mr. Orr 
turned his attention to agricultural pursuits, 
and remained a resident of Franklin town- 
ship up to the time of his death. In all the 
relations of life in which he was found he 
was active, enterprising, and reliable. 

fames Campbell Orr, who follows general 
fanning and stock-raising in Yellow Springs 
township, is a native of Iowa, being born 
in Franklin township, Des Moines county, 
March 27, 1867. He is a son of William 
and Catherine (Logan) Orr. His father is 
a native of West V^irginia, while his mother 
claimed Pittsburg, Pa., as Ikt birthplace. 
His father died at Mediapolis, Ohio, about 
' 1896, and the latter passed away in Frank- 
lin township, Oct. 25, 1894. 

The public schools of Mr. Orr's native 
township afforded him his early educational 
privileges. His entire life has been devoted 
to agricultural pursuits, for when he attained 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



583 



his majority he determined to make his Hfe 
work that to which he had been reared, and 
to-day finds him located on the Armstrong 
farm of one hundred acres in Yellow 
Springs township, one quarter of a mile 
from Mediapolis. His land is well drained, 
so that the fields are rich and productive. 
He also raises from thirty to forty head 
of White Chester hogs annually. His enter- 
prise and good business ability are mani- 
fested in the fine appearance of this farm, 
and in the success which has attended his 
efforts since he attained his majority. 

Mr. Orr was first married to Miss Jane 
Logan, daughter of William Logan, by 
whom he had one child, William, born Jan. 
20, 1897. Mrs. Orr died Jan. 21, 1897, aged 
thirty-four years. June 3, 1901, Mr. Orr 
was united in mariage to Miss Clara Asmus- 
sen, a daughter of Fred and Louisa (Ful- 
mer) Asmussen. Mrs. Orr was born in 
Franklin township, Sept. 14, 1878, and at- 
tended the Diamond school of the same 
township. Both her parents were born in 
Germany, her mother being only two years 
old when she came to America. Her par- 
ents were married in Iowa, where they still 
reside in Franklin township, her father car- 
rying on his trade of painter and decorator. 

Unto Mr. and INIrs. Orr two children have 
been born : Frederic, born Aug. 7, 1902, 
and died Aug. 27, 1903 ; and Louisa, born 
June 19, 1903. Mr. Orr is a Republican in 
his views, but is not an aspirant for office. 
Mr. and Mrs. Orr are both well known in 
the community where they make their home, 
and count their friends by the score. 

William John Orr, son of William and 
Catherine (Logan) Orr, spent his boyhood 
days as a farm lad, and obtained his educa- 
tion in the district schools, gaining a good 
knowledge of the common branches of 



English learning. He has always preferred 
to follow farming rather than other business 
interests, and is now located on the Dr. 
Milligan farm on the northeast quarter of 
Section 16, Yellow Springs township. Here 
in his work he displays practical and yet 
progressive methods, keeping in touch with 
the modern ideas in farming, and his labors 
are attended with good results. 

Feb. 25, 1903, Mr. Orr was united in 
marriage to Miss Pearl Scott, a daughter 
of Robert Allen and Amanda (Purcell) 
Scott. She was born in Northfield, Des 
Moines county, Jan. 18, 1879, and like her 
husband has a wide acquaintance in the 
county in which she has spent her entire 
life. Both Mr. and Mrs. Orr attend the 
Presbyterian church, and in his political 
views he is a Republican. 



GEORGE KRAMER JACKSON. 

George Kramer Jackson, deceased, was 
an enterprising agriculturist of Franklin 
township, and in his fine farm left a monu- 
ment to his life of industry, enterprise, 
and honorable effort. He was bom in 
Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, Jvdy 25, 
1826, his parents being William and Jerusha 
(Inman) Jackson. He acquired his edu- 
cation in the early subscription schools 
of his home locality, and was reared 
to farm life, following that occupation 
throughout his active business career. 
In 1842 he came to the West, settling in 
Franklin township when almost the entire 
county was an unbroken and unclaimed 
district, so few were the evidences of 
progress and civilization seen at that time. 
The father purchased a farm about a half 



584 



BIOGRAPHICAL REllEIV 



mile fniiji S|KTry, and this tract of land 
is now in possession of his adopted son, 
Smith Jackson. Here he <lied two years 
later. Icaviii),' his sons to nianajje the 



erected thereon a house and other farm 
l)iiildiiif;s, and added to his projierty until 
he ha<l one hundred acres in the home 
|>lace and also owned twenty-three and a 



property, which they did until they reached half acres lyinp in lienton townshij). In 



adult age and started out in life on their 
own account. 

(ieorge K. Jack.son. of this review, per- 
formed his full share in the work of cul- 
tivation and development ui>on the old 



1S71 lie re])laced the original dwelling by 
the present residence, which is an attract- 
ive home of eight rooms, and fomis one 
of the pleasing features in the landscape. 
l''\crything about the jilace is ke|)t in ex- 



homestead, and thus gained the experi- cedent condition, as Mr. Jackson was an 



enco which ably qualified him to carry on 
his work when he started out in life on 
his own account. He was married. I-'eb. 
28, 1850, to Miss Catherine McMichael. 
a daughter of Archibald and .Mary (Mc- 
Laughlin) McMichael, and a native of 
Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, born 
March 14, 1829. They became the par- 
ents of seven children: Mary, now the 
wife of T. If. Rhodes, of Stuttgart. Ark.: 
Annis, the wife of Lee Hamilton, of Kos- 
suth, Iowa; George, at home; Elizabeth, 
who died at the age of three years ; Re- 
becca, who departed this life when thirty- 
five years of age; Margaret, the wife of 
(ieorge H. Ripple; Jennie, who died at 
tile age of nine Tinnitiis; (lie (itlier chil- 
dren also died in infancy. 

I'ollowing his marriage Mr. Jackson 
piireliased eighty acres of laud in Section 
3. I'raiikiin township, for wliicli he paid 
five tlollars an acre. The work expended 
on the land may be better judged by its 
present value of one luindred and twenty- 
five dollars an acre. It was entirely des- 
titute of improvements, and not a furrow 
had been turned ; but he realized wdiat 
would be the arduous work necessary for 
its development, and with stout heart and 



energetic agriculturist, following practi- 
cal methods, and bringing about good re- 
sults in all of his farm work. He was 
also interested in affairs relating to the 
general u])building of the count)', and he 
gave an early sujijiort to the Democratic 
party, believing that its platform con- 
tained the best elements of good govern- 
ment. He held some of the school offices. 
but never sought or desired political pre- 
ferment. He belonged to the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd I'ellows at Sperry. and 
also to the Grange, of which he was a 
charter ineniber, and in which he held 
official positions. He belonged to the 
r.aptist church, and passed away in that 
f.iitii I'^b. 21, i8f;6. when about seventy 
years of age. 



LEWIS TIMMERMAN. 

Tin; man who makes conditions spell 
success for him in the toilsome career of 
agriculture well deserves recognition in 
any work devoted to the worthy and hon- 
orable characters of a community in 
which he has passed laborious years. The 



man who digs a competence from the 
resolute purpose undertook the task of earth, and compels the sun and the rain to 
clearing and cultivating the land. He do his bidding, commits no wrong, but 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



585 



confers a favor on the world. If he who 
makes two blades of grass grow where 
one grew before is a public benefactor, 
the farmers — the men \\\ui raise the 
grain, and cultivate the vegetables, and 
breed the cattle — are the great benefac- 
tors of humanity. ¥ar without them the 
men who guide the flying spindles and 
watch the whirring wheals of modern 
industry could not exist a moment. They 
sustain the social structure, and trade 
and commerce but dabble in the things 
that they produce. 'Die subject of this 
article is a follower of the noble profes- 
sion of agriculture. 

Fred Lewis Timmerman was born at 
Latty, Iowa, Aug. 25. 1875. and was the 
son of Frederick and .Anna (Table) Tim- 
merman. His father was born in Ger- 
many, and now resides at Latty. Iowa, 
at the age of seventy years. The mother 
was also a native of (ierman_\- and is still 
living. Lewis Timmerman received his 
education in the district schools of Latty, 
and was brought up as a farmer, which 
vocation he has always followed. He 
now lives on J. R. Denney's place, which 
he has made his home for about nine 
years. He carries on a general farmins' 
business, and raises some stock. He was 
married Jan. 22, 1897. at Galesburg, 111., 
to Lizzie Carnes. daughter of James and 
Betty (Marshall) Carnes. Her father 
was born in Scotland, and died in the 
northern part of Ireland about sixteen 
years ago. Her mother was born in Man- 
chester, England, and now resides with 
one of her daughters in the northern 
part of Ireland. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Timmer- 
man has been brightened by the addition 
of children, Fred, William. Clifford, and 



Anna Florence still living, while two died 
in infancy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Tinnnerman are members 
of the L'nited Presbyterian church. Their 
genial social dispositions have won for 
them a large circle of friends, who hope 
to see them forge ahead, and receive the 
material reward for their industry which 
their persevering characters so richly 
deserve. 



AUGUST G. GLASER. 

August G. Gl.aser, one of the more 
recent additions to agricultural circles of 
Des Moines county, following farming 
here since 1901, was born in Prussia, 
Germany, Dec. 6, 1875, his parents being 
Peter and Mary (Schneider) Glaser, both 
of whom are yet living. In their family 
were ten children, all of whom died in 
Germany with the exception of two, the 
living daughter being Rosa Glaser, who 
was born Feb. 24, 1891. 

August G. Glaser spent his boyhood 
days in the Fatherland, and acquired his 
education in the public schools. He was 
a 3-outh of fifteen years when he crossed 
the Atlantic from Germany to .\merica, 
settling first in Cleveland, Ohio, where 
he remained for five months. He then 
went to Illinois, where he became identi- 
fied with farming interests, continuing 
his connection with agricultural pursuits 
in that State until 1901, when he removed 
to Des Moines county. Here he pur- 
chased one hundred and ten acres of land 
from John L. Thomas, of Mediapolis, and 
has since carried on general farming on 
Sections 13 and 18 in Huron township, 
where he is living with his parents. He 



586 



BlOGRAl'HICAL RE\ 'I Ell' 



is a wide-awake, industrious younjj man, 
resolved to win success; and the manner 
in which he carries on his farm work in- 
dicates that hi' will reach his ambition in 
this regard. 



JAMES KIRK. 



James Kikk. who, during the course of a 
long and eventful life, has hnrne an impor- 
tant part in the Jjioneer life and develop- 
ment of two of tlie now wealthiest and great- 
est States of the American Union, was born 
April i8, 1818, in Harrison county, Ohio, 
the fourth son of James antl Margaret ( I'er- 
guson) Kirk. His father, who was a mem- 
ber of a Scotch family, settled in Ireland, 
emigrated from that country to America, 
locating in Washington county, Pennsyl- 
vania, where he was married and whence he 
removed to (Jliio, becoming the first settler 
of Harrison county. Here he cleared and 
cultivated a farm of one hundred acres, 
making that his residence for a long term of 
years, but finally bought and removed to 
a farm near Princeton, Ind.. where he spent 
the remainder of his life, and where both 
he and his wife died, much honored and 
respected. They were the parents of eleven 
childnii, named as follows in order of 
birth : Samuel, George, Henry. James, 
Thomas, John, Josei)h, Eleanor, Jane, Polly, 
and .-\nn. ( )f this family the only survi- 
ving member at the jiresent time is James, 
the subject of this review. 

Mr. Kirk received his formal education 
in the schools of his native .State, attending 
subscription schools held in a log cabin, in 
which the window panes were of greased 
pa])er. the floors of puncheon, and the 



l)upils' seats were jilain slabs without backs. 
.\niong these primitive conditions he was 
able to acquire a very fair knowledge of the 
elementary branches of learning, which he 
has since largely supplemente<l by intelligent 
reading and reflection. .Xttending school 
for only a small part of the year, the major 
portion of his time as a youth and young 
man was devoted to the work of his father's 
farm, of which he thus gained a perfect 
knowledge by hard jjractical experience, 
and laid the firm foundation of his future 
success. The larger share of his active life 
has passed as a farmer in Jasper county, 
Iowa, whither he went in the fall of the 
year 1865, to become one of the county's 
early pioneers and to take uj) the burden of 
advancing civilization in that then untle- 
velo]ied country, now one of the richest 
agricultural sections of the State of Iowa. 
For thirty years he was closely identified 
with its upbuilding and progress, as it was 
not until 1895 that he sold his fine farm 
there and removed to Burlington, where he 
has since continuously resided, enjoying a 
well-earned rest from the arduous toil of 
earlier years. 

On July II, 1843, Mr. Kirk was united 
in marriage to Miss Eleanor Marchbank, 
who was born Feb. 16, 18 17, in Lancaster 
county. Pennsylvania, the daughter of Will- 
iam and Xancy (I'raziCr) Marchbank. To 
Mr. and Mrs. Kirk have been bom ten chil- 
dren : Nancy Maria, the eldest, ilied at the 
age of eight years: .Margaret Jane is the 
widow of George P. .\lford, a sketch of 
whose career ap])ears elsewhere in this vol- 
ume. Haimah K. died at the age of sixteen 
months. The remaining children are in order 
as follows : Rebecca Elizabeth, Mary Lavina, 
Joseph -Mexander, James Alfred, Milton 
Hanna, William McCreadv. and Florence 



VES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



5»7 



Ellen. William ;\L is now deceased, the 
date of his demise being Sept. 25, 1904. 
Until his untimely passing there had been 
no death in the family for fifty-three years, 
and the sorrow of the breavement was such 
as few can understand who have inot suffered 
a similar loss. Florence Ellen is a resident 
of Hastings, Nebr., where she has been a 
teacher in the public schools for seventeen 
years. 

Public questions have always been a 
matter of deep and abiding interest for Mr. 
Kirk. He was orginally a Whig in his 
political leanings, voting as such for General 
AMIliam Henry Harrison for president of the 
United States. Upon the formation of the 
Republican party he joined its ranks, and 
thougJiout its entire history has been a 
loyal supporter of its leaders and principles, 
having voted for sixteen Republican candi- 
dates for the presidency. 

As one who has at heart the welfare of 
his fellow-men, he has given constant en- 
couragement to the work of the church, and 
for many years was a member of the Pres- 
byterian church at Newton, Iowa, of which 
he was at one time a trustee. He is a man 
who has achieved an undeniable success in a 
material way, but while he has by industry, 
thrift, care, and the exercise of sound busi- 
ness judgment acquired a goodly share of 
this world's goods, he has never neglected 
the higher interests of life, giving willingly 
of his substance to advance the cause of 
religion and morality, and by his personal 
influence doing much to uphold and ad- 
vance the standing of many worthv move- 
ments for the uplifting of the human race. 
The soul of integrity, honor, and loyalty, 
he has drawn around him a circle of faith- 
ful friends who admire and cherish him for 
the sterling virtues of his character. 



GEBHARD SCHUPP. 

Gebhard Schupp, who has long contrib- 
uted to the industrial prosperity and ac- 
tivit} of Burlington as a skilled mechanic, 
was born Aug. 18, 1861, in Baden, Ger- 
many, a son of Carl Schupp, who died Sept. 
6, 1892, aged fifty-six years, and Paulina 
(Denz) Schupp, now residing in Bonndorf, 
Baden, at the age of fifty-nine years. His ed- 
ucation was begun in the public schools, 
from which he was graduated, and finished 
by a two-}-ears' course in a commercial 
college. On leaving school he took up and 
learned the trade of tinner. Being of an en- 
terprising disposition, however, he aban- 
doned this, and in 1884 came to America, 
landing at the port of Philadelphia, where 
he tarried for a week and then came to 
Burlington. 

In this city Mr. Schupp was first em- 
ployed in the Murray Iron Works for a 
period of one year, being employed in the 
wood-working department. At the end of 
that time he engaged with the Burlington 
Embalming and Casket Company, having 
charge of a shaping machine, and at this 
occupation he remained for the long term 
of nineteen years. 

Mr. 'Schupp continued with the Casket 
Company till Nov. i, 1904, when he re- 
signed and engaged in business for him- 
self. At that time he opened a cigar and 
tobacco store at 520 Jefferson Street, where 
he carries a fine line of pipes, cigars, and 
tobacco and smokers' materials, papers, 
magazines, and stationery, also prayer- 
books, rosaries, and like supplies. Being a 
skilled mechanic, he has also in connection 
a repair shop, where he does all kinds of 
repairing, including amber and meerschaum 
work, and the coloring of meerschaum 



588 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIIVIEW 



l)i|)cs, having tlu- only cstablishnifnt of the 
kind in the city. 

On May 20, 1890, he married Miss Wil- 
lichiiina Snyder, who was born in Fort 
Madison, Lee county, Iowa, Dec. 20. 1856, 
beginning her echication in tiiat city, and 
finishing at the Convent i>f NDtre name. 
.Milwaukee, Wis. 

Mrs. Schu])p is the (ktughtcr of Law- 
rence and Jacobine (Schmidtle) Snyder, 
the former of wiiom (Hed Oct. 6, 1897, aged 
seventy-six years and eigiit months, and the 
mother, I-'eb. 17, 1904, in her seventy-sixth 
year. They liave three sons : Lawrence, 
born June 7, 1891 ; Joseph, born .Aug. 24, 
1895; and Leo, born .May i,^ 1898. He 
l)uilt at <.it<^ \\ ashiiigtnii Street, in 181)4. 
where lie has since resided. 

.Mr. .Schupp is a Democrat in iiis jjohtical 
l)eHef and afRUation. and fraternally was 
for a time a member of the Knights of 
I^bor. He is identified with .St. John's 
Catholic church, of which he is one of the 
most loyal and liheral sujiporters. Ik' Imlds 
high rank as a mechanic, as a citizen, and 
as a man, and has a great number of friends 
who testify to his eminent worth. 



JOHN ARNOLD. 

John .Kknoi.I), a retired farmer and 
stock-dealer of I'lUrlington, was born in 
Lebanon, Pa., ( tct. I,V 1822. and liis has 
been a long, busy, useful, and hniidralik- 
career. He first opened his eyes to the 
light iif d.iy in the house in which his 
father, Julm .\rni>ld. and bis grandfather, 
who also bore the name of John Arnold, 
were horn. They were of Pennsylvania 
Dutch lineage. The father was a farmer 



by occupation, following that pursuit 
throughout his entire business career, and 
he died in Pennsylvania at the age of 
eighty-eight years, while his wife, who hctrc 
the maiden name of Catherine Ritter, jiassed 
away at the age of fourscore years. In 
bis family were six children, of whom John 
.Arnold was the second. He has three 
brothers and two sisters yet living in Penn- 
sylvania. 

In his youth John .Arnold, of this review, 
learned to sjieak the Pennsylvania Dutch 
language, which is still used by the mem- 
bers of his family. He began his education 
in his native State, and entered ui)on a 
successful business career in Pennsylvania: 
but hoping to make money more rapidly in 
the West he came to Iowa when twenty-two 
years of age, and has for forty years been 
a resident of I'urlington. Iiefore leaving 
Pennsylvania he was engagetl in the furni- 
ture tra<le, and in 1832 he went to Cali- 
fornia, where he remained for about a year, 
working as carpenter for a mining com- 
pany on the construction of waterways, 
long-toms and rrnrkers. He. too, did a 
little prospecting, and eventually returned 
to the East. He made the trip to Cali- 
fornia by way of the water route from Xcw 
York, crossing the isthnuis at Nicaragua, 
and he returned by way of the Panama 
route to New \i>rk. and tiience to i.eb.inon. 
Pa. Ere starting for the Pacific Coast 
he had leased his furniture store and stock 
for three years, and as he could not obtain 
his store until that time was passed, be 
eventually sold the stock and started West. 
He made his way first to Decatur, 111., 
where he purcha.sed an interest in a furni- 
ture business: and about 1850 he came to 
llurlington, where he turned his attention 
to the live-stock business, purchasing stock 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



580 



and making- shipments to Chicago. He 
bought stock along the Missouri River for 
two years, drove to Ottumwa, and thence 
shipped by rail to Chicago. During this 
period his family remained in Burlington. 
He engaged in the stock business for about 
four or five years, and while thus engaged 
he invested in land in Henderson county, 
111. Following the Civil War he removed 
to his farm, and carried on general agri- 
cultural pursuits for about six or seven 
years, also raising and shipping stock to 
some extent. He owned about three hun- 
dred acres of land there. While on the. 
farm he was gored by a bull at three dif- 
ferent times. On the third occasion it 
seemed that he would be killed ; but the 
bull threw him about fifteen feet, and he 
rolled under a wagon load of hay, from 
which position he was rescued by his fam- 
ily. On one occasion he paid three hundred 
dollars for a calf and two hundred and fiftv 
dollars for a bull of the Hereford breed. 
Mr. Arnold ha.s had altogether a pros- 
perous career, and yet there have been 
reverses and difficulties in his business life. 
He lost quite heavily during the financial 
panic which followed the Civil War. How- 
ever, strenuous effort and careful manage- 
ment enabled him to overcome his difficul- 
ties and to continue in a prosperous busi- 
ness career. In 1866 Mr. Arnold crossed 
the plains in a prairie schooner to Denver, 
taking with him a load of flour, meat, and 
provisions from Burlington. Again he 
secured a stock of provisions at Platsmouth, 
Nebr.. and went on to Denver, where he 
remained for about a year, selling his goods 
in that place. He had four wagons to 
which he drove oxen, and he sold his pro- 
visions to miners. He knew what was 
needed in the mining country, and made 



some money on the venture. He also sold 
his ox-teams and wagons, and returned in 
a light wagon with two horses that he had 
driven. He saw many Indians in Colorado, 
but they occasioned him no trouble, and 
there were large herds of buft'alo on the 
plains in the West. 

Following his return to Burlington he 
purchased a lot and built a house at 300 
South Fourth Street in 1884, and he has 
property on South Hill, which he rents. 
His home was erected at a cost of about 
four thousand dollars, and is a brick struc- 
ture two stories in height with basement. 
For two years after leaving the "farm he 
continued in the stock business, but for eight 
or ten years has lived retired. He sold his 
farm to his son, John H. Arnold, who still 
operates it, and Mr. Arnold invested his 
money in Burlington property, being now 
quite an extensive realty holder in the city. 

John Arnold was married in Lebanon, 
Pa., ere his removal to the West, to Miss 
Rebecca Arnold, a third cousin. She is 
still living, but for about a year has been an 
invalid, her ill health having been occa- 
sioned by falling down the celler steps. Mr. 
and Mrs. Arnold became the parents of 
four children : John H., of Burlington, who 
married Cora Gidding, and has two chil- 
dren : John and Mary ; Charlie, a practicing 
physician of Pittsburg, Pa., who married 
Alaggie McGraw: Mrs. Mary Kennedy, 
who with her son, Nicholas, resides with 
her parents ; Emma, who is living in Chi- 
cago. 

Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are members of St. 
Paul's Catholic church, and in his political 
views he is a Democrat. He has now 
passed the eighty-second milestone on life's 
journey, and is remarkably well preserved 
for a man of his years. His life's history, 



soo 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



if written in detail, would present many in- 
teresting incidents, especially in the pioneer 
experiences which he had in the far West 
when he made his trips to California and 
to Denver. He has been, indeed, a soldier 
of fortune, and he kept a diary of his jour- 
neyings, but unfortunately this was de- 
>;troyed by fire. From memory, however, 
he gives many interesting incidents of the 
happenings of the early days. As the years 
have gone by he has, through the careful 
husbanding o^ his resources and his busi- 
ness capacity, acquired a comfortable com- 
petence that now enables him to live in 
honorable retirement from further labor. 



JOHN RILES BISHOP. 

Till-: history of .Vjiierica is replete with 
illustrations of the fact that it is only 
under the pressure of adversity and the 
stimulus of competition that the best and 
strongest in men is brought out and de- 
veloped. Perhaps the history of no peo- 
ple so forcibly impresses one with this 
truth as the annals of our own Republic. 
The life record of John Riles Bishop is 
another proof of this fact, for in a busi- 
ness career he has won success, made for 
himself a record that makes his an hon- 
ored name, and causes his life to be en- 
shrined in the hearts of all with whom he 
is associated. 

He is the son of Joseph and Cyntha 
Ann (Bishop) Bishop, his birth having 
occurred in Rush county, Indiana, April 
30, 1842. His father was born in Rich- 
mond, Virginia, April 2, 1816, and his 
mother in Pulaski county, Kentucky, in 
1815. When our subject \vas quite a 



small lad, his parents brought him to 
Iowa, first locating in Franklin townshiji. 
and after a short time removing to Yel- 
low .Sjjrings township. The first location 
luentioned was just south of the village 
of Mediapolis, on the Bolick farm, in 
1846. Mr. Bishop received the average 
schooling commonly allotted to a farm- 
er's son in the free schools of his imme- 
diate neighborhood. He was a clever boy 
to assist his father in all the occupations 
on the farm, and at an early age was well 
versed in the care of field and meadow. 
His father passed away July 24. i8<>i, 
aged seventy-five years, and his good 
mother departed this life Nov. 3, 1883. 

Shortly before his mother's death, Mr. 
Bishop was united in marriage with Miss 
Lucy A. Meyers, a daughter of Elias and 
.\bigail (Bougher) Meyers. Mrs. Bishop 
was born in Oscaloosa, Iowa. Sept. 17, 
1861. Her father is a native of North 
Carolina, and her mother was born in 
Iowa. The former is still living at the 
ripe age of eighty-four years. The mother 
passed to realms of glory Aug. 15, 1872. 
They had an old-fashioned family of nine 
bright children, as follows: Richard; 
William; John, deceased; an infant, also 
deceased ; George, deceased ; Henry ; Liz- 
zie, who married Raj'mond Humphrey, 
resides in Pleasant Grove ; Lucy, wife of 
Mr. Bishop; and Joseph, deceased. 

Providence was also most gracious to 
.Mr. and Mrs. Bishop, giving unto them 
three daughters: Lulu, the beloved wife 
of Charles Heitmire, of Washington 
township, and tluy lia\c one son, Glenn 
Oral, born July 29, i(X)4; Dora May, and 
Nellie Estella, both at home, the latter 
being a musician on the organ, and a 
sweet singer. 



2 

in 
O 

> 
O 

> 

r 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



593 



Mr. Bishop's present farm of eighty 
acres, in Section 34, is a part of the old 
homestead bought by his father in 1846. 
Wken he entered upon it, it was in a wild 
and unbroken condition; but with much 
energy he set to work to clear it, and 
from time to time, as means and leisure 
would permit, he has added one improve- 
ment after another till now he has one of 
the best in the county. He has all the 
modern machinery, does general farming, 
and raises about one hundred and forty 
head of hogs and some fine cattle annu- 
ally. He also owns thirteen acres of land 
in Section 6, Benton township. He is an 
esteemed member of Sperry Lodge of In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, in 
which he has held some of the minor 
offices. 

Politicall)', he is a decided Republican, 
casting his first vote for Abraham Lin- 
coln at his first election, but has never 
sought any public office, preferring to 
serve his party as a private citizen. 
Throughout his entire business career, 
Mr. Bishop has maintained a reputation 
that is unassailable. His open, frank 
ways have made him friends among all 
classes, and the careful, methodical means 
he has constantly striven to exercise have 
added much to his pleasures and suc- 
cesses in life. 



HENRY KAESTNER. 

Henry Kaestner, a retired farmer, 
residing in Burlington, was born in Prus- 
sia, Germany, Jan. 17, 1845. His father, 
Henry Kaestner, was a stone-mason. He 
owned a home and two acres of land in 
his native country, and on selling that 



property, he came to America, in 1870, 
with his wife and children. Making his 
\va_v to Burlington, he worked as a stone- 
mason in this city until his death, which 
occurred when he was fiftj^-seven years 
of age. His wife bore the maiden name 
of Dora Otto, and died when nearly sev- 
enty-six years of age, having survived her 
husband for nearly a quarter of a century. 
Her death occurred Jan. 21, 1902. There 
were three children in the family, of 
whom Henry is the eldest. The others 
are : Wilhelmina , the wife of Frederick 
Rike, of Burlington ; and Fredericka, the 
wife of ^^'illiam Schade, of Los Angeles, 
Cal. 

Henry Kaestner spent his early boy- 
hood days in Germany, and acquired his 
education in the public schools there. In 
his youth he learned the stone-mason's 
trade, and several months prior to his 
parents' immigration to the New World, 
he came to the United States, making the 
vo}'age on a sailing-vessel which weighed 
anchor in the harbor of Bremen, and 
eleven weeks later reached the port of 
New York. When he landed in the latter 
city he had not a cent of mone)-. It was 
winter then, and two feet of snow lay 
upon the ground. With others, he was 
sent to South Carolina by an employment 
agency, and there he was engaged in 
plowing and in raising cotton and corn, 
spending six months in that way. He 
afterward went to Alabama and Tennes- 
see, where he was employed in farm labor 
for three months, and on the expiration 
of that period he came to Burlington with 
five dollars in his pocket. The family 
had, in the meantime, arrived in this city, 
and Mr. Kaestner joined his parents and 
sisters here. He was first employed in 



5>J+ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



lUirliiij^lon at ]ntllin}^ lumber from the 
river for the Rand Liinihcr Company, and 
wlu-n liis labors had brought to him sufft- 
cicnt ca|)ital to enable him to make an 
investment in land, he |)urchased a small 
tract, which was covered with timber. He 
cleaied forty acres of this, and then sold 
the i>ro])crty and removed to the old Jones 
farm north of the city, where he remained 
about thirteen years, lie continued to en- 
gage in agricidtural pursuits until his re- 
tirement from active business life. He 
was the owner of a farm on Irish Ridge 
roa.l, five miles northwest of lUirlington. 
in Burlington townshiji. In i<)03. how- 
ever, he sold his, farm of one ipiarter sec- 
tion to his son, Joseph Kaestner. who re- 
sides thereon, while Henry Kaestner re- 
moved to I'urlington, and purchased his 
home there at 826 .\sh Street. 

Mr. Kaestner was married at liurling- 
ton to Miss Augusta Miller, in October, 
1871. She was born in Hanover, Cier- 
many, and came to the United States with 
Mr. Kaestner's i)arents, in 1870. Ikr 
death occurred .\ug. 1 1, K^M. and she was 
buried in .\s])en drove cemetery, at Tur- 
lington. There were seven cliiiiiren horn 
of that marriage: Henry, who married 
Martha Ward, and is engaged in farming 
near "^'armouth, Iowa; Josejjh, who mar- 
ried Lulu Strothman, and' is residing ujxin 
the old homestead farm : j'rauk, who mar- 
ried Clara Zirkelbach, and follows farm- 
ing near Yarmouth; Charley and Willie, 
who are engaged in painting, and li\e at 
home; Tunma and John also at home. 

.Mr. Kaestner is a member of the Re- 
organized Church of Jesus Christ of the 
Latter Day Saints, .md has been identified 
therewith for thirty-two years. He is a 
teacher in the local organization, and the 



famil)' are also members of the same 
church, which is situated at the corner 
of Twelfth and Locust Streets. .Mr. 
Kaestner has served for several term^v as 
school director, and is a Rejjublican in his 
jiolitical views. He is now living retired, 
in the enjoyment of the fruit> of his 
former toil. 



CHARLES FREDERICK KLINE. 

A F1M-: rejiresentative of the younger 
generation of business men of Des Moines 
county is Charles I'rederick Kline, who 
was born in Yellow S])rings townshij), Jan. 
2^. 1871. lie is the son of John I!, and 
Lizzie ( Leere) Kline. His father has been- 
identified with the agricultural interests of 
this section of Iowa for many years, as well 
as occupying a substantial |)ositi<in in the 
business life of Ues .Moines county. .Mr. 
Kline was reared upon the i)atcrnal farm. 
and interspersed his home duties with an 
attendance at tlie common schools of the 
townshii). wherein he ac(|uire(l a fair educa- 
tion. He remained at home till he was 
twent\-t\vo years old, when he eiUered as 
a ])artncr in the butcher-shop with his uncle. 
H. C. Kline, in which partnership he con- 
tinued for five years. During this time he 
had become well aciptainted with the dif- 
ferent |)arts of the trade, as well as gaining; 
a good knowledge of the sho]) department, 
and in i8<>8 purchased his uncle's interest, 
and managed this alone for three \ears 
with much success, .\ftcr this he -sohl the 
shop back to this imde. and was general 
manager of ihe Mutual Telephone Com- 
])any for the following three years. 

In 1905, together with his brother, H. S. 
Kline, he fitted up a neat meat-market on 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



Main Street, buying- the property of Samuel 
Heizer, and which was conducted by Mr. 
Heizer as a real estate, loan and notar}- pul)- 
lic office. Here they put on sale a nice 
stock of meats, and are now supplying the 
tjreater ]iart of the villaj^e with meats and 
poultry. 

Nov. i8, 1896, Mr. Kline was married to 
Miss Hattie Y. Corder, daughter of John 
and Mary (Sutton) Corder. This union 
has been blessed with a son and a daughter : 
Ernia, born Feb. 24, iSyS, and Ralph Ruth- 
van, born October 2, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. 
Kline are faithful members of the Method- 
ist church, attending regularly, and giving 
liberally to the support of the church. He 
is a valued and respected member of the 
Masons, joining the order in Mediapolis 
about 1899. Politically, he is a stalwart 
Democrat, but does not care to hold public 
office. Mr. Kline, though young in years, 
has established a reputation for business 
sagacity and energy, and combined with 
other excellent characteristics, inliL-rited and 
acquired, gives promise of a successfid 
career. 



JOHN BELLESS KLINE. 

John Belless Keine, who has devel- 
oped from a tract of wild land his present 
fine farm, now owns one hundred and 
twenty acres of very valuable land. He was 
born in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, May 
26. 1841, his parents being Samuel and 
Sarah (Krupp) Kline, who on their removal 
to the West became residents of Franklin 
township, Des Moines county. Here the 
son pursued his education in the district 
schools, and was reared to farm life. The 
occupation which claimed his energies in 



his youth has also proved the source of his 
success in manhood ; and although he is 
now practically living retired, he still owns 
valuable farm property and gives super- 
vision to the operation of his land. C )nly 
on one occasion were his farm labors inter- 
rupted, and that was when, with patriotic 
spirit, he responded to his country's call 
for aid, enlisting, Aug. 29, 1862, as a mem- 
ber of Company G, Thirty-ninth Iowa In- 
fantry. He was enrolled at Dodgeville, and 
mustered in at Davenport, and he served 
for almost three years, receiving an honor- 
able discharge at Clinton, Iowa, in 1865. 
.\lthough he participated in a number of 
hotly contested battles, he was never known 
to falter in the performance of the soldier's 
full duty, and with a most creditable mili- 
tary record he returned to his home. 

Mr. Kline at once resumed the occupa- 
tion of farming, and in 1877 he purchased a 
tract of land, on which he took up his 
abode, making it his home for a long period. 
He bought one hundred and twenty acres 
on Section 35, Yellow Springs township, 
and thirty-one acres in Benton township, 
and placed all of the improvements upon the 
property. He is here engaged in stock- 
raising, and at the present writing has 
twenty-six head of cattle. He feeds a car- 
load of cattle and hogs each year, for which 
he finds a ready sale on the market, and 
his well-developed business interests have 
made him one of the prosperous agricul- 
turists of his conununitx'. 

Feb. 10, 1870, Mr. Kline was married to 
Miss Lizzie D. Beere, a daughter of Charles 
and Ann (Ruthven) Beere. Five children 
grace the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kline: 
Charles F., Lula 15., Iva, Hugh, and John. 
They have also lost three children : Jessie 
E., who was their second-born ; and Anna 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'IEW 



and Iraiikliii. who were the fourtli and 
tifth. respectively, in order of birth. 

Mr. Kline is now a valued representa- 
tive of the Grand Army post at Mediapolis, 
in which he has held all of the offices, serv- 
ing as coniniander for a number of years. 
He is likewise affiliated with the Masonic 
fraternity at Mediapolis, and has twice been 
master, while at the ])rescnt writing he is 
serving as senior warden. He has likewise 
been its representative to the grand lodge, 
and at all times his life is in harmony with 
the heneliccnt s])irit of the craft. Mr. Kline 
lias been loyal and faithful in citizenship, 
not only in days of war but also in times 
of ])eace, and in community affairs is in- 
terested, giving valuable support to many 
progressive measures which have contribu- 
ted to the uplmilding and substantial im- 
provement of his section of the county. 



MICHAEL W. MURPHY. 

Tiiii inllucnce and clTorts of M. W. Mur- 
phy have ever been given for the substan- 
tial improvement and advancement of town 
and county, while his loyalty in citizenship 
is one of the salient features of his career. 
His native talent has led him out of humble 
circumstances into success through the op- 
portunity that is the pride of our American 
life; nor is his success to be measured by 
material standards alone, as he has devel- 
oped that type of character which makes 
for higher idtrils in business and in society 
as well. 

Mr. Murphy, or Mike, as he is familiarly 
called, is a son of William and Mary 
( Kane) Murphy, and was born in the city 
of Rocluslir, X. Y., .\ug. 21. 1857. Both 



parents were natives of Ireland, and emi- 
grated to America in 1856, siMjn after their 
marriage. In the old country Mr. Murphy 
was a stock-raiser, he and his seven brothers 
being very successful in that business. He 
remained but a short time in Rochester, 
coming to I'urlington, Iowa, in 1858, where 
he immediately obtained work in grading 
for the I'urlington anil Missouri River Rail- 
road. He had been employed only a few 
months when he met with a most terrible 
and painful accident, which incapacitated 
him for active labor of any kind for tlie re- 
mainder (if his life. While the men were 
digging, the bank caved in and buried Mr. 
Murphy several feet under the earth, which 
broke his back, and for sixteen years he 
was compelled to lie in bed almost as help- 
less as a babe. 

In 1873 he was relieved of his great suf- 
ferings by death, being fifty-two years old. 
-Mr. and Mrs. Muq)hy were blessed with 
two sons, John W'., and Michael \\'., of 
this review. I'.y the accident which befell 
.Mr. .Mur|)liy. his young wife was compelled 
to earn the entire living for her helpless 
family. She was a woman of much strength 
of character, possessing great activity, and 
t(xik up her burdens with Christian forti- 
tude, burning the candle at both ends for 
months at a time. She was of a very aspir- 
ing disposition, and determined that her two 
sons should have a substantial education. 
Through tlie kindness of her friends she 
was enabled to obtain work, and also care 
for lier crip])leil husband. Her pathway 
was not always an easy one, as she had 
many har(lshii)s to endure ; but she kept up 
a brave heart, and struggled on and on until 
she had accomplished the education of her 
children, and then set about with renewed 
curag-e to assist her eldest son, John, to 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



597 



attend college in preparing to be a priest. 
Words are all too feeble to express half the 
true worth of this good mother. She did 
not know what the word fail meant in any 
of her arduous undertakings. 

The last few years of her life, however, 
were spent in a more comfortable way, as 
her sons did all in their power to recipro- 
cate for all the hardships she had undergone 
for them. She lived to see one of them be- 
come a city officer, and the other one a 
priest of much ability. For several years 
previous to her death she was a great suf- 
ferer with rheumatism, and in November, 
1904, was brought from the home of her 
son, Father Murphy, to St. Francis Hos- 
pital, in' her old home town, where she had 
resided for so long. Her death occurred 
Nov. 24, 1904, and Father ^Murphy paid 
the last tribute of respect to her by celebrat- 
ing the mass at her funeral. Her sons laid 
her to rest in Sacred Heart cemetery, beside 
her departed husband. Besides the two 
sons, she left several nieces and nephews to 
mourn her death. She was the last of her 
mother's three daughters to pass away. By 
the lives of such true, good, and devoted 
women as Mrs. Murphy represented, cer- 
tainly earth is made better and brighter ; 
and though years may come and go, nothing 
can blot out the lovely character of Mary 
Murphy. 

Our subject received his first schooling 
in the North Hill school, and was later a 
pupil at the Sisters' school of St. Paul's 
church. He also attended j\lr. Grafl:"s pri- 
vate school for several terms. When quite 
a lad he apprenticed himself for two years 
in the machine department of the Novelty 
Iron Works, owned by the late James Whit- 
aker. In 1874 he went to work for the Chi- 
cago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and 



learned the trade of a molder, where later 
he served as foreman for one year. He still 
works in the molder's department in West 
Burlington, and is a man of ability, and one 
who has met with much success in life. 

Politically, Mr. Murphy has always been 
a strong Democrat, and in 1890 he was 
elected by this party as alderman for the 
third ward, which office he filled for four 
years, to the satisfaction of all. Fraternally, 
he is a member of Excelsior Lodge, Ancient 
Order of United Workmen, and also of the 
Iron Molders' Union, in which he has held- 
all the offices from that of president down, 
and was an honored delegate to the inter- 
national convention at Detroit, Mich., in 
1890. He is also a member of the Knights 
of Columbus, and of the Eagles. 

Oct. 12, 1904, Mr. Murphy was married 
to Miss Mary Caroline Siegel, a daughter 
of C. C. and Mary (Zaiser) Siegel, both 
natives of Germany, who came to America 
about twenty-six years ago, and settled in 
Burlington, where for some years Mr. Siegel 
worked for the firm of Funck & Hertzler, 
in the blacksmith department. He is now 
engaged in the car department in the shops 
located in West Burlington. Mr. and Mrs. 
Siegel are both a little over fifty years old, 
and reside in their pleasant home at 119 
South Sixth Street, being held in the high- 
est regard by all who are associated with 
them in the walks of life. They are the 
parents of nine children, seven of whom are 
living. 

Mrs. Murphy was born in Gennany, 
March 27, 1874, and received her education 
in the grammar schools of Burlington. She 
and her husband arc members and regular 
attendants of St. Patrick's Catholic church. 
They have one son, William J., born July 
12, 1905. Through his great activity, un- 



308 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tiring energy, ami progressive spirit, Mr. 
.Mnq)liy has accumulated considerable prop- 
erly, among which is his cosy home at 936 
Washington .Street. He is doser\'ing of 
mucii credit, not only for his individual suc- 
cess in life, hut also for the manly manner 
in which he assisted his mother during the 
illness of his father and his mother's widow- 
hood. Such a career is well worthy the 
enuilation of many a yoinig man with lite 
he fore him. 

John \\ . .Mur])hy. brother of .Michael 
Murphy, was born in Carlisle, Cumberland 
county. England. June 20. 1855. and was 
fifteen months old when his parents brought 
him to America. When a very young lad 
Ik- attended the Sisters' school in fkirling- 
ton. and later was a student in North Hill 
school when Mr. Dehass was the principal. 
He also attended the private school of Mr. 
draff for .several terms. Laying his studies 
aside he was anxious to learn a trade, and 
selected that of a carriage-maker, spending 
four years with .Mr. (ilazby acquiring this 
knowledge. 

.\t the end of this time he hail a great 
desire to enter college and |)rei)are himself 
for tile priesthood. (Jwing to straightened 
circumstances at home he was compelled to 
help himself. Through his devoted moth- 
er's efforts he made a start, and in 1875 at- 
tended Calvary College, in W isconsin. wliieh 
was a preparatory school for the higher col- 
leges. The next year he took a course in 
St. Francis College, in Wisconsin. His va- 
cations were spent in working to aid him 
in finishing his education. In 1878 he 
entered St. X'incent's College, at Cape Cir- 
ardeau. Mo., and remained there six years. 

Possessing nuich of his mother's pluck 
and great ambition, and desirous of push- 
ing his way to the front, he was fortunate 



to secure employment as conductor on the 
street-cars in Chicago during the years of 
1880 and 1881, Becoming able to finish 
his course, he went back to college at Cape 
Clirardeau. and grailuated with high honors 
June 17. 1SS4. July \2. 18S4. he was or- 
dained in Chicago, by .\rchbishop Feehan, 
in the cathedral of The Holy Name. 

Returning to lUirlington. l'"ather .Murphy 
celebrated his first holy mass in St. Patrick's 
church, July 21. 1884. when hundreds of old 
friends and associates gathered in respect 
and esteem for I-'ather Mur|)hy, who by his 
own deleniiiiied efforts had achieved the 
goal, and reflected great credit not only upon 
himself, but also on those mi>st near and 
dear. His first charge was at Churchville, 
Warren count \. Iowa, where he remained 
four years. In 1888 he went to Perry, 
Dallas county. Iowa, and had a charge there 
till i8<;5. when he made another move, lo- 
cating in Modale, Harrison county, Iowa, 
whence he attended three missions. — Mon- 
damin. Little Sioux, and .Magnolia. I'rom 
the time that I'atlur Murphy entered the 
priestluKxl until the fall of I(K)4. his honie 
was made bright ami cheery by his mother, 
who presided over it. 

I-ather Murphy has traveled a great deal 
during vacations, in search of health, and 
has the rare and hapjiy faculty of imparting 
knowledge thus gained to those alxuit him. 
He is broad and liberal in his views, pos- 
sessing a wonderful memory and a large 
warm heart. The favorable judgment which 
the world passed upon him at the outset of 
his professional career has been in no degree 
set aside or modified : but on the contrary, 
has been emphasized as the years have gone 
by, owing to his capability in the line of his 
chosen calling. Rich and poor, high and 
low, love and respect him. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



599 



JOHN THOMAS LEE. 

John Thomas Lee, a representative 
of the farming- interests of Yellow 
Springs township, was born in IJartholo- 
mew county, Indiana, Now 8, 1835, and 
was brought to Iowa by his parents, in 
the spring of 1836. Robert W. and Mar- 
tha (Braniham) Lee, who, working their 
way westward proceeded ilown the Ohi(.) 
and up the Alississippi River, arriving at 
Burlington, which at that time contained 
only a few log houses. An old black- 
smith shop afforded shelter for the family 
until the father could build a more sub- 
stantial and modern home upon their 
farm. The land had been entered by a 
Air. Phelps, who sold the property to Mr. 
Lee, the latter paying for it as his crops 
brought to him sufficient financial return. 
All of the improvements have been made 
thereon by the Lee family, who, in early 
daj's endured many of the hardships and 
trials incident to frontier life, but they 
overcame these by persistent and earnest 
effort. There were one hundred and 
sixty acres in the original ])urchase but 
the father extended the boundaries of 
his property from time to time until he 
had a good farm of two hundred acres, 
which he later divided among his chil- 
dren. He also left with them an untar- 
nished name, for he worked persistentlv 
and honc^rably and was respected bv all 
for his genuine worth. He died in 1874. 
and his wife, who departed this life in 
1885, was laid by his side in Hazel Grove 
cemetery. The following were the mem- 
bers of that family: Louvinia Ann be- 
came the wife of Alexander \\'atson. and 
diefl in i<;04: Lucinda Jane, and Eliza, 
both al.'io deceased : [ohn Thomas : \\"\\\- 



iam H., both still living ; James Harvey, 
deceased; Martha, the wife of W. H. 
Thompson, lives in Mediapolis: Talitha, 
became the wife of O. S. Green, and died 
Feb. 20, 1889. 

John Thomas Lee was but six months 
old when brought by his parents to Des 
Moines county and here upon the old 
homestead farm he was reared, assisting 
in the arduous task of developing new 
land. He has seen great changes made in 
the methods of farming as the old primi- 
tive farm machiner}- has been replaced by 
the modern implements of the present 
day. He is now living on a part of the 
old homestead, having purchased the in- 
terest of the other heirs in the home prop- 
erty, after selling his two other farms. 
On the 2ist of July, 1894, he purchased 
his present home, and now has one liun- 
clred and forty-five acres of land, of which 
twenty-five acres are situated across the 
border in Louisa county. The remainder 
is on Section i. Yellow Springs township, 
and here he follows general agricultural 
pursuits, cultivating his fields and also 
keeping about forty head of cattle and 
forty head of hogs each year. 

On the 24th of August. 1864, Mr. Lee 
was married to Eliza J. Simpson, a 
daughter of Jesse George and Sarah 
(Hill) Simpson. Their home has been 
blessed with nine children : William 
Sherman, who is now living in Louisa 
county; Ida E., the wife of George Lane; 
George \Y.. who resides near Mount 
Pleasant; Charles E., also living in that 
city; Martha T.. the wife of George 
Drinkall, li\ing south of Yarmouth: 
John P. Lee, living near Yarmouth ; 
Louis A., a resident of Louisa countv ; 
.Mary .\senath. who died at the age of 



6oo 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



eleven and one-half years; and Henry 
Harrison at home. 

Mr. Lee has served as assessor of his 
township for si.x years but is not holdinp 
office now, nor does he have any ambition 
to do so, as he prefers to give his undi- 
vided attention to his farming interests. 
He affiliates with the Methodist Epis- 
co])al church, and is well known in the 
county in which he has lived from pioneer 
days down to the jiresent. He has wit- 
nessed the wonderful transformation that 
has occurred here, and along agricultural 
lines has contributed to the substantial 
development and upbuilding of his section 
of the State. 



CARL ALBERT ANDERSON. 

Though but recently an acquisition 
to the business life of Mediapolis, Des 
Moines county. Carl .\lbcrt Anderson has 
demonstrated his ability to lead in com- 
mercial life, and his activity and skilled 
workmanship is known to all. He is the 
son of Andres Peter Cbind and Carolina 
Matilda (Nelson) Antlenson, and was 
born Sept. 2, 1873, in Smolen, Vesteveek, 
Sweden. He received a substantial edu- 
cation in the public schools of his native 
city. At an early age he developed an 
aptitude toward the harness trade, and 
accordingly entered upon a five-years' 
contract with a reliable firm in his home 
place. During this period he became an 
expert in every part of the trade, and re- 
ceived a good recommendation from his 
employers as a first-class workman. 

In 1892 he started for the New World, 
and landed in Xew York, coming at once 
to Burlington, Iowa, where he immedi- 



ately obtained employment with Richard 
Hassel, a harness dealer, with whom he 
remained for eight years. At the end of 
this time he was well acquainted with the 
people, and also with the business meth- 
ods of his trade; in fact, had acquired a 
general conception of business equalled 
by few in so short a time. By his energy 
and great economy he was, at the end of 
these years enabled to start in business 
for himself, choosing the city of Medi- 
apolis as his location. He is on the main 
street of the town, and his store contains 
all grades of fine harness and saddlery, 
and is said to be one of the largest stores 
of the kind in the comity, his stock be- 
ing valued at several thousand dollars. 

Oct. 9, 1 901, Mr. Anderson was wedded 
to Miss .\ugusta Charlotte Swanson, the 
accomplished daughter of Mr. Swanson, 
of Burlington, who is now dead. This 
union has been graced with one bright 
little boy, Russell ^\'ilIiam by name, who 
was born in Mediapolis, Iowa, Nov. 11, 
1902. 

Politically. Mr. Anderson is an ardent 
Republican, casting his first presidential 
\TDte with much pride forWilliam McKin- 
ley. Since coming to Yellow Springs 
township he has taken considerable inter- 
est in politics, and has held the office of 
councilman for one term, being elected 
in 1902. 

lie is a man of broad intelligence and 
genuine public spirit. Strong in his in- 
diviflujiliiy. he never lacks the courage 
of his convictions, and the sterling integ- 
rity and honor of his character have 
gained for him the confidence and respect 
of all men. His success along business 
lines is due to his close application to his 
trade in his vounger davs. and his lieter- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



60 1 



mination to do well whatever he had to 
do, firmly believing that what was worth 
doing at all was worth doing well. 



WILLIAM O. EWINGER. 

Although William O. Ewinger entered 
upon his business career in connection with 
an industrial enterprise already established, 
in successfully controlling and enlarging 
this he has displayed the sound judgment 
and executive force without which such a 
concern could not be continued upon a pay- 
ing basis. Thoroughly trained by practical 
experience, his unremitting energ}- is also a 
recognized factor in his business career, 
making him one of the leading representa- 
tives of trade interests in Burlington. 

A son of Henry Ewinger, whose sketch 
is given elsewhere, he was born in Burling- 
ton, Nov. 20, 1864, attended the public 
schools, and to some extent was a student in 
a German school. At an early age he en- 
tered his father's plumbing establishment on 
Third Street, and later served a two-years' 
apprenticeship with the John Davis Steam 
Heating Company, of Chicago, serving from 
1883 until 1885. Then returning to Bur- 
lington he again entered his father's shop, 
and when the business was incorporated, 
on the 1st of January, 1896, he and his 
brother John became partners, with their 
father, Henry Ewinger, as president. Fol- 
lowing the death of the father, later in the 
same year, William O. Ewinger became 
president, while John Ewinger became secre- 
tary and treasurer. In 1889 the latter with- 
drew, and established an independent busi- 
ness, while ^^'illiam O. Ewinger remained 
at the old location, 213 North Third Street. 



George Klindt was then admitted to an in- 
terest, and became secretary and treasurer. 
The business is still conducted as an in- 
corporated concern, with an investment of 
seven thousand dollars in stock, while 
employment is furnished on an average 
to twelve expert plumbers and gas-fitters. 
They do a general plumbing and steam- 
and gas-fitting business, and have a liberal 
patronage. Mr. Ewinger draws the plans 
and superintends the work, and under his 
capable control the business has become large 
and profitable. 

In May, 1888, in Peru, III, William O. 
Ewinger was married to Miss Matilda 
Strohm, a daughter of Peter Strohm, who 
was born in Germany, and is now a re- 
tired shoe merchant of Peru. His children 
were : Theodore ; Elizabeth ; Amelia Ma- 
tilda ; Kate, deceased ; Lena, the wife of 
George Klindt, who is associated with Mr. 
Ewinger in the plumbing business in Bur- 
lington ; Fred ; William ; Eddie ; and 
Matthew. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ewinger have 
been born four children, and all are yet liv- 
ing: Ralph Otto, Henry William, Matilda 
Elizabeth, and William Frederick. 

Mr. Ewinger and Mr. Chas. Lee bought 
out the Penrose Carriage Company, and 
are handling that business in good shape. 
Mr. Ewinger is president, and Mr. Lee is 
secretary and treasurer. 

Mr. Ewinger is a member of the First 
Methodist Episcopal church, and holds 
membership with the Crystal Lake Club, 
of which he is a director, but is identified 
with no secret organization, except that of 
the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He 
is fond of hunting, and makes it one of 
his chief sources of rest and recreation. 
He is a member of the Lone Tree Club. 
Social and genial in manner, he wins warm 



6o2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



friendships and the good-will of all, while 
his course in the business world commends 
him to the confidence and trust of those with 
whom he is associated. A native son of 
Burlington, he has risen to an enviable 
position in her social and business circles. 



ROBERT C. JORDAN. 

Ror.KRT C. JiiKDAN is prominently iden- 
tified with the grain trade of Iowa, as man- 
ager at liurlington for the well-known firm 
of Harris-Scotten Company, of Chicago. 
He was l)orn in Wyoming, 111., Jan. 29, 
1863, his parents being John and Frances 
E. (McCraw) Jordan. His paternal grand- 
parents were Charles and Elizabeth (Lyons) 
lordan. natives of Pennsylvania, who in 
181 2 removed to Ohio. They lived in Mus- 
kingum and \'iiiton counties, of that State, 
and afterward went to Iowa. Charles Jor- 
dan was a school-teacher, and followed that 
profession until his removal to Illinois, about 
1854. He took up his abode in Valley town- 
ship. Stark county. I''or fifteen years next 
preceding his death lie lived with his son 
John, his death occuring June 17, 1883. 

John Jordan was born near Zanesville. in 
Muskingum county, Ohio, Feb. 20, 1832, 
and acquired his early education in his native 
State. He came to Illinois in 1853, being at 
that time twenty-one years of age, and he 
secured one hundred and sixty acres of land, 
■wliich he entered from the government. To 
this he added until he became the owner of 
three hundred and sixty acres. Not long 
after taking up his abode in Illinois he re- 
turned to Ohio, where he was married to 
Miss Frances E. McCraw, a daughter of 
Alexander McCraw, who was a soldier in 



the Mexican War, while three of his sons 
served as defendants of the Union cause in 
the Civil War. Alexander McCraw de- 
parted this life when about eighty years of 
age. For many years John Jordan followed 
agricultural pursuits. He took up his abode 
in X'alley township. Stark county, Illinois, 
and was engaged in the tilling of the soil 
until 1876, when he removed to Wyoming, 
also in Stark county, and four years later he 
joined Sylvester F. Otman in the conduct 
of a lumber business. .\t the time of the 
Civil War, however, he put aside all busi- 
ness and personal considerations, and with 
jiatriotic spirit joined Company B, Seventh 
llliiinis Infantry, with which crnnmand he 
rendered signal service to his country. For 
a number of years he was a valued member 
of De Wolf Tost, (j. .A. R., at Wyoming, 
and delighted in meeting his old army com- 
rades and in recalling the scenes and inci- 
dents of life on the tented fields of the South. 
He was also a member of the Blue Lodge 
and Chapter in Masonry, and of the Order 
of the Eastern Star. He held various local 
offices, serving as supervisor of Essex town- 
shi]) for fiiur years, and also served as a 
member 011 the cnuiity Ijoard. while for two 
years he was a memlx>r of the city council 
of Wyoming, and served as mayor of Wy- 
oming for two terms. 

L^nto Mr. and Mrs. Jcirdan were born two 
sons and fmir daughters, namely: Julia E., 
the wife of W^ T. Ditman, of N'alley town- 
ship : Martha, who married S. M. StanclifT, 
of Iowa, now deceased ; Robert C, of Bur- 
lington ; Sarah, who died aged about ten 
years ; Laura E., of Stark county. 111. : and a 
son who din! in infancy. The death of Mr. 
Jordan occurred Feb. 25, 1901, at the age of 
sixty-nine years. He had early developed 
sterling qualities of industry and honesty 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



60; 



that were his guide throughout his entire 
Hfe. He was known as a man of unfaltering 
integrity, a kind friend, a good neighbor, 
and a loving husband and father, and when 
he departed this life he was laid to rest by 
his fellow-comrades of the Grand Army of 
the Republic with all of tlie honors of war. 
He is still survived by his wife, who is now 
living in Wyoming, 111. 

Robert C. Jordan was a high-school stu- 
dent in Wyoming, 111., and for t-wo years at- 
tended Knox College, at Galesburg. He 
also pursued a year's course in Davenport, 
Iowa, at the Lillibridge & Duncan Business 
College, a branch of the old Bryant & Strat- 
ton College. His early boyhood days were 
spent upon his father's farm in Stark county, 
and with the family he went to Wyoming 
when a youth of thirteen years. There he to 
some extent assisted his father in his lumber 
and grain business, and in 18S7 took charge 
of an elevator there, being in the employ of 
E. S. Eastman & Company, of Peoria. He 
continued with that firm until 1895, when he 
came to Iowa, and began buying grain for 
V. W. Bullock & Company, whom he repre- 
sented until 1898, with headquarters at Bur- 
lington. In that year he joined the army as 
a member of Company A, First Illinois Vol- 
unteers, — a Chicago regiment, — and with 
the command he went to Tampa, Fla, and to 
Santiago, Cuba. In the siege that followed, 
his regiment held a position in the trenches 
next to the Rough Riders. Mr. Jordan was 
in the trenches for eight days, or until the 
surrender of the city, after which his 
company took charge of the Spanish 
prisoners. The First Illinois was the 
last regiment of the Fifth Army Corps 
to leave camp, embarking for the United 
States on the 25th of August, 1898. 
They then returned to Montauk Point, Long 



Island, to recuperate, for almost the entire 
regiment was ill with fever. When Mr. Jor- 
dan joined the army he weighed one hun- 
dred and ninety-three pounds, and when he 
left Santiago he weighed but one hundred 
and twenty-seven pounds, such were the 
hardships and rigors of his military expe- 
rience. 

He was discharged at Chicago in Novem- 
ber, and then returned to Burlington, where 
he again became connected with the grain 
trade as the representative in this city for 
J. F. Harris & Company. He has since re- 
mained with the firm, which is now con- 
ducting business under the name of Harris- 
Scotten Company. He has charge of the 
elevator here, and his territory also extends 
over southeastern Iowa, northeastern Mis- 
souri, and western Illinois, grain being pur- 
chased throughout that entire district. At 
the elevator he employs from twenty-five to 
seventy men throvighout the year. He is 
thoroughly familiar with the grain trade, 
having been connected with this line of 
business from his boyhood days, and his 
position is an important one in connection 
with one of the most prominent firms oper- 
ating on the board of trade in Chicago. 

On Oct. 4, 1899, Mr. Jordan was married 
to Miss HalHe Kline, a native of this city, 
and a daughter of Mrs. Mary A. Kline. 
The}' now have one son, John. 

Like his father, Mr. Jordan has always 
supported the Republican party, and has 
been active in Republican clubs and in con- 
ventions in Illinois. In 1892 he was a dele- 
gate to the national convention of Repub- 
lican clubs held at Buffalo, N. Y., and was 
elected to the State convention of the Illinois 
League Clubs at Springfield. From the age 
of eighteen years he has been active in polit- 
ical work, but is without aspiration for office 



6o4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



for liimsill. He iK-lungs to the Society of 
the Army of Santiago, to the Travelers' Pro- 
tective Association, and to the Modern 
Woodmen. Camp Xo. 234. at Wyoming, 
111. I le is also an F.Ik, and has attained high 
rank in Masonry, belonging to Malta Lodge, 
No. 31S. .\ncicnl I'ree and Accepted 
Ma.sons: Iowa Chapter. No. i, Royal Arcli 
Masons: and St. Omer Commandery, No. 
15. Knights Templar. He is a typical man, 
representing the spirit <if ihu times, his life 
being in harmony with the progressive ele- 
ment of the Middle West. Alert and enter- 
prising, he stands to-day prominent in busi- 
ness circles in Iowa, and a leading repre- 
sentative of one of the large corporations 
of Chicago connected ^\■ith the grain trade. 



ROBERT B. JUNK. 

For a long term of years Robert B. 
Junk has been identified with one of the 
prominent husiiiess interests of T.urling- 
ton, and during the entire period has en- 
joyed an enviable reputation for frank 
and fair methods. Mr. Junk was born in 
Fayette county. Pennsyl\;niia, Oct. 24. 
1839. the son of Thomas and Mary (Al- 
len) Junk, of Scotch-Irish antecedents, 
the Junk family having removed from 
Scotland to Ireland, where the grand- 
father, Robert Junk, a farmer, was born 
about 1760, from whence he came to 
America about the time of the Revolu- 
tion, settling in Pennsylvania. In that 
State he died at the age of eighty-six 
years. He married Elizabeth Larimer, a 
member of an Irish, or Gaelic, family 
that settled in the Ligonier valley, and 
they had five daughters and one son, the 



latter being Thomas, father of our sub- 
ject, who died I-'eb. 13. 1850, at the age of 
forty-two years. The maternal ancestors 
of Mr. Junk, the Aliens, were also Scotch, 
and on coming to .\nierica settled in Fay- 
ette county, Pennsylvania. 

The subsequent success of Mr. Junk is 
probably due in no small measure to his 
early training in self-reliance and inde- 
pendent action: for after completing his 
education in the connnon schools he 
started out at the age of oidy twelve 
years to make his own way in the world 
without assistance, first taking emjiloy- 
ment on a farm. This he continued until 
his seventeenth year, when he went to 
town and secured a place in a tinshop and 
store, where he was employed for three 
years, during which time he acipiired the 
tinsmith's trade. He was then in Pitts- 
burg, Pa., for six months, at the end of 
which time he decided to make his home 
in the West, and came to Iowa, locating 
in \'an P>urcn county. There he remained 
for OIK- and a half years, or until the be- 
ginning of the Civil W^ar, when he felt 
that loyalty to the national cause required 
that he should sink his private interest in 
the public necessity and devote his 
|)owers to the service of his country. 
With this object in view he went to St. 
Louis, where on March (). 1862, he en- 
listed in the Mississippi Flotilla, in which 
he served through the greater part of the 
war as a marine on the "Haltic," taking 
l)arl in all the princii)al land and water 
operations from Cairo to Uaton Rouge, 
including the celebrated siege of Vicks- 
burg, in which he participated from 
March 26 until the surrender on July 4. 
\\'hile taking part in the ojierations on the 
Tennessee River lie sustained a severe 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



605 



wound in the left leg, in consequence of 
which he was sent to the hospital at 
Keokuk, Iowa, where he remained for 
nearly a year. He was discharged on 
March 9, 1865, after experiencing a very 
large share of all the hardships and du- 
ties of war, but continued his actual con- 
nection with the military organization for 
a further period of nine months, during 
which he served as issuing commissary at 
Exchange Barracks, near Fort Negley, 
Nashville, Tenn. 

At the close of this extra service he 
returned to the North, locating at Iveo- 
kuk, where he entered the employ of Mr. 
T. N. Pond on April 19, 1866. With Mr. 
Pond and with his successors, Pond & 
Company, he has ever since continued, 
spending the first six years in Keokuk, 
with the exception of the year 1867, dur- 
ing which he was in Van Buren county, 
and coming to Burlington on Feb. 12, 
1872. Since the latter date he has had 
charge of the business as general man- 
ager, with ofifices at this point. The firm 
of Pond & Company are extensive deal- 
ers in butter, eggs, and poultry, and the 
immense volume of business which they 
now control and the large success which 
they have enjoyed throughout the past 
four decades are traceable in great meas- 
ure to the energy, ability, and faithful 
care of Mr. Junk. 

Mr. Junk was united in marriage at 
Keosaucjua, Iowa, on May 31, 1866, to 
Miss Phoebe A. Nixon, daughter of Isaac 
and Sarah Nixon, farmers and early set- 
tlers of Van Buren county. She died a 
year later, survived by one child, a son, 
George Junk, now a resident of Denver, 
Colo. July 18, 1872, Mr. Junk married 



his second wife. Miss Sarah E. Bennett, of 
Keokuk, daughter of James and Sarah 
Bennett, natives of Kentucky. To them 
was born one child, Katherine J., wife of 
Henry M. Salmon, of this city, who has 
bees engaged in the drug business in 
Fort Madison and Burlington for many 
years. Mrs. Junk is now deceased, her 
death having occurred March 21, 1903. 
Mr. Junk is a member and worker in the 
Baptist church and Sunday-school, where 
he has been superintendent and also a 
teacher for about thirty years, both in 
Keokuk and Burlington ; and if ever a 
man were entitled to a medal for merito- 
rious service, certainly he earned the one 
which was bestowed upon him when he 
left Keokuk. He is a contributor to the 
support of his church and lends his aid to 
the various branches of its charities and 
philanthropies. As one interested in the 
public welfare, he has taken a part in the 
work of politics and government as a 
member of the Republican party, to 
whose principles he has ever been loyal. 
In his fraternal relations he is connected 
with the Masonic order as a member of 
Des Moines Lodge, No. i, in which he is 
past master, and he sustains similar re- 
lations with the Iowa Legion of Honor. 
By reason of his great executive ability — 
knowledge of human nature and self-con- 
fidence born of wide experience — Mr. 
Junk has been able to attain to a high 
rank in the business world, and at the 
same time has won universal esteem and 
respect by reason of the sterling virtues 
which have marked his career, namely, his 
high self-respect, uprightness, and unfal- 
tering integrity, always mingled with a 
genuine regard for the rights of others. 



6o6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEir 



RALPH P. CADY. 

Rv\LPH P. Cady, who is rapidly attaining 
a leading position in the insurance circles 
of Dcs Moines county. Iowa, was born in 
Danville township. Sept. 23, 1861, a son of 
Ebenezer and Martha (Clingman) Cady. 
The family was among the very early set- 
tlers of Iowa, the first representative in 
the West being Edwin Cady, born April 
18. 1799, in Brooklyn. W'vndham County, 
Conn., and married at that place on April 
9, 1827, to Miss Lydia Cole, who was born 
Nov. 29, 1798. They came to Des Moines 
county, Oct. 12, 1837, and here passed the 
remainder of their lives, being the parents 
of five children, as follows : Charles, who 
enlisted Dec. 21, 1861, in Company E, 
Fifteenth Iowa Infantry, served through 
the Civil War as a sergeant, was mustered 
out at Louisville, Ky., July 24, 1865, and 
died April 26, 1869 ; George, now of Keota, 
Iowa ; Ebenezer, now of Danville, Iowa, 
and father of our subject, born Dec. 26, 
1831, at Brooklyn, Conn.; and Edwin C, a 
Baptist minister of Monmouth, 111. .Martha 
(Clingman) Cady, who was born in Scioto 
county, Ohio, is the daughter of Cyrus 
Clingman. born June 20, 1800. and died 
Sept., 1899, aged ninety-nine years and four 
months, his demise occurring in Iowa, 
whither he brought his family in 1850. He 
was twice married, his first wife being a 
Miss Richards, who died in Ohio, and his 
second wife Miss Emma West, whose death 
occurred about 1897. He was the father 
of a large family, of which the members 
now living are : Ransom, of Danville, Iowa ; 
Mrs. Ebenezer Cad.y, also of Danville: 
Elizabeth, wife of John Neil, of Winfield, 
Iowa ; Aaron, of Cawker City, Kans. ; John, 
of Shenandoah, Iowa ; Priscilla, wife of 



John Parrott, of Xew London, Iowa : Belle, 
wife of H. C. Seymour, of Danville, Iowa; 
and Sarah, wife of Edward Fleagle, of 
Winfield, Iowa. 

The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Ebenezer 
Cady took place Feb. 3, 1853, and they 
have since enjoyed a long and prosperous 
career in the county, among whose pioneers 
they are numberetl, and the work of whose 
development they have helped largely to 
perform. In February, 1903, they cele- 
brated their golden wedding, the fiftieth 
anniversary of their marriage, and for the 
entertainment of the numerous friends and 
relatives gathered at their home in Dan- 
ville recalled many memories of pioneer 
days that spoke volumes for the marvelous 
progress which has marked the Middle 
West during the last half century. To 
them have been born six children : Frank, 
of ^\'infield, Iowa ; William, of Cawker 
City, Kans. ; Ralph P. ; Lester E., of 
Schreve, Ohio ; Fred, of Danville township ; 
and Myrtle, wife of Woods Irwin, also of 
Danville township, Des Moines county. 

Ralph r. Cady was from his early years 
hai)ituateil to the work of agriculture, being 
reared on his father's farm one and a fourth 
miles west of Danville Center, now included 
within the limits of Danville, and his edu- 
cation was obtained in the public school, 
he attending the Cedarville district school, 
located on Cedar Creek. .\t the age of 
twenty-four, deciding to take up other 
work than that of the farm, and leaving the 
parental home for that purpose, he began 
his individual career. In November of 1884 
his marriage took place, and in March of 
the following year he located at Danville, 
where three years later he purchased a 
home, and for fourteen years he was en- 
gaged in the work of a cream route, during 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



607 



that time gathering cream from the sur- 
rounding territory in the forenoons, and 
devoting the afternoons to other work. In 
1890 he bought an interest in the Wilcox 
grocery and general store at Danville, in 
which he continued for a period of twenty- 
two months, but at the end of that time 
the partnership was dissolved by the retire- 
ment of j\Ir. Cady, in 1892. 

Still making Danville his place of resi- 
dence, he was engaged in insurance work 
very successfully from 1894 until 1903, act- 
ing as local agent for the " Continental " 
Fire Insurance Company and having charge 
of all the rural territory in Des Moines, 
Lee, and Henry counties. On July 27, 1903, 
he removed to Burlington, establishing his 
office, in the work of which he is assisted 
by his son, at the family home, and since 
making this his place of residence he has 
added city risks to his other business, now 
carrv'ing a large number of policies in Bur- 
lington. The home, a large modern struc- 
ture erected in 1897, is located at 826 North 
Eighth Street, and presents a handsome 
exterior. It is fitted with all late conveni- 
ences, including steam heat and gas. Be- 
sides this residence property, Mr. Cady 
owns a farm of eighty acres in Danville 
township, which he rents. 

Nov. 12, 1884, Mr. Cady was united in 
marriage at Danville to Miss Anna M. 
New, born in Danville township. May 24, 
1862, a daughter of D. M. New, who was 
born in Indiana and is now living retired 
in Danville township, where he owns a 
valuable farm. Mr. New was married 
in Danville township to Miss Melissa J. 
Duke, and to them have been born three 
daughters and two sons, these being Mary, 
wife of A. J. Lewis, of Danville ; Anna M. ; 
Mrs. Cady ; Wesley D., of Tacoma, Wash. ; 



Eila, wife of M. C. Parrott, of New Lon- 
don, Iowa ; and Stephen W., deceased. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Cad}' has been, born one 
child, a son, Edwin Cyrus, born Jan. 9, 
1886. He received his preliminary educa- 
tion in the schools of Danville, from which 
he was graduated before removing from 
that place, and is also a graduate of Elliott's 
Business College, of Burlington, having 
been a member of the class of 1904. He is 
a> young man of marked ability, and will act 
as his father's assistant and associate in 
the insurance business, upon the duties of 
which he has already entered. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cady are widely connected among 
the better-known families of Des Moines 
county, there being in Danville alone four- 
teen families who claim kinship with them. 

Mr.- Cady is a member and worker in 
the First Methodist Episcopal church of 
Burlington, and at Danville was active in 
religious work as recording steward and 
member of the church's official board, giv- 
ing much time and earnest effort in the 
endeavor to widen the circle of beneficent 
influence wielded by that organization. He 
also has fraternal connections, having be- 
come a member, in 1895, of Danville Lodge, 
No. 48, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, 
in which he later held the office of secre- 
tary : and also sustaining membership re- 
lations with Fair Camp, No. 4223, Modern 
Woodmen of America, of Danville, in which 
camp he held for two years the office of 
Worthy Advisor. In his political affilia- 
tion he is identified with the Republican 
party, but has never been active in affairs 
of practical politics to the extent of seeking 
public honors for himself, being content 
to wield his influence in the cause of effi- 
cient government. 

That Mr. Cady possesses business and 



6o8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



executive talent in a remarkable degree is 
evident from a study of the facts of his 
career; for when he took the agency of 
the " Continental " Insurance Company at 
Danville, that company had not a single 
policy in the townshij), while at the present 
time, as a result of his constant and able 
eflforts, it controls the bulk of the business, 
not only there, but throughout an extensive 
territory, of which he has sole charge. He 
devotes liis entire time to the work, prin- 
cipally in driving over the farming districts, 
and the pro])ortions of his accomplishments 
u]) to the i)resent moment arc being rapidly 
enlarged. That the business structure 
which he is building will prove permanent, 
there is no room to doubt, for the company 
which he represents is known as the equal 
of any, while his personal characteristics 
of honor, uprightness, and strict fairness in 
all his dealings have secured for him uni- 
versal and unshakable confidence. \Vhile 
he has laboreil faithfully and well in his 
chosen field, his aids have been his gfreat 
adaptability, the frank and ()i)cn manner 
that bespeaks character, and his genial and 
social disposition, so that it may almost be 
said that success has been his by natural 
right. He enjoys a large and valuable ac- 
quaintance in southeastern Iowa, and has 
manv warm friends. 



HON. FRANK HATTON. 

Oni; of the most famous and ])opular 
of Des Moines coimtx's newspaper men 
was JMank llatton. who later in life 
was postmaster-general under President 
Arthur. He came of a \'irginia family, his 
grandfather, iiolen Hatton, who served in 



the \\ ar of i8i2, being a native of that 
State. His father, Richard Hatton, was 
born in Fairfax county, Virginia, in 1805, 
and later moved to southeastern Ohio. 

Frank Hatton was born in Cambridge, 
Ohio, April 28, 1846. Later the family re- 
moved to Cadiz, Ohio, where Richard 
Hatton published the Cadiz Republican. 
From his earliest days Frank was inti- 
mately connected with newspaper work, 
for which he had a marked aptitude and 
a great liking. Under his father's super- 
vision he learned the printer's art, and 
laid the practical foundation for his sub- 
sequent successful newspaper career. It 
was his facetious disclaimer that he was 
not a "journalist," but a "newspaper 
man," and the secret of his success rested 
in part upon that eminently practical dis- 
tinction. When only eleven years of age 
he became foreman of his father's office, 
a position from which, after a time, he 
turned to take up the duties of local ed- 
itor. It is more than presumable that he 
made the local columns spicy and up to 
date. He had a wonderful "nose for 
news," and was never happier than when 
achieving a "scoop." 

In 1861, when but fifteen years of age, 
he lan away from home and enlisted as 
a drummer boy in the Fifteenth Ohio 
Volunteer Infantry. Captain Bostwick 
telegraphed Frank's father to know 
whether he should send him home or 
swear him in. The reply, prompted by 
|)ure patriotism, was, "Swear him in." 
lie was promoted to a lieutenancy before 
he was twenty, and served until the 
close of the war. On returning home 
he induced his father to jiurchase the 
.Mount Pleasant (Iowa) Journal, and 
joined him in the publication of the 




^'^^byFGKi'- 




VWm\^\\' \ CkXjVc/W 



BRANTS FIJLLCR,PLIB5 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



6ii 



paper until his father's death, in 1869, 
when, with his brother-in-law, the Rev. 
G. VV. McAdam, he purchased the 
office. He was appointed postmaster at 
Mount Pleasant in 1873, and served a lit- 
tle more than one year, when he resigned, 
and in connection with C. Y. Wheeler, 
purchased the Burlington (Iowa) Haivk- 
Eye. Later he bought out Wheeler's in- 
terest, and liegan improving the paper 
greatly. He secured the services of "Bob 
Burdette" as city editor, and subsequently 
made him managing editor. Mr. Burdette 
continued in that position until 1877, 
when he began to lecture, still sending 
his humorous contributions, however. 

In 1879 Mr. Hatton was appointed post- 
master at Burlington by President Hayes, 
notwithstanding he had slnarply criticised 
the president's Southern policy and his 
civil-service reform sympathies. Mr. Hat- 
ton was an out-and-out party man, and 
believed the victorious party should con- 
trol the appointments, and then be held 
responsible to the country. His experi- 
ence as postmaster at Alount Pleasant en- 
abled him to at once drop into the work 
of the Burlington postofifice, and give the 
public good service. When Garfield came 
into the presidency he intended to appoint 
Mr. Hatton first assistant postmaster-gen- 
eral. President Arthur carried out the 
arrangement. Mr. Hatton was indorsed 
for the place by Grant, Conkling, Logan, 
and a large number of leading Repub- 
licans from various States, including the 
entire Iowa delegation in Congress, State 
officials, etc. He threw great vigor into 
the postoffice department, and made im- 
portant reforms. He favored increased 
mail facilities rather than reduced post- 
age. He persuaded Postmaster-General 



Gresham to institute the fast-mail service 
west of Chicago, and he inaugurated the 
special delivery, which has become a val- 
uable factor of the postal service. 

In October, 1884, Judge Gresham re- 
tired from the office of postmaster-gen- 
eral, and Mr. Hatton was promoted to the 
position. He continued to be postmaster- 
general until the close of President Ar- 
thur's administration, and was jjroud of 
the fact that he was the youngest cabinet 
officer in the history of the United States 
government. 

Mr. Hatton had much to do with the 
National Republican while in Washington, 
but at the close of President Arthur's 
administration removed to Chicago, and 
became part owner, and editor-in-chief of 
the Chicago Mail, which he made a viva- 
cious evening issue. Later he became 
editor-in-chief of the New York Press. 
In January, 1889, he formed a partner- 
ship with Hon. Beriah Wilkins, an ex- 
Democratic member of Congress from 
Ohio, and Ixjught the Washington Post, 
which was founded by Stilson Hutchins, 
in 1877. Mr. Wilkins took charge of the 
business department, and 'Sir. Hatton the 
editorial management, making it an inde- 
pendent journal, one of great influence, 
and a financial success. 

j\lr. Hatton was stricken with paralysis, 
while at work at his desk, and died April 
30, 1894. The Baltimore America)!, com- 
menting at the time upon his career, said: 

'"Mr. Hatton was an alert and able 
newspaper man. He could work very fast 
when necessarv. Twice while he was 
editor of the Post he got out, unaided, 
extra editions of his paper. Once was 
when the defalcation of Silcott, clerk to 
the sergeant-at-arms of the House of Rep- 



6l2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



rescntatives, was discovered. Silcott had 
run away with a lot of money belonging 
to members of Congress, and of course 
the town was in an uproar as soon as the 
rumor began to travel around. .Mr. Hat- 
ton was one of the first to hear of it, and 
he jumped into a cab and gave the driver 
a dollar extra to run his horse all the way 
to the office of the Post. On arriving 
there he found there wasn't a printer, 
editor, or reportir in sight. He tele- 
phoned for the ])ressnian, sent the busi- 
ness-office clerk out after newsboys, and 
threw ofT his coat, lie diil not stop to 
write out the copy, but set up in type just 
what he had heard about the sensation 
of the morning. As soon as he had fin- 
ished this part of his task, he ' made up ' 
the forms, stereotyped the page with the 
aid of the janitor, who had a little ex- 
perience as helper to the boss of the metal 
pot, and witliin an hour of the moment at 
which he had heard of Silcott's flight had 
the newsboys on the streets selling pa- 
pers. This was a remarkalile feat for 
one man to perform, but it only shows 
what an all-round printer can do when 
he sees an opportunity to beat all rivals." 

( )n many occasions these characteristic 
qualities of alertness, quick decision, and 
prompt action were disi)layed in his man- 
agement of the Burlington . Hawk-Eye. 
The paper soon acquired a foremost place 
among Iowa journals, and achieved a 
national rei)utation. When General Grant 
returned from his trip around the world 
he was induced by Mr. Hatton to spend 
three days in I'.urlington, and was greeted 
with a copy of the Ihm'k-Eyc printed on 
silk as a memento of the occasion. 

Mr. Hatton's characteristics included 
unswerving loyalty to personal and polit- 



ical friends, adherence to principles re- 
gardless of expediency or popular clamor, 
plain-spoken frankness, an untiring ambi- 
tion, and limitless faith in the success of 
whatever he undertook. His personal 
fjualitics gave him extended popularity 
and contributed to his successful career. 



J. WILLIAM LOWRY. 

J. \\'iixi.\M LowRV, local manager 
for the Standard Oil Company at Bur- 
lington, Iowa, was born at Warsaw, 111., 
Sept. 28, 1861, a son of W'iliiam and Em- 
ma (Shaw) Lowry. His grandfather, 
John Lowry. was a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, and came West with his family to 
.\dams county, Illinois, about the year 
1844, engaging in farming there, and also 
establishing himself in his trade of black- 
smithing, which he continued until the 
coming of distilleries to Warsaw, when 
he opened and operated a cooper shop. 

His son, father of our subject, was by 
trade a cooper and blacksmith ; but when 
only twenty-one years of age he enlisted 
from \'an Huron county. Iowa, on Feb. 
q. 1864, in Company C, Third Iowa Vol- 
unteer Cavalry. At Ripley, Miss., June 
II, 1864. he sustained a severe wound in 
the head, and was mustered out of the 
military service on May 16, 1865, by a 
s])ecial telegram from the war depart- 
ment, dated .May 3, that year. As a 
consequence t)f this wound he suffered 
from enfeebled health until the time of 
his death, which occurred in 1898. 

The mother of our subject is a daugh- 
ter of John Shaw, who came West to 
.\dams countv about the same time that 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



613 



the Lowry family settled there. By trade 
a gunsmith, John Shaw was also a musi- 
cian, and a maker of musical instruments. 
On coming West he first located at Nau- 
voo, 111., prior to the settlement of the 
Mormons there, and at that place he en- 
gaged in the making of guns. \\'hen the 
town became the center of Alormonism 
he was compelled to secretly smuggle his 
product to the outside world, and in time 
the situation became so intolerable that 
he removed to Adams county, where he 
died at an advanced age, survived by his 
wife, whose demise occurred at J\Ion- 
mouth, 111., when she was nearly ninety 
3'ears of age. 

To Mr. and ]\Irs. Lowry were born the 
following children, who still survive : 
Minnie, wife of John Tout ; J. William, 
the subject of this review; Bessie, who is 
unmarried; and Alfred and Walter, resi- 
dents of Keokuk. 

The father was well known, and occu- 
pied a prominent place in fraternal cir- 
cles, in which he was a faithful worker. 
He was a member of the Masonic order 
from his twenty-first year until his death, 
at which time he held membership in 
Hardin Lodge, No. 29, at Keokuk ; and in 
Keokuk Lodge, No. 13, Independent Order 
Odd Fellows, of Keokuk. He was tylor 
in Hardin Lodge, and held office in 
the chapter, the cf^mmandery. and the 
Eastern Star, holding these offices con- 
tinuously for twenty-seven years, being 
absent from only three meetings during 
the whole time. 

From his early years J. William Lowry 
has been trained in the self-reliance 
which brings success ; for when only thir- 
teen years of age he began earning his 
own living by working at the cooper 



trade, which he learned at Keokuk, 
whither the family had removed in 1862. 
And it may be said that his education 
in useful industry began still earlier, as 
he was his father's assistant in the work 
of the Adams county farm. 

In Keokuk he also worked in the plan- 
ing mil! of S. C. and S. Carter, and also 
became proficient in running a station- 
ary engine, holding a position as engi- 
neer for two years in Adams county, and 
acting as fireman some time for the 
Keokuk & Northwestern Railway Com- 
pany. He was employed as engineer in 
the Keokuk Stone Works for about three 
years, with the firm of Garmo & Humes 
for two years, with Henr\^ Schmidt & 
Sons one year, and for two seasons on 
the "General Barnard," a steamer en- 
gaged in clearing the channel of the Mis- 
sissippi River of snags and other obstruc- 
tions. 

From May to July of 1897 he was in 
the employ of the Standard Oil Company, 
at Bloomfield, Iowa, and from September 
to April of the following year returned 
to his trade, with Fred Hilpert, of Keo- 
kuk ; from April to October was spent on 
the river, as before mentioned, and in 
May, 1899, he re-entered the service of 
the Standard Oil Company, as foreman of 
the warehouse at Keokuk. This position 
he occupied until February, 1901, after 
which he acted as traveling salesman for 
appro.ximately eight months, and in Sep- 
tember, 1902, was promoted to the 
agency of the company at Burlington, 
which is the office he holds at the present 
time. 

In ]\Iarch, 1887, Mr. Lowry was united 
in marriage to Miss Lilly M. Johnson, a 
native of Keokuk, and daughter of Rob- 



6i4 



BIOGRAPHICAL RlillliW 



crt Johnston, of that city. Mr. and Mrs. 
Lowry arc members of Colfax Lodge, No. 
4, Daughters of Rebekah, and Mr. Low- 
rv's fraternal connections are very ex- 
tensive, he heintj a meniljcr of Puckeche- 
tuck Lodge, No. 43, Intlepcndent Order 
Odd Fellows, of Keokuk, of which he is 
past grand ; of Red Cross Lodge, Ancient 
Order I'nited Workmen; and of the Keo- 
kuk organization of the Royal .\rcanum ; 
and he was for a time secretary of Lodge 
No. 10 of the National Association of Steam 
Engineers at Keokuk. 

In matters of politics, as deeply affect- 
ing the good of the commonwealth, he 
takes a constant interest, and in all ques- 
tions of national jiolicy supports the Re- 
publican party, although in local and 
municipal issues he prefers to maintain 
an independent attitude, relying upon his 
individual estimate of men and measures 
presented, rather than mere |)artisan bias. 

As a man of shrewtl and discriminating 
business judgment he has been able ma- 
terially to advance the interests intrusted 
to his charge in liurlington and sur- 
rounding territory, while at the same 
time his just and honorable methods 
have won him imiversal praise and es- 
teem, and it can fairly be said that no 
man enjoys to a higher degree the con- 
fidence of those with whom he comes in 
contact, both for his signal success and 
for his personal (jualities of frankness, 
uprightness, and integrity. 



JOHN HENRY REIPE. 

Hon. John Hknrv Rr.ii-K has Ix-en 
favored with public honors to a greater 
extent, i)erha|)s. than any other citizen of 



Flint River township. The various offices 
of trust all came to him as a favorite of 
the party and the people, and his great pop- 
ularity is due to his ability, integrity, and 
reliability. 

He is a son of Albert and Henry Anna 
.Maria llserbrand (Reipe), of West Pha- 
len, Prussia, Germany, where his birth 
occurred Jan. 7, 1836. The parents moved 
to Niagara county. New York, in 1851, 
where they remained till 1854, when they 
started West, and chose Burlington, Iowa, 
as their future residence. He owned a 
farm of forty acres in Section 3, Flint 
River township, and resided on the same 
till his death, which occurred Nov. 15, 
1877. He had been married twice, his 
first wife, mother i_)f our subject, dying in 
Germany in 1846. .About a year after this 
Mr. Reipe married Miss Catherine 
Woehrheide, also of Germany. 

Hon. John Reipe received a thorough 
education in German in the land of his 
I)irth. attending the common schools, and 
upon his arrixal in New York his father 
sent him to learn the English language 
in the county schools of Niagara county. 
He remained with his parents on their 
farm till 1861, wluii he ijought forty 
acres of land in Section 10, and later added 
more to it, until now he owns about one 
hundred and five acres in Sections 3 and 
ID, in I'lint l\i\er township. He has 
made many imjirovements on the ])lace, 
and has one of tiie most comfortable 
homes in the county. He raises a few 
head of stock, and farms the greater j)art 
of his large farm with good results. 

In politics Mr. Reipe has always been 
of ihe old school, and one who has ac- 
complished much for the jiarty of his 
choice, as well as for the townshij). He 



DBS MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



bi-- 



first Ijeg'an his political career in 1862, 
as road supervisor, which office he held for 
many years, and in 1880 he was elected 
clerk and served for fourteen consecu- 
tive years. He was twice elected to the 
office of justice of the peace, served sev- 
eral terms as assessor of the township, 
and at present is the faithful secretary of 
the school board. He has filled all of 
these several offices of trust with great 
care and to the entire satisfaction of his 
party and the people in general. In 1881 
he assisted to organize the German Mu- 
tual Fire Association of Des Moines 
county, and was elected treasurer and ap- 
praiser of the company, which positions 
he still fills with justice to all and credit to 
himself. 

In 1862 was celebrated the marriage of 
Mr. John Henry Reipe and Miss Julia 
Anna Bruer, daughter of Frederick and 
Carolina (Zerling) Bruer. By this union 
twelve children were born, eight of whom 
are now living. Three died in infancy, 
and Paulina, who married H. Fink, died 
in mature years. Mr. and Mrs. Reipe 
have taken great interest to give their 
children good educations, and fit them for 
capable men and women. They are both 
prominent and worthy members of St. 
John's Evangelical church, in Flint River 
township, Avhere Mr. Reipe has been the 
beloved deacon for forty years. He is a 
most enthusiastic and conscientious fol- 
lower of the teachings of his denomina- 
tion, and is always ready to do anything 
in his power to promote the church. 
Widely and favorably known in Des 
Moines county, he certainly deserves rep- 
resentation in this volume, and it is with 
pleasure that we present to our readers 
his life record. 



HERMAN H. RIEPE. 

Herman H. Riepe, postmaster, is one of 
the enterprising business men of Sperry, 
where he is engaged in general merchandiz- 
ing and in the grain trade, and his activity 
and integrity in business, his fairness in 
his opinions, and his genuine personal worth 
have made him a man of influence in the 
locality where he resides. His birth occurred 
in Westphalia, Germany, March 23, 1846, 
his parents being Henr}^ and Mary (Vol- 
brink) Riepe. Leaving their native country 
in 1850, they took passage on a sailing 
vessel which eventually reached the harbor 
of New York, and for four years ]\Ir. Riepe 
worked as a laborer in the Empire 'State. 
In 1854 he arrived in Burlington, and a year 
later bought a farm of eighty-six acres in 
Benton township, owning and operating that 
place until 1865, when he sold out, and 
bought one hundred and five acres in Frank- 
lin township. In 1880 he purchased fifty- 
six acres of land in Flint River township, 
to which he removed, and resided there until 
1903, when he sold his different tracts of 
land and removed to Sperry, where he is 
now living retired. 

Herman H. Riepe, whose name intro- 
duces this record, was reared under the 
[parental roof, and acquired his education in 
the public schools. During much of his life 
he has been identified with agriculture, al- 
though he is now connected with commercial 
interests in Sperry. In the meantime, how- 
ever, he had carried on other pursuits, for 
after his marriage he was for twelve years 
engaged in carpentering and contracting. 
He then removed to his father's old 
homestead farm, where he devoted his en- 
ergies to agricultural pursuits for fourteen 
years. On Jan. i, 1894, he came to Sperry, 



6i6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



where he established a general mercantile 
store and grain business, building the grain 
elevator in 1900. Here he handles corn 
and small grain, and makes extensive ship- 
ments annually, while his business gives a 
good market to tiie producers in this part of 
the county. As a merchant he is also pros- 
fvering, carrying a welj-selected line of goods 
and conducting a first-class mercantile bus- 
iness. 

On Dec. 16, 1875, Mr. Riepe was united 
in marriage to Miss Caroline Beckman, 
who was born in Franklin township, and is 
a daughter of Charles and Sarah (Gondry) 
Beckman. This union has been blessed with 
five children : Charles, at home ; George ; 
Frank, who is a carrier on the rural free 
delivery route; Walter J.; and Clara. Mr. 
and Mrs. Ricpc are mcmbt-rs of the Meth- 
odist Episcojial cluirch, in which faith they 
have reared their family. In his political 
views he is a Democrat. He served as justice 
of the peace for two terms, was also con- 
stable for several terms, and was appointed 
postmaster of Sparry in January, 1894. He 
received his first ajipointmcnt under Cleve- 
land's administration, and was reappointed 
under McKinley, holding the office contin- 
uously until .\pril I. iQoi, when he resigned. 
He was reappointed, however, the following 
September, thus having served almost con- 
tinuously for eleven years. This, together 
with the fact that he is a Democrat (gold), 
and held through under Republican admin- 
istrations, speaks more ])lainly than words 
of the esteem and j)opularity with which he 
is held by the people. No public trust 
reposed in him has ever been betrayed in the 
slightest degree, his loyalty to the general 
welfare being one of his marked character- 
istics. His business record is alike com- 
mendable, for at all times he has worked 



diligently and along lines of honorable 
activity for the accomplishment of success, 
which is the goal of all business endeavor. 



CHARLES H. RIEPE. 

CiiAKLEs H. RiEi-E, who is serving 
for the second term as assessor of Frank- 
lin townshij), was born in this township 
Sept. 15, 1876, his parents being Herman 
H. and Caroline (Beckman) Rie])e. The 
father was horn in Germany, while the 
mother's birth occurred in Dcs Moines 
county, Iowa: but her father, Charles A. 
Beckman. was likewise a native of Ger- 
many, in which country Henry Riepe, 
the paternal grandfather of our subject, 
was also born. 

Herman Rie])e. came with his parents 
to .\'ew York, and was emi)loyed in that 
State until 1855, when he removed west- 
ward to lUirlington. Soon afterward the 
family took uj) their abode on a farm in 
Benton townslii]), and Herman Riepe re- 
mained with his ])arents until he had at- 
tained his majority. 

He learned the carpenter's trade in 
early manhood, and for some years fol- 
lowed that pursuit ; but resumed agri- 
cultural life and was identified with farm- 
ing interests in Franklin township until 
1895, when he came to Sperry and pur- 
chased the general store formerly owned 
hy Jacob Dean. Here he has since car- 
ried on general merchandizing, and has 
likewise, with the exception of a period 
of six months, served as postmaster at 
this place since 1805. He is one of the 
leading business men of the village. 

Charles H. Riepe completed his edu- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



617 



cation, which had been begun in the dis- wife, he sold tliis farm antl removed to 

trict schools, by a course of study in Ris- Franklin township, purchasing ninety 

ing Sun, Iowa, in 1895 ; and since that acres of land, to which he added until he 

time has been connected with his father owned one hundred and seventeen acres, 

in the conduct and management of the Subsequently he bought fifty-five acres 

store. In his political views he is a Dem- in the southeastern part of the township 

ocrat, always jgiving stanch support to and removed to that place, living thereon 

the party. In the fall of 1902 he was until 1903. when he again sold out, and 

elected assessor, to which position he was took up his abode in Sperry; here he now 



re-elected in the fall of 1904. 



lives, but expects soon to make his home 
with his daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and 
Mrs. August Quelle, in Benton township. 
Mr. Riepe was first married in April, 
1837, Miss Annie Hoecamp becoming his 
wife. They traveled life's journey to- 
gether for five years, and she passed 
away in 1842. In April, 1852, he mar- 
ried r^Iary Volbrink, a native of Germany, 
who died in April, 1872. His third mar- 
riage in August, 1872, was to Rosina 
Schmidt, who was born in Burtonburg, 
Germany, and is still living. There was 
one son by the first wife, Fred, who is 



HENRY H. RIEPE. 

Henry H. Riepe, who has passed the 
eighty-seventh milestone on life's jour- 
ney, was born in Prussia, Germany, April 
3, 1818, his parents being Albert and 
Catherine (Herslink) Riepe. He ac- 
quired a common-school education, and 
in 1851 crossed the Atlantic to New York. 
From this city he made his way direct to 

Lockport, N. Y., being six weeks and one now engaged in the grocery business in 

day on the journey from his old home to Burlington, Iowa. The children of the 

his destination. He secured employment second marriage are : Henry, of Medi- 

on a farm near Lockport, where he re- apolis ; Herman, who is postmaster of 

mained for four years, and thus provided Sperry; and William. The children of 

for his family, consisting of his wife and the third marriage are : Mary, the wife 

four children. of Henry Bishop ; Mrs. Lydia Schaele, a 

The year 1855 witnessed the arrival of widow, living at Pleasant Grove, Iowa; 

Mr. Riepe in Burlington, and here he Catherine, the wife of August Quelle, of 

worked on the streets for six months. At Benton township ; and August, who is liv- 

the end of this time he purchased fifty- ing in Lee county, Iowa, 

three and a third acres of timber land m Mr. Riepe is a member of the Lutheran 

Benton township, on which he built a log church, and since becoming a naturalized 

cabin, and at once began clearing the American citizen has given his political 

farm ; cutting down the trees, grubbing allegiance to the Democratic party. He 

out the stumps, and clearing away the has served as road supervisor, township 

brush, until the greater part of it was trustee, and school director, and has al- 

cleared and under cultivation. ways been loyal to the general welfare 

Nine years later, after losing his first and active in support of every measure 



\ 



\ 



6i8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



wliicli lu- has believed would contribute married to Miss Minnie A. Ward, a 
to the public good. The success which he daughter of John Wesley and Ruth 
has achieved in life has come as the direct (Smith) Ward. They now have two in- 
result of his own labors. Now, in the teresting children: Ruth, born July 21, 
evening of life, he is enjoying a well- 1897; and May, born Oct. 20, 1898. They 
earned rest, respected by his fellow-men also lost one daughter, Minnie Maude, 
because of his fidelitv to honorable and who was born Julv 25, 1901, and died 
nianl\ i)rincii>les as the years have gone Sept. 12, 1904. 

1j\ . Politically, Mr. Riepe is a Democrat. 

He takes an active interest in local affairs, 

and gives his co-operation to all meas- 

IDHN PI ICK RIFPE "'^'^^ which he deems will prove of public 

benefit. 

John Elick Riei'e is numbered among 

the native sons of Des Moines county, 
his birth having occurred on the old 
home farm in Franklin township. March 
18, 1872. His parents were John H. 
and .\manda (Minnick) Riepe, and in 



GEORGE HUTCHCROFT. 



GiioktJE HurcHCKOKT, who is well known 
throughout this portion of Iowa as a 
their home the days of his boyhood and pioneer and leading farmer of Des 
youth were passed, his attention being Moines county, and as one who has borne 
devoted to the work of the fields and the a ])rominent part in the public activities 
care of the stock. He thus received prac- of his day, is of English nativity, having 
tical training in the lalmr to which he has been born in Yorkshire, Sept. 6, 1839. 
given his time and energies since attain- Endowed with an enterprising disposi- 



ing man's estate. He mastered the ele- 
menlary branches of English learning as 
a student in the district schools of his 
native township, and throughout his busi- 
ness career he has followed farming. 

In 1903 he purchased the Gust Abra- 
hamson farm of fifty-three and three- 
quarters acres in Section 21, in the south- 
ern part of Yellow Springs township, and 



tion, unusual ability, and a spirit of 
sturdy self-reliance, he early decided to 
seek his fortune in the Xcw World, and 
in 1866 came to the United States, land- 
ing at the port of New York in May of 
that year. Thence he came westward 
direct to Iowa, and located in Yellow 
Springs townshij), Des Moines county. 
Mr. Hutchcroft is the second of thir- 



here he carries on general agricultural teen children of John and Mary (Ripley) 

pursuits. His fields are well tilled, and Hutchcroft, both natives of Yorkshire, 

his place well stocked. He works per- England. The father was born in 1817, 

sistently and earnestly, in order to gain and was married in November, 1836, fol- 

a comfortable competence for himself: lowed the occupation of farming. He 

and all that he possesses has been ac- came to the United .States in the autumn 

quired entirely through his own efforts, of i8C)7, bringing his wife and the re- 

On March 18, i89(), Mr. Riepe was mainder of the family; and following the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



619 



example of his son, who had preceded 
him the previous year, he came to Iowa 
and located in Yellow Springs township. 
There he at first purchased a farm of 
forty acres, to which he subsequently 
added, until his holdings aggregated one 
hundred acres. This farm was situated 
northeast of Mediapolis, and there he es- 
tablished an excellent home for himself 
and his family, bringing the land under 
cultivation, erecting a good house, and 
making many other improvements. He 
engaged in farming and the usual amount 
of stock-raising with success, continuing 
to operate the farm until the time of his 
death, which occurred May 25, 1899. A 
public-spirited man, he was a member of 
the Republican party, but the activities 
of public life never appealed to him. 

The widow of John Hutchcroft was 
born March 8, 1817, in Yorkshire. Eng- 
land, and died May 6, 1905, aged eighty- 
eight 3'ears. She was the mother of 
eleven children, nine of whom are still 
living : Ann, now deceased, was the wife 
of John Lane, a farmer of Yellow Springs 
township ; Elizabeth, widow of William 
Drinkall, resides in Washington town- 
ship on the Edward McClarkin farm ; 
Sarah Ann, deceased, was the wife of 
George Dotterwich, who resides in the 
city of Burlington, Iowa; Mary, wife of 
Henry Moody, of Winfield, Iowa ; Georg- 
iana, wife of Robert Affleck, of St. Paul ; 
Anna, wife of James Jordan, of Burling- 
ton, Iowa ; Eliza, wife of Theodore Ran- 
dolph, of Burlington, Iowa ; Render, a 
farmer, residing in Colorado; Edwin, a 
farmer, of Warren county, Iowa ; and 
Thomas, of Yellow Springs township, 
Des Moines county. 

George Hutchcroft, the subject of the 



present memoirs, received a good educa- 
tion in the common schools of his native 
county of Yorkshire, and also assisted in 
the management and work of the home 
farm, so that his early training and ex- 
perience were eminently fitted to win him 
success in dealing with the practical 
affairs of his after life. On coming to 
Yellow Springs township he secured 
work by the month on the farm of Mr... 
Bell, with whom he continued for a period 
of three years. Having become familiar 
with American methods, he then rented 
a farm, which he operated for one year, 
and at the end of that time he purchased, 
in Washington township, a farm of eighty 
acres, which he still owns. Removing to 
this farm in 1872, he resided there con- 
tinuously until May, 1904, engaged dur- 
ing that time exclusively in general farm- 
ing and the raising of farm stock. He 
increased the original farm by further 
purchases, until he now owns two hun- 
dred and forty acres, all under cultiva- 
tion, this fact indicating the great success 
which has attended all his efforts. On 
the first eighty acres he erected a large 
and substantial dwelling-house, and by 
the installing of many modern improve- 
ments and the introduction of the most 
progressive and approved methods of 
farming, made the establishment a model 
of its kind, and one of the best-equipped 
and managed farms in Des Moines 
county. In 1904 he removed to the vil- 
lage of Yarmouth, where he purchased a 
fine tract of fourteen acres, and erected 
the commodious and comfortable house 
which forms his residence at the present 
time. Here he is now living in retire- 
ment and the enjoyment of the fruits of 
a life well and worthily spent. 



620 



BIOGRAPHICAL RRVIEIV 



In January, 1871. Mr. Hiitchcroft was 
united in marriage to Miss Jane Krinkall, 
who was born in Lincolnshire, England, 
and came to America about 1868. She is 
now deceased, her demise having occurred 
at the home in Wasliiiigton township in 
1882. She was a member of the Meth- 
odist church, and was a woman of ability 
and beautiful Christian character. To 
.Mr. and Mrs. Hutchcroft were born two 
sons and two daughters, as follows : .\1- 
bert. a farmer of Decatur county, Iowa, 
married Miss Clara Stromberg, and has 
one child, liernice; Robert, also a farmer 
of Decatur county, married Miss Lucy 
Marshall, who was born in Des Moines 
county, a daughter of .\lvin Marshall, and 
has three children, Robert. Marshall, and 
Walter; Mary, wife of Fred Sickman, 
born in Washington township, resides on 
her father's farm ; and Jessie, wife of 
Charles McCann, who resides in Wash- 
ington townshi]), and operates a portion 
of Mr. Ilutchcroft's farm, has two 
daughters. Mary and Lula. All the chil- 
dren of .Mr. Ilulchcroft were born in Des 
Moines county. 

]\[r. Hutchcroft lias been an interested 
witness of the many improvements which 
time has brought to Des Moines county, 
and, moreover, has done his full share in 
making this section what it is to-day, one 
of the richest and most prosperous fann- 
ing regions in the Middle \\'est. He has 
been twice married, his second wife being 
Miss Anna Harrison, whom he wedded 
at the city of Burlington, March 12, 1890. 
She was born in Yorkshire. England, a 
daughter of Abram and Jane (Leek) Har- 
rison, her father being a farmer. Mr. 
Hutchcroft formed her acquaintance 
while on a visit to his bovhood home in 



England, and she returned with him to 
.\merica. She is a member of the Meth- 
odist church, and maintains a helpful in- 
terest in its work, in which our subject 
has also been prominent for many years, 
supporting the work of the church gener- 
ously from his ample means. The wel- 
fare of the public schools has also formed 
one of his chief subjects of interest, for 
he believes that in the wide diffusion of 
education among the people lies the main 
reliance and safeguard of popular liber- 
ties and .\merican institutions. For this 
reason he has given much time and 
thought to the work of the schools, and 
while a resident of Washington township 
served as school director for the long 
term of twelve years. As an influential 
member of the Republican i)arty, he has 
borne an important part in shaping the 
course and policy of local government in 
his own community and in Des Moines 
count\'. .\s an acknowledgement of his 
ability, and in token of their trust in his 
high-minded integrity, the people of 
Washington township also elected him to 
the highest office within their gift, that 
of township trustee, and on the expira- 
tion of his initial term honored him with 
a re-election. He has a wide circle of ac- 
(|uaintance and many friends, and these, 
as well as the material prosperity which 
he enjc)\s, ha\ e come to him because of 
his own merit; for he started practically 
alone in the world, without capital or 
other resource, and has, unaided, won 
position and the general regard and re- 
spect. To such as he the best prizes of 
life belong by right, and it is one of the 
most encouraging things which it is pos- 
sible to mention that a man may by legiti- 
mate methoils win great success. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



621 



JAMES JACKSON. 

James Jackson, of Franklin township, 
is a representative of one of the old 
colonial families. His great grandfather, 
and his grandfather, William Jackson, 
were in the Wyoming massacre, when the 
Indians fell npon the little, unprotected 
town in Pennsylvania and ruthlessly 
murdered nearly all of the men, women, 
and children there. ^\'ilIiam Jackson and 
his father, however, were among the few 
who made their escape to the fort. 

William Jackson, Jr., father of our sub- 
ject, was a native of the Keystone State, 
born in Luzerne county, where he wedded 
Jerusha Inman, who was also a native of 
that county, and a daughter of Edwm 
Inman. ^^'ith several neighbors, William 
Jackson, Jr., emigrated westward, making 
his way to Des Moines county. This was 
in the year 1840, and he purchased four 
hundred acres of land in Franklin town- 
ship. 

In 1842, having completed his arrange- 
ments for a home in the \\'est, he brought 
his family to Iowa, making the journey 
to Pittsburg by wagon, and thence by 
boat down the Ohio and up the Missis- 
sippi River, to Burlington. His farm 
was only twelve miles from that city. 
He had purchased a claim from a man b)'^ 
the name of Buckhart. who emigrated to 
Oregon. About one-half of the land was 
raw prairie. Mr. Jackson fenced the 
place and made improvements thereon, 
continuing its cultivation and develop- 
ments until his death, in 1846. At that 
time his eldest son, Edward, took charge 
of tlie farm, and the mother continued to 
reside n])on the home place until her 
death, wliich occurred in 1862. 



James Jackson, who was born in Lu- 
zerne county, Pennsylvania, April 4, 1831, 
was a youth of about eleven years when 
he accompanied his parents on their re- 
moval to Iowa. Here he was reared 
upon the old homestead farm ; and the 
daily life of the pioneer settler, with its 
hardships and privations, its pleasures 
and joys, became familiar to him. After 
his father's death he continued upon the 
old homestead with his mother until his 
marriage. 

March 9, 1854, he wedded Miss Mary 
A. McMichael, who was born in Dauphin 
county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of 
Archibald McMichael, who was a native 
of the Keystone State. Her mother bore 
the maiden name of Mary McLaughlin, 
and was born in Philadelphia, Pa. They 
came to Des Moines county in 1840, mak- 
ing the journey by canal to Pittsburg, 
and thence crossing the .\llegheny Jkloun- 
tains on the old gravity railway. 

Mrs. Jackson spent her girlhood days 
with her parents, and wa*s trained to the 
duties of the household : so she was well 
prepared to take charge of a home of her 
own at the time of her marriage. Her 
father was one of the government sur- 
veyors, and was prominent and intlu- 
ential in public life. He served in the 
State Legislature for one term, when 
Iowa City was the capitol. Mrs Jack- 
son's maternal grandmother was twice 
married, her first husband, A. Frazier, 
being one of the body guard to King 
George the Third, of England. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Jackson have been 
born the following named : ^^'illiam W., 
of Mediapolis : Minnie, the widow of John 
Barnes, also of Alediapolis; Edward, of 
the same place; Rose, the wife of J. £. 



622 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Collier, a resilient farmer of Henry coun- 
ty, Iowa ; Lucy, the wife of J. A. Cowger, 
of Mediapolis; Lewis, who died in 1895, 
at the age of twenty-eight years; Susan, 
who (lied in 1SS5. at the age of eight 
3'ears ; and Abbie E., who is at home with 
her parents. 

After his marriage Mr. Jackson rented 
a farm in Franklin township for two 
years, and then returned to the old home- 
stead. He resides uf)on a part of this 
farm, and lias nia<U' it his place of resi- 
dence continuously since iS^fi. He is re- 
garded as one of the enterprising and 
well-to-do agriculturists of the commu- 
nity, and has k-d an active, useful, and 
honorable life. .\t one time he was a 
member of the Grange, and for two terms 
he has served as assessor of his township, 
to which office he was elected on the 
Democratic ticket. He belongs to the 
Methodist Episco])al church. 

Familiar with the history of the count}' 
from i)ioneer times, he Jias vivid recol- 
lection of this section of the State when 
much of it was wild prairie land, the na- 
tive grasses growing to great height. 1"he 
streams were unbridged, and the timber 
largely uncut; but there came to Des 
Moines county a band of sturdy pioneers, 
— men and women of resolute spirit aii<l 
strong determination, who have through 
their wcU-directetl labors made the county 
what it is to-dav. 



WILLIAM HARVEY JACKSON. 

\\'ii.i.i.\.\i H.VKViiv J.\CK.S().\, for many 
years interested in general farming in 
Franklin township, was l)orn in Lu- 
zerne countv. Pennsvlvania. Xov. j8, 



1829, his parents being William and Je- 
rusha (Inman) Jackson, who were also 
natives of Luzerne county. The father 
was born in 1793. In the year 1842 the 
family came to the Middle West, taking 
up their abode in Jackson township. The 
journey was made by team from their old 
home in Pennsylvania to Pittsburg, 
thence down the Ohio and up the Missis- 
sippi Rivers, reaching Uurlington in the 
sjiring of that year. The father had pre- 
viously purchased land in the vicinity of 
.'>l)erry. becoming owner of one hundred 
and si.xty acres of prairie land and an 
equal amount of timber land. He reso- 
lutely set to work to develop a new farm 
in the midst of a pioneer district, but was 
not long permitted to enjoy his new 
home, his death occurring the following 
year. He was survived for some time by 
his wife, and their eldest son took charge 
of the old homestead. 

William H. Jackson, whose name intro- 
duces this review, was a youth of twelve 
years when the family came to the West, 
and has since lived in this county. His 
education was acquired in the public 
schools, and he received am]>le training 
at farm labor upon the old home place, 
where he remained up to the time of his 
marriage, which was celebrated on I'eb. 
(). 1831. The lady of his choice was Miss 
.\deline W'assom, who was born in Ten- 
nessee ; a daughter of Jonathan W'assom, 
also a native of that State, who came to 
this county some years after the arrival 
of tile Jackson family. 

Subsequent to his marriage \\'illiam 
1 L Jackson resided for two years upon 
his father-in-law's farm, and then pur- 
chased eighty acres of land on Section 3, 
I'r.inklin township, for which he paid ten 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



623 



dollars an acre. With renewed energy 
and determination he began the further 
development and improvement of this 
property, and has added to his place un- 
til he now owns one hundred acres in 
Franklin township and twent^'-fivc acres 
in Benton township. It was wild prairie 
when it came into his possession, and he 
at first erected a rough cabin, but in 
course of time added substantial and 
modern buildings to his farm, erecting 
his ])resent residence in 1868. In all of 
his work he has been enterprising and 
progressive, and his life industry is indi- 
cated in the excellent appearance of the 
home place. 

Unto Mr. and Airs. Jackson have been 
born nine children : Edward Andrew, 
now connected with the Iowa Soap Com- 
pany, of Burlington: Catherine, at home; 
Lewis, a farmer, residing near Muscatine, 
Iowa; Henry, a farmer in Louisa county. 
Iowa; James, a resident farmer of Frank- 
lin township ; Edith, the wife of Frank 
Doran,_ of Huron township, this county ; 
Emma, the wife of Edgar Jackson, of 
Benton township; Jessie, who died Julv 
19, 1877, at the age of seven years; and 
John, who is operating the home farm, 
carrying on general agricultural pursuits. 
The wife and mother died June 29, 1879, 
her death being (lee])l}' deplored by many 
friends. 

Mr. Jackson was one of the charter 
members of the Grange, and has always 
been interested in everything pertaining 
to the agricultural development of the 
community. His political allegiance is 
given to the Democracy, and he is a mem- 
ber of the Baptist church. For more than 
six decades he has lived in this countv, 
and is therefore numbered amonjr the 



pioneer settlers. He was one of those 
who early followed the Indian occupancy 
of this district, and he lived here when 
deer and other wild game could be had 
on the prairies by the hunter. His inter- 
est in community affairs has always been 
that of a public-spirited citizen, and he 
is to-day regarded as one of the promi- 
nent and respected agriculturists of his 
township. 



JOHN W. McLAIN. 

The building interests of Burlington are 
fairly represented by John W. McLain, who 
for nearly thirty years has constantly mani- 
fested a most commendable spirit of enter- 
prise in connection with the material ad- 
vancement of the city. Mr. McLain was 
born in Lmiontown, Pa., Dec. 24, 1849, ^ 
son of William Henry and Elizabeth (Win- 
ders) jMcLain, the father of our subject be- 
ing the son of Ephraim McLain, of Pennsyl- 
vania, and of Scotch descent, while the 
mother was of Pennsylvania Dutch parent- 
age. \\'illiam Henry McLain, b}' trade a 
shoemaker, removed in 1876 to Kansas, 
where he engaged in farming until his 
death. His wife also died in that State, near 
Andover, twelve miles east of Wichita. One 
son, James A., is a wealthy farmer in the 
vicinity of Andover, and two daughters 
reside in Andover, these being Mary, widow 
of Joseph Lyons, and Jennie, v^-ife of Will- 
iam Belford. 

In 185s our subject removed with his 
parents from Pennsylvania to Illinois, lo- 
cating in the village of Chili, Hancock 
county, and it was there that he passed his 
early years and obtained his education in the 
public schools. It was there that he was 



624 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



residing at the time of the Civil War, and 
although the father of the family was of 
too advanced an age to be accepted for 
military service, and the sons too young, all 
were enthusiastic supiwrters of the cause of 
the L'nion ; and when a company of in- 
fantry was formed in Hancock county, the 
elder McLain, and also our subject, became 
members of a drum corps which did service 
in recruiting. 

That Mr. McLain is entitled to be called 
a self-made man he owes to two facts ; 
namely, that he enjoyed the advantages of 
an excellent home training, and that his 
boyhood and youth were not passed in idle- 
ness, but were devoted to self-develop- 
ment and to learning the lessons of labor. 
Another point in his favor was that he 
early began the pursuit of a useful ap- 
plication, taking u]) at the age of seventeen 
the trade of carpentering, which he has ever 
since follofwed. While yet young he mapped 
out an independent course of endeavor, and 
in order to carry out his ambitions came to 
Burlington on March 19. 1868, and took 
enii)loynient at the car])enter's trade, which, 
however, he had not yet learned so thor- 
oughly as to satisfy himself. He therefore 
as a preliminary served an apprenticeship 
with Richard Howard, who is still living 
in I'.urlington at the age of ninety-two years. 
After working for eight years as a car- 
penter he began his career as a contractor in 
1876, doing general contracting in partner- 
ship with John A. Uhler, now traveling for 
the Gilbert-Hedge Lumber Company, and 
later forming a partnership with Mr. Dal- 
gleisch, who is now located on Fifth Street. 
In this, his life work, Mr. McLain has 
achieved the most unqualified success, both 
in the pecuniary and material sense of 
amassing a comfortable competence, and in 



the sense of having contributed in a marked 
degree to the development and upbuilding 
of the city of Burlington ; for he has from 
the iirst enjoyed the confidence and esteem 
of the public, and this has enabled him to 
accomplish much. Many substantial struct- 
ures throughout Burlington stand as monu- 
ments of his skill, among the public build- 
ings of his construction being St. Paul's 
church, the Hedge & Carpenter building, 
Elliott's Business College, the John Boesch 
building, the Saunderson School building, 
the German- American Savings Bank build- 
ing, a large addition to the South Boundary 
school, an important addition to the Ger- 
man Evangelical church at Fifth and W'ash- 
ington Streets, the building at Third and 
Division Streets, the E. H. Carpenter build- 
ing, and trwo buildings for Chittenden & 
Eastman — the mattress factory and store 
building on Main Street. Ainong residence 
buildings may be mentioned the country 
residence of David Roscum, the city resi- 
dences of John Blaul, Charles Blaul, Mrs. 
Margaret Coulter on North Seventh Street, 
W. P. Foster, E. P. Eastman, residence re- 
modeled and large barn added. E. .V. Mc- 
Millan, and many others — perhaps more 
than one hundred residences in Burlington 
alone; while the years i8()6 to 1898, inclu- 
sive, were spent very profitably in Colorado 
Springs, Colo., contracting and building. 
Mr. McLain gives employment to an 
average of about thirty workmen during 
the building season, thus contributing 
largely to the general prosperity. 

A Republican in politics, he is always a 
zealous worker for the success of his party, 
and usually serves as its delegate from his 
ward in conventions. In 1902-03 he was a 
member of the city council from the sixth 
ward, under the administration of Mavor 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



625 



Marquardt, and rendered valuable and not- 
able service to his constituents as chair- 
man of the committee on public offices and 
buildings, and as a member of the fire, sewer, 
and water committees. Fraternally, he is a 
member of Washington Lodge, No. i, In- 
dependent Order of Odd Fellows; of the 
local organization of the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen, through the chairs of 
which he has passed ; of the Mystic Work- 
ers ; of the Fraternal Choppers ; and of the 
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. In 
social organizations he occupies a prominent 
place, being a member of the Business Men's 
Club and of the Carthage Lake Club, in 
which latter he is active as a member of the 
board of directors. 

At Chili, 111., in 1879, Mr. McLain was 
united in marriage to Miss Anna C. Caine, 
who was born and reared in Hancock 
county, and to them have been born four 
children, as follows : Grace, who died at the 
age of four years; Clarence H., who was 
graduated from high school in the class of 
1904, and acted as guide at the Louisiana 
Purchase Exposition at St. Louis; Madge, 
a student in high school ; Arthur, a pupil 
in the public schools. The family occupies 
a beautiful and commodious home at 602 
Cedar Street, and other residence property 
owned by Mr. McLain includes the hand- 
some tenement at Fourth and Spruce 
Streets. Mr. McLain is prominent in the 
social life of the city as a member of 
the Fraternal order of the well-known 
P. E. O. Society, of which she was for 
two terms president ; of the King's 
Daughters ; as president for two years of 
the Burlington Federation of the King's 
Daughters ; and as delegate a number 
of years to the State conventions of the 
King's Daughters and the P. E. O. Ladies' 



Society. Miss Madge is a member of the 
Silver Cross Circle of the King's Daugh- 
ters, and Clarence holds membership in the 
Burlington Athletic Club. Mr. McLain is 
a thorough believer in the benefits of or- 
ganization for the great industries of modem 
life, and holds the office of president of the 
Burlington Contractors' Exchange. At the 
time of the organization of the national as- 
sociation at Chicago, in December, 1903, 
he was sent by the Burlington Exchange as 
its delegate to the former body, and was 
entertained by resident members at a per- 
formance of " Bluebeard" in the Iroquois 
theater, shortly before the scene of the fate- 
ful catastrophe which is now a matter of 
history. He is a member of the national 
association, and active in its interest, receiv- 
ing therein the full support of the local con- 
tractors, whose respect and confidence he 
has always enjoyed, by reason of the ab- 
solute fairness, uprightness, and integrity 
of his methods. He is a highly successful 
man, and for this he most deserves credit 
because his success is distinctively his own, 
achieved without the help of capital, in- 
fluential friends, or adventitious circum- 
stances, and is the product of extraordinary 
natural gifts, one of the greatest of which 
is executive ability of a high order, combined 
with a determination which has overleaped 
or swept aside all obstacles, and gained for 
its possessor an honored and honorable 
place among his fellow-men. 



EDWARD J. SMITH. 

Edward J. Smith, one of the successful 
and enterprising younger farmers of Union 
township, where he operates about two hun- 



626 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



drctl and seventy acres of land, is a son of 
Andrew and Kate Smith, and was born in 
the township wliere he now resides, Marcli 
l8, 1870. An interesting sketch of his 
father will appear on another pa^c in this 
book. After receiving a good and substan- 
tial education in the district schools of the 
township, he spent three years at St. John's 
Catliniic school in FUirlington. Returning 
home, he stayed with his father on the farm 
for some time, and later spent one year in 
the machine shop of the Chicago, Burling- 
ton & Quincy Railroad located at West 
Burlington, where he learned much about 
machinery that would be of good use to 
him on the farm in the future. Indoor 
work did not seem to satisfy him as well 
as rural life, and he went back to his father, 
and worked till he was twenty-one years 
old. About this time he began farming on 
his own responsibility, renting first a farm 
in Middletown, which he worked three 
years. Selling out his stock and imple- 
ments he moved to the city of Burlington, 
and engaged in the manufacture of boxes, 
which he carried on for one year. The 
ne.xt six months he was with the Street Car 
Company, at the end of which he moved 
onto his present place, adjoining the county 
poor farm. Beside the farm owned by his 
father, he rents other land, and is engaged 
in general farming and the raising of fine 
cattle and hogs. He is also part owner of 
a fine coach-horse stallion, and is in that 
way l)cttering the class of stock in the 
vicinity. 

April II, 1893, Mr. Smith was united 
in marriage with Miss Jennie Lee, of Bur- 
lington, where she was educated and grew 
to womanhood. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Smith 
were born two children, Marie and Helen. 
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are devoted members 



and liberal sup])orters of St. John's Cath- 
olic church, of Burlington. He has always 
given his political allegiance to the Demo- 
cratic party, but has never cared to hold 
any office of honor or trust. By his own 
energy and upright dealing in all things 
he has achieved his success in business, and 
at the same time won the regard and re- 
spect of all those with whom he comes in 
contact in the dailv walks of life. 



ANNA J. LANG. M. D. 

Anna J. L.\ng, ^L D., who has been 
identified with the medical profession as one 
of its most successful members in Burling- 
ton for a continuous period of almost 
thirty years, was born at Belleville, 111., 
Jan. 14. 1846, a daughter of Christopher 
Ender, a native of Bavaria, and Barbara 
(Beck with) Ender, who was born at Frank- 
fort-on-the-Main. The mother died Oct. 
I, 1896, aged seventy-seven years, and her 
demise was preceded by that of her hus- 
band, he dying in 18G7 at the age of forty- 
five. He lived for about thirty years at 
Belleville and for a time at St. Louis, and 
was a tailor by trade, besides owning the 
farm on which he died — a valuable tract of 
two thousand acres at Evansville, thirty- 
two miles from Belleville. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ender were the parents of eight children: 
Cicero. Anna J., Kate, Charles, Christina, 
Maggie, William, and Cecilia. They were 
people of most estimable character, and 
were faithful members of the Catholic 
church, of which our subject is a consist- 
ent member. 

Before taking up the study of medicine 
the subject of this review was united in 




DR. ANNA J. LANG. 



■DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



629 



marriage to J. C. Campbell, and to them 
were born four children, who survived : 
J. C. ; Christina, who married Joseph 
Krause ; Clara, wife of Morris Over ; and 
Laura, wife of Mahlon Kauflfman ; also two 
died in youth. The father of this family 
died in 1872, and his widow, desiring to 
achieve an independent and useful career, 
and appreciating the immense possibilities 
offered by the field of medical practice for 
those of her sex who possessed the necessary 
talent and enthusiasm, entered Richardson's 
Medical College at St. Louis, where she 
pursued a thorough and rigorous course of 
study, and was graduated in 1877. She 
shortly after began practice in Burlington, 
where she has remained continuously since. 
In May, 1880, she again married, her sec- 
ond husband being Andrew J. Lang, who 
was born in Bavaria, and came in 1866 to 
Burlington, where he has followed the 
trade of stone-mason. They have two chil- 
dren, Louis and Louisa, and two died in 
infancy. 

Following that tendency of the age by 
which the work of the learned professions 
has become divided into well-defined spe- 
cialties. Dr. Lang has devoted her attention 
principally to the treatment of tumor, can- 
cer, and all skin diseases, in which she has 
been signally successful. By the skill and 
fidelity with which she has followed her su- 
preme object of ameliorating human suf- 
fering, she has earned the lasting gratitude 
of innumerable unfortunates who have been 
benefited by her ministrations, and has built 
up a large and profitable practice. She is 
a woman of unusual talents and great 
strength of purpose and character, and is 
regarded with the general and true esteem 
which is one of the best rewards of unselfish 
efforts. 



ADAM MOEHN. 

In the prosperous and enterprising city 
of Burlington there are many inhabitants of 
foreign birth, members of families who, 
attracted by more progressive institutions, 
broader educational facilities, and the su- 
perior advantages for making a living, have 
come here with their talents and means 
intending to found homes in the new coun- 
try. These valuable additions to the native 
population have by their industry, economy, 
and honorable methods become essential 
factors in the growth of the city. A repre- 
sentative of such a class is Adam Moehn, 
and the success which he has achieved here 
is the legitimate result of a long career of 
worthy and unflagging effort. 

Mr. Moehn was born in Stambach, in the 
Kingdom of Rhenish Bavaria, Jan. 29, 1842, 
the son of Adam and Barbara (Fenrich) 
Moehn, also natives of Germany, and there 
he received his early education in the com- 
mon schools. When he was twelve years of 
age his father, by trade a cooper, decided 
to immigrate with the family to America, 
and they embarked at Havre de Grace, 
France, in the sailship Sarah Hide, bound 
for New York. On Easter Sunday they 
encountered a terrific storm, the gale at- 
taining such violence that the masts of the 
ship were blown down, thus greatlv de- 
laying the voyage, so that it was not until 
thirty-six days after setting sail that they 
arrived at New York. There thev re- 
mained for six months, the father being 
employed at his trade, and in November, 
1854, they started westward, traveling to 
Chicago by boat and by rail, thence to Rock 
Island by rail, and after waiting at the 
latter place six days, secured boat passage 
down the river to Burlington. After pro- 



630 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ceeding as far as Muscatine, however, the 
boat was forced to tie up on account of the 
ice in the river, and although the family 
had paid its passage and was badly in 
need of money, reimbursement was refused 
by the boat's clerk. Caught in tliis pre- 
dicament, father and son, after writing to 
a brother of the elder Moehn, who resided 
in IJurlington, set out fo'r their destination on 
foot, and thus, braving the rigors of winter, 
strangers in a strange land and unable to 
speak or understand the language of the 
country through which they passed, they 
arrived after two days at the scene of their 
future home, where ihey found that their 
relative had received the letter written from 
Muscatine and had gone to that place to 
bring the family to Burlington in a hack, 
there being then no connection by rail. 

Alter locating in Burlington, the father of 
Mr. Moehn was for some time employed in 
the cooper shop owned by William Moehn, 
but in i860 opened a cooperage business 
for himself in Arch Street, near High 
Street, where he continued to ])ursue his 
useful activities until tlie time of his death, 
January, 1869. Mr. Moehn remained with 
his father, learning his trade, until about 
the year 1865, when he felt a great desire 
to acquire a broader knowledge of the land 
in which his fortunes had been cast, and 
decided to investigate the modes of life and 
work of other cities. 

He first went to Milwaukee, working for 
a time in a cooperage shop and attending 
for a period of eighteen months a Catholic 
academy, in which he pursued especially 
the study of the ILnglish language. He 
next proceeded to New Boston, 111., still 
working at his trade, and in 187 1, while 
at Monmouth, 11!., he married Miss Sarah 
McQuaid, a native of Pennsylvania, she 



having been born at Franklin in that State 
in 1852. They came at once to Burlington, 
and here for the first three years Mr. Moehn 
was employed in the cooperage establish- 
ment of Mr. Boquet, anil later for a time in 
that of his brother Henry, who, on their 
father's death, had taken charge of his 
business. There he continued until 1880, 
at which time he started in business for him- 
self in a small way on Spring Street, pur- 
suing the work of his trade there with con- 
siderable success for ten years, at the end 
of which ])eriod he tore down the old shop 
and built a larger and more modern plant 
at the corner of Range and Gnahn Streets. 

His present plant and entire equipment 
represent an investment of ap])ro.ximately 
ten thousand dollars, and the output con- 
sists exclusively of pickle cooperage, the 
factory being devoted to the making of 
barrels, kegs, and casks for the use in 
])icklc factories for packing purposes. The 
annual output is fifty thousand tight barrels, 
of which large shipments are made especi- 
ally to New York, Chicago, St. Paul, and 
.Minneapolis, although the product of Mr. 
Mochn's factory is known and sold all over 
the United States. An average of twenty- 
five men is employed throughout the year, 
the business thus constituting one of the 
important enterprises of the city and adding 
sensibly to its material prosperity. Most 
of the stock used is white oak, shipped from 
southern forests, but in the early days of 
the industry the father of our subject se- 
cured his raw material from the immediate 
vicinity of Burlington, the finished cask 
representing only his own labor and that of 
his workmen, from the cutting down of the 
tree in the neighboring woods. 

Mr. Moehn has one brother, Henry 
Moehn, residing in Burlington, and a sister, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



631 



Mrs. Zachmyer, at Pleasant and Central 
Avenues. In 1873 he built a home at 11 19 
Spring Street, where he still resides, and 
there have been born to him and Mrs. 
jNIoehn five children, as follows : Edward, 
a graduate of the Academy of Our Lady of 
Lourdes and of Elliott's Business College, 
who is a stenographer and typewriter in the 
Morrell packing house at Ottumwa; Nellie, 
residing in the old family home in Arch 
Street, who is the wife of Gephart Aloehn, 
employed in Mr. Moehn's cooperage works ; 
Anna, who died at the age of nineteen years ; 
Frank, a graduate of the Academy of Our 
* Lady and of Elliott's Business College, who 
is a stenographer and typewriter in the 
offices of the Rock Island Railway at Bur- 
lington ; and !Mamie, who is a member of the 
parental household. All the children have 
received excellent educational advantages 
in the Catholic parochial schools. 

Although Mr. Moehn's father was a 
Republican and cast his first ballot for 
Abraham Lincoln in i860, he is himself a 
member of the Democratic party, in the 
soundness of whose tenets he is a thorough- 
going believer, and for whose success at the 
polls he has always been a zealous and con- 
stant worker ; and in recognition of his 
valuable services he has been the recipient 
of many honors at the hands of his party 
and fellow-citizens. As chairman of pri- 
maries and member of the county central 
committee and the city Democratic com- 
mittee, he has had marked influence in poli- 
tics, while for five years he was alderman 
from the second 'ward of the city of Bur- 
lington, during which -time he consistently 
discharged the duties of his office with 
credit to himself and to the entire satis- 
faction of his constituents, who repeatedly 
expressed at the polls their confidence in 



his ability and integrity. As a member of 
the council he held the important positions 
of chairman of the general improvement 
committee, the sewer committee, the rail- 
road committee, and the building committee, 
in all of which his influence and advice were 
of conspicuous benefit to the municipal 
government and assisted materially in the 
solution of many vexing problems of ad- 
ministration. He was also member of the 
fire, police, and other committees, and in 
each he was faithful to his dutv as he saw 
it. He is still active and influential in 
politics, and feels a great interest in all 
public affairs. 

Mr. Moehn is a man of plain and simple 
tastes, hard-working and devoted to the 
direction of his affairs ; but at the same 
time his sound business judgment and 
shrewd appreciation of opportunity have 
made him highly successful in a pecuniary 
way, a worthy representative of the business 
interests of Burlington, and his honesty and 
uprightness have won him the respect of 
all who know him and made him many 
friends. 



GEORGE GALLAHER. 

One of the progressive and active citi- 
zens of Des Moines county, who was 
born in Pleasant Grove township, on the 
farm where he now resides, over sixty-two 
years ago, is George Gallaher. He is a son 
of George and Lavina (Zion) Gallaher, his 
birth occurring May 10, 1842. His father 
was born in the State of Tennessee, came 
to Iowa in 1836. and located in Pleasant 
Grove township, Des Moines county, his 
farm of three hundred and twenty acres 
being the one on which our subject now 



632 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



resides, and whicli lie bought of the heirs, 
except the life interest of his mother. 
When he first obtained this place it was a 
vast wilderness, but he set about to clear 
it, and from time to time added one im- 
provement after another as they were 
needed. 'Jlie old frame house is still 
standing, but his son has erected a more 
modern two-story building. Mr. Gal- 
l.iher was a very prosperous and progress- 
ive man of his day, meeting with much 
success in his business career. Uesides 
* his farming operations he also raised con- 
siderable stock. His death occurred 
.•\pril II, 1S42, and his remains were in- 
terred on the home place. He was one 
of the organizers and first members of the 
Cumberland Presbyterian church in this 
section of the country, and for some years 
the church services were held in his 
home. 

The mother of our subject was born in 
Virginia, is eighty-five years old, and re- 
sides with her daughter Mary, who is the 
wife of |<ilui Kiuluy. a fanner of Pleas- 
ant Grove towiislii]). She. too, is a char- 
ter member of the lumbcrland Presbyte- 
rian clniroh, and is the i>niy one of the 
original members that is now living. She 
became the wife of Mr. Gallaher in Vir- 
ginia when she was but sixteen years old, 
and became the mother of three children, 
two of whom are living: P)enjamin, now 
deceased, was a wholesale grocer, and re- 
sided in Omaha, Nebr. ; Amanda is the 
widow of .\. C De Lee, and also makes 
her home in Omaha ; and George, the sub- 
ject of this review. 

Mr. Gallaher was a widower with the 



don ; Sarah, also deceased was the wife of 
Edward Brown, of Hamburg, Iowa ; Per- 
melia is married to Isaac Fleenor, of 
Nebraska; and Harriet is the widow of 
Xorvin IJridges, and lives in Riverside, 
Xebr. 

When our subject was ten years of age 
his mother married David L. Uavis, of 
Pleasant Grove township, who was an 
early settler of this township, and died 
when he was about seventy-five years 
old. I!y this union fi\e children were 
horn, four of whom are living: David T., 
of Missouri; Milton, of Nebraska; John, 
also of Nebraska; Mary, wife of John* 
Ritchey, a farmer of Pleasant Grove 
lownshi]); and .^arah, who died when she 
was five years old. 

Our subject received his education in 
the common schools of his native town- 
shi]). Ills father died in 1841, and he 
lived with his steji-father until the Civil 
War broke out, when he eidisted in Se])- 
temjjer, i8'ii, at Davenport. Iowa, in 
Company K, Second Iowa \'olunteer In- 
fantry, and served til! llie close of the 
war. He was in the Army of the Ten- 
nessee, battles of Shihjh and Corinth, and 
with Sherman on the march to the sea, 
July 22 at Atlanta in the Atlanta cam- 
paign, and in the battle of Vicksburg. 
After being honorably discharged at 
Louisville, Ky., July (j, 1865, he returned 
home, and again took up farming on his 
])resent farm in Pleasant Grove township, 
where he iKiught out the interest of the 
heirs, and where he has resided ever since. 
He is a very successful farmer and stock- 
raiser, as well as a very jjrogressive man 



following four daughters when Miss Zion of the day. He owns land adjoining his 
married him: Elizabeth, deceased, was farm, one tract consisting of one hundred 
the wife of David Brown, near New Lon- and sixty acres, and the other one of 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 






eighty acres. The hist farm, of eighty 
acres, lie deeded to the contractor who 
erected his home. Mr. Gallaher's father 
deeded this land to Ijiiild the first frame 
house built in the country. 

On March 15, 1866, Mr. Gallaher was 
united in marriage with Miss Sarah Ellen 
Thomas, a daughter of David Thomas, 
one of the early settlers of Des Moines 
county, being a prominent farmer in 
Franklin township, where he died at the 
advanced age of seventy-seven years. 
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Gallaher were born 
four children, of whom but two are now 
"living: (i) Rosella, deceased, was the 
wife of Finns E. Dodds, a farmer of 
Pleasant Grove township. (2) Amanda 
E., also deceased, was the wife of Will- 
iam Archer, of Colorado, and had the fol- 
lowing eight children: Myrtle; Bernice ; 
Gladys'; Helen; Robert, dead; George, 
dead : Gertrude, dead ; and Florence. 
These motherless children live with their 
father in Colorado. (3) I^aura was born 
in Colorado, and is the wife of Frank 
Vandermark, of Franklin township, and 
they are the parents of three children : 
Lillian, ^^'illis, and John B. (4) Winni- 
fred is at home. All of the children of 
Mr. and Mrs. Gallaher were born in Des 
Moines county except Laura. Mrs. Gal- 
laher died on the home place, Feb. 5, 1883. 
Mr. Gallaher's second wife was the 
widow of Thomas Asby, of Jefferson 
count}-, wdio was a school-teacher, and 
later was engaged in the practice of law, 
and who died in Wapello county at the 
age of thirty-five years. He left five chil- 
dren : (i) Lillian Asby, now the wife of 
William B. Smith, of ^Vashington town- 
ship, a son of F. N. Smith, who is a 
banker of Yarmouth, Iowa. Mr. and 



Mrs. Smith have two children : Margaret, 
deceased; and Laura. (2) Thomas E. 
resides in Washington township. (3) 
( )rin lives in Mediapolis, where he clerks 
in the bank. (4) Eunice, who died when 
eight years old. (5) Paul is a mail car- 
rier on the rural route out of Roscoe. By 
the marriage of Mr. Gallaher and Mrs. 
Asby two children have been born in 
Pleasant Grove township : Georgia, four- 
teen years old; and Benjamin L., eleven 
years of age. Mr. Gallaher has accom- 
plished much for his community in the 
way of improvements, and was a brave 
and true soldier in the defense of his 
country. In business he has avoided the 
numerous (juicksands of speculation, in 
which so many mercantile fortunes have 
been sunk, and has steadily accumulated 
a large and valuable property, and ac- 
quired the reputation of an enterprising, 
upright, and honorable man. 



HENRY SANDBERG. 

An early settler of Des Moines county, 
and one who stands high in the list of her 
successful men, is Henry Sandberg, now 
residing on his large farm of two hundred 
and thirty-five acres, located in Sections 
14 and 13, Augusta township. Mr. Sand- 
berg is a native of Germany, in which 
country he was born on Aug. 22, 1844. 
His parents were Edwin and Mary Sand- 
berg, and he was one of a family of seven 
children. His mother died when he was 
quite young, and in 1868 he came with his 
father to America. Landing at the port 
of New York, they came immediately to 
the West, and located in Des Moines 



634 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



county. Iowa, but licre they were over- 
taken by misfortune, for about four weeks 
after their arrival tlie father died, he be- 
ing then in llie sixty-fifth year of his age. 
He was a fanner, having followed that 
occupation during his entire life in his na- 
tive land, and was a man of devout char- 
acter, being a member of the Lutheran 
church. It was in Union township that 
his death occurred, and he is buried in 
that township. 

Mr. Sandberg, upon the dealli of his 
father, began working by the month on a 
farm in Union township, and this he con- 
tinued for approximately four years. At 
the end of that time he removed to Au- 
gusta township, and i)urchased eighty 
acres of land, comprising a portion of his 
present holdings. The land was im- 
proved, but he has made many additional 
impro\enients from time to time, and has 
increased the size of the farm by further 
purchases until he now owns two hundred 
and thirty-five acres, the larger part of 
whicii is under culli\ation. ( )n liis re- 
moval here he took up his residence in 
the log house which then stood on the 
farm, but he has recently erected a large 
two-stor}- frame dwelling and a number 
of other buildings, thus making his one of 
the model farms of this part of the 
C')unty. 

In 1872 Mr. Sandberg married Miss 
Minnie Blume, who was born in Burling- 
ton, Iowa, a daughter of William and 
Mary (Schultz) ISlume. .Mr. Blume was 
among the pioneer settlers of .\ugusta 
township, making his home on the farm 
on which our subject now resides, and 
died at liis home in this townshi]) when 
about sixty years of age. Mrs. Blume 
died in .May. ii»o> at the age of eighty- 



one years. Mrs. Sandl)crg, who was 
reared and educated in the city of Bur- 
lington, is now deceased, her death hav- 
ing occurred at the farm home in i8<)8 in 
the forty-first year of her age. In all her 
relations with those near and dear to her 
she was kind, loving, and devoted, and as 
a number of the Lutheran church she 
led the beautiful life of a true Christian. 
She was the mother of seven children, as 
follows : Lydia, now deceased, was the 
wife of Peter Dietz; Mary, died at the 
age of one and one-half years; Eda, at 
home; Herman, resides at the parental 
home; Carl and Clara, twins, died when 
about eighteen months old ; and Albert, 
the youngest, still at his father's home. 
Thus out of a family of seven children of 
Mr. anfl .Mrs. .'^andljcrg. but three survive. 
.\!1 the children were born in I)es Moines 
county. 

Mr. Sandberg has long been one of the 
best-known workers in the ranks of the 
local Democratic party, and as a man of 
diamond character and rigid integrity and 
honor, holds the confidence of his neigh- 
bors and fellow-citizens to an unusual de- 
gree. In token of their regard, and as a 
proof of their trust in his probit\' and abil- 
ity, they have at various times elected him 
to a number of the public offices of Au- 
gusta townshi]j, and for several terms just 
past he has occupied the office of trustee 
for the township, and still holds that hon- 
orable position. Faithful to all duties, he 
has ever generously supported the cause 
of ])ublic nuTrality and religion, and is a 
prominent member and worker in the 
Lutheran church, in which he has often 
held the various official positions. It is 
generally recognized by those who know 
his life historv that his character is one 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



63: 



of strength and decided qualities. Suc- 
cess he has won by his own efforts and in 
spite of man}^ difficulties, and the main 
factors in his achievement are firmness 
and resolution, coupled with strict integ- 
rity in every relation of life. A success- 
ful farmer, a good neighbor, and an ideal 
citizen, he has made many friends, and 
gained for himself a standing before the 
world which no man may impeach. 



AARON BOYER. 

Aaron Boyer takes rank as one of 
the very early settlers of Iowa, and he 
and his ancestors have played a worthy 
part in the development of this portion 
of the State. His grandfather and his 
father, Peter Boyer, were the most promi- 
nent pioneers of Henry county, this State, 
where they laid out the town of Salem 
and built the first house at that place. 
There they also did much to develop the 
agricultural and business resources of the 
country, a fact for which they deserve the 
highest credit ; for in those remote days 
the men who ventured forth into the wil- 
derness, where civilization and industry 
were at best but a doubtful experiment, 
were compelled to exercise supreme cour- 
age, self-sacrifice, and boundless deter- 
mination without hope of great, reward 
for themselves, trusting only to leave a 
glorious heritage for coming generations. 

Peter Boyer was born in Ohio, where 
he for a time engaged in farming, but he 
was attracted by the possibilities of the 
West, and came to Illinois at a very early 
day. He settled in Hancock county, but 
remained there only a short time, remov- 



ing thence to Henry count}", Iowa. In 
the latter county he platted the town of 
Salem, where he devoted himself to vari- 
ous pursuits, including farming, and to 
some extent the mercantile business; 
while in addition he was one of the pio- 
neer brick manufacturers of the place, 
thus aiding materially in its early develop- 
ment. He resided at Salem until the time 
of his death, which occurred in 1844, 
when he was approximately forty years 
of age. He rapidly became a man of in- 
fluence and standing in the new commu- 
nity which he founded, and his untimely 
end was the occasion of genuine regret. 

In his political allegiance he was a 
stanch Whig, but he never sought to en- 
ter the distracting whirl of public life, 
preferring rather to devote his talents to 
private affairs. He chose for his wife 
Aliss Cecilia Street, who, like himself, 
was born and reared in the State of Ohio. 
She was a member of a good old Quaker 
family. She was a daughter of Aaron 
Street, who moved from Ohio to Salem, 
Iowa, where he became a successful mer- 
chant and hotel keeper, and where his 
death occurred when about eighty years 
of age. Cecilia Street Boyer was the 
mother of eight children, seven of whom 
attained to years of maturity and still sur- 
\ive. Her death occurred in her eighty- 
third year at Big Mound, Lee county, 
Iowa. 

Aaron Boyer, the subject of the present 
article, was born in Hancock county, Illi- 
nois, I\Iay 15, 1835, and when only six 
weeks old removed with his parents to 
Salem, Iowa. He was but ten years of 
age when his father died, and on the re- 
moval of the family, in consequence of 
this sad event, from the farm where they 



636 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



were then residiiip to tlie village of 
Salem, he began his education in the sub- 
scription school of that place. Later, 
however, he continued his studies at 
Mount Pleasant and at Burlington, with 
much success. He remained in Salem 
until his fifteenth year, at which time his 
mother removed to Burlington, Dcs 
Moines county, and he began his inde- 
pendent career by obtaining work on a 
farm in Union township, thus exhibiting 
early in life the (|ualitics of self-reliance 
and determination which have since made 
him successful. After being employed in 
this manner for some years, and so gain- 
ing the necessary experience in the prac- 
tical details of agriculture and farm man- 
agement, he rented a farm in Union 
township. This he conducted until about 
1870, by which time he had, by the prac- 
tice of economy, industry, thrift, and good 
business judgment, accumulated a fair- 
sized capital, and with this he purchased 
a fami in .\ugusta tovvnshi]>. With this 
new venture he was occu])ied. with en- 
tirely satisfactory results, during a i)eriod 
of three or four years, at the expiration of 
which time he sold the land in order to 
purchase his present farm in L'liion town- 
ship. This comprises one hundred and 
eighly-four acres of the very finest agri- 
cultural land, located in Section 6. The 
farm was well improved at the time of 
making the purchase, but Mr. liover has 
by constant study and care added much 
to its outward appearance and permanent 
value. IK- has engaged principally in 
general farming along the usual lines, 
but has also given great attention to 
stock-raising in accordance with modern 
ideas, and in both has achieved remark- 
able success. 



In Union township on April 7, 1859. Mr. 
lioyer wedded Miss Sarah A. Walker, 
who was born in Union township, Des 
Moines county, Iowa, a daughter of 
James Q. and Louise (Short) Walker. 
Her father was born in Ohio, and thence 
came to Iowa about the year 1835,1 locat- 
ing in Des Moines county and purchasirlg 
a farm in Union township, where he con- 
ducted general farming operations and 
the usual amount of stock-raising. His 
was one of the large establishments of the 
county, consisting of about three hundred 
acres, and his position among the lead- 
ing agriculturists of his day was one of 
prominence. He was a member of the 
.Methodist Episcopal church, to whose 
support he always generously contributed 
and was devoted to good works. He died 
at the age of eighty-three years, while his 
widow, who survived him for three years, 
died in her eight)'-first year. Mrs. 
Walker, who was also a native of Ohio, 
was the mother of the following children : 
Sarah, wife of our subject; Catherine, 
wife of Henry Magle, whose name stands 
at the head of another chapter of this 
work : and Charles, who resides at the 
i)ris;inal liDine place in Union township. 
Mrs. Boyer, who remained at the home of 
her parents until her marriage, received a 
good education in the schools of her na- 
tive township. To Mr. and Mrs. Boyer 
have been born seven children. These 
arc: James Edward, now a farmer and 
residing in Union township, married Miss 
May A'^an Dyke, of Union township, and 
has two children, Beatrice and Chalnier; 
.\ngeline, died when four years of age ; 
Mary L., died at the age of ten months ; 
Frank, residing on a farm in Union town- 
ship, married Miss Emily Barnett, and 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



637 



has two children, Lorea and Earl L. ; Cas- 
sie, is a member of the parental house- 
hold ; Gail, at home ; and Charles, now 
conducting a fruit ranch which he owns, 
near Santa Ana, Cal., married Miss Mar- 
garet Nau, daughter of Samuel Nau, of 
Des Moines county. 

Mr, and Mrs. Boyer enjoy to a very 
marked degree the respect and esteem of 
all who know them, and while he has 
never cared for or sought any public rec- 
ognition of his undoubted merits, he has 
at sundry times received election to the 
various offices of his township, being 
chosen on the Republican ticket, as he is 
a conscientious adherent of that party. 
The fact of his life for which he deserves 
especial credit is that he has achieved suc- 
cess by his own efforts and without out- 
side aid, thus winning that somewhat 
trite but still expressive and noble title of 
self-made man. The liberal share of 
worldly goods and respected station in 
the community which he has gained, has 
been gained by simple force of character. 



SAMUEL E. WELCH. 

Samuel E. Welch, an honored vet- 
eran of the Civil War, and one of the 
early settlers and much-esteemed citizens 
of Des Moines county, now residing in 
the village of Middletown, was born in 
Washington, Iowa, July i6, 1841, and 
• came to Des Moines county in 1845 with 
his parents, John D. and Mary (Elliott) 
^^'clch. The father was a native of \'ir- 
ginia and came to Iowa in 1838, locating 
in Washington county, where he followed 



farming until 1845. He then removed to 
Danville township, Des Moines county, 
where he purchased two hundred and 
fifty acres of land, which he cultivated 
and improved for some time. On selling 
that property he took up his abode in 
Middletown, where he lived a retired life 
until called to his final home at the age 
of fifty-four years. His wife was born in 
Xorth Carolina, and they were married in 
Iowa. Her father was Samuel Elliott, 
who came to this State in 1838, settling 
in Union township, where he followed 
farming for many years. He then re- 
moved to Danville township, and later 
lived retired in Middletown until his 
death, which occurred when he had 
reached the advanced age of eighty-three 
years. 

No event of special importance oc- 
curred to vary the routine of farm life for 
Samuel E. Welch in his boyhood days. 
He remained at home until twentv-one 
years of age, and then responded to his 
country's call for aid, enlisting in 1862 as 
a member of Company C, First Iowa 
Cavalry, with which he served until the 
close of the war. He took part in several 
of the principal engagements, but most of 
his service was on the frontier. He was, 
however, wounded at the battle of Little 
Rock, Ark., and was in the hospital for 
some time. He was discharged and mus- 
tered out at St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 5, 1865. 

When the country no longer needed 
his services Mr. Welch returned to his 
home in Danville township, where he 
carried on farming, and later purchased a 
small farm of forty acres in Middletown. 
There he erected a large and handsome 
dwelling-house, which he has since occu- 
pied, and here he is engaged in general 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFAHEVV 



rarmiiij^ ami sidck-raising. having a well- 
develoj>L'(J j)ro[)CTt_v. 

In 1866 Mr. Welch was married to Miss 
Mary Clinc, who was horn in Augusta 
township, Des Moines county, and is a 
daughter of Wilson S. and Maria (Brown) 
Cline, both <»f whom are now deceased. 
Mr. Cline was born in Indiana, and came 
to Iowa at an early day. Throughout his 
entire life he engaged in farming. Mr. 
and Mrs. Welch became the parents of 
two children: Nellie M., the wife of David 
( ). Crawford, a farmer of Danville town- 
ship; and Charles C, who assists in the 
operation of the home farm. He married 
Myrtle Lyon, but she is now deceased. 

In his political views Samuel E. Welch 
is a Republican, having continuously sup- 
ported the ])arty since attaining iiis ma- 
jority. He belongs to the Presbyterian 
church, and gives support to all that tends 
to promote the upbuilding of his com- 
munitv. 



HENRY ANTON PETERSON. 

He.nkv A.nton Peterson is rounding 
out a well-spent life as a helpful citizen of 
r.urlington, Iowa. .\ native of Germany, 
being born in Pelvan, North Schlesvig, Nov. 
3, 1836, and is the son of Irean Cornelius 
and Johanna (Lierman) Peterson. 

lie grew to manhood at his father's home, 
receiving such education as the schools af- 
forded. Our subject was very successful in 
gardening in the old country till he made 
up his mind to come to America. He made 
this tri]) in 1879, and came direct to Bur- 
lington. wluTc his son Herman lived. For 
a number of years he was a valued employee 
of the Rantl Lumber Comjjany. 



.Mr. Peterson married Miss Gustina Ma- 
tilda Simpson, daughter of Lefrick and Jo- 
hanna (Brodtcraft) Simpson. They were 
ble.«sed with two sons : Herman Cornelius, 
who came to America in 1876 with his uncle, 
John C. Peterson, and married Miss Sophia 
H. Madison, daughter of Mads Hansen, 
(Danish way of naiuing chiUlrcnV This 
union was graced by seven children : Elnia, 
Martin, Sophia, Mary, Harry, Minnie, and 
Henry. Minnie died at two years of age, 
and Henry at the age of three months. 
I lerman C. learned the butcher business 
first, and workid at it for some time, and 
is now employed at Casper Hcil's Brewery. 
Politically, he is a stanch Republican, also 
a valued member of the Ancient Order of 
I'nited Workmen and of the Fraternal 
L'nion. 

Irean Cornelius, the second son of our 
subject, died at the age of twelve years, 
and in .\ugust, 1892, Mrs. Peterson passed 
away, and is buried in Aspen Grove ceme- 
tery. I'.urlington, Iowa. 

Since lur death Mr. Peterson has been 
very lonesome, and has made his home 
with his son Herman, who lives at 527 
Montgomery Street. 

The character of Mr. Peterson is upright 
and honorable, his manner courteous and 
pleasant, and he has many friends and kind 
neighbors who respect him highly. 



JACOB SCHOLER. 

Among those who have come from 
foreign lands to become prominent in busi- 
ness circles in Burlington, is Jacob Scholer, 
who for more than fifty years has resided 
in this city, and is now a prosperous vint- 



DES MOINES COUXTV. IOWA. 



639 



ner. His prosperity has been won by strict 
adherence to the rules which govern in- 
dustry, economy, and unswerving integrity. 
Mr. Scholer, a son of Henry and Sallie 
Scholer, was born in Switzerland, Nov. 3, 
1830. He grew to manhood in his father's 
home and received a good education in his 
birthplace, having completed the 'course in 
the high school. He also learned the trade 
of a machinist, serving a complete appren- 
ticeship, which he followed till he came to 
America in 1852. It took him seventy days 
to cross the briny deep, coming by wav of 
New Orleans. Here Mr. Scholer took a 
boat on the Mississippi River, stopping at 
St. Louis, but as the cholera was so bad he 
came to Burlington, two months later, where 
he worked as a machinist for four or five 
years. Becoming tired of inside work he 
decided to go to farming, and bought ten 
acres of land south of town and just north 
of what is now Crapo Park. His house and 
that of his son are the only ones of the kind 
in this part of the State. They are similar 
to the Swiss chalets. The house being 
built on the steepest place of his farm, is 
three stories high in front and only one at 
the back. It is a very pretty piece of archi- 
tecture, and gives one a very good idea of 
how the dwellings in Switzerland are built. 
It is on this place that part of Black Hawk 
Spring is located, receiving its name from 
the noted Black Hawk Indian who with his 
tribe once lived there. To look at this 
beautiful place now one can scarcely realize 
in what a wilderness it was when our sub- 
ject purchased it. The land was mostly cov- 
ered with dead trees and brush, and there 
were no direct roads or streets leading to it. 
To-day Mr. Scholer's home and land lies 
in the city limits, where the land is in a 
high state of cultivation. Besides his large 



vineyard, which yields more than two hun- 
dred and fifty gallons of wine annually, 
there are also fruit orchards, .\nother great 
attraction of this romantic home is that the 
longest " Shoot the Chutes " in the country, 
ending in a natural stream of water, is lo- 
cated here, which was operated by John and 
Jacob Scholer, sons of the subject of this 
review. Now the electric street-cars pass 
the house, carrying hundreds of people in 
the summer time for a visit to the vineyard, 
a ride on the " Shoot the Chutes," a stroll 
through the inviting orchards, or for a beau- 
tiful view of the " father of waters," where 
one could stand and linger for time indef- 
inite and meditate on the wonderful beauties 
of nature, and praise Him who fashioned 
it all for mankind. 

]Mr. .Scholer was married a few years 
after coming to Burlington, to Marv Giger, 
daughter of Andrew Giger. by whom he 
had seven children : Elizabeth, xnarried 
Peter Broderson, and has one child. i\Iamie ; 
.\nnie, married Robert Sheridan, and died ; 
Lena, the widow of Charles Kerns, has two 
children, Mary and Florida, and later mar- 
ried Air. Richter ; Jacob, a carpenter, lives 
in Burlington, is also in the ice business with 
his brother John, has one son, Frederick ; 
Sallie, married Edward Whitford, and has 
three children, Edna V., Claribel, and Hazel, 
and conducts the confectionery store at the 
northeast entrance to Crapo Park, where 
they do a very good business. Carrie lives 
at home. John, the youngest, lives at home, 
is in the ice business. The wife and mother 
died May 30, 1899. In summing up this 
review one can readily see that enterprise 
and the progressive spirit have made him a 
typical American in every sense of the word. 
What he is to-day he has made himself, for 
he began in the world with nothing but his 



640 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



own exertions and willing hands to aid him, 
and by constant activity, associated with 
good judgment, he has raised himself to the 
creditable position he now holds. 



CHRISTIAN JOHN SLINGLUFF. 

Christian Joiix Slingluff, now de- 
ceased, was for many years connected with 
the building interests of Burlington. He 
belonged to that class of citizens who, by 
upholding the material, intellectual, and 
moral status of a community, accomplished 
a great deal of good for the city. His career 
was ever honorable in business aqd reli- 
able in all life's relations. 

He was a son of John and Catherine 
("Leisure) Slingluff. being born in Xorris- 
town. Pa.. Oct. 14. 1814. His parents 
were among the old American Quaker 
families of Montgomery county. Pennsyl- 
vania, his father having been of Scotch 
descent and his mother of Welsh descent. 
His father, whose brothers were in the 
\\'ar of 1812. was married in Montgomery 
county, and had two children born there : 
Christian Jolui. and William, who died 
aged nine years, .\fter attending the city 
schools of his home place. Mr. Slingluff 
decided he would like to build houses, and 
at the age of seventeen was apprenticed as a 
bricklayer to a contractor in Norristown. 
In iS_^7 he went to Cohmibus. (lliio. where 
he worked as a journeyman for a year, and 
then settled in Wheeling, W. \'a., where 
he carried on contracting for a number of 
years. It was in the latter place that Mr. 
Slingluff wooed and wed Miss Eliza Ann 
Hamilton. July 12, 1840. who was born 
in Steubenville. Ohio, July 14. 1819. Her 



parents, James and Elizabeth (Snyder) 
Hamilton, were both natives of Wheeling, 
W. V'a.. and were the parents of four chil- 
dren : John, deceased ; Catherine, married 
Peter F. Reed, an artist, both dead ; Elizabeth 
(Mrs. C. J. Slingluff) ; Theodore, deceased. 
Mrs. Hamiliton had four brothers, and all 
|)artici])ated in the War of 1812. I'nto Mr. 
and Mrs. Slingluff eight children were born, 
of whom only three are living: John, a 
native of Wheeling, W. \"a., who enlisted 
in the United States Infantry and served 
through the Civil War, is yardmaster's clerk 
at the Chicago, Hurlington & Quincy Rail- 
road, and lives at 522 Curran Street, Bur- 
lington. Iowa : James H., a native of Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, died June 3, 1903. aged fifty- 
three years; Julius Foster, 3 conductor on 
the Burlington route, lives at 1016 South 
Tenth Street, Burlington ; Charles T., a 
bricklayer, lives with his aged mother at 
1820 Agency Street: Lillie. died aged nine 
\'ears ; Lucian was three years old, George 
six weeks, and Edward two years, when 
tluv ])assed away. Mr. Slingluff came to 
Burlington in 1855, and carried on con- 
tracting till he died. .Among the residences 
standing as testimonials of his ability are: 
the residence of Theodore h'oster on 
Seventh and High Streets : residence of 
E. P. Eastman, comer Eighth and Colum- 
bia Streets; residence of John M. Sherfey 
on High Street, and many others, as well as 
a numlier of stores. He was superintendent 
of brick work of the Iowa Division for the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad 
for a number of years, holding this position 
at the time of his death, which occurred 
May 3. 1891. at the age of seventy-seven 
years. Politically. Mr. Slingluflf was origi- 
nally a Whig, but later a Republican, though 
never seeking favors at the hands of his 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



641 



party. He was a consistent member of the 
Methodist church, as is also his widow. 
The latter, now eighty-six years of age, has 
many friends, who admire her for all the 
many good deeds she has done. She is 
spending the evening of her useful life with 
her son, patiently waiting the summons to 
come up higher. 

Mr. Slingluff was a man of nuich enter- 
prise, indomitable courage, and liberal 
views. He continually broadened his mind 
through extensive reading, observation, and 
experience. His reading touched on all the 
lines of thought, so that he was a man 
well posted on the general issues of the day. 
His greatest pleasure was in his home with 
the companionship of his family. All who 
enjoyed his confidence found in him one who 
was ever loyal to the duties of comrade- 
ship and fellowship. 



ADOLPH SCHREI. 

The name of Adolph Schrei, who is now 
serving the city of Burlington as justice of 
the peace, is well known throughout the 
county. He has a business record of 
which to be proud, and a war record full 
of bravery and gallantry. He is the son 
of Frederick and Amelia (Althof) Schrei, 
and was born in Germany, Dec. 16, 1839. 
He remained in his native place till he 
was about fifteen years old, where he 
received his education. His father brought 
him to America in an old-time sailing ves- 
sel, coming by way of New Orleans. In 
those days navigation was very much 
slower than in these modern days, and they 
were about fifty-two days on the ocean. 
After reaching New Orleans, May 10, 1855, 



they came by boat to Burlington, and en- 
joyed the delightful trip on the Mississippi 
River very much. Mr. Schrei's oldest son, 
who was a miller by trade, had come to 
Burlington in 1848, and so for a time they 
all lived together. 

Our subject at once obtained work on a 
farm, which occupation he followed till 
Aug. I, 1862, when he enlisted in Com- 
pany E, Twenty-fifth Iowa Infantry, at 
Burlington, being mustered into service at 
Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Sept. 27, 1862. He 
was third brigadier of the first division, 
fifteenth army corps, and served in this 
throughout the war. He took part in the 
following battles : two at Vicksburg, with 
Shemian ; Arkansas Post, Jan. 11, 1863; 
Vicksburg Campaign ; Chattanooga ; Look- 
out Mountain; Mission Ridge; Ringgold, 
Ga. He then went to Alabama, and was 
through eastern Tennessee. May i, 1864, 
he started on the Atlanta campaign — • battle 
of Resaca ; Dallas, Ga. ; Big Shanty, Ga. ; 
Kenasaw Mountain, Ga. ; Atlanta. July 22 
to July 28 ; southwest of Atlanta, Jones- 
boro, Ga. He marched from Atlanta to 
Savannah, Ga., and to Bentonville, N. C, 
in March, 1865. 

Pie was also in several skirmishes, but 
was never wounded. He was with Sher- 
man on his march to the sea, being also one 
of the ragged boys, or Sherman's " bum- 
mers," as they were called, that helped to 
make up the grand review in Washington. 
At one time a rebel pointed a gun at him 
about fifteen feet distant, shooting at his 
head, just missing his right cheek. After an 
honorable discharge on June 15, 1865. in 
Davenport, Iowa, Mr. Schrei returned to 
Burlington, and secured a position in the 
flouring mill of the late James Putnam, with 
whom he remained till spring, when he ac- 



642 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ceptcd a situation as clerk in the wholesale 
boot and shoe store of the late Honorable 
A. G. Adams. After being with Mr. Adams 
for ten years he opened up a retail grocery, 
where he was very unfortunate, losing by 
this venture all the means he had. His 
services were so satisfactory to Mr. Adams 
that he at once took Mr. Schrei back into his 
wholesale store, where he remained for the 
next two years, when the tirm quit business. 
The following two years he was employed 
in the ba.sket company as watchman, and 
also traveled for them for some ten months. 
In if»04 he was elected as justice of the 
peace, which office he is still filling with 
much dignity. 

Nov. 16, 1865, he was married to Miss 
Caroline Sleimmeier. daughter of Fred- 
erick and Louisa (Pendle) Sleimmeier. 
They arc the parents of seven children: 
Edward, of San Francisco, Cal. ; William, 
of St. Joseph, Mo. : Louisa, the wife of 
Taylor Cooksler ; Mollie, now Mrs. Louis 
Dewein, of Springville. 111. ; Emma, mar- 
ried John W. Miller, of Claytonville, 111.; 
Lillie, the wife of Henry Lowe, of Rur- 
lington, Iowa ; and Clara, who became the 
wife of Ollie Sauerwine, a farmer of Des 
Moines county. 

May 4, 1885, Mrs. Schrei was called to 
her final reward, and on Sept. 4, 1887. Mr. 
Schrei was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary D. Wells, a daughter of William and 
Malissa (Wheton) Wells, by whom he has 
two sons, both at home, Harry and Jesse. 
The latter is in the city schools. Mr. Schrei 
is a Republican, and cast his first vote for 
Lincoln on his second term of office. He 
was brought up in the German Lutheran 
church. As an honorable and public- 
spirited man none stands higlur than does 



Mr. Schrei, and the respect due him is 
tendered alike by young and old, rich and 
poor. 



RICHARD JOHNSTON. 

The lives of some men contain a chapter 
of romance, or at least e.xperiences a little 
out of the ordinary. Such is the case with 
Richard, or " Dick " Johnston, as he is gen- 
erally called. He was born in Galva, Henry 
county, 111., Oct. 25, 1864, and is a son of 
Zc)1)1kt and Elizabeth (Janes) Johnston. 
His father died when he was only one year 
old, and at six years of age he was bound 
out to a man by the name of Edward Davis, 
of Galva, 111., who promised to give the 
bov a good education, and to do well by 
him in other respects. ( )ur subject never 
even saw the inside of a school till he was 
thirteen years old, and then was only able to 
attend the common schools of Galva, Henry 
county, two winter terms. This man Davis 
was a farmer, and kept Richard working 
early and late, much to his distaste. Just 
before entering his fourteenth year Richard 
made up his mind he could and would 
shift for himself; and so one day, without 
leave or license from Mr. Davis, he ran 
away from his adopted farm home, and the 
varied career that followed makes an in- 
teresting life record, reading like a novel. 
He imagined he had had enough of farm- 
ing, and so decided to learn the trade of 
a barber. This took him five long years, 
but gave him the reputation of a first-class 
barber. 

W^ishing to see something of the sur- 
rounding country he engaged with the Santa 
Fe Railroad, where he served as bcakeman 
for one vear on the Cottonwood Division, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



6+3 



and for eighteen months following on the 
Ft. Worth Division, in Texas. Leaving 
the Santa Fe he ran as brakeman on the 
L. & ^V. R. R. for about seven months, and 
nine montlis on the Ft. Scott & Gulf line. In 
1885 he went out to Creston, Iowa, running 
on the West Iowa Division for two years 
and five months. The big strike of 1887 
was causing much trouble, and during this 
time Mr. Johns.ton retired from the service ; 
and going still farther west, he again took 
up his trade at Elm Creek, Nebr., where 
he remained for eleven months. He now 
concluded to try his fortune with the vast 
army of men flocking to Oklahoma City. 
His party, who went across the country in 
three wagons, was to look the new territory 
over, and if satisfactory to purchase homes. 
Mr. Johnston did not like the place well 
enough to settle permanently, but remained 
two years, maintaining himself at his trade. 
He then traveled east to Indian Territory, 
and was head barber in one of the leading 
shops at Lee High for three months, and 
filled the same position for seven months 
at Girard, in Crawford, Kans. 

Desiring to come back to Iowa he ac- 
cepted a position at Chanadoah for two 
years. He next spent four months 
at Gainesville, Ga., two years and eight 
months at Chicago, and four months in 
St. Louis, and made good use of his trade 
in each place. Securing a situation on 
the Wabash he pitched his tent in Mobile, 
Mo., which he called home for nine months. 
Desiring to be out of doors more he farmed 
for one year at Bedford, Iowa, but for the 
next three months was laid up with a 
severe case of rheumatism at Burlington 
Junction. He recuperated for a year at 
Chanadoah, after which he was employed at 
his trade in Red Oak, Iowa, for eighteen 



months, and for a number of months at 
Marysville, Weatherby, and Freeport, Mo. 
He then returned to the Hawkeye State in 
1899 '^'^''t''' '* determination to ]nit his roving 
to an end. Being now fully convinced that 
his mission in life was not to be either a 
tiller of the soil nor a railroad man, he at 
once secured pleasant rooms in West Bur- 
lington, where he established a business of 
his own, and where he virtually does the 
work of the town. While at Carney. Nebr., 
he had a little taste of war, as he joined the 
State militia as a substitute during the raid 
made by Sitting Bull on Pine Ridge Agency, 
Nebr. He took an active part in this noted 
battle with the redskins, being within a few 
feet of the great chief. Sitting Liull, when he 
•was shot and killed. There were over six 
hundred squaws, Indians, and bucks killed 
at this battle, known as the battle of 
" Wounded Knee." Mr. Johnston was in 
the National Guards at Carney for sev- 
eral months. He also made three applica- 
tions to enter the Spanish-American War, 
but being hard of hearing at that time he 
•was rejected. 

Oct. 28, 1892, he married Miss Alice A. 
Ellis, daughter of Captain James Ellis, of 
Civil War fame. .She began teaching at 
the age of eighteen in Clarinda, Page county, 
Iowa, where she was assistant superintend- 
ent of the high school for four years. Mrs. 
Johnston died Sept. 22, 1894, in Oklahoma 
City, leaving one son, Walter E., eleven 
years old, who is with relatives in Cone, 
Iowa. Feb. 12, 1897, Mr. Johnston was mar- 
ried again, to Miss Oma Benton, daughter of 
Captain Frank and Anna (Wells) Benton. 
Mr. Benton was captain of the Ninth Cavalry 
and a nephew of ex-Senator Benton, of Mis- 
souri. He was killed in Custer's massacre. 
Our subject's wife is a second cousin of 



6+4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Colonel Fremont's wife. By this marriage 
two children were b<jrn : \\ allien, Ixjrn May 
6, 1898; and Neva, born June 11, 1901. 

Mr. and Mrs. Johnston were brought up 
in the Methodist faith. He joined the 
Modem Woodmen in Nebraska. He has 
always voted the straight Republican ticket, 
and was ap])ointed to fill the vacancy of 
constable when in Carney. He is a well-in- 
formed man, and what he was denied in 
school privileges he has made up in. the 
broad field of experience. His travels have 
brought him in contact with all classes and 
conditions of men, which is an education of 
itself. He seems to have chosen well his 
vocation in life, as it is not every trade that 
will support one the year round, especially a 
man with such a roving disposition as Mr. 
Johnston has had. In all his many loca- 
tions his ability was appreciated, and he 
made kind friends. He is a man who be- 
lieves in and practices principles of honor 
and uprightness, and is well liked by his 
many friends and acquaintances. 



THOMAS HUTCHCROFT. 

Tiio.M.A.s 11ltcik'U(jit, who is a well- 
known representative of an honored pio- 
neer family of Des Moines county, and 
for many- years an active and enterprising 
farmer here, claims England as the land 
of his nativity. He is a son of John and 
Mary (Ripley) Hutchcroft. and was born 
in Yorkshire, England, April 3, 1854. The 
parents were both natives of Yorkshire. 
The father was born -Aug. 20, 1817, and 
died May 26, 1898; and the mother was 
born May 8, 1817, and passed away May 
6, 11)05. They were the jjarents of eleven 



children, who came to .\menca with 
them, and settled in Des .Moines conntv 
at an early date. 

In 1862 the father of our subject located 
in Yellow Springs township, where he 
bought forty acres of farm land. -As time 
passed, he was enabled to add to this un- 
til he had one hundred acres at the time 
of his death. He was a man much re- 
spected, and stood high in the business 
and social circles of his community. 
Thomas Hutchcroft was reared under the 
parental roof, and began his stuiiies in 
the district schools of Yellow Springs 
township, finishing them later in the high 
school of Kossuth, Iowa. He has a large 
farm of three hundred and twenty acres 
in the above-named township, two hun- 
dred of which are in Sections 22 and 2;t 
and the remaining one hundred and 
twenty acres in Sections 2 and 3. He 
raises a great deal of oats and corn, and 
also directs his attention to the raising of 
cattle and hogs, annually shii>ping about 
eighty head of the former, as well as a 
great number of the latter. His land be- 
ing so accessible to the railroad makes it 
of great value, and is certainly a conve- 
nience all round. 

Sei)t. 10, 1885, .Mr. Hutchcroft was 
united in marriage to Miss Myrtilla E. 
Tiill. a (laughter of John and Olive (Mc- 
Cray ) Tull. They have six children 
Oris, Raymond, Charles, Bessie, Ethel, 
and Florence. The children all have sub- 
stantial educations, ami all reside with 
their parents. 

Mr. and Mrs. Hutchcroft have been for 
many years devoted members and attend- 
ants of the Methodist church, where the 
former has been an honored trustee for 
some time. Mr. Hutchcroft is a Repub- 



H 
K 
O 

> 
in 

a 

H 
n 

n 

O 

*ii 

H 

> 

O 

> 

g 

r 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



647 



lican, but has voted independently of late, 
for the men who, in his judgment, would 
best serve the interests of the community. 
He is a liberal-minded man, always ready- 
to aid in the advancement of public inter- 
ests, and is highly respected by all who 
have had the pleasure of knowing him. 
As an upright business man and good 
citizen, he stands in the front rank of the 
best citizens of Des Moines countv. 



ANDREW SMITH. 

Perh.^ps nothing else is so well calcu- 
lated to inspire the present generation with 
justifiable local pride, with love of country 
and home, and with exalted ideals of con- 
duct, as a study of the lives of those who 
have made the great Middle West what it 
is to-day, — a marvel of wealth, industry, 
and high civilization. Among the earlier 
residents of Union township — where he 
owns farms aggregating two hundred and 
sixty acres, with a beautiful home farm of 
eighty-five acres located three miles west of 
the city of Burlington — is Andrew Smith, 
who was born in Burlington on the 5th day 
of January, 1841, a son of Peter and Anna 
Smith. His father, who was born in Ger- 
many on the banks of the classic Rhine, 
married in his native land, and thence came 
to the United States in 1835, locating first 
in Cincinnati, where he remained until 1839. 
Thence he came \\'est and took up his resi- 
dence in what is now the city of Burlington, 
finding temporary employment in the new 
settlement as a butcher. This occupation, 
however, he shortly afterward abandoned 
for the life of the farm, and after conduct- 
ing agricultural operations in the vicinity of 



the city for a few years, bought a tract of 
two hundred acres on the Lower Augusta 
road. There and at the homestead now oc- 
cupied by his son, our subject, he resided 
until 1866, when he retired from active life 
and removed to Burlington, where his de- 
mise occurred on Jan. 15, 1890, his own 
death having been preceded by that of his 
wife, who died in 1879. They were among 
the early members of the Catholic church 
in this portion of Iowa, becoming identified 
with St. John's church on its organization, 
and -were among the chief contributors to 
the fund for building the first house of 
worship as well as later edifices. They were 
the parents of nine children, seven of whom 
survived to mature years. 

Andrew Smith is the youngest son of the 
family of which he is a member, two sisters, 
liowever, being younger than he. While a 
boy he devoted himself to securing an edu- 
cation, but was compelled to be content with 
only a modicum of formal learning, as in 
the primitive country schools of those pio- 
neer da}s the session lasted as a rule but 
four months out of each year. Moreover, 
when but ten years of age he began to bear 
a share of the hard work of the farm. Thus 
he received the best of training in what s^vas 
to be the •work of his life, and while yet a 
young man relieved his father of the work 
so that the latter might retire. 

On April 23, 1869, he wedded Miss Kate 
Fritz, who died a few years later, leaving 
three children : Edward, a farmer of Union 
township ; Anna, who died at Peoria, 111., 
while a sister in a convent at that place; 
and Andrew T., also engaged in farming in 
Union township. After his marriage Mr. 
Smith began operating the home farm 
independently, having purchased it of his 
father, and this has ever since been the place 



648 



BIOGRAPHICAL RlillElV 



of his residence. He has constantly im- 
proved the home and surroundings, making 
it one of the most notable country residences 
in this vicinity, and has from time to time 
added to his real estate holdings until he 
ranks among the leading land owners of 
L'nion township. 

On Nov. 9, 1875. he was united in mar- 
riage to Miss .Vnna Fischer, who was born 
March i, 1855, a daughter of Joseph and 
Matilda (Schalder) Fischer. Mrs. Smith's 
parents were born and reared in Germany, 
and there celebrated their marriage, coming 
to America and to Des Moines county in the 
year 1854. The father was engaged in the 
dairy business at lUirlington for a period of 
about si.x years, at the end of which time he 
removed to Flint River township, and there 
continued to reside until llic lime of his 
death, which was 1864. I loth ])arcnts were 
devoted members of the Catholic church. 
To ^^r. and Mrs. Smith have been born 
twelve children, of whom three sons and five 
daughters survive, as follows : Joseph, now 
a farmer of l'nion townshi]) ; Matilda, wife 
of .Albert Swallow ; and Anna, Henry C, 
Minnie. Carl. Leah, and Elsie. Mr. and 
Mrs. Smith and the members of their fam- 
ily are identified with the Catholic church, 
and have given largely of their means for 
its support and for the building of the new 
church structure. In ]i(>lilical life Mr. 
Smith, as was also his father before him, is 
a worker for Democratic success, and while 
he has never asjiired to the honor of jniblic 
|)referment in the shape of official position, 
he has for many years acted as director of 
the schools. In this capacity he has done 
much for the cause of education, and his 
work has met with the approval of the peo- 
ple in the highest degree. His life has been 
crowned with success in many wavs, for 



by good judgment and enterprise he has 
become the possessor of wealth, while at the 
same time his social disposition, loyalty, 
and uprightness have won him respect and 
widespread esteem. 



JOSEPH F. SMITH. 

Joseph F. Smith, one of the prominent 
and active younger farmers of Union tofwn- 
shi|). where he owns and operates a fine 
farm (if thirty acres about three fourths of 
a mile from the city limits of Burlington, 
was born in the same neighborhood, on his 
father's old homestead, April i, 1876. He 
is a son of Andrew and Anna Smith. The 
sketch of his parents will be found on an- 
other page in this volume. 

Our subject received a good practical 
education in the Buena \'ista School of the 
township, and later attended Elliott's Busi- 
ness College, at Burlington, where he took 
a general business course, .\fter this he was 
employed for one year by the Penrose Car- 
riage Campany, when he accepted a position 
as clerk in the large department store of 
•John Boesch. Mr. Smith remained with 
Mr. Boesch for four years, and made a very 
good and accommodating salesman, and was 
well liked both by his employer anil the pa- 
trons : but he preferred the independence and 
comforts of suburban life, and in 1905 he 
liurchased thirty acres of good farm land 
from R. C. Waddle. He devotes most of 
his time to the raising of fruit, having a fine 
ap])le orchard of twelve acres, one of the 
largest and best pear orchards (four acres) 
in this part of the country, and one acre of 
the nicest plums to be found. His several 
orchards mentioned, as well as all other 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



649 



smaller fruit raised by him, are attended by 
modern methods, and will produce the finest 
fruit for the local markets. 

May 7, 1900, Mr. Smith married Miss 
Gussie Lee, a daughter of Mrs. Mary Lee, 
of Burlington, where she was reared and re- 
ceived her education in the [niblic schools. 
Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of one 
daughter, Marens. 

In politics Mr. Smith is independent. He 
and his good wife were brought up in tlie 
Catholic faith, and are membefs and regu- 
lar attendants of St. John's church. While 
he is yet a young man, still he has de- 
veloped those qualities that tend to success 
and the winning of friends. The early 
training he received for his work, together 
with his thorough business education, both 
place him in a position to carry out his cher- 
ished aspirations, and in a short time he will 
be independent. 



JOHN AUGUST PETERSON. 

The historian is never more pleased 
than when he is called upon to chronicle 
the steps by which some noble-hearted 
man has struggled from a lowly position 
to one of wealth and prominence among 
his neighbors, doing all by his own 
strength and force of character. John 
August Peterson is a man who had to 
begin at the very bottom of the ladder, 
and by his own energy and forceful de- 
termination has overcome obstacles that 
would have daunted the spirit of a man 
not gifted as he was with natural per- 
sistence in following out a cherished 
plan. 

Mr. Peterson was born in Smoland, 



Yonkopings Lan, Sweden, on July ig, 
1837, being the son of Peter Magnus and 
Anna Maria (Okanson) Peterson. He re- 
ceived his early education from a private 
tutor, and later attended the public 
schools of Sweden for eight years. His 
home was on a farm, and he received 
there the practical training that has gone 
so far toward making his great success 
in this country. After he grew to young 
manhocjd. he served for two years in the 
Swedish army, learning lessons of en- 
durance under fatigue, and obedience to 
orders, that he has found of great value 
in his after life. When he was thirty-two 
years of age, he thought he could see 
greater chances of advancement awaiting 
him in the New World ; accordingly, m 
1869, he came with his family to America, 
landing on September 7 of that year. He 
left Gottenburg on Aug. 10, 1869, and 
came by way of Glasgow, Scotland, to 
New York. 

From New York he came directly to 
Burlington, Iowa. Here his unfamiliarity 
with the language, customs, and business 
usages of the country put him at such a 
disadvantage that he found it advisable 
to begin his life in the new surroundings 
by working as a day laborer. He was in 
the employ of Joy & Gilbert in this ca- 
pacity for three or four months, when he 
found an opportunity to better himself a 
little by going to work for a large con- 
tractor named Walburn, who owned a 
large stone quarry at Gladstone, Hender- 
son county, 111., and who was at that time 
filling in a creek, or draw, where the 
L'nion depot of Burlington now stands. 
After this piece of work was finished, Mr. 
Peterson entered the employ of the Cedar 
Rapids. Railroad Company, now known 



650 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA'IIIW 



as the Rock Island. Later he worked for 
the Quincy jjcople, now known as the 
Biirlinj^ton & Qiiincy I'ranch: and after 
that for the Iowa Central Kailroad. under 
their contractors. Wliile he was at work 
for these peoi^le, the burden of disad- 
vantages that he was strupjjling apainst 
was ad<led to by two misfortunes of a 
very discourajj^inj^ nature. In the first 
place he was taken ill ; and then about 
the same time, the contractors, who evi- 
dently were not doing a paying business, 
left town unceremoniously, taking with 
them all the money owing to the men 
under their employ. Hundreds of men 
suffered tliniugh this, and Mr. Peterson 
lost in this way sixty <lollars of hard- 
earned money, at a time when that 
amount was a very considerable sum to 
him. 

By 1872, be foimij tli.it by steruly work 
and frugal living be had saved enough so 
that he was able to discontinue working 
for others, and could change to farming, 
buying a small piece of land of his own 
to begin mi. Therefore on March 11 lie 
came to Huron township, bought a little 
tract of six acres of rich land in Section 
16, and built on it a log cabin. This was 
the micleus of the large farm and com- 
fortable home that is now his. He has 
added to this from time to time as his 
increased prosperity has permitied. unlil 
he now has a magnificent farm of three 
hundred and fifteen acres in Huron and 
\'ellow Springs townshijis. He cleared 
and stum])ed one hundred acres or more 
of timber land on this farm, and brought 
the land all under cultivation. He cut 
and hauled over twenty-five thousand tics 
for the Cedar Rapids Railroad, hauling 
these himself to Mediapolis. He also 



worked for two months on the construc- 
tion of this road. He has hauled hun- 
dreds of cords of wood from his farm. 

.\ow that the farm is brought to its 
present high state of cultivation, besides 
his work of general farming, he has found 
time to make a specially of the raising of 
fine cattle and horses. He raises the 
Shorthorn cattle, ami also raises about 
eighty head of Poland China hogs annu- 
ally, and has fifteen head of fine Per- 
cheron hor.«;es. He has erecte<l a beau- 
tiful home, where he lives with his two 
.sons, enjoying the well-earned comforts 
and lu.xuries that can l>e found only in a 
well-appointed modern country home. 

-Mr. Peterson was married in his early 
manhood, before leaving Sweden, the 
date of his wedding being Jan. 7. i860. 
His wife was Miss Hannah Mary Hocan- 
son, daughter of Hocan and Marie Ho- 
canson. To tluni were horn two sons 
and two daughters, three of whom were 
born in the old country: \'endle Marie, 
born March 6, 1863, died in liurlington. 
Oct. 14. 1870, of typhoid fever, and is 
buried in .Kspen (jrove cemetery; Tilda, 
born June 24, 1865, is the wife of Emil 
Johnson, who lives in Burlington ; John 
Emil. born June 13. 1867: and Gus Ed- 
ward, born in this country on Xov. 7, 
1872. The two latter live on the home 
])lace with iheir father. 

Mrs. Peterson was a quiet gentle- 
woman, who bore the hard life of a 
pioneer's wife with an uncomplaining 
spirit, and was a real helpmeet to her 
husband in the days of his early struggle 
in the new land. She was an earnest 
Christian woman, not only in faith but 
in practice, and was a lady in the best 
meaning of the word. She passed away 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



651 



on April 13, 1901, after suffering for a 
year with cancer. Although afflicted 
with this most painful of diseases, she 
never complained, but showed such gen- 
tle patience and endurance that it en- 
deared her more and more to those who 
loved her. 

Mr. Peterson is a loyal member of the 
Swedish Lutheran church, and gives his 
support to all its philanthropic and char- 
itable enterprises. A self-made man, 
working his way up from humble circum- 
stances to his present enviable position, 
the key-note of his career may be summed 
up in one word, integrity, a trait of char- 
acter which has won him the general re- 
spect of all to whom he is known. 



WILLIAM PETERSON. 

In Des iMoines county are many in- 
habitants of foreign birth, who. attracted 
by the more i)rogressive institutions. 
broader educational facilities, and supe- 
rior advantages offered for making a liv- 
ing, have come here with their families 
for the purpose of founding homes in the 
new country. These valuable additions 
to the native population have by their 
industry, economy, and honorable meth- 
ods become essential factors in the 
growth of the county. One member of 
such a family, who has been an impor- 
tant figure in the development of agri- 
cultural interests in the county for the 
past twenty years, is William Peterson. 
who now lives on his large farm in Huron 
township. 

Mr. Peterson is a native son of Sweden. 
being born in Linkopings, Sweden, Feb. 



8, 1838, the son of Andrew Peter and 
Gusta (Sweline) Peterson. He was 
reared a farmer, and has always followed 
that occupation, except during the years 
that he spent in military service. He 
served for two years in the standing army 
of Sweden, and was under draft for two 
additional years. After his years of 
service in the army were completed, he 
decided that he would have better ad- 
vantages for his family, as well as better 
opportunities to make a financial success, 
in the New World. Therefore in 1868 
he embarked for America, coming di- 
rectly to Burlington, Iowa. 

Here he was willing to begin at the 
very foot of the ladder, and took up his 
life among the strangers of the new coun- 
try and new language by working as a 
day laborer for the Cedar Rapids Rail- 
road Company. He found it necessary 
to remain in this position not more than 
two weeks, then securing a better one 
under Harrison Cartwright. By practic- 
ing the lessons of frugality and careful 
living that he had learned as a child and 
young man in the old country, he found 
that he was able to save a fair proportion 
of his earnings, and he remained in the 
employ of Mr. Cartwright until he had 
accumulated enough to be able to buy a 
farm for himself. Then he came to Ben- 
ton township, where he bought thirty 
acres of timber land in Section 2. 

This land he cleared, stumped, brought 
under cultivation, and improved in many 
other ways, making it his home until 
1883, when he sold it and purchased in 
its stead a farm of eighty acres in Section 
27, Huron township. A few years later 
he added to this a purchase of sixty-three 
acres in Section 34. This is now his home 



652 



BIOGRAPHICAL RPAIEIV 



farm, and he has hroiij,'ht it to a high, 
degree o( cultivation, adding improve- 
ments from time to time as they are 
needed to bring the farm up to the stand- 
ard of the best farms in the county. In 
addition to the general farming business 
that he carries on, he also raises some 
cattle, making a specialty of the Short- 
horn breed. He raises about twenty-five 
head of cattle and thirty hogs annually. 
Besides his farm, he also has some town 
property in the village of Mediapolis. 

Mr. Peterson was married before leav- 
ing Sweden, his wife being Miss Hannah 
Larson, daughter of Lars and Carra 
(Nelson) Johnson. They were united in 
marriage Oct. 17, 1864. To them have 
been born four children : Ernest Will- 
iam, born Feb. 21, 1866, died Aug. 16, 
1868; Oscar William, born May 11, 1872, 
married Hulda Crane, May 28, i(j02, and 
lives in Mcdiapolis; Minnie, born .\pril 
14, 1R74, is now the wife of Albert Xord- 
stroni, of Mcdiapolis; Xels Gustafus 
I'aui, born Aug. 20, 1879. still resides at 
hoiiii-. 

Mr. I'etcrson and llu- members of his 
family are affiliated with the Swedi.-^h 
Lutheran church, faithful to its teachings 
in word and deed, ever ready to respond 
to its calls for the needy, and doing all 
that lies in their |)ower to extend its 
sphere of influence in the community. 
Mr. Peterson heliied to build the present 
church edifice, and has also assisted in 
the erection of three parsonages. He has 
served the church in the capacity of 
deacon for the last three years. He has 
shown himself to be a true lover of his 
adopted ccmntry, always ready to fulfill 
the duties of citizenship. He has won a 
high place in the esteem of his friends 



and neighbors, who honor him for his 
sterling worth and integrity of spirit. 
They have shown their faith in his busi- 
ness ability, as well as their admiration 
for his, as a manly character, by electing 
him to serve the township as sujiervisor 
of highways for the past four years, and 
that their faith has not been misplaced 
is evidenced by the fact that during this 
time the roads of the township have been 
maintained in a uniformly excellent state 
of re[)air under his direction. 

Mr. Petcr.son began life at the bottom 
of the ladder, without ai<l ruiil without 
capital, and all he has ac(|uired has come 
to him by virtue of his own frugality, in- 
dustry, care, and natural talents. He is, 
in a word, a self-made man. and his suc- 
cess under such conditions is a more fit- 
ting commentary on his character than 
any tribute that might be framed in 
words. 



WILLIAM BRUMM. 

\\'iLLi.\.\i liiUM.M left his home across 
the sea over fifty-three years ago and 
has for many years IxMit his time and 
energies to the improvement and welfare 
of Des Moines county. He is a son of 
Carl and Anna (Oswalt) Hrumm, and 
was born Feb. 12, 1850, in Wiirtemburg, 
Germany. His parents were both natives 
of Germany, and came to America by 
way of New Orleans in iS5_', being about 
six weeks on the wa\ . In the old coun- 
try the father was what is called a 
freighter, hauling ])rovisions and supplies 
from Carlsruhe to Stuttgart, and also car- 
ried the mail, driving sometimes as manv 
as sixteen horses at one time. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



653 



He remained in New Orleans until 
1854, when he came to Burlington, where 
he located, and engaged in the cooper 
business. In 1867 he moved to Benton 
township, and purchased one hundred 
and sixty acres of land, which is now 
a part of our subject's farm. He im- 
proved the farm to some extent, and 
farmed very successfully till the fall of 
1870, when he died in the fift)'-ninth year 
of his age. He was a Democrat, and a 
member of the Lutheran church, and is 
interred in the St. Paul cemetery in Ben- 
ton township. Mrs. Bruinm sur\-ived her 
husband till March 6, 1902, when she 
passed away aged eighty years. She held 
membership in the Methodist church, 
and is buried in the Methodist cemetery. 
Mr. and Mrs. Tirumm were the parents 
of ten children, five of whom are living. 
John, a younger brother of our subject, 
resides on the home place. 

Mr. Brumm, of this review, received 
his education in the public schools in 
Burlington, after which he clerked in a 
grocery till his parents moved to Benton 
township. After the death of his parents 
he bought eighty acres of the home farm 
in Section 14, in 1896 added eighty acres, 
located on Section 13, and also at one 
time owned forty acres in Jackson town- 
ship. He has since been a prosperous 
farmer and stock man. He erected a 
nice modern two-story frame dwelling, 
a substantial barn, and other outbuild- 
ings for the protection of grain and stock, 
and to-day he can say his land is of the 
best under cultivation in the township. 

He, with his wife, is a member of the 
Presbyterian church, and has been an 
elder in the church since its organization. 
He is a Democrat, and <?an not remember 



a year since he grew to manhood that he 
has not held some township office. He 
is now treasurer of the school board, and 
has been constable, road supervisor, and 
clerk. 

April I, 1871, Mr. Brumm became the 
husband of' Miss Helena Thomas, a 
daughter of Isham and Mary (Flesher) 
Thomas. Mr. Thomas was of Welsh 
descent, coming from Virginia to Iowa 
at an early day. Mrs. Thomas also came 
from Virginia to Iowa, settling in Bur- 
lington when there were but two houses 
in the city. W'hen Mrs. Brumm's mother 
first came to Burlington, she was the wife 
of Joseph \\'alker, a veteran of the War 
of 1812, who died in 1852, aged seventy- 
five years. Mrs. Walker married Mr. 
Thomas in Burlington, and passed away 
in 1889 at the age of seventy-nine years. 
Air. Thomas was a cooper by trade, and 
a small farmer of Benton township, and 
Mrs. Brumm was his only child. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Brumm have been 
l)orn se\'en children, six of whom are 
living: Charles, died at the age of twen- 
ty-one years ; Leslie, a bookkeeper, and 
lives in Burlington ; and Boyd, Ruth, 
Clayton, Byron, and Burton, the last named 
being twins, and all reside at home. Mr. 
Brumm has seen many changes in Des 
Moines county, and has ever been ready 
to do his part toward improving this part 
of the county. He is a man devoted to 
his home and family, and is giving every 
advantage within his means. He is a 
man who is held in the highest esteem, 
and his long, continuous service in the 
township shows with what regard he is 
held in the estimation of his fellow-citi- 
zens. He is much interested in educa- 
tional matters, and has devoted much 



654 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIA'IEW 



time to bringing the schools of Benton 
township up to their present high stand- 
ing. He and Mrs. Briimni are both 
Christian people and active church work- 
ers, and their lives are living examples 
of their professions. 



JOSEPH SCHULER. 

One of the early settlers of Des 
Moines county and now among the most 
inlluential and substantial citizens of 
Benton township, is Jose])h Schuler. who 
has been an interested witness of the de- 
velopment of this section of the State 
from a condition approximating that of 
a wilderness, and has borne his part in 
advancing the material and moral inter- 
ests of the community. He owns and cul- 
tivates a rich farm of fifty-§ix acres in 
Section 23, Benton township. 

Mr. Schuler was born in Baden, Ger- 
many, on April 10, T841, and came to 
tin- I'nited States with his parents in 
1847. He was the son of .Marccllus and 
Gertrude (Kinburger) .Schuler. The. 
father was a farmer, and ujjon coming to 
the new country he located in Shelby 
county, Ohio, where he ])urchased land 
and made his home for seven years. .\t 
the end of that time he came to Burling- 
ton, where he engaged in the grocery 
business until i860, when he removed to 
Benton township. There he purchased 
a forty-acre tract of farming land, and 
made a home ior himself and his family 
until the time of his death, which oc- 
curred at tin- ri]»,' old age of eighty years. 
He was always a loyal Democrat in i)oli- 
tics. having decided when he first became 



a naturalized citizen that that party most 
closely represented his ideas of what a 
popular government should be. 

The mother was also born in Germany, 
and she lived to the age of sixty-eight 
years. She was the mother of three chil- 
dren, all of whom are still living, our 
subject being the oldest. The other two 
are : Charles, who resides on the old 
home place in Benton township ; Cath- 
erine, widow of William Hoppe, who re- 
sides in Burlington. Iowa. 

Joseph Schuler received his early edu- 
cation in the public schools in Ohio, and 
later in P>urlington. He remained at 
home, and after the family bought the 
place in Bicnton town.ship, worked on the 
farm until the breaking out of the Civil 
\\ ar. Then his love for his country in- 
spiretl him to take up arms in defense of 
the Cnion, and he enlisted in July, 1862, 
in Company K. of the Twenty-fifth Iowa 
Infantry, and served with that company 
for one year. At the end of that time he 
re-enlisted, this time in Company F, of 
the Eiglitli Towa \'eteran Volunteers, 
and served till the close of the war. He 
was in some of the hardest sieges and 
most severely fought battles of the war 
during this time. He saw service at 
\'icksburg, .\rkansas Post, Fort Spanish, 
and at Mobile, Ala. When the strife 
ended and the great host dissolved in 
peace, he received his discharge at Selma, 
Alabama. 

.After his discharge he returned to 
Iowa, and located in Benton township, 
where he farmed for some years, first 
reniing land, then later buying the place 
on which he is now located, and where 
he has ever since lived. Here he carries 
on a business of general farming, with 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



655 



some stock-raising, and is very success- 
ful in the conduct of his affairs. He has 
made many improvements in the place 
from time to time, and has seen many 
' changes in the county, always doing his 
share toward bringing about the advance- 
ment of the community. 

Mr. Schuler was united in marriage on 
May 28, 1868, to Miss Mary E. Meyers, 
who was born in the city of Burlington, 
Jan. 29, 1850, the daughter of Christopher 
Meyers. Christopher Meyers was an 
early settler of Burlington, who followed 
the occupation of farming throughout his 
entire life, farming in Burlington town- 
ship, where he died at the age of sixty- 
nine years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Schuler have been 
born ten children, and the hand of death 
has never yet entered the circle. The 
children are : Anna, wife of Henry 
Tackenburg, being a liveryman of Medi- 
apolis, whose life history is recorded else- 
where in this volume, and to whom has 
been born one daughter, Esther ; Charles 
E., who lives in Benton township: John 
F., who resides in Burlington, where he is 
engaged in a retail grocery business ; 
Julia, wife of Edward Colby, of Medi- 
apolis, who has two children, Wesley and 
Maria ; Elizabeth"", wife of Martin Welch, 
a hardware merchant of Mediapolis, who 
has one child, Ralph ; Ellen ; Edward ; 
Pearl; Hattie; and Lillian. All of Mr. 
Schuler's children were born and edu- 
cated in Des Moines county. He has 
reared a nice family, of which he has 
every reason to be proud, as they are a 
credit to the various communities in 
which they make their homes, and reflect 
great credit on their upbringing. 

Politically, Mr. Schuler is a Democrat. 



deeply interested in the growth and de- 
velopment of his party, and recognized 
as one of its powers in local ranks, al- 
though he has never aspired to the hold- 
ing of public office. He always evinces 
a strong interest in public affairs, being 
a consistent advocate of all worthy move- 
ments having for their object the pro- 
motion of the community's interests. As 
a farmer he has been highly successful 
by reason of his business ability and his 
attitude of readiness toward opportuni- 
ties, coupled with sane and sound judg- 
ment and keen foresight, which have en- 
abled him to carry his ventures to the 
desired issue. As a man and a citizen he 
enjoys the general respect because of his 
honorable and upright methods in all 
matters in which he comes into contact 
with his fellow-men. 



WILLIAM HENSLEIGH. 

William Hensleigh, of Mediapolis, 
who owns a large farm in Section 15, 
and is one of the best-known residents of 
Yellow Springs township, was born in 
Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, 
May 15, 1834. He is a son of Thomas 
and Ann (Walters) Hensleigh. His 
father was a native of England, and came 
to America in 1833, settling in Johns- 
town, Pa., where he was engaged for 
many years in building canal boats. 

Our subject received a substantial edu- 
cation in the district schools of West- 
moreland, after which he made himself 
ver}- useful for a long time on the home 
place. In 1855 he came to Des Moines 
county, and worked on several farms in 



656 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the townsliip till 18^14. when he bought 
his i)rcsent farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres in Section 15. When the rail- 
road was built it came through his place, 
taking off some four acres of his land. 

The task of Mr. Hensleigh has not been 
an easy one, as this farm was in a primi- 
tive condition when it fell into his hands. 
He labored long and hard, and now has 
the fjlace in good shape, most of it being 
under cultixalion. The improvements are 
all of the best, and consist of a well-built 
house, modern barns, and all the other 
buildings necessary for the shelter of 
grain and stock. His farm is also well 
drained, as he has laid many rods of tiling. 
He has a great deal of fruit on the place. 

F"eb. 2, 1858, Mr. Hensleigh was mar- 
ried to Miss Susan Wilson, daughter of 
John Z. and Nancy (McConncll) Wilson, 
who was born in .Allegheny county, 
Pennsylvania, Sept. 10, iS^i. Her 
father's family came West when she was 
about twenty years of age, locating first 
in Louisa county, and the year following 
moved to 'S'ellow S()rings township, 
where her father died in 1875, at the ad- 
vanced age of eighty years. Her mother 
died when only forty years old, before 
they left Pennsylvania. They were the 
parents of ten children: .Mary Jane mar- 
ried Robert McKibben; .\dam. F.lla. 
Zaccheus G., John, and Samuel, all de- 
ceased; James is a resident of Morning 
Sun, Iowa; Xancy .\nn became the wife 
of .Vlexandcr L. McClure. and is now a 
widow, also living in .Morning Sun; 
Susan, wife of our subject; .Martha Tor- 
rence married R. .\. Hay, and is dead. 

Unto Mr. and .Mrs. Hensleigh six chil- 
dren have been born, only two of whom 
arc living: John Thomas married I,iz- 



zie Cubit, and resides in Washington 
township; Xancy -Ann is Mrs. Hugh H. 
Martin, whose sketch appears elsewhere 
in this volume; Alonzo died Nov. 21, 
i8<;o, aged twenty-four years; Martha* 
Jane died in .Ai)ril, i8(;j5, at the age of 
twenty-four years ; Zackie died in in- 
fancy ; and Robert Arthur passed away in 
1873. aged one year and one day. 

.\s the years flew by Mr. Hensleigh 
and his good wife saw their possessions 
increase, and their toil was rendered 
lighter by the joys of a happy wedded 
life. In 1892 he retired from the farm 
and moved to the village of Mediapolis, 
where he is now engaged in the fire in- 
surance business to a large extent. He 
was school director of his township for 
several 3'ears, and has served the village 
as councilman for one term. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hensleigh are both devoted mem- 
bers of the Reform Presbyterian church. 
Mr. Hensleigh stands in the front rank 
as a citizen, and is always ready to aid 
in the advancement of any public enter- 
prise. 



E. M. EISFELD. 



E. M. EiSFELD, the founder of the E. M. 
Eisfeld Clothing House, one of the leading 
mercantile enterprises of Burlington, is a 
representative of that class of .'American cit- 
izens, who, coming from foreign shores, 
have, with ready recognition and utilization 
of the business oi^portunities of the New 
World, advanced from humble financial sur- 
roundings to positions of affluence, and at 
the same time have contributed to the com- 
mercial prosperity of the localities with 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



657 



whicli they have become identified. Mr. 
Eisfeld was born in Germany, and was upon 
the ocean on the occasion of the twentieth 
anniversary of his birth, which occurred 
July 10, 1833. He made the voyage to the 
United States with a brother, who for many 
years remained a resident of Baltimore, Md., 
but is now deceased. Mr. Eisfeld, of this 
review, is the only survivor of a family of 
eight children. In his youth he attended the 
public schools of the Fatherland, and at the 
age of thirteen he was bound out to learn the 
butcher's trade, which he followed until he 
embarked on the sailing vessel "Wieland" 
for the United States, Captain Henke com- 
manding. He landed at New York, and 
thence went to Baltimore. The first four 
weeks of his business experience in this 
country were devoted to butchering. From 
Baltimore he -went to Washington, D. C, 
where he spent six months, and for three 
months he engage<l in clerking in War- 
renton, V'a. Becoming ill, at the advice 
of his physician he went to Columbus, Ohio, 
where for two years he was engaged as a 
salesman in a clothing store ; and in 1856 he 
came to Burlington, where he embarked in 
business on his own account, the goods be- 
ing furnished by Joseph Gundersheimer. • 
He began his mercantile career here in a 
small store on Water Street, one door north 
of the present site of the German Hotel, 
occupying a room twenty by forty feet, with 
a stock valued at four thousand dollars. 
Two years later he removed to the corner 
building on Jefferson and Water Streets, 
where the ticket ofifice of the Chicago, Bur- 
lington & Ouincy Railroad Company used 
to be located, and as his trade grew he in- 
creased the amount of space occupied by his 
store. Later he moved to Main Street, re- 
maining there until the '70's. In the mean- 



time he had extended the field of his mercan- 
tile operations by the purchase, in 1862, of 
the store of Greenbaum & Kaskel, clothiers, 
conducting that as a branch establishment 
of the main store. In this he was associated 
with his brother-in-law, R. M. Raab, who 
acted as manager and partner. About 1870 
Mr. Eisfeld removed to the O'Brien build- 
ing on Main Street and began a jobbing 
clothing business, sending traveling sales- 
men to Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri, and did 
considerable business in that line for many 
years, conducting both his jobbing and re- 
tail trade. From the former, however, he 
withdrew about 1890. He continued to con- 
duct the retail business in the Parsons Block 
on Jefferson Street until he sold out to his 
son. Leon M. Eisfeld, and Samuel Hersch- 
ler, in 1891, and the store has. since been 
continued under the name of the Eisfeld 
Clothing Company. As the years advanced, 
the trade had steadily grown until the busi- 
ness was large and profitable, and he thereby 
accumulated a handsome competence, which 
classes him with the substantial residents 
of the city. 

In 1872 Mr. Eisfeld built a home at 909 
N. Fifth Street, a brick and stone structure 
two stories in height, with attic and cellar, 
and this he now occupies. About 1882 he 
built another house at 903 Fifth Street for 
E. Raab. Mr. Eisfeld was married in Bal- 
timore, Md., in 1861, to Miss Fannie Raab, 
who was born in Hanover, Pa., of German 
parentage. They have seven children, of 
whom si.x reached mature years : Carrie, 
the wife of L. L. Strause, a wholesale to- , 
bacconist, of Richmond, Va. : Bertha, the 
wife of Samuel Herschler, of Burlington ; 
Leon M., of Burlington ; Harry, proprietor 
of a hotel at Litchfield, 111. ; Ada, the wife 
of I. I. Strause, a wholesale dry-goods mer- 



658 



PIOGRAl'lllCAL KEl'lEW 



chant of Richmond, \'a. ; and Emily, the 
wife of W. B. Nelson, who is engaged in 
the wholesale millinery business at Rich- 
mond, V'a. 

Mr. Eisfeld is a menil)er ni the lliiai 
Brith, and for years has been an Odd I'el- 
low, having joined the order in Columbus, 
Ohio, while later he transferred his member- 
ship to Washington Lodge. No. i. and 
later to Harmony Lodge, at Burlington, the 
last mentioned being a (ierman organiza- 
tion. He has served as alderman of Bur- 
lington from the Fifth Ward under .Mayor 
Adams, and has ever been deeply interested 
in the welfare and progress of the city. As 
the champion of many iiubiic enterprises he 
has conlributefl to the (ievclopment of Bur- 
lington, and has taken just jiride in the 
city's development. Wiien he arrived here, 
it contained only about eight thousand ])o])- 
ulation. There was one railroad, two ferries 
being operated, so that connection was thus 
furnished with the ojipositc side of the river. 
He has tK>en retired from business for tiiir- 
teen years, and now spends his winter sea- 
sons in Richmond, \'a., and summers at 
Atlantic City, N. J., in the enjoyment of 
the fruits of his former toil. Coming to 
America without capital, he has made a 
notable record, marked by steady advance- 
ment in the business world, and stands high 
in the regard of friends and fellow-towns- 
men. 



JACOB EPSTEIN. 

Jacob Ei-stein, early identified with the 
business interests of Burlington, and for 
many years an active factor in its public life, 
exerting strong influence for its material 
progress and permanent imi)rovement. is 
now living retired, the years of liis biisimss 



activity having lx;cn crowned with a meas- 
ure of success that now enables him to rest 
from further business cares. 

Born in Germany, on the 15th of March, 
1831, Jacob Epstein acquired his education 
in the schools of his native country, and 
when nineteen years of age came to .Amer- 
ica. I^iuling at New York, he there worked 
as a common laborer for some time. Later 
he was in Chicago for several years, em- 
I)loyed in a hide house until he had learned 
the business, after which he went upon the 
road, traveling for ditYerent firms, and buy- 
ing hides in several sections of the country. 
.\t length he came to Burlington, in 1867, 
and Ix-gan business on his own account, pur- 
chasing hides, with a store on Jefferson 
Street. He followed this business until 
i8q4, and worked into a large wholesale 
hide and wool trade, with Boston as his 
principal market. He employed five trav- 
eling men, who bought hides and wool, and 
his business steadily increased under his 
capable management, until it brought to him 
a very desirable income. He was at first a 
member of the firm of Epstein, Goodman 
& Company, and acted as manager of the 
business. Later Mr. Goodman retired, and 
Mr. Epstein eventually became sole ])ro- 
prietor. thus conducting his enterprise until 
his retirement from active commercial pur- 
suits in 1884. He displayed marked busi- 
ness discernment, keen sagacity, and strong, 
resolute purpose, and by his capable control 
of his affairs gradually ama.ssed a comfort- 
able competence. He also invested in prop- 
erty, and is still the owner of business blocks 
and other city realty, the rental from which 
constitutes a very desirable income. In re- 
cent years, because of his invalid condition, 
his wife has largely relieved him of the 
supervision of the pro|)(.Tty and its attend- 




<r%. 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



66 1 



ant cares and responsibilities, and in its con- 
trol displays excellent business foresight 
and capacit}'. The family home is at 803 
North Fourth Street, where they have lived 
for thirty-three years, and the home is noted 
for its warm-hearted and generous hospital- 
ity, which is greatly enjoyed by their many 
friends. 

Mr. Epstein was married in New York 
to Miss Louisa Knopfmacher, who was born 
in Germany, but they became acquainted 
and were married in this country, Mrs. Ep- 
stein being but eight years of age when her 
parents came to the New World, because of 
the German revolution of 1848. Mr. and 
Mrs. Epstein have but one child, Eugene, 
who was married in Burlington to Miss 
Rosa \\illner. and is now living with his 
family in Iowa City, where he is engaged in 
the clothing business. 

At the time of the Civil War, Mr. Epstein 
responded to the call of his adopted country 
for troops, enlisting in New York City as a 
member of the New York Sharpshooters, 
with which he served for five years. He 
entered the army as quartermaster, and was 
mustered out as such. He was with the 
Army of the Potomac under General Burn- 
side. He now belongs to the Grand Army 
Post at Burlington, and is also a Mason, 
while in New York he held membership 
with the Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows. He is president of the brotherhood 
of B'nai Brith, of Burlington, but because 
of his invalid condition has been unable to 
attend the lodges regularly in the past few 
years. In community affairs he has always 
been deeply interested, and his co-operation 
has ever been counted upon when matters 
of public progress and improvement were 
under consideration and execution. He has 
alwavs voted with the Democracy, save at 



the presidential election of 1904, when he 
supported Roosevelt. For ten years he 
served as alderman from the Second Ward 
of Burlington, and at one time was candi- 
date for mayor, but was defeated by nine- 
teen votes. His has been, in former years, a 
most active and useful career, and his opin- 
ions yet carry weight and influence in public 
matters. Early identified with the city's 
business interests, he has ever stood for sub- 
stantial progress ^nd practical improvement, 
and Burlington has greatly benefited by his 
efforts in her behalf. 



JOHN IBBOTSON. 

John Ibbot.son, one of the large land- 
owners of Des Moines county, and exten- 
sively engaged in stock-raising in Yellow 
Springs township, was born Oct. 4, 1847, 
on the farm where he yet lives, his par- 
ents being George and Martha E. (Riggs) 
Ibbotson. 

The father came from Indiana to Iowa 
in 1841 and from the government secured 
a claim of one hundred and sixtv acres in 
Yellow Springs township, whereon he 
lived until his death, which occurred Jan. 
19, 1895. Had he lived five months longer 
he would have reached the ninetieth an- 
ni\-ersary of his birth. He was a native 
of "^'orkshire, England, while his wife 
was born in Kentucky. Her death oc- 
curred April 30, 1904, when she was 
eight3'-eight years and eight months of 
age. Mr. Ibbotson was a devoted member 
of the Baptist church, and in early life gave 
his political allegiance to the Whig party, 
with which he remained until its dissolu- 



662 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



tion, when he became a stanch Repub- 
lican. 

In the family of (ieorge and Martha 1!j- 
botson were eight children, namely: Mar- 
tha : John, of this review ; Stephen, of Los 
Angeles, Cal. ; George, who died when 
forty-one years of age ; Lizzie, who died 
when thirty-nine years of^ age ; Robert 
who is now living in Washington town- 
ship; Isaac, who passed away at the age 
o/ thirteen inonlhs : and Abraham Lin- 
coln, who died at the age of eight years. 

John Ibbotson ac(|iiired his early educa- 
tion in the district schools of Yellow 
Springs township, afterwards spending 
two years as a slu<lem in the academy at 
Kossuth, and one year at Mount Pleasant. 
He was reared to the occupation of farm- 
ing, and has always followed tliat pursuit 
upon the old family homestead where his 
birth occurred. He is now the owner of 
four hundred acres of \alu;d)le land, one 
hundred and sixty acres constituting the 
southeast corner of Section 19, while two 
hundred and forty acres lie on Section 30, 
Yellow Springs townshi]). He feeds all 
of his grain, ami keei)s on hand annually 
about seventy head of cattle. He also 
raises a few draft horses each year, ami 
now has upon his jilace about one hun- 
dred and fifty head of hogs. He is well 
known as a general farmer and stock- 
raiser, and one wliose success is the direct 
outcome of ex|)erience, sound judgment, 
and unfaltering diligence. 

On Dec. 28, 1871, Mr. Ihbotson was 
marrietl to Miss .Mary V . Talbott, a 
daughter of .\(|uilla and Lmily (dregory) 
Talbott. and a natise of Yellow Springs 
townshi|). born .\|)ril 2. 184S. Tlu-y have 
become the parents of nine children ■ 
George .\quilla, born in 1872. and died 



in infancy ; Idora, became the wife of 
.\ugust Butler, and after his death mar- 
ried J<jhn Stacker, their home being in 
Yellow Springs township; Ldwin, mar- 
ried Olie Casey, and lives on the Martha 
property ; John F., of Oklahoma City ; 
Harbara Ann, Homer L., Leslie, Harry 
I... and liurton, all at home. 



FRED GERLING. 

.X.MoNG the worthy citizens that Ger- 
many has furnished to Des Moines 
county is I-Ved Gerling, who was born in 
Prussia, Germany, May 26, 1850, his par- 
ents being Charles and lllsabine (Tei- 
mann) Gerling. The first representative 
of the family to come to America was 
Charles Gerling, a brother of our subject, 
and the parents also crossed the Atlantic 
after Fred tierling had made his way to 
the New World. Both died in Des 
Moines county, Iowa, and were buried 
near the Walker settlement, the father 
passing away in 1880. when sixty years 
of age. while his wife de()arted this life 
when lifty years of age. They were the 
parents ot seven children : Charles F. ; 
Fred; Mary, the wife of Herman Rischer, 
a resident of South Dakota; Christian, 
li\ing in Benton township: Caroline, the 
widow of John Cleek, and resides in I'.ur- 
lington; Louisa, the wife of Spencer 
Husted; and Henry. 

I-"re(l Gerling was educated in the com- 
mon schools, and in his youth learned the 
baker's trade, which he followed until he 
came to America. In August, 1868, then 
a young man of eighteen years, he sailed 
for the United States, and landed af Xew 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



663 



York, where he remained through the 
succeeding fall and winter. In the spring 
he went to Madison, Wis., and in the 
x'icinity of that city worked on a farm 
through two summers and one winter 
season. In September, 1870, he arrived 
in Curlington, where he was again em- 
ployed as a farm hand by the month for 
four and a half years. 

About the end of that time Air. Gerling 
was married Jan. 7, 1875, to Miss Susan- 
na Butcher, a daughter of William and 
Elizabeth (Gerling) Butcher. Ten chil- 
dren were born unto them : Alary, born 
Sept. 17, 1875; Carl, Feb. i, 1877; Will- 
iam, Feb. 19, 1879 ; Edward, Sept. 6, 
1880; Emma, Jan. 13, 1882; Fred H., Dec. 
9, 1884; Amelia, July 14, 1886; Lawrence, 
Jan. 26, 1888; Christian, May 8, 1891 ; and 
Albert, July 30, 1894. The family circle 
yet remains unbroken by the hand of 
death, and five of the children are yet 
living at home, while the eldest is in Lin- 
ton. Airs. Gerling was born in Pleasant 
Grove township, March i, 1854, upon the 
/arm that Charles Gerling now occupies. 
Her mother died in 1870, at the age of 
fifty-two years, and her father in 1873, at 
the age of sixty-six years. They were 
buried on the old home farm, in the ceme- 
tery which was set off from this place. 

Since 1892 Air. Gerling has owned the 
farm which he now cultivates. He has 
one hundred and sixty acres of land on 
Section 20, and one hundred and twenty 
acres on Section 29, Yellow Springs 
township. He has practically made all 
of the improvements upon the place, hav- 
ing erected a new house and barn, and 
also other buildings. He raises and feeds 
about a car-load of cattle each year, and 
he now has sixty-five head of cattle and 



keeps upon his place on an average of one 
hundred hogs of the Poland China and Ches- 
ter White variety. 

Air. Gerling has served as school direct- 
or for twelve years, and is now holding 
that office, the cause of education finding 
in him a warm friend. He belongs to the 
Cierman Lutheran church. He has never 
had occasion to regret his determination 
to seek a home in America, for here he 
has found the business opportunities 
which he sought ; and is to-day one of the 
substantial farmers of the county. 

When Air. and Airs. Gerling began 
housekeeping they had only enough 
money to buy one-half dozen spoons and 
three chairs. He has worked hard, and 
has accummulated until he is now in very 
comfortable circumstances. 



WILLIAM BRAND. 

WiLLiAjvi Brand, proprietor of a large 
tin-store and shop in Burlington, Iowa, and 
an old resident of that city, is a descendant 
of a German family which occupied a sub- 
stantial position in the Fatherland. He was 
born June 22, 1833, at Konigschafhausen, 
Baden, a son of William and Elizabeth 
(Henninger) Brand. The father was a 
cooper by trade, but after serving his term 
of seven years in the army secured a posi- 
tion in the revenue service of the Grand 
Duke of Baden as a tax collector, having 
charge of the revenue office in his own town. 
He remained in office approximately fifty 
years, retiring only in his eighty-sixth year. 
The date of his birth was Feb. 10, 1805, and 
he died in Freiburg in June, 1894, aged 
eighty-nine years. The maternal grand- 
father of our subject was a farmer in ex- 



664 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Cfllcnt circnmstaiuts, his i;iriii boing what 
is known in Germany as a bauerhof. 

The mother of Mr. Brand died when he 
was but six years old, and although he was 
thus in some measure deprived of the usual 
home training, his educational advantages 
were of the best, he attending the public 
schools tmtil be was twelve years of age, and 
during the following three years being a 
student in an architectural school at Waldr 
shtit, r.adeii. During the period between 
the ages of fifteen and eighteen years he 
was engaged in learning the tinner's trade 
at Kehl, opposite Strasburg, and after hav- 
ing mastered the trade he traveled to vari- 
ous cities of Germany, working as a jour- 
neyman tinner, for three years, or until he 
was twenty years of age. He then deter- 
mined to come to America, and sailed from 
Havre, I'^rance, on Saturday, May 6, 1854, 
landetl in New York, Sunday, June 18, 1854. 
Proceeding to Boston, he was employed in 
the tinshops there for two years, but feeling 
that the West oft'cred greater rewards, he 
came to Burlington in the spring of 1856. 
Here he was in the employ of various tin- 
ners until 1879, and it was during this 
period that he did a great deal of tin roof- 
ing, then a genuine novelty, and put up the 
first galvanized cornice in the city. 

Thrift, economy, and steadiness of pur- 
pose finally enabled Mr. Brand to assume an 
independent position, and in 1879 '^^ opened 
a tinshop in r.urlinglon, at 415 Leebrick 
.Street, where he built a shop and residence. 
Here he has a well-appointed shop and a 
substantial two-story house. In his busi- 
ness venture he has enjoyed an encouraging 
success from the first, the business which he 
built up so carefully now being for sale 
that he may retire. On Dec. 6, i8r«, he 
wedded Miss Mary Wagner, daughter of 



Andrew Wagner, and to them have been 
born seven children, who survived infancy, 
these being as follows: William, of St. 
Louis; Charles F., deceased; Amelia M., 
wife of Walter Walden, of Miami, Fla. ; 
Etlward and Henry, of St. Louis ; Louis, 
of Burlington ; and Clara, wife of Fred 
Coalbaugh. Three died in infancy. All 
the sons have followed in their father's 
steps and learned the tinner's trade, at 
which they are now employed. Mrs. 
Brand is now deceased, she having died 
in r.urlington, Oct. 12, 1904, mourned and 
regretted by many friends. She was born 
at Grocglingen, Wurtemburg, Nov. 22, 
1843, ^'"^1 coming to the United States, lo- 
cated in Burlington with her parents, in the 
sjjring of 1847, her father being a book- 
binder, who worked at his trade in this city. 
For a long term of years Mr. Brand was a 
member of the Turners' society, and recalls 
that he served for a time in the first hook- 
and-ladder company ever organized in Bur- 
lington, this being in 1858. During the time 
of the Civil War. he joined the Home 
Guards, thus displaying a commendabls 
spirit of loyalty to his adopted city and 
country, for at that time rumors were rife 
that the Confederate forces contemplated an 
invasion of the principal cities along the 
Mississippi River. In the German Silver 
Cornet Band, one of the best organizations 
of the kind ever formed in the West, he 
was a member for seventeen and a half 
years, playing a tenor horn and second 
violin, and visiting many surrounding 
towns and cities. He has never been 
allied with any political party, but takes 
great interest 'u\ alTairs of government 
as one of that large and increasingly 
influential body of citizens known as in- 
dependents. In 1885, Mr. Brand returned 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



66^ 



to Europe, and visited his native town of 
Konigschafhausen and other places, and 
taking a trip down the Rhine. He was gone 
three months in all, and thoroughly enjoyed 
the renewal of old memories, although he 
returned to America with renewed faith in 
the wisdom of his choice in casting his lot 
with the New World. He has indeed the 
best reasons for viewing that action with 
complacency, for here he has achieved suc- 
cess, and acquired a competency, and made 
man}- friends who respect him for his 
worth and his strength of character. 



JAMES DEAM. 

James Deam, engaged in general farm- 
ing and stock-raising, is a native of 
Ohio, his Ijirth having occurred in Day- 
ton, Clarke county. May 22, 1846. His 
parents were Frederick and Barbara 
Deam, who came to Iowa about 1853, 
settling in Burlington township. A year 
later they removed to a farm south of 
the city, and afterward again took up 
their abode north of the city, where the 
father lived until his death, which oc- 
curred in 1868, when he was seventy-two 
years of age. His wife died on the same 
farm in 1872, at the age of seventy-three 
years. 

They were the parents of fourteen chil- 
dren : Henry, a resident of Springfield, 
Ohio ; Eliza, the wife of Robert Steinrod, 
is living in Bramar, Mo. ; Margaret, died 
in Missouri; Edward and William, twins, 
the former living in Burlington township, 
and the latter in Sioux City, Iowa ; Har- 
mon, died in Buitalo, N. Y. ; Barbara, the 
wife of Frank Moyer, a resident of Green 



Ridge, Mo. ; Mrs. Betsey Elizabeth For- 
tune, living in Bramar, JMo. ; Frederick, 
unmarried : Adam went to Houston, 
Texas, in early life and has not been 
heard from since ; Amelia, the wife of 
John Myers, who lives in Burlington 
township ; James, of this review ; and two 
that died in infancy. 

James Deam was reared in the usual 
manner of farm lads, being only seven 
years of age when brought by his parents 
to Des Moines county. Here he has since 
made his home, and whe^ a young lad 
worked in his father's fields, while les- 
sons of industry and integrity were 
strongly impressed upon his mind. He 
acquired his education in the district 
schools ; and when he started out in life 
on his own account, he concluded to fol- 
low the pursuit which had hitherto 
claimed his attention. 

In 1898 he purchased his present farm 
of two hundred and twenty acres, buying 
the place from Phillip Cox. It is located 
in Section 2, Yellow Springs township, 
and is a valuable property. Up to this 
time Mr. Deam had rented land, and since 
his purchase his undivided attention has 
been given to the cultivation and im- 
provement of this property, and to the 
raising of stock. He now raises or feeds 
about eighty head of cattle each year, 
nineteen head of horses and colts, and 
about one hundred and forty head of 
hogs, this branch of his business bring- 
ing him a gratifying income. 

On Dec. 27, 1877, Mr. Deam was united 
in marriage to Miss Ann Jane Hunter, 
a daughter of ^^'illiam and Ann Jane 
(McCormick) Hunter. ^Irs. Deam was 
born in Burlington township, Des Moines 
county, and by her marriage has become 



666 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the mother of nine children: Mamie, the 
wife of Ijeorge McKim, a resident farmer 
of Yellow Springs township; Frank, Wil- 
liam. Frederick, Elgy, Bert, Pearl, and 
Clarence, all at home; and Martha, who 
died at the age of three years. The wife 
and mother died Feb. 28, 1898, at the age 
of forty years, and her death was deeply 
deplored by many friends as Nyell as her 
immediate family. 

Mr. Deam votes with the Democratic 
parly. He has served as district super- 
visor and school treasurer, having occu- 
pied the latter position for several years. 
He belongs to the Meth(3dist Episcopal 
church, and is interested in all that per- 
tains to welfare and iiujjrovement along 
material, social, intellectual, and moral 
lines. 



DELOS A. GILLETTE. 

Delos a. GiLMnTF., now deceased, de- 
voted his life to general farming and stock- 
raising, finding ample opportunity for the 
exercise of his energy and business ability 
in that line of work, wherein he gained a 
creditable measure of success. He was a 
native of the State of New York, born in 
Randolph, Sept. 12, 1828. His parents were 
Comfort and Caroline (Dodds) Gillette. 
The father, who was born at New Lebanon, 
Columbia county, N. Y., in 1797, afterward 
removed to Ohio. His wife was a native 
of Phelps, Ontario county, N. Y., born in 
1804. 

During his residence in the Buckeye State 
the father engaged in general agricultural 
pursuits, and upon coming to Iowa pur- 
chased three hundred acres of land in Frank- 



lin township, whereon he lived up to the time 
of his death, which occurred on the old 
homestead. He passed away Dec. 20, 1865, 
at the age of sixty-eight years. He was of 
the Ijaptist faith, of which church he had 
long been a consistent member. His polit- 
ical allegiance was given to the Republican 
party. His widow died when seventy-five 
years of age, and of their family of eleven 
children only one is now living. 

Delos A. Gillette acquired his education 
in the common schools of his native town, 
and in his youth assisted in the work of the 
home place. About 1852, when twenty-four 
vears of age, he came to Iowa, settling in 
Burlington, where he was employed as one 
of the surveyors on the railroad then being 
extended to Mt. Pleasant. He continued at 
that work for some time, and afterw^ard 
removed to Franklin township, where he was 
engaged in farming. After the arrival of 
his parents in this county he went to live 
with them in Franklin township, and he and 
his brother Henry o|)crated the home place. 
There Delos .'\. Gillette remained for a num- 
ber of years, but eventually removed to 
Louisa county, Iowa, where he purchased a 
farm, which he owned and cultivated for 
three years. He then sold that property and 
came to P'ranklin township, where he Imught 
a tract and carried on general agricultural 
pursuits for a number of years. Later he 
sold this property and lived in the village of 
Sperry up to the time of his demise. 

Jan. 13, 1856, at Upper Sandusky, Mr. 
Gillette was married to Miss Mary E. Eg- 
glcston, who was born in Ontario county. 
New York, and was a daughter of Joseph 
and Maria (Buttles) Eggleslon, both of 
wlioiu were natives of the Empire State. 
The father was a stone-mason by trade, and 
after living in New York for many years, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlFA. 



667 



removed to Upper Sandusky, Ohio, wliere 
both he and his wife passed away. 

Mrs. Gillette was educated in the common 
schools at the place of her birth, and by her 
marriage has become the mother of five 
children, all of whom were born in Des 
Moines county, but only one is now living: 
Alice May, born May 16, 1857, died at the 
age of two years ; Frank A., born Oct. 3, 
1858, died in September, 1859; William M., 
born July 9, i860, died at the age of nineteen 
years ; Carrie, who died at the age of nine 
years ; Elma, living at home with her mother, 
is the successful teacher of the Diamond 
School of Franklin township. 

In his political views Mr. Gillette was an 
earnest Republican, yet neither sought nor 
desired office. For many years his attention 
was given in undivided manner to his farm- 
ing and stock-raising interests. In 1877 'i^ 
took up his abode in the village of Sperry, 
but still carried on farming. He remained 
there until called to his final rest Dec. 28, 
1901, his remains being interred in the old 
Stone Church cemetery. He had passed the 
seventy-third milestone on life's journey, 
and his had been an active and useful career 
that had made his name an honored one. 



GEORGE W. BIRD. 

The family of which George W. Bird, 
president of the Retail Grocers' Associa- 
tion, of Burlington. Iowa, is a well-known 
member, was founded in America by the 
father of our subject. Thomas Bird, who 
was born in Leicester, Leicestershire, 
England, Feb. 20, 1833. In his native 
town he learned the trade of carpentering, 
which he followed there for a time, but 



in 1864 he decided to emigrate to the 
United States; and sailing from Liverpool 
to New Orleans, he came directly to Bur- 
lington, where he was first employed in 
the Joy planing mill. Later he engaged 
with the firm of Nairn & Gillies, with 
whom he remained for twenty-five years, 
during the greater part of this time hav- 
ing charge of special work, requiring for 
its proper execution a high degree of 
technical skill. This connection he sev- 
ered in 1901. He was united in marriage 
in this city, in March, 1869, to Miss 
Melissa Johnson. 

George \A'. Bird was born Oct. 9, 1872, 
in Burlington, only child of Thomas and 
Melissa (Johnson) Bird, and after com- 
pleting his preliminary education in the 
public schools of this city, entered El- 
liott's Business College, in which he pur- 
sued a full course of study, thus securing 
excellent preparation for the practical life 
of commerce and business, in which he 
has since been so conspicuously success- 
ful. ' In 1890 he became a commercial 
traveler for J. B. Petit, wholesale mer- 
chant, representing his interests through- 
out Iowa and Western Illinois for two 
years with satisfactory results. Later he 
engaged with the firm of John Blaul & 
-Sons in a similar capacity for a further 
two years, traveling in northern and a 
portion of central Iowa, and in 1897 he 
established a high-class grocery store at 
the corner of Smith and Marshall Streets, 
which is his present location. Hither he 
has drawn by the fairness and frankness 
of his methods a flourishing and profita- 
ble patronage. The store is an excellent 
example of neatness and convenient ar- 
rangement, the equal in these respects of 
any in the city, and all fixtures and ap- 



668 



BIOGRAPHICM. RFMEW 



poinlnients arc in tlic liighest degree 
modern, attractive, and utilitarian. 

In March, 1898, Mr. Uird was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary Spahr, a daugh- 
ter of George H. Sjjahr, well known as a 
capitalist anil a jirominent citizen of 
Mount Pleasant, Iowa, and to them have 
been born three children, Mary Louise. 
Florence \'irginia, and Gertrude Wagner. 

Fraternally, Mr. Bird is a member of 
Burlington Lodge, No. 84, Benevolent and 
Protective Order of Elks, and during the 
four years from 188H to 1892 he was a 
member of Company H, Iowa Xational 
Guard. He is a leading worker in the 
Retail Grocers' Asi^ociation. of Burling- 
ton, of which he was elected vice-presi- 
dent in 1902 and re-elected the following 
year, while he is now the president of the 
association, having been elected to this 
office in March, 1904. He enjoys ex- 
treme popularity, and is a leader in pub- 
lic as well as in business life, being act- 
ive in politics as a prominent member of 
the Republican party ; and in recognition 
of his ability he was in 1904 elected alder- 
man for the fourth ward, to represent that 
constituency in the city council of Bur- 
lington. His position in the esteem and 
regard of his fellow-townsmen is one of 
which any man might well be proud, and 
it is unnecessary to say that his reputa- 
tion is firndy foundi-d in U|)right charac- 
ter and unwavering loyalty to his friends. 



LEANDER J. MESMER. 

Leander J. Mesmer, of Burlington, was 
born in the grand duchy of Baden, Germany, 
and in 1856 was brought to America by his 



mother. His parents wire Michael and 
Anna (Wurtenburger) Mesmer, also na- 
tives of Baden, in which country they were 
reared and married. They became the par- 
ents of thirteen children, but only two 
reached mature years, namely: Leander J. 
and Sophia, the latter the -widow of George 
Herman, formerly a ])rominent butcher of 
Burlington, in which city he died, while 
Mrs. Herman now lives in Chicago. 
.Michael Mesmer came to America in 1855, 
and the following year the mother came, 
bringing with her her son Leander. They 
made the voyage in a sailing vessel, reaching 
New Orleans sixty days after leaving the 
European port, and then came up the river 
to Burlington. The father was a shoe- 
maker, and followed that trade until a few 
vears jirior to his death, when he opened a 
boarding-house ; but he did not find that 
profitable, and returned to his trade again. 
He died at the age of sixty-five years, and 
was buried in the German Catholic cemetery 
on North Hill, having survived his wife for 
some time. 

Leander J. Mesmer was but six years of 
age when brought by his mother to the 
United States, and in Burlington was reared 
and educated, attending the German Evan- 
gelical school and also the ])ublic and 
parochical schools. When alxnit twelve 
years of age he began working in tiie 
German Tribune office and learned the 
printer's trade, spending five years there. 
Later he worked in Daveni)ort, Iowa, and 
learned both the German and English 
cases. He followed the printing trade for 
about thirty-five years on the Burlington 
Gazette, twenty-five years being spent in 
the mechanical department. For one year, 
in 1870-71, he conducted a boarding-house 
on Jefferson Street. In 1898 he was ap- 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



669 



pointed police clerk by Judge Gillespie, and 
served for six years, his term of office expir- 
ing in April, 1904. He afterward opened 
a cigar and news-stand on Jefferson Street, 
in the spring of 1904, but after four months 
sold out. 

In August, 1869, Mr. Mesmer was 
united in marriage to Miss Barbara Heck, 
in Anson, Wis., while he was working in a 
general store and mill for Gilbert Brothers 
& Company, later the Gilbert-Hedge Lum- 
ber Company, of Burlington. Eight chil- 
dren were born unto them, but one son, 
William R., who was a printer connected 
with the Hazvk-Eye, died July 2, 1904: 
Emma, who is engaged in dressmaking in 
Denver, Colo. ; Anna, wife of E. A. Vogel- 
gesang, a musician connected with Fisch- 
er's Orchestra, of Burlington; Lytlia, wife 
of Will K. Toup, foreman for the Burling- 
ton Buggy Company, of this city ; Julia, 
who follows dressmaking in Denver, Colo. ; 
Edwin L., a carriage trimmer, employed 
in this city ; Ada, a seamstress, of Burling- 
ton : and Leander F. The family home is 
at 534 Moore Street. In February, 1885, 
Mr. Mesmer became a member of Typo- 
graphical Union, No. 75, joining it upon 
its organization. He also belongs to the 
Modern Brotherhood of America and to St. 
Patrick's Catholic church, and in his polit- 
ical affiliation is a Democrat. 



JOHN F. GERDES. 

John F. Gerdes, who is proprietor and 
manager of a model grocery store at 
1200 North Seventh Street, Burlington, is 
a young man of exceptional ability and 
enterprise, and has enjoyed unusual prep- 



aration for the work to which he is now 
devoting his talents. Mr. Gerdes was born 
Dec. II, 1872, in Oldenburg, Germany, a 
son of Henry and Louise (Schwarting) 
Gerdes, who now reside in Burlington, 
where the father owns a tract of twenty 
acres of agricultural land within the city 
limits, and pursues his vocation of farming. 
The days of his boyhood and early youth 
were passed in the work of the farm in his 
native land, and there also he obtained his 
early education in the public schools. In 
1889 he accompanied his parents to Amer- 
ica, locating in Burlington, where he sup- 
]3lemented his schooling by taking a course 
in Elliott's Business College, and later 
began his business career by entering the 
employ of Mr. Henry Luchner as a delivery 
man. Desirous, however, of enlarging the 
domain of his experience, and wishing to 
gain a better insight into business methods, 
he then went to the city of New York, and 
obtained employment in a grocery store, 
where he remained for two years, at the 
end of which time he was sent by his 
employers to Spartanburg, S. C, to take 
the direction of a large mercantile estab- 
lishment which was under their charge 
at that place. There he met with conspic- 
uous success, and after a further period of 
two years he returned to Burlington in 
1897, and established an independent gro- 
cery business at the location which he still 
occupies. The store is one of the neatest 
and most attractive in the city, while the 
stock is always kept in the best possible con- 
dition, and by unfailing courtesy and con- 
sideration, combined with absolute integ- 
rity and frankness in all his dealings, he has 
built up a valuable reputation and secured a 
large and ever-increasing support from the 
appreciative public. 



670 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA'IEW 



At Ai)lington, Iowa, in 1899, -Mr. Gerdes 
was united in marriage to Miss Carrie 
Wagner, who. like himself, was born and 
reared in Germany, and to them have been 
born two sons, Carl and Emil. They are 
active members and supi)orters of the Ger- 
man Baptist church, and take an abiding 
interest in the work of the Sunday-school, 
of which Mr. Gerdes is assistant superin- 
tendent. Too much can not be said of the 
high quality of Mr. Gerdes's business abil- 
ity, nor of the vast amount of careful and 
conscientious attention whicli he devotes to 
his stock, consisting of groceries, hay, and 
feed, for he realizes that eternal vigilance 
is the price of success in these times of close 
competition, and that he who would succeed 
must excel. 1 Ic has huilt up a large busi- 
ness, and earned the confidence and esteem 
of the people, so that while there is no doubt 
that still greater triumphs await him in the 
future, it may be justly said that success 
is alreadv his. 



JOHN SCHULTZ. 

John Schultz is one of the pioneers 
of Des Moines county, and claims good 
old Germany as his birthplace. His friends 
point with pride to the success he has 
. achieved in life, which is the result of his 
energ)% ambition, willing hands, and the 
best of principles. 

He is a native of Mecklenburg, Germany, 
and was born Oct. 9, 1823. He attended 
the public schools in Mecklenburg, accord- 
ing to the laws of Germany, and selected 
the trade of wagon-making as his vocation 
in life. In 185 1. with his knowledge and 
experience of wagons, he made up his mind 



to croN!. the great .\tlantic. He came in 
one of the old-time sailing vessels, and was 
sixty-two days in making the trip to New 
Orleans. Here he took a boat up the Mis- 
sissippi River to St. Louis, and a month 
later came to Burlington, Iowa, where he 
engaged in the blacksmith and wagon busi- 
ness, following his trade for different men. 

Feeling a desire to start in business for 
himself, he moved to Dallas, 111., and opened 
up a wagon shop. This he conducted for a 
few years, and then went to Fort Madison, 
Iowa, and worked for ( )berlain, and after- 
ward for Homer. Returning to Burling- 
ton several years later, he located on Sunny- 
side Avenue. 

While residing in I'ort Madison he was 
married to Miss Charlotte Fesse, by whom 
he has six children : Emma married Gus 
Steinbrecher, and has eight children : Will- 
iam, who died when ten years old; Char- 
lotte is Mrs. Nicholas John Bamicle, and 
has two children. Clayton and Clarence, 
twins; Edwin, agetl nineteen: Emily, aged 
seventeen ; William, aged fifteen ; Raymond, 
aged seven : Laura, who died when eighteen 
months old : and Harold, who is three years 
old. Mary married Fred Schultz. has one 
son, Herbert, and lives at 1337 Ashmun 
Street. John resides on West Hill, is an 
expressman, and has one son. Edwin. Ella 
is the wife of Gustus Fritz Knickrehm, and 
lives on Pilger and Bcrtch Avenues. Mr. 
Knickrehm was born in Germany, Oct. i, 
i8fx), wliere he was educated in the public 
schools, and learned the butcher's trade. 
He came to America in 1890, landing in 
New York, and at once came West to Bur- 
lington, where he has ever since been en- 
gaged in following his trade, with the excep- 
tion of two years, which he spent in New 
Mexico. He is a Democrat, a member of 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



671 



the JNIoderu Woodmen of America, and also 
a faithful member of the German Lutheran 
church. 

Mr. Schultz is a member of the Zion 
church, and was the efficient janitor of the 
church for fifteen years, but on account of 
age resigned a number of years ago. He 
has always given his political allegiance to 
the Democratic party, but prefers private 
Hfe to office holding. Mr. Schultz is of a 
retiring disposition, and his many friends 
and acquaintances have found that he is a 
true man, possessing all those noble qual- 
ities that make an honored citizen. His 
life, so full of activity and strong determin- 
ation of purpose, is well worth}' of emula- 
tion. His residence of over fifty years in 
Iowa has been a wonderful school of ex- 
perience, and his friends enjoy to gather 
round this kind old gentleman and hear him 
repeat the tales and incidents of the past. 



SEBASTIAN HEITZ. 

See.\stian Heitz, for the last thirteen 
years a resident of Burlington, was born 
Oct. 28, 1 819, at Niederschupheim, Over- 
amt Ofenburg, Baden. His father, Kaspar 
Heitz, a carpenter b}- trade, was twice 
married. The first wife was a daughter 
of Andreas Harmon, a stone mason of 
Niederschupheim. Of this marriage there 
were three children : Joseph, Sebastian, and 
Theresa, the mother dying when Sebastian 
was three years old. Kaspar Heitz died 
when about sixty years old, his death being 
occasioned by a fall from a tree he was 
cutting. His father lived to be ninety-five 
years of age. Andreas Harmon lived to 
be eighty-two years old. Kaspar Heitz by 



his second marriage was the father of two 
children, Louis and Valentine. In Feb- 
ruary, 1843, Sebastian Heitz sailed from 
Havre de Grace and reached New York 
after a voyage of thirty-five days on a sail- 
ing vessel. He soon went to Philadelphia, 
and in the vicinity of that city worked in 
Pennsylvania and New Jersey for four 
years, on farms. 

In 1847 he returned to his native town 
by way of London and Amsterdam, ascend- 
ing the Rhine to Mannheim and thence 
home by railroad. Soon -after his arrival 
there he married Genevieve Gallus, born 
Oct. 4, 1819, daughter of Alexander Gallus, 
a butcher of Niederschupheim. 

On his return to America Mr. Heitz 
was accompanied by his wife and her 
sister Katherine, and his brother Louis, 
and eleven other persons. They traveled 
across France in a diligence, or stage coach, 
to Havre, and were forty-four days on board 
ship between that place and New Orleans. 
From the latter place they came by river 
to Cincinnati ; but as Louis could not find 
work there, he and Mr. Heitz and wife 
crossed the Alleghanies and returned to 
the neighborhood where Mr. Heitz had 
formerly worked. The brothers stayed at 
Malaga, N. J., three years, and were all 
that time in the employ of a Mr. Rosen- 
baum. In 1850 Mr. Heitz and wife re- 
turned by way of Pittsburg to Cincinnati, 
where they visited Mrs. Heitz's sister Kath- 
erine, who had married Florien Berckley. 
Coming West by the great rivers they 
reached Ft. Madison, Iowa, in October, 
1850. Louis Heitz came to Ft. Madison 
and settled in 1852. Soon after Sebastian 
Heitz reached Ft. Madison, he rented land 
and raised vegetables and fruits to supply 
the town. He was the first man who raised 



672 



cultivated strawberries in that city. After 
a time lie bought a block of land, on which 
he carried on the business of green-garden- 
ing and fruit-raising till 1892, when he sold 
out after a residence of forty-two years in 
the city. He was never an office seeker, 
but served two years as supervisor. He 
was one of the charter members of Empire 
Lodge, No. 31, Independent Cirder of Odd 
Fellows, of Fort Madison, t)rganized in 
1852. On Sept. 9, 1 861, the Gennans of 
Empire Lodge, of whom Mr. Heitz was 
one, preferring a German ritual, established 
Concordia Lodge No. 133. He was noble 
grand of this lodge two terms. Subse- 
quently Concordia Lodge was merged into 
Empire Lodge, of which he is now a mem- 
ber. His membership in the order is now 
well beyond the half century mark, making 
him one of the oldest Odd Fellows in Iowa. 
Mr. Heitz's affiliations were with the 
Catholic church, but after joining the Odd 
Fellows the church reijuired him to de- 
cide between itself and the Odd Fellows, 
and he chose to remain with the latter or- 
ganization, and since then he has not con- 
sidered himself a church-member. 

Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Heitz: Joseph, the eldest, died in I'liion, 
Ore., in i8(;i : b'lorien lives in .Anaconda, 
Mont. ; William lives at Frontier, Wyo. ; 
Abbie, who married August Fogel, lives 
in Burlington ; Hattie, uho married Ben- 
jamin Thompson, lives in Fort .Madison ; 
Edith, the wife of Edward Benbow, also 
lives in Fort Madison. Mrs. Heitz died in 
that city in April, 1902, at the ripe old age 
of eighty-two. Mr. Heitz has made his 
home with his daughter in Burlington 
since 1892, and though past eight-five 
years old, he goes about like a man much 
younger in years. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 

JOSEPH LANDWEHR. 



(J.NE of the re])resentative farmers in 
Flint Kiver tcnvnshi]) is Jose])h Landwehr, 
who has resided there for the last twenty- 
five years. He was born in Brinkenfeld, 
Kris Haflfort, . Germany, May 16, 1845, 
and is a son of Fred and Rickie (Dick- 
haner) Landwehr. I-'ntering the common 
schools of his native land he ])ursued his 
studies, and at the age of nine years came 
to .America with his parents. They were 
thirteen weeks on the water coming in an 
old-time sailing vessel by way of New 
Orleans. They settled at once in Quincy, 
111., where later the parents both died. 
Mr. Landwehr learned the trade of a ci- 
garmaker. hut his health failing soon 
after, he was advised to go to farming. 
He came to l)es Moines county in 1880, 
and has since been a resident of Flint 
Kiver township. In December, 1890, he 
bought his present farm of a little over 
fifty-one acres in Section 2. As the years 
passed, modern improvements have been 
made \.\\wn it. and it is now a very val- 
uable i)roi)erty. His fields are richly cul- 
tivated, and annually return to him golden 
harvests, and the neat and thrifty appear- 
ance indicates his careful supervision. He 
has never been active as a politician, and 
is independent in his political affiliations. 

.\ug. 25, 1868, Mr. Landwehr was mar- 
ried to Miss .Anna Frederica Bringcr. 
daughter of l-'red William and .\nna 
( r.ochstat) Bringer, whose birth occurred 
in Springa, Germany, May 14, 1849, and 
came to America when but five years old 
with her ]iarents, who settled in Quincy. 
111. Mr. Bringer has passed away, while 
Mrs. Bringer is living at the advanced 
age of seventy-eight years. 




JOSEPH LANDWEHR. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



675 



Eight children have blessed the home 
of Mr. and Mrs. Landwehr: Fred; Anna, 
who married Charles Haar; Bertha, the 
wife of Port Kirby; John; Herman; Ed- 
ward; Emma, died in 1878, aged two 
years; Lydia, born in 1888, died in 1894. 
The worth of our subject as a man and 
citizen, are widely acknowledged, and he 
belongs to that class known as self-made 
men, because they have triumphed over 
obstacles, and depending upon their own 
resources have worked their way upward 
to prosperity. 



BENJAMIN ASMUSSEN. 

One of the younger and highly respected 
tillers of the soil of Mediapolis, and who is 
a native of the Hawkeye State, which is 
watered at so many points by the beautiful 
river known to all as the father of waters, 
is Benjamin Asmussen. He is a son of 
Fred and Eliza (Vollmer) Asmussen, and 
was born in Burlington, Sept. 27, 1875. 
When a mere babe, his parents moved to 
Franklin township, and here in the district 
schools he gained his education. His father 
was a prosperous painter of Des Moines 
county for man}' years. 

His marriage to Miss Isabell Aletha 
Logan took place Dec. 19, 1901. His wife 
is a daughter of William and Louisa Eliza- 
beth (Tibbetts) Logan, and was born in 
Franklin township March 10, 1879. Her 
father died in 1894, and her mother, who is 
still living, makes her home in Sigourney, 
Iowa. 

Mr. and Mrs. Asmussen have no children. 
They have a nice and comfortable home, 
where all their friends are ever made wel- 
come. Air. Asmussen is gradually placing 



modern machinery upon his farm, and each 
year finds the land in a higher state of culti- 
vation. He takes much pleasure in all 
movements that work a benefit to the State 
and county. In politics he has ever been 
a strong Democrat, but has always be- 
lieved he could promote the interests of his 
party to better advantage by not being in 
the possession of any office. 

Mr. Asmussen is a very genial and 
friendly man, and one who is making his 
ladder in life of the strongest rounds of 
honor, industry, great energy, and upright 
living, and has already attained a success 
in business that many an older man might 
well envy. 



CLARENCE EDWARD CAMERON. 

Clarence Edward Cameron, who re- 
sides on Section 34, Union township, is one 
of the enterprising young farmers of Des 
Moines county whose thorough understand- 
ing of agricultural interests has enabled 
him to so ca!re for his property that he has 
profited in all his undertakings. He was 
born Mav 30, 1874, his parents being Ed- 
ward W. and Dorcas H. (Leffier) Cam- 
eron. Edward W. Cameron, the father of 
our subject, was a native son of Union 
township, Des Moines county, having been 
born at his father's farm home, which he 
had established in pioneer days, March 19, 
1859. In the district schools of the locality 
Clarence E. Cameron pursued his studies 
until eighteen years of age, when he entered 
Elliott's Business College, at Burlington, 
spending two winters in that institution. 
He has always remained upon the home 
farm, to which he returned upon the com- 
pletion of his business course, and to his 



676 



lUOGRAPtUCAL RIU lEW 



father gave the beiufit of his services until 
i8y8, when he was married. After Mr. 
Cameron, of this review, had by his mar- 
riage estabHshed a liome of his own. Jul- 
ward \\'. Cameron, with his family, re- 
moved to lUirHngton. wliere he is Hving 
retired, enjoying a well-earned rest from 
his former active life. He tlevotes his 
time and attention to general agricultural 
jHirsuits. and the neat and thrifty appear- 
ance of tlie ])]ace justifies one in the opinion 
that its manager is a successful agricul- 
turist, thoroughly understanding his busi- 
ness, and bringing to his work practical 
and sound common sense. 

On the 23d of February, 1898. Mr. Cam- 
eron was united in marriage to Miss Olive 
May Prieman. of Burlington. They attend 
and support the Episcopal church, and Mr. 
(allien Ml gives his political allegiance to 
the Republican party, but is not an aspirant 
for office, preferring to concentrate his en- 
ergies upon his business affairs. He is re- 
garded as one of the bright and intelligent 
voung farmers of the county, and is well 
known in the locality where he has always 
made his home, residing throughout his 
entire life u]ion the farm which is yet his 
place of residence. 



ANDREW JOHN PETERSON. 

Andrew John Peterson was born in 
Sweden on the lAth day of March, 1835, a 
son of jerry and Mary (I'unstat) Peter- 
son. 'I'lie father, who was also a native 
of Sweden, in which country he was born 
in 1806, was there married, and with his 
wife ami four cliildriii came to .\merica. 
leaving our sulijecl. however, in Sweden. 



He came direct to ISnrlington. engaging 
in a variety of occupations there until 
about the year 1863, when he bought a 
small tract of land in Union township. 
On this land he continued to reside until 
the time of his death in the fall of 1885. 
His wife died in .Sei)tember, i8<x;. at an 
advanced age, the date of lu-r birth hav- 
ing been 1802. 

.\ndrew J. Peterson grew to maturity 
in his native land, meantime receiving a 
good education in the i)ublic schools, and 
for a few years devoted himself to farm- 
ing. In 1866 he decided to conic to the 
United States, and locating in tin- neigh- 
borhood where his ])arenls had previously 
settled, bought ten acres of land in Union 
townsliij). He had great difficulties to 
overcome, but by rigid economy, hard 
and constant work, and carefid manage- 
ment he achieved success, being now the 
owner of a fine farm excellently etpiipped. 
He added to his first purchase of land 
until at the present time it comjirises one 
hundred and forty acres, while he also 
owns one hundred and sixty acres in 
Kearney county, Nebraska. He engages 
in general farming, and in addition main- 
tains a small vineyard. 

Ill the month of August, i86(). .Mr. 
Peterson wedded Miss Christine Johnson, 
who had come to this country from Swe- 
den two years ])rior to that time. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Peterson have been born three 
children: I-'red .Mbert. still at the parental 
home ; .\manda, wife of Mr. Johnson, of 
Union township: and Xellie, also at 
home. .Mr. and .Mrs. Peterson are 
members of the Lutheran church, of 
which they have ever been among the 
most generous sup|)orters. The political 
allegiance of our subject is given to the 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



677 



Republican party. He has always been 
progressive and enterprising, and has 
made many improvements on the farm, 
tiling and draining the land and placing 
it under effective cutivation. The large 
and comfortable dwelling-house is of his 
erection, and altogether he has estab- 
lished a very pleasant home. 



JOHN H. EWINGER. 

John H. Ewinger, one of the leading 
representatives of the plumbing, heating, 
and gas-fitting business in Burlington, with 
a patronage which has caused him to extend 
his labors into many cities of this State, 
was born Feb. 28, i86t, in Burlington, and 
throughout his entire life has made his home 
here. His father, Henry Ewinger, was a 
native of Germany, and was a machinist by 
trade. Coming to the New World he was 
employed for many years as stationary 
engineer in the Putnam mill of Burlington, 
and in 1872, resigning his position, he pur- 
chased a half interest in the plumbing busi- 
ness of John Conrad, with whom he re- 
mained for about four years. The partner- 
ship was then dissolved, and i\Ir. Ewinger 
established a business of his own, which he 
conducted for about twenty years, with ex- 
cellent success. He died about 1898 — one 
of the respected business men of the city, 
whose success had been worthily won, and 
who had also gained the trust and good- 
will of those with whom he came in con- 
tact. 

His wife, who bore the maiden name of 
Mary Burg, was a sister of John Burg, a 
leading wagon-maker of Iowa. She died in 
1896, being survived by eight of their nine 



children, while six are yet living: Sarah, 
the wife of 'George Reif, a resident farmer 
of Des Moines county ; Ricke, who is the 
wife of Christ Ebert, who is engaged in 
cigar-making in Burlington : John H. ; 
Lydia, the wife of Robert Di.xon, of Fort 
]\'Iadison ; William, who is engaged in the 
plumbing business in this city ; and Emma, 
the wife of Karl Kurle, who conducts a har- 
ness business in Dallas, 111. .\fter losing 
his first wife, Henry Ewinger married Mrs. 
Mary Wedertz, who survived him, and died 
in the year 1903. 

John H. iMvinger pursued his education 
in the public school on North Hill, and after 
finishing his more specifically literary edu- 
cation, he began learning the plumber's 
trade under the direction of his father, with 
whom he remained for three years, when he 
went to Chicago, in 1881, and completed his 
trade in the plumbing establishment of E. 
Oaggett. Returning to Burlington in 1883, 
he again entered his father's employ. The 
business was incorporated in 1898. as Henry 
Ewinger Plumbing Company, with Henry 
Ewinger as president ; W. O. Ewinger, 
vice-president ; and J. H. Ewinger, secretary 
and treasurer. Following the father's death, 
the brothers remained in business together 
until 1900, and then dissolved partnership. 
John H. Ewinger then began business 
alone at 320 North P'ourth Street, where 
he has since been located. He controls an 
extensive business in plumbing, heating, and 
gas-fitting, and also <leals in pumps and 
engineering supplies. He employs eight 
plumbers, and lias done the work in his line 
in the Odd Fellows' Building, Tama Build- 
ing, Iowa State Bank Building, German- 
American Bank Building, Parsons Block, 
Sterns Block, Masonic Temple, and in the 
residences of W. B. Foster, .Vndrew Dehner, 



678 



BIOGKAPHICAL REVIEW 



R. M. Green, and many others, and also in 
St. Francis Hospital. He also took the 
contract for the plumbing, heating, and gas- 
titting in the Louisa county poorhouse, five 
residences in Fontanellc. Iowa, residences 
in Dixon and Dallas City, 111.; Unionville, 
Mo.; Fort Madison, Mount Pleasant, New 
London. Danville, Middletown. Wapello, 
and Columbus Junction. Iowa; and Cairo, 
111. His business has constantly grown 
and is of an important character, for he has 
been called to do work in his line in many 
inii)ortant buildings. His own practical 
knowledge of the trade well qualifies him to 
superintend the labor of others, .•iml his busi- 
ness career has been attended with a gratify- 
ing measure of success. He is a member of 
the Iowa State and National Plumbers' As- 
sociations. 

Mr. Ewinger was married in March, 
1885, to Miss I'rsula Johanna, a daughter of 
Andrew Johanna, whose wife, in Iier maid- 
enhood was Miss Johanna. They were na- 
tives of Switzerland and were married in 
that country. They came to America with 
their faniilv in 1S71 and located on a farm, 
the father now making his home on a farm 
south of the city. I'nto Mr. and Mrs. 
Ewinger were born fmir children, but the 
second. I knr\ .Andrew, died ;il the age of 
si.\ months. The others are Elsie Kate, 
Flossie Ursula, and Fred Wesley. The 
family home, in the Irvin .Addition, stands 
on Prospect Hill at the foot of Miller Street, 
near the Cascades. There Mr. Ewinger has 
twelve acres of ground, on which is an at- 
tractive frame residence, which was erected 
in 1900. Here he has much fruit — apples, 
grai>es, peaches, and jiears, and he makes 
fifty barrels of wine per year. In addition 
to this property Mr. F. winger owns two 
dwellings in Sweny's Addition, one built in 



1886, and the other in 1892. ;uid these he 
rents. 

Mr. Ewinger holds mcmberslup with 
P.lackhawk Camp, No. 33, Woodmen of the 
World, and with the Cascade Boating 
Association. He gives his political sup- 
port to the Democratic party, and is a mem- 
ber of the Lutheran church. He is quick 
of apprehension, and intricate business af- 
fairs he comi)rehends most readily, while 
in his active career he has won the success 
which is the just reward of meritorious, 
honorable effort which commands the re- 
spect and admiration of all. 



WILLIAM MOEHLE. 

Ger.m.vxv has furnished to America many 
worthy citizens. The sons of the Father- 
land readily adapt themselves to new con- 
ditions, make the best of their opportunities, 
and in all walks of life have demonstrated 
that industry is the path to success. Will- 
iam Moelile, a son of the Fatherland, was 
born in West Phalen, Germany, .\ug. 2, 
1864, his parents being Gottlieb and Louise 
(Bode) Moehle. The son pursued his edu- 
cation in the public schools of his native 
land, and when eighteen years of age bade 
adieu to frieiuls and country preparatory to 
establishing a home in the New World. He 
had heard favorable reports concerning this 
country and its opportunities, and he be- 
lieved that he might better his financial 
crmijitidn in the L'nited States. lie made 
his way direct to Burlington, where he 
entered the employ of Phillip Westerlieck. 
He also attended school one winter, and 
later worked at farm labor until he was 
married. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



679 



It was on Dec. 22, 1891, that Mr. Moehle 
was joined in wedlock to Miss Carrie 
Vollmer, who was born in Franklin town- 
ship, this county, March 3, 1870, and is a 
daughter of Henry and Louisa (Kipp) Voll- 
mer. Four children graced this marriage : 
Edward, born Nov. 8, 1892 ; Cora, June 22, 
1897; Ella, Sept. 22, 1902; and an infant, 
born Sept. 15, 1905. 

In 1889 Mr. Moehle purchased a farm of 
eighty acres from Mr. Parker, his land lying 
in Section 2,2)> Yellow Springs township, and 
in 1894 he bought one hundred acres of Mr. 
Deistlehorst. Upon this place he has since 
lived, and has developed it into a very val- 
uable and productive property. In 1902 he 
bought forty acres of G. S. Gray, on Section 
28, making two hundred and twenty acres 
in all. He is a breeder of Shorthorn and 
Hereford cattle, and has forty-eight head of 
fine cattle upon his place. He also raises 
about ninety head of Poland China hogs 
each year, and likewise some red swine. His 
farm property is valuable because of the 
improvements he has placed upon it. He 
has erected a commodious and substantial 
residence and good barns, has tiled his land, 
and now has his farm in an excellent con- 
dition, being equipped with all modern ac- 
cessories and everything needed to facili- 
tate the work and render his labors of 
greater value. 



HENRY SCHULTZ. 

Henry Schultz, a highly respected 
farmer of Flint River township, where he 
has made his home for almost thirty years, 
is now living on Section 14, where he has 
eighty acres of land that he has brought to 
a high state of cultivation. He was born 



near ]\lachtenburg, Prussia, Germany, Aug. 
28, 1827. His parents were also natives of 
that county, where they spent their entire 
lives. The son was reared to the occupa- 
tion of farming, attended the home school 
until about seventeen or eighteen years of 
age, and then entered the German army, 
serving for several months. 

In 1850 Mr. Schultz was united in mar- 
riage, in the Fatherland, to Miss Marie 
Pekern, also a native of Germany, where she 
lived until after her marriage. Her parents 
both died in that country during her early 
girlhood. In the year 1866 Mr. Schultz came 
with his family to the United States, set- 
tling first in New York, where he remained 
for two years, being employed in a sugar 
refinery. He then came to Des Moines 
county, Iowa, and spent several years in 
Burlington, where he was engaged in work 
in the brick-yard, and also at the gas-factory 
for about eight years. On the expiration of 
that period he removed to Flint River town- 
ship, and purchased his present farm of 
eighty acres on Section 14. He has put all 
of the improvements on this property, and 
has fair buildings here. His attention has 
been given to general agricultural pursuits 
and stock-raising, and his fields are well 
tilled. Nearly all the land was in its prim- 
itive condition when he took up the work 
of clearing it, but to-day he has most of it 
under cultivation. 

Unto Mr. and ]\Irs. Schultz have been 
born ten children, of whom six are now liv- 
ing: ]\lary, the wife of Christ Easman, of 
Burlington : Anna, wife of Conrad Elbrader, 
of Kansas ; Minnie, at home ; Henr\-, who 
is living in Burlington, and married 
Emma Rieke ; Christ and Gustave, both at 
home. Those who have departed this life 
are : Henry, Amelia, Louisa, and Charlie. 



68o 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIUIFAV 



The cliiUlrcii attended the ])iiblic schools, 
and the yoinifjer sons assist in the operation 
of tlie home farm at the present time. 

Botli Mr. and .Mrs. Schultz hold mem- 
bership in tlie liaptist church, while his polit- 
ical allegiance is given to the Republican 
party. He has been without political aspira- 
tion, preferring to gise his attention to his 
business interests, and his success has been 
won, step by step, through his personal 
efforts, energy, and enterjirise : while the 
regard in which he is uniformly held by his 
friends is also accredited to his manly action 
in performing the daily duties of life. 



EDWARD HAUSfeNCLEVER. 

Edw.\rd IT.\l'si:ncli:vku, for many years 
one of the leading farmers and stock-raisers 
of Union township, Des Moines county, 
Iowa, was born in the Province of the Rhine, 
Germany, Nov. 7. 1836, a son of Gottlieb 
and Wilhelniina (Huerthal) Hausenclever. 
He early entered the public schools of his 
native place, also attending the college of 
the district at a later date, and •when fifteen 
years of age matriculated in an agricultural 
school, in which he remained a student for 
one year. Thus his education was singularly 
complete, and was especially adapted to in- 
sure him success in the line of activity which 
he expected to follow, namely, that of agri- 
culture. Tn 185.^ he came with his parents 
to .\merica, and the father purchased a farm 
in Des Moines county, Iowa. The following 
spring, however, the father left the farm in 
charge of his two sons, and returned to Ger- 
many, where he was a minister in the 
Lutheran church and a man of considerable 
standing. 



On this farm Mr. Hausenclever coh- 
tinned for sixteen years, or until the fall 
of iS-Q. when he purchased his present 
large farm of 227 acres in Section 22, Union 
township. The land was at that time almost 
in its primitive wild condition, and the first 
great task which claimed his attention was 
the clearing away of the forests. This oc- 
cupied his attention for nearly ten years, 
and at the end of that time he began raising 
and feeding stock for shipping, principally 
cattle and hogs, but also some horses. The 
venture ]iroved very successful, and he con- 
tinued it on a large scale for twenty years 
with great success. The land, as fertile 
and productive as can be found anywhere 
in the county, is eminently suited to the 
purpo.se, and our subject has installed many 
important improvements which add to its 
value as an investment, while at the same 
time increasing the comfort of the home 
he has established. 

In 1863 Mr. Hausenclever was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary Mehler. daughter of 
I'rank and .\inie Mehler, and to them have 
been born seven children, as follows: Ed- 
ward, who is married ; Oscar, a farmer of 
Lee county. Iowa; Arnold, who is at home; 
.\nnic. wife of Mr. Monck ; and Herman 
and I'rancis. who are both at home with 
their jiarents. Mr. Hausenclever has for 
many years participated in the conduct of 
public affairs as a member of the Demo- 
cratic party, and has been especially in- 
terested, in the cause of education as repre- 
sented by the public schools. He has by 
the favor of his fellow-citizens been repeat- 
edly honored with election to a place on 
the school board, of which he has been a 
working member for twenty-three \-ears. 
Tie is now retired from active business, hav- 
ing relinfjuisheil the management of the 



DFS MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



68 1 



farm about the year 1900 in favor of his 
sons, by whom the work has since that time 
been continued along the Hues which he laid 
out, and he passes his time in the enjoyment 
of well-earned ease and repose. /\.t all 
points his career has been marked by the 
highest integrity, uprightness, and fair deal- 
ing, and he has many friends who respect 
him both for his irreproachable character 
and for the great natural ability which has 
enabled him to win success. 



ISAIAH REID CARITHERS. 

IsAi.Mi Reid Carithers belongs to 
a much-respected and well-established 
family of Yellow Springs township, and 
now occupies a place with the prosperous 
farmers of to-day. He is a son of Andrew 
French and Mary L. (Reid) Carithers, 
his birth occurring on the old home farm 
in Yellow Springs township, Sept. 23, 
1866. When his parents came to Des 
Moines county, they entered one hundred 
and sixty acres of land, and were the only 
family that lived on this place. A more 
complete biography of the parents of this 
subject will be found in the sketch of A. 
F. Carithers, elsewhere in this volume. 

Mr. Reid Carithers is a man of good 
education, which was begun in the dis- 
trict schools in Yellow Springs townshi]), 
where he prepared himself to enter the 
academy at Morning Sun, Iowa. Wish- 
ing to gain more book learning than these 
schools afforded, he entered Geneva Col- 
lege at Beaver Falls, Pa., where he was 
a student for a short time. Returning 
from college he took up the life of a farm- 
er, which occupati(jn In- has since fol- 



lowed. Since Mr. Carithers settled on 
jiis one hundred and twenty acres of land 
in Section 7, in 1888, he has made all of 
the improvements, and now has a nice 
house and good barn, and is well fixed 
for general farming. He sells about fifty 
or sixty head of hogs annually, and some 
six head of cattle. This year he has about 
twice as many hogs as he generally has. 

Dec. 12, 1888, Mr. Carithers married 
Miss Rosanna Baird, a daughter of John 
and Catherine (McElhinney) Baird. Mrs. 
Carithers was born in Yellow Springs 
township. May 22, 1866, and received her 
education in the district schools of the 
same, place. Her father came to Des 
Moines county in 1840 from Philadelphia, 
Pa. As time advanced, Mr. Baird was 
"getting on his feet," as the saying is, 
and each year found him better fixed in 
life. He added to his small tract of land 
till at his death, which occurred Julv 4, 
1 881, at the age of sixty-eight years, he 
owned three hundred and twenty acres 
of well-improved land. Mrs. Baird en- 
tered into her eternal rest April 14, 1900, 
aged seventy-eight. They v^rere the par- 
ents of twelve children, and were mem- 
bers of the Reformed Presbyterian 
church. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Carithers two chil- 
dren have been born : John French, born 
July 30, 1890, and ^^'illiam Work, born 
July II, 1899. Mr. Carithers has never 
cared for official recognition, as his farm 
has needed his undivided attention. He 
and his estimable wife are members of 
tiie Reformed Presbyterian church, where 
he has served as trustee for the past nine 
years. Mr. Carithers has always made it 
a point to attend to business before pleas- 
ure, and has taken nnu-li iiains with his 



>682 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



home place. He is now very comfortably 
situated, ^nd the straightforward and 
manly manner in which he has ever con- 
ducted his evcry-day life, both socially 
and in a commercial way, has gained for 
him the same good name that was ac- 
corded to his aged father, and being just 
in the prime of life, we predict for him a 
still brighter future. 



WILLIAM D. INGHRAM. 

For a score of years William Delaslimuth 
Inghram occupied a prominent place in the 
life and thought of Des Moines county as 
a leader in civic and educational activities, 
in both of which fields of endeavor he was 
widely known and influential, being recog- 
nized as a natural leader and the possessor 
of exceptional gifts and powers. A native 
son of Iowa, he was born in the year 1840 on 
his father's farm, one mile west of the pres- 
ent site of the village of West Burlington, 
a son of John and Sarah Ann (Delashmuth) 
Inghram. John Inghram. who was of 
Scotch-Irish descent, came to the West from 
Virginia in 1836, as did also, at about the 
same time the family of his wife, and they 
were married a few years afterward. They 
are survived by four daughters, sisters of 
our subject, as follows : Mrs. Catherine 
Parks, of near West Burlington ; ^Irs. Mary 
Graham, of Rock Island. 111. ; Mrs. Elizabeth 
Johnson, of West Burlington ; and Mrs. 
Agnes Chapman, a widow, also of We.st 
Burlington. The Inghram and Delashmuth 
families were among the early settlers of 
Des Moines county.and became very exten- 
sive landowners. 

The boyhood and youth of Mr. Inghram 



were passed upon his father's farm, he se- 
curing the foundation of his education in the 
public schools of the neighborhood. Later 
he entered Denmark .-Xcademy, where for 
several years he pursued further studies, 
and on leaving that institution, he took up 
the study of law, reading in the office of 
Starr & Phillii)S. He decided, however, to 
devote himself to the teaching profession, 
and for several years taught school in the 
" Cockayne " district, after which he was 
called to fill a vacancy in the teaching force 
of the public schools of Burlington. Here 
he spent the remaining years of his profes- 
sional career, but soon after coming to the 
city he gave such ])roof of exceptional tal- 
ents, and the high quality of his work at- 
tracted such attention, that he received rapid 
promotion. For the long period of twenty- 
two years he was principal of the Germania 
and North Oak schools, and throughout this 
time, by the energy, fairness, and efficiency 
of his methods, he enjoyed the increasing 
respect and admiration of the jieople and of 
leading educators throughout Iowa and of 
the neighlxiring States. 

Mr. Inghram was a life-long Democrat, 
ever zealous in the service of his party, in 
whose main tenets he was a firm believer 
and for whose triumphs he labored with 
constant and conscientious zeal and single- 
hearted devotion. As a reward for his serv- 
ices, and in recognition of his ability and 
worth, he received in 1886 the nomination 
for the office of clerk of the district court, 
to which he was elected by a handsome ma- 
jority ; and as evidence of his great popu- 
larity and of the esteem in which he was 
generally held, he was three times re-elected. • 
His reputation as a capable and honorable 
official was always very high, and he was 
his party's candidate for a fifth term when 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



683 



his bright and useful career was cut short by 
the hand of death, for he died in the full 
enjoyment and prime of his powers, on the 
fourteenth day of October, 1894. 

In 1867 the subject of this review was 
united in marriage to Miss Susan ]M. Coal- 
ter, daughter of Thomas J. and Alelvina 
(Gardner) Coalter, who were married in 
their native State of Virginia, and came in 
1 84 1 to Iowa, where Mrs. Inghram was 
born in 1842. Her parents first settled at 
Mount Pleasant, residing there for six years, 
and then came to Burlington, where they re- 
mained. The father, who was by trade a 
carpenter, died in September, 1879, his own 
demise having been preceded by that of his 
wife in 1876, and they are buried in Aspen 
Grove cemetery. The father was a member 
^of the ]\Iasonic order, and both were faith- 
ful adherents of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, and greatly respected for their 
Christian virtues and kindly traits of char- 
acter. To them were born three daughters 
and two sons, as follows : Susan M., Mrs. 
-Inghram ; Laura O., wife of William Drury, 
-of Los Angeles, Cal. ; Emma ].. deceased 
wife of Thomas Wagg, died in Burlington, 
in 1877 • William N., of Landes, Wyo. ; and 
Thomas J-. who is postmaster of Flagstaff, 
Ariz. 

Mrs. Inghram was educated in private 
schools and in the Baptist College at Burling- 
ton, and for ten years after leaving college 
was a teacher in the Germania, South Hill, 
and South Boundary schools of Burlington. 
It was while acting as assistant principal of 
the Germania school, during Mr. Inghram's 
principalship, that they became acquainted 
and were married, Mrs. Inghram continuing 
to teach for one year after her marriage. 
It is an interesting fact, and one well deserv- 
ing of remark, that she was the first woman 



to hold the position of principal in the Bur- 
lington schools. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Inghram were born ten 
children, of whom seven still survive : John 
T., editor of the Dubuque Enterprise, mar- 
ried Miss Rosamond Simmons, and has two 
sons, John and Thomas ; Carrie, who resides 
with Mrs. Inghram, has ^for twelve years 
been employed in the office of the county 
clerk ; Laura, wife of Mr. Bragg, sheep 
ranchman of ^^'yoming, has three children, 
William. Robert, and Fred; W^illiam, who 
was unmarried, was accidently killed while 
at work in the Santa Fe Railroad yards at 
Marceline, Mo., April 7, 1904, and is buried 
in Aspen Grove cemetery ; Emily, who re- 
sides in Burlington, is the wife of Royal 
Andrew, traveling salesman for the firm of 
John Blaul & Sons ; Zodic, familiarly known 
as "Ted," is a sheep ranchman of Wyo- 
ming ;'^nd Harry, who is still at home, is 
employed in a grocery store. 

j\lrs. Inghram has built a beautiful home 
at 1225 North Seventh Street, which is the 
center of a refined and cultured social circle. 
She is a lady of much ability and many 
social graces, and is an active worker in the 
First Methodist Episcopal church, as was 
also her husband. Fraternally, Mr. Inghram 
was a member of the Masonic order, with 
which he was affiliated for twenty-five years, 
and in which he was elevated to distin- 
guished honors, having taken the thirty- 
third degree, and becoming very prominent 
in the order. He was a man whose char- 
acter combined many high and admirable 
qualities ; he was universally respected, and 
had many friends. His record of useful 
activity was long, and on every page was 
written in indelible characters the word 
" success ; " but best of all he left to his chil- 
dren the heritage of an honorable name. 



684 BIOGRAPHICAL RFMEU 

WILLIAM AUGUTTA. 



Dlkinc. the early iieriod of Burlington's 
history the subject of this review was for 
manv years i)roniinent in the city's affairs, 
and enjoyed high repute among her pcoj)le 
because of his marked practical ability and 
his never-failing loyalty to the cause of 
progress and the right. He was born in 
Bedford, Bedfordshire. England. March 24. 
1828, a son of Joseph and Mary ( Bonfield) 
Augutta, the fourth of a family of seven 
children, all of whom are now deceased. He 
was reared in Bedford, whicli was also the 
native place of both liis parents. As a boy 
of fourteen he was apprenticed to a barber, 
and learned that trade. About the age of 
twenty-five he decided to come to America, 
and after a six-weeks' voyage in a sailing 
vessel landed in Xew York, where for a 
time he was employed at his trade. From 
lure he went to Cincinnati, .\fler working 
at the latter city for a brief jieridd he came 
\\'est, arriving in P.nrlinglon in October. 
1848. Mere he was one of ]5urlington"s 
early barbers, and for many years was lo- 
cated in the Barrett House, an old-time 
hostelry on the site of the ]iresent Tama 
building. TIrtl- Ik- conducted a three-chair 
shop, and was very successful in a ])ecuniary 
way, securing a large and profitable pat- 
ronage. He accumulated considerable prop- 
ertv, owning a lot at the corner of Third 
and Elm Streets, on which still stands a 
house that is a relic and lanilinark of early 
days, and also owning four lots on South 
HiJI. where the family home has always 
been located, and still stands. 

When twelve years of age Mr. Augutta 
sustained a severe injury by a fall on the ice, 
resulting in a stitTening of the knee through 
the formation of free cartilage at the knee 



cap. and in later years this caused what is 
known as " white swelling." This made 
necessary the amputation of the limb, the 
operation being performed in Burlington by 
Dr. Ransom and Dr. Xassau. Mr. .\ugutta 
was shortly afterward elected to the office 
of city treasurer, and he gave his time 
jirincipally to |)ublic atTairs during the re- 
mainder of his life. In tiie ])osition of 
treasurer be served under the administration 
of Mayors Teedrick and Robinson, and 
was also elected to the office of city clerk, 
serving one term. He affiliate<l with the 
Democratic party, in which he wielded great 
influence, and at whose hands he received 
signal honor, although he enjoyed much 
popularity with men of all parties. 

In Burlington, on Jan. 22, 1855. he was 
united in marriage to Miss Jane Hays, who 
was born in Logan county. Ohio, a daugh- 
ter of Samuel Hays, of Westmoreland 
county. I'a.. and \iolct (Watson) Hays 
of < )hio. .Mrs. Augutta. whose mother died 
when she was but a baby of two years 
of age, is one of a family of four chil- 
dren, three of whom survive, the others 
being Robert Hays, of California, and 
Mrs. Margaret Rozicr. of Clinton, 111. 
The father remarried, anil of this secon<l 
union three children were born, only one 
of whom survives, namely. Mrs. Nettie 
.Mlander, of Missouri. The father of 
Mrs. Augutta was a farmer, biu learned 
the trade of shnemaking. at which he 
worked at Jonesboro. 111., and also in Bur- 
lington until he became t(X> old for active 
employment. In Jonesboro. where he was 
well known, he held the office of justice of 
the peace, and was highly respected for the 
strength of his character. He died at the 
age of eighty-three, and is buried in Aspen 
Grove cemeterv. FUirlington. 



DES MOINES COUXTV. IOWA. 



685 



To Mr. and Mrs. Augutta were born 
four children, of whom but two are now 
living. Minnie holds the position of book- 
keeper at Kelley's Agricultural Implement 
House, and Fannie is the wife of Mr. 
Eccles of Burlington, and has one child. 
Jane. \\'illiam died Dec. i. 1868. at the age 
of three months, and Joseph died at the age 
of twenty-eight years. The children were 
all young when, by death of their father, 
they were left to the exclusive care of the 
mother, and nobly has she performed her 
trust, giving to each the best of home train- 
ing and educational advantages. Fannie 
(Mrs. Eccles) was educated in the public 
and high schools of Burlington, and before 
her marriage taught several terms in the 
city schools. Joseph attended the public 
school and also business college, on the com- 
pletion of his education becoming a travel- 
ing salesman, a line of work in which he 
displayed unusual ability and promise. 
Miss Minnie, after quitting the public 
schools, pursued a thorough course of study 
in Elliott's Business College, of which she 
is a graduate. Since her husband's death 
Airs. Augutta has erected a commodious 
residence at 1102 South Fourth Street, 
where she maintains a cheerful and pleas- 
ant home, and enjoys the society of cher- 
ished friends. She is a faithful member 
of the Baptist church and of. its Aid So- 
ciet>-, and was formerly a member of Ruth 
Lodge, Daughters of Rebecca, of Burling- 
ton, while Aliss Minnie is a member of 
Paul Caster Lodge of the same order, being 
its treasurer at the present time. 

Mr. Augutta was city treasurer of Bur- 
lington for nine years, holding that office at 
the time of his death, and his administration 
was universally commended for efficienc)'. 
He was a member of \\'ashington Lodge, 



No. I, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, 
of which he was at one time noble grand, 
and was also a member of Eureka Encamp- 
ment in that order. He was a prominent 
worker in religious affairs, being a member 
of the Episcopal church, in which he was ac- 
customed to conduct the ritualistic services. 
His tastes were in some degree literary, for 
he owned a library of goodly proportions 
and was an extensive reader, possessing 
great general information and breadth of 
mind. He died April 29, 1872, at the age 
of forty-four years, and was laid to rest in 
Aspen Grove cemetery, mourned by a wide 
circle of friends and acquaintances, and uni- 
versally and sincerely respected for his 
courageous and upright life. Domestic in 
his tastes and preferences, he was a loving 
father and an ideal husband, and to all his 
friends loyal, cordial, and unselfish. 

i\Irs. Augutta is a woman of much force 
of character, and for what she has achieved 
for her family by her own eft'orts is entitled 
to the highest credit and praise. 



JOHN WALKINSHAW REED. 

Numbered among the enterprising 
farmers of Yellow Springs township, Des 
Moines county, is John Walkinshaw 
Keed, and his eft'orts along agricultural 
lines have been productive of success in 
a gratifying measure. His whole business 
career has been one of a spotless char- 
acter, and it is with much pleasure that 
we bring his record before our readers. 
He is the son of Mathew and Mary 
( Walkinshaw) Reed, and his birth oc- 
curred in Guernsey county, Ohio, Jan. 15, 
1851. When only four years of age he 



686 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFJIEIV 



came with his parents to Yellow Springs 
township, where they at once purchased 
a farm and established a home for the 
comfort and pleasure of their growing 
famil)'. They were the parents of the 
following seven children : Robert G. ; 
Mary, married Mr. McElhinney, of Ne- 
braska; Margaret, the wife of Albert Mc- 
Donald; Lizzie, married John Robb; 
Rhoda. now Mrs. Oscar George, of Ohio; 
and William, of Nebraska. 

Mr. and Mrs. Reed, Sr., lived on this 
place till Mr. Reed passed away, which 
was in March, i8g6. The mother, who 
has now reached her eightieth milestone, 
resides with her son, of this review. In 
1881 ;\lr. Reed inherited eighty acres from 
his parents, and about 1885 he bought 
forty acres more. His father bought the 
farm he now lives on about 1856. At that 
time there was no im])rovement of any 
kind whatever, except one old board 
fence. Year by year he continued labor- 
ing here, and his efforts for the develop- 
ment of his land have resulted in making 
the j)roperty a valuable ami ])r()ductive 
one. The home i)lace comprises some one 
hundred and sixty acres on Section 16. 
He also added eighty acres on Section 16 
and eighty acres on Section 22, besides a 
piece of timber of about six and two- 
thirds acres in Benton township. He is 
one of the model f;irmcrs of ibis ])art of 
the county. Nothing is too much trouble 
for him to do that will bring about the 
best of results. His work is that of the 
ordinary farmer, but perhaps he makes a 
specialty of stock-raising more than some 
<lo. He raises about sixty head of fine 
hogs every year, and feeds two loads of 
blooded cattle, for which he has always 
been able to command a goo<l price. 



-April 18, 1883, Mr. Reed was married to 
Miss Susanna Huston, a daughter of John 
and Susan (Craig) Huston. They have 
been blessed with four children, all of 
which are at home around the family 
board: Susanna, Tryphena, .Mary Walkin- 
shaw, Melville Eugene, and Eunice 
Rhoda Bell. They have all received a 
substantial education in their school dis- 
trict. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Reed are both members 
of the Reformed Presbyterian church, 
where they do much good toward the pro- 
motion of Christianity. There is perhaps 
no man held in higher esteem' in Yellow 
Springs township than Mr. Reed. He 
possesses many sterling traits of charac- 
ter, and his high moral sense, his unfalter- 
ing integrity, and his love for others have 
won for him unecpialled confidence and 
the highest regard of all. His kindly 
spirit and genial disposition have ever 
brought him friends, and he has the happy 
facult)' of drawing them nearer to him as 
the years pass by. 



JOACHIM ANDRES MUMME. 

M.\.\v honest and upright Germans 
have come to America with the idea of 
obtaining better advantages here than 
could be obtained in the Fatherland, who, 
by their thrift, activity, and eiiler])rise 
have greatly aided to make the commu- 
nity in which they settled to flourish and 
progress. Joachim .\ndres Mumme is a 
representative of this class, and well de- 
serves mention in this review. He is a 
son of Frederick and .Vnna .Maria (Mosel) 
Mumme, and was born in Prussia, Ger- 



o 

> 
n 

X 






> 
o 



w 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



many, Sept. 14, 1846. His father was 
born in Prussia, Germany, June 19, 1816, 
and his mother was a native of the same 
place, being born Dec. 30, 1827. His par- 
ents, with their ten children, came to 
America in 1865, coming direct to Bur- 
lington, Iowa, where the father bought 
a farm of sixty acres, in Flint River town- 
ship. There being thirty acres under cul- 
tivation, later he added forty acres, all on 
Section 16. 

It was on this farm that the large fam- 
ily of ten children, born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Mumme, were raised to manhood and 
womanhood. The children are as fol- 
lows : Joachim Andres, the oldest, of this 
review ; Henry, in Danville township ; 
John and Fred, of Nebraska; Ernst and 
Christ, of Flint River township ; Maria 
Westerbeck, died in 1874; Dorothea Oge, 
of Danville township; Ann, who married 
Joe Brandmeier, of Canaan township, 
Henry county ; and Sophia, wdio passed 
away in 1899. 

j\lr. Mumme died April 2, 1903, at the 
advanced age of eighty-seven years. He 
was a member of the German Lutheran 
church. In politics he was known as an 
independent, always voting for the man 
who according to his best judgment was 
most fitted for the office. 

Our subject received his education in 
the common schools of his native place, 
after which he learned the carpenter's 
trade, at which he worked for a number 
of years. One year before his father 
passed away he came to take care of his 
parents, and also to manage the farm, 
where he is now located and still caring 
for his aged and widowed mother. 

Oct. 18, 1874, Mr. Mumme was mar- 
ried to Miss Hannah Westerbeck, daugh- 



ter of Philip and Anna (Muhause) Wes- 
terbeck, who was born in Burlington, 
Iowa, April 14, 1857. \\'hen quite young 
her parents moved to Flint River town- 
ship, where she received her education. 
Mr. and Mrs. Mumme have had one 
child, Minnie M., who is at home. He 
carries on general farming and stock- 
raising, having at the time of this writ- 
ing four head of good horses, seventeen 
head of fine blooded cattle, and also 
raises from twenty to thirty-five fat hogs 
annually. He has built a nice house on 
his farm, his father having made all the 
other improvements. 

Mr. Mumme was elected school director 
when he lived in Danville township. He 
has been Sunday-school superintendent 
for many years, and is now an honored 
trustee of the Union church, of Flint 
River township. He is a man of broad 
intellect, and enjoys reading very much, 
being well posted on all the current 
events of the day. He has always been 
interested along any lines that would bet- 
ter the farmers in general, as well as to 
promote the prosperity of his own town- 
ship. Though he has lived only a little 
over three years on his present farm, still 
he is well known* throughout the neigh- 
borhood. His business qualifications have 
attracted the attention of his associates, and 
his reputation is well established. He is 
a man much respected by all. 



LYMAN COOK. 



The late Lyman Cook, pioneer merchant 
and banker of Burlington, was born on his 
father's farm in Bennington, Licking county, 
Ohio, June 6, 1820. He received a very fair 



6i>o 



BIOGRAPHICAL RlillEW 



education for those early days, and upon his 
graduation from Dcnison Colk'Kf in Gran- 
viilc. ( »hio, at tlic age of eighteen, secured 
a job as l)i)okkee])er at the iron works in 
Zoar, ( )liio. which lie hehl for two years. 
In the spring of 1840 he came on horseback 
from his Ohio home to I'.urlington. the 
journey taking twenty-three days, where for 
a sliort lime he was engaged in the pro- 
vision aii<I iiriiduee business. Retiring from 
that line of business, he embarked in the tin 
and hardware trade with John I'rugh. a 
brother of Isaac I'rugh. of tiiis city. After 
Mr. Prugh's death in 1S51, luhn \\ . White 
purcliased an interest, and the firm of Cook 
& White rtourished until 1854. when Mr. 
Cook sold out his interest and became a 
member of the ])rivate banking firm of 
\\"hite. Cook & L"om|)any. This firm con- 
tinued until 185S. when .Mr. Cnok formed a 
partnershi]) with John .\1. Uaxier in the 
same ' line of business. This |)artnership 
continued until iSru. when .Mr. Cook suc- 
ceeded W . !■. CiMilbaugli as jiresident of 
the i'lUrlingtiin liraneii uf the ."^tate liank of 
Iowa, lie held this position until January, 
1864. when the l'"irst National Hank was 
establisluii and he was elected to its presi- 
dency, which he held until his death, Oct. 
I. i8(,S. 

In addition to bearing the more immediate 
res])onsibilities-. mentioned above, .Mr. Cook 
was a director of the Iowa State Savings 
Bank, a director of the Burlington & Mis- 
souri River Railroad Com])any, a director of 
the old llurlington, Cedar Rapids & Mis- 
souri Railway Company, and a director of 
the Burlington & Xorth western Railway 
Com[)any. Mr. Cook was also a member of 
the commission to organize the Ciiion Pa- 
cific Railway Company in tlu- convention 
held in Chicago in 1862. 



In jjolitics .Mr. Cook was a stalwart W'iiig 
and Reiniblican, and was several times hon- 
ored by his party, Ix-ing alderman from 1846 
to 1850, mayor in 1851, 1852, and 1853, the 
last two terms having Ixen elected without 
opposition, and from 1856 to i860 State sen- 
ator from this district. During the Civil 
War he was cliosen by Governor Kirkwood 
to he commissary, and was |)articularly 
active in arranging for the equipment of 
the trtwps for the front. Mr. Cook enjoyed 
the confidence and friendship of the found- 
ers of the commonwealth of Iowa, his rela- 
tions with the late Senator Grimes, Gov- 
ernor Kirkwood, and (lovernor Gear IxMng 
of a most intimate nature. 

Mr. Cook was twice Tiiarried ; his first 
wife being Miss Octavia Lorrain, whom he 
married in 1846. She died in 1856, leaving 
two children; the late II. T. Cook, who died 
in Colorado Springs in 1887. and .Mrs. 
Thomas Hedge, wife of Congressiuan 
Hedge. In 1861 he was united in marriage 
to Mrs. Lucia G. St. John. .Mrs. Wm. Car- 
son (if this city was the only child of the 
second marriage. .Mrs. ( 'onk died in 1897. 



J. HENRY TAEGER. 

Will 1.1: "the race is not always to the 
swift, mir the battle to the strong," the 
invariable law of destiny accords to tire- 
less energy, industry, and ability a suc- 
cessful career. The truth of this asser- 
tion is abundantly verified in the life of J. 
lienry Taeger, who is yet a young man 
and a i)ros|)erous farmer of IJes Moines 
count \. where he is receiving a good 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



691 



profit from his labor. Mr. Taeger is a son 
of Fred and Elizabeth (Wicker) Taeger, 
and was born April 9, 1854. Reared 
under the parental roof, he acquired his 
education in the Fatherland, where he at- 
tended the public schools in accordance 
with the laws of that country. In 1869 
his father, hoping he might find better 
openings for business in this country, 
crossed the Atlantic to the New World, 
and from the Atlantic proceeded into the 
western part of the country, locating in 
Des Moines county, Iowa, where he pur- 
chased a farm of fifty-six acres on Sec- 
tion II, Flint River township. Here Mr. 
Taeger. Sr., was very successful, and was 
enabled to add twenty acres more to his 
farm. After a residence of twenty-five 
years the old gentleman passed away 
Nov. 18, 1895. His good wife outlived 
him about four years, her death occurring 
Feb. 16, 1899. The}' were both highly re- 
spected citizens, and their memory is still 
kindly cherished in the hearts of relatives 
and friends. They were the ]3arents of 
two sons: Fred William, deceased ; and J. 
Henry, of this review. Our subject thus 
fell sole heir to this beautiful farm, and 
virtually took up the thread of the work 
where his father left ofif. He has since 
enlarged the farm, adding forty acres 
to it, and his stock has increased so that 
now he has nineteen horses and cattle. 

April 3, 1883, Mr. Taeger was united in 
marriage to Miss .\nna Matilida Minnie 
Tiedge, daughter of George and Minnie 
(Schultz) Tiedge. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Taeger were born the following nine chil- • 
dren, all of whom are living: Anna ;\Iaria 
Minnie, born April 14, 1884; Mary Lizzie, 
born May 15, 1886; Henry Fred, born 
Aug. 28, 1888; Efifie Anna, born Feb. 13, 



1890; Edith Maria, born i\.pril 4, 1892; 
George Louis, Ma}- 29, 1893; Lydia Katie 
Mary, born June 12, 1898; John Herbert 
Fred, born Jan. if), 1901 ; Ruth Louisa, 
born Oct. 5, 1904. The children have all 
attended the schools in their immediate 
district. 

Politically, Mr. Taeger is independent, 
and has served with great satisfaction on 
the school board since 1897. Mr. and 
Mrs. Taeger are members of the Lu- 
theran church known as the " Steeple 
Church" of Flint River township, and are 
people of sterling worth, having many 
friends in this community. 



MRS. MARGARET HECKENBURG. 

Margaret Heckenburg, widow of Henry 
A. Heckenburg, has long been a well-known 
resident of Huron township, and is a mem- 
ber of one of the representative German- 
American families of Des Moines county. 
She herself is a native of Genriany, being 
born in that country at Byron, on May 16, 
1864, the daughter of John and Margaret 
(Bowers) Murrmann. She came with her 
parents to America in 1870, when she was 
only six years of age. They came directly 
to Burlington, her parents almost immedi- 
ately buying a farm of eighty acres in Louisa 
county, Iowa. ]\Irs. Heckenburg was one 
of four children born to them, the others be- 
ing: Elizabeth, born Oct. 14, 1854, and now 
the wife of Louis Otto, of Burlington ; Fred, 
now principal of Xorth Oak School, in Bur- 
lington ; George G., born May 2j. 1866, now 
living on a large farm of two hundred acres, 
which he owns, in Louisa county. 

^Irs. Heckenburg received her education 



6o2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in the district schools of Louisa county, and 
grew to womanhood there, learning the prac- 
tical life of the farm from a woman's stand- 
point. Her parents continued to make their 
home on the old place in Louisa county till 
the death of the father, which occurred in 
1875. His widow survived him for nearly 
thirty years, living most of the time on the 
old iionie place, hut finally coming to make 
lur home with Mrs. Heckenhurg, after the 
death of the latter's husband, in 1899. 
Here she remained till the time of her death, 
which event occurred on April 5, 1902, she 
being at that time seventy years of age. 

Our subject became the wife of Henry A. 
Heckenburg on Dec. 24, 1884, the ceremony 
being performed at Burlington. Four years 
later they purchased tlic farm of one hun- 
dred acres in Section 36, Huron townshi]), on 
which I\Irs. Heckenburg continues to reside, 
and where he carried on farming operations 
during the remainder of his life. He was a 
thorough believer in the principles advocated 
by the Democratic party, and was a con- 
sistent follower of the standard upheld by 
the leaders of that organization. He pos- 
sessed much ability, had a wide acquaint- 
ance, and enjoyed the friendship of many, 
who respected him for the sterling qualities 
of his character, his energy, and the strict 
honor and integrity which marked him in 
every relation of life. He was a member of 
the Cernian Lutheran church, and was a 
true and devout Christian, being faithful 
to his religion until his death, wliich 
occurred Jan. 19, 1899. A public-spirited 
citizen, a kind husband and indulgent father, 
ever generous, sympathetic, and true, his 
loss was in every sense a calamity, and one 
which no favor of fortune can ever repair. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Heckenburg were born 
four sons, as follows: Walter F.. born Oct. 



25, 1885: Qiarles E., born Sept. i, 1888; 
Arthur T., born Oct. 14, 1893 ; and Edward 
George, bom April 25, 1897, all still living, 
and at home with their mother. Left by 
the death of her husband with the sole care 
of four children, the eldest only fourteen 
years of age and the youngest two, Mrs. 
Heckenburg has exhibited much strength of 
character and Christian fortitude, meeting 
and fulfilling her difficult obligations with 
extraordinary ability, and proving herself 
equal to the unexpected and trying situations 
arising from her station in life. 

She is a member of the Lutheran church, 
in which she is an active and very helpful 
worker, bringing up her children in the faith, 
doing much to advance the cause of religion 
in her community, and setting, by her own 
life, an example of humble Christian piety, 
faith, and charity. She has merited the 
admiration of all, and of her it may truly be 
said that to few or none in this section has 
come a greater measure of esteem. 



ROBERT FRANCIS ELLIOTT. 

Mr. Elliott, who is now engaged in 
the livery business, in West Burlington, and 
is known as one of the most able and suc- 
cessful business men of the county, as well 
as occupying a position among the fore- 
most supporters of all progressive measures 
intended for the iniblic welfare, was born in 
Flint River township, Des Moines county, 
low-a, on -Vug. 4. i860, the son of James J. 
and Ellen (Whaylen) Elliott. James J. 
Elliott, father of our subject, was a native of 
Limerick, Ireland, whence he emigrated to 
America and located in the city of Bur- 
lington, lofwa, in the year 1855, residing 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



693 



in that place for a period of three years, at 
the end of which time he removed, in 1858, 
to a farm of forty acres near Middletown, 
which he operated very successfully in con- 
nection with another valuable tract of ninety 
acres near West Burlington, and it was 
there that he lived the remainder of his use- 
ful life, and enjoyed the universal regard 
and respect of his fellow-citizens until his 
death, which occurred March i, 1891, in 
the eighty-second year of his age. He was 
twice married, first in Ireland, and by that 
union was the father of one son, Patrick ; 
while to his second marriage were born 
eight children, Thomas, Hugh, Robert, 
Anna, James, Eliza, William, and Ellen, all 
of whom are now deceased with the excep- 
tion of Robert, our subject, and Ellen, who 
is the wife of William E. Frasier, of West 
Burlington. The mother of this family is 
still living on the old home farm, being now 
sixty-seven years of age. 

Robert Elliott passed his early years on 
his father's farm, in the various and exact- 
ing duties in which he was often employed, 
and during his boyhood and youth secured 
an excellent education in the public schools 
of his township, this being wisely supple- 
mented, however, by a course of training 
in a special school conducted by Professor 
Graft, and he also took a course in tech- 
nology under Professor Duffy, both of 
Burlington. Upon the completion of this 
schooling he took up the duties of practical 
life by engaging in work as a deliveryman 
on a milk route in Burlington, continuing 
in this employment for the two years of 1881 
and 1882; he then became traveling repre- 
sentative, for one year, for Segner & Con- 
dout, publishers, of Burlington ; after which 
he established himself in the coal, wood, and 
ice business in West Burlington, in part- 



nership with Mr. John McPake. This con- 
nection was maintained for two years, at 
the expiration of which period he pur- 
chased the interest of j\Ir. McPake, and 
after the lapse of another two years dis- 
continued the wood btisiness, but still re- 
tained the ice business, and in connection 
with this, for the space of four years, 
operated his father's farm with very gratify- 
ing success in a pecuniary way. 

Meantime he had also built the fine livery 
stable which is occupied by his present 
business, and by good judgment and courte- 
ous treatment of the public, has secured a 
very extensive patronage ; but owing to the 
financial difficulties which were general 
throughout this section in the year 1888, he 
sold the livery barn to his father at that 
time, repurchasing it, however, on the 
death of his father, in 1890. In 1892 he 
turned his talents to the cigar manufactur- 
ing business, to which he devoted much 
attention for about a year and a half ; but 
with that exception, has for many years 
given his time, thought, and ability to build- 
ing up and maintaining at a high standard 
the livery business, which is now his prin- 
cipal interest, and which has yielded a good 
reward for his efforts. He maintains a 
stable of eight horses, with the most up- 
to-date equipment in quality and appear- 
ance, and so well has he studied and supplied 
the needs of the public that this is now the 
only institution of the kind in West Bur- 
lington, its resources proving amply suffi- 
cient for the needs of its patrons. 

On Sept. 21, 1888, Mr. Elliott was united 
in marriage to Miss Mary Cook, daughter 
of Edward Cook, and there graced this union 
five cliildrcn, two sons and three daughters, 
these being Ada, Edward, Robert, Marie, 
and Winnifred. As one who has at heart 



6y4 



BIOGRAPHICAL R HI 'I Eli' 



the good of the community in which he 
resides, Mr. Elliott has always taken an 
active interest in important public affairs, 
being an influential worker for the success 
of the Democratic party, of which he is a 
valuable and valued member; and as an 
evidence of the esteem in which he is held, 
and the confidence reposed in him by those 
who know him best, he has been elected 
to the offices of constable and of marshal of 
the village, serving in these positions with 
credit to his own ability and to general 
satisfaction. He was also chief of West 
Burlington Fire Department for two years. 
Thus in all relations of life he has achieved 
success, according to the full measure of his 
natural endowments. 



WILLIAM FICHTHORN. 

\ViLLi.\M FiciiTHORX, One of the early 
settlers of Des Moines county, now resid- 
ing on his farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres in Section nS, Jackson township, 
was lx)rn in Ross county, Ohio, Oct. 27, 
1838, the son of Solomon and Salinda 
(Strope) I'"ichthurn. The father was born 
in I'cndlclon county. N'irginia, Nov. 7. 
I79<j, and lived in that State till he was 
about twelve years of age, when he went 
with his parents to Ross county, Ohio. 
There he afterward took up farming, and 
later moved to Fayette county, Ohio, 
where his father. I'hilip Ficluhoni. grand- 
fatluT nf oiir siilij(.n-l, had purchased a 
large tract of land. There Solomon Fich- 
thorn made his home until 1852, when he 
came to Iowa, locating in Louisa county, 
about si.\ miles south of Wapello, where 
he farmed on rented land till i8r)i. In 



that year he moved to Des Moines coun- 
ty, locating in Yellow Springs township, 
but after a short time moved to Huron 
townshi]). and there bought one hundred 
acres. This land he iin|)roved, and there 
he lived till his death, which occurred 
Dec. 25, 1881. 

His wife, Salinda (Strope) Fichthorn, 
was a native of Pennsylvania, being born 
in that Stale in iSi 1, and living to an age 
of fifty-two years, dying in Yellow 
.Springs township, this county, July 29, 
1 863. She was a member of the Christian 
church. They were the ])arents of five 
children, all of whom are still living: 
Catherine lives in Huron townshij), and 
is the wife of Isaac Williams; Martha, 
wife of Robinson McCray, lives at Mon- 
mouth, III.; William, the immediate sub- 
ject of this sketch; Flizabeth is the wife 
of George Lynch, of I'ierce county, Wis- 
consin; Mary .\. is the wife (jf Andrew 
Olson, of Pierce county. Wisconsin. 

Solomon I-'ichthorn always engaged in 
farming and stock-raising, and in politics 
was an adherent to the principles of the 
Republican party. Potli he and his wife 
lie buried in the cemetery in Yellow 
Springs township. 

William Fichthorn recei\ed his early 
education in tlie common schools in Ross 
county, ()hio. and at the same time as- 
sisted will) the work njioii the home farm. 
He remained in ( )hio until he was four- 
teen years of age, when he came with his 
l)arents to Iowa, .\fler that he remained 
at home until he w.is a man grown, and 
finally, at the age of twenty-seven years, 
started out for himself. I'or the first year 
he rented land in Yellow Springs town- 
ship, and then jnirchased his present 
farm in Jackson townshi|>. This laml he 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



695 



has improved in every possible way, and 
has erected a fine, large, modern two-story 
house, besides other buildings that have 
been erected from time to time. In addi- 
tion to the home place he has added to 
his holdings from time to time, until he 
now owns two hundred and forty acres 
of rich farm land in Jackson township, all 
improved. He is engaged in general 
farming and stock-raising. 

i\Ir. Fichthi^rn has always been a Re- 
publican in his political beliefs, and has 
been a strong worker for his party in his 
home township. His fellow-citizens have 
recognized his worth by giving him the 
gift of the highest office in the township 
in their power to bestow — that of trustee 
of the township, a position which he has 
filled with credit to himself and advantage 
to the community for a number of years. 
Previous to this he had at various times 
been elected to several of the minor offices 
of the community. 

April 19, 1865, ?vlr. Fichthorn was 
united in marriage to Aliss Lydia Ballard. 
who was born in this county, and is the 
daughter of Albin and Lydia (Whitford) 
Ballard. The father, Albin Ballard, was 
born Aug. 7, 1807, in Providence county, 
Rhode Island, and settled in Ohio at an 
early day, farming there for a number of 
years. His wife died in 1854, and he aft- 
erward worked at the carpenter's trade. 
He came to Iowa about 1867, and made 
his home with Mr. and Mrs. Fichthorn 
imtil his death, which occurred May Q, 
1881, while they were living in Yellow 
Springs township. He and ?Mrs. Ballard 
were the parents of several children, of 
whom only one besides Mrs. Fichthorn 
is now living. 

To IMr. and Mrs. Fichthorn ha\e been 



born three children, all born in Huron 
township, this county, and all now living: 
Lottie R. is the wife of Jacob Young, a 
prosperous farmer of Jackson township, 
where he owns two hundred acres of 
land. He has been assessor, and also 
supervisor of highways, for a number of 
years. They have three children, Ruth, 
Earl and Frank. Martha is the wife of 
Ira McNaught, of Mediapolis, a complete 
sketch of whose life appears in this his- 
tory. Manford Lamar resides on the 
farm in Section 30, Jackson township, 
which belongs to his father. He himself 
is the owner of a farm of two hundred 
and sixty acres of land. He married Miss 
Lizzie MacMullahy. 

As an early resident of Iowa, ]\Ir. Fich- 
thofn has been an interested witness of 
nearly all the vast and wonderful im- 
provements which have marked the prog- 
ress of Des Moines county from a rude 
and inhospitable region to its present 
proud position as one of the richest farm- 
ing communities of the Mississippi \a.\- 
ley, and in this great development he has 
borne a goodly share, as he continues to 
do. For this and for the honorable course 
he has pursued in all his dealings with 
his fellow-men, he has the respect of all 
who know him, and is widely known 
throughout Des Moines county as a man 
of marked talent for business and agri- 
cultural pursuits on a large scale, and 
as one who has won a high degree of 
success. 



JOHN PETER HELLENTHAL. 

John Peter Hellenthal is one of the 
prominent and highly esteemed agricul- 
turists of Huron township, Des Moines 



6o6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



county, wlierc he has lived for many 
years. He is a son of John and Mary 
(Homstein) Hellentlial, and was born in 
Bavaria, Germany, Dec. 9, 1852. He at- 
tended the parish schools in Germany till 
he was twelve years of age, and then 
sailed for America with his parents, who 
made the trip by way of New York, and 
came direct to Burlingfton, Iowa. In the 
course of a short time his father bought 
a farm of one hundred acres in licnton 
township, where he lived and farmed 
very successfully for a number of years. 
He remained on the home place till he 
was twenty-four years old. and then be- 
gan to work by the month. In 1877 he 
rented a farm in Huron township, where 
he lived one year, and then purchased 
forty acres of land in Benton township, 
where he was a general farmer and stock 
man for many years. 

Moving to r.urlinglon lie was employed 
in the Chicago. Burlington & Quincy 
Railroad shops for six months as a car- 
penter under William Ho]>ey, and then 
worked aluiii^ l)y tlu' day for the next 
throe years, when he returned to his farm, 
where he stayed for some years. Selling 
this farm, he bought another one in Sec- 
tion 35, in Huron township, from Jake 
Peterson. This farm consisted of ninety 
acres, and was well adapted for general 
farming and stock-raising. 

April 10! 1877, Mr. Hellenthal wedded 
Miss Francis Lamm, daughter of Benja- 
min and Francis Lamm. .Mrs. Hellenthal 
was Imiih ill Kingston, Des Moines 
county. Iowa, Feb. 2, 1857. Her parents 
were both born in Germany, and came to 
America a few years after their marriage. 
Mr. and Mrs. Lamm were the parents of 
four children: Ocqueena. born July 16, 



1852, married Mathew Frederspeil, and 
lives in Burlington, Iowa; William, born 
in. 1854, is married, and resides in Ne- 
braska; Mary, born Nov. 15, 1855, is the 
wife of Charles Bassett, of Elmira, N. Y. 
They are all members of the Roman 
Catholic church. Mr. and Mrs. Lamm 
Ixjth died when Mrs. Hellenthal was very 
young. 

Unto .Mr. and Mrs. Hellenthal eight 
children have been born : Mary Matilda, 
born Aug. 9, 1881, and married Se])t. 27. 
irjoS, at West Burlington, Iowa, to Elmer 
Strawhacker, who is a farmer; Lena 
Francis, born June 24, 1884; Adolph John, 
born .\ug. 10. 1886; Lulu W., born Oct. 
12, 1891 : Edward Josejdi, born June 14, 
1894. . Three children died in infancy, 
and arc buried in the Catholic cemetery. 

Mr. Hellenthal votes the Democratic 
ticket, but does not aspire to public office. 
He has witnessed many changes in the 
county, and has ever been willing and 
ready to assist in all measures that woulc' 
be for the improvement of the township. 
He is of a genial disposition and accom- 
moilating nature, and his great success in 
life has been largely achieved by his own 
efforts. His legion of friends always find 
him upright and honorable in all things, 
and a man whose word is as good as his 
bond. 



ELMER ELLSWORTH CALDWELL. 

Elmer Eixswortii Caldwell belongs 
to one of the prominent and pioneer families 
of Des Moines county, and is a man of much 
strength of character. He is a son of 
Milton and ATartha (William) Caldwell, 
whose life record appears elsewhere in this 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



697 



volume. Hi^ birtli occurred in Washington 
township, Des Moines county, Feb. 6, 1867. 
He began his substantial education in the 
district schools of his native township, and 
later attended the schools in Morning Sun, 
Iowa, for several years. 

For many years he resided with his parents 
on the farm, where he learned all about farm- 
ing and the care of stock. In 1894 he and 
his brother, John Jamison, bought one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land in Section 15, 
Yellow Springs township, and in 1901 they 
were enabled to purchase eighty more, in 
Section 14. It is considered very good 
farm land, and is more especially so since 
Mr. Caldwell has laid much tile to drain the 
farm. He is quite a successful stock man, 
as he raises from one hundred and sixty to 
one hundred and seventy head of hogs and 
twelve head of fine calves annually, besides 
feeding one car-load of cattle, which he 
ships to the Eastern markets. 

Mr. Caldwell and his brother and sister 
live together on the farm. They are mem- 
bers in high standing of the United Pres- 
byterian church, where they attend regu- 
larly. Their home is pleasant and attractive. 

Mr. Caldwell has ever lived the life of 
an honest, upright citizen, always ready to 
advance the best interests of the community, 
and to-day he stands among the honored 
and respected farmers of the township. 



WILLIAM FREDERICK DANNIES. 

William Frederick Dannies has been 
well known in industrial circles of Burling- 
ton for a number of years, and is a carpen- 
ter who bears an excellent reputation as a 
skilled artisan, gaining a proficiency in the 



chosen line of his pursuit that has made his 
services in constant demand. Mr. Dannies 
was born Feb. 23, i860, in Prussia, Ger- 
many. His parents, Frederick and Maria 
(Schachel) Dannies, came to America in 
1871 by way of New York, and from there 
to Burlington, Iowa, where they remained 
only a few months, moving to Augusta 
township, Des Moines county, where the 
father purchased a farm, which he developed 
and improved, and upon which he lived 
till his death, which occurred in 1899, at 
the age of eighty years. The mother and 
wife died in 1890, being fifty-nine years 
old. This worthy couple were the parents 
of four children : William Frederick, our 
subject; Adolph, a farmer and stock-raiser, 
of Burlington, Colo. ; Louisa, who married 
William B. Madlaner, and lives on the home 
farm in Augusta township ; Louis, also a 
prosperous farmer of Augusta, and a twin 
brother of Mrs. Madlaner. 

William F. Dannies is indebted to the 
common schools of Prussia and this country 
for his educational privileges. At the age o. 
twelve years he came to America with his 
parents, and worked on his father's farm 
for several years, and for a number of years 
following worked out by the month for 
various farmers of the neighborhood. Dur- 
ing this time he had also had a little experi- 
ence in carpenter work, and seemed to like 
it better than farm work, so that in 1884 he 
abandoned farm life to learn this trade with 
A. M. Ziegler, with whom he was employed 
for some six years. Soon after this Mr. 
Dannies began contracting in Augusta town- 
ship, and was very successful, building many 
of the rural buildings there. He moved to 
Burlington in 1897, where he had bought a 
lot the year before, and built his present 
home of eight rooms at 809 Starr Avenue, 



6o8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl ll-.U ' 



having also a convenient sliop on the lot 
adjoining, where he is engaged in all kinds 
of carpenter and contract work. Mr. Dan- 
nies has hnilt many residences in the city, 
and in the summer of 1905 built the United 
Presbyterian church, at the corner of Divi- 
sion and Gunnison Streets. He has erected 
many other residences, which are all a great 
credit to his skill and handiwork. He 
was elected president nf the Builders' and ■ 
Contractors' Association in January, 1905, 
and is also vice-president of the General 
Mechanics' Association. 

Mr. Dannies was married Jan. 13, 1897, 
to -Miss Matilda Hohl, daughter of Jacob 
and Dorothy (Weman) Hohl, by whom he 
has had three children : Emily, aged seven : 
Clara, aged five; and Edward, aged two 
years. Mrs. Dannies was born in Burling- 
ton, Iowa, lier parents both coming to 
America from Germany when very young, 
and located in Burlington over fifty-one 
years ago. where they were married. Her 
father, who was a gardener, died in \qpo. 
aged sixty-nine years. The wife and mother 
passed away in iS()() at the age of fifty- 
eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Hohl were the 
jiarents of six children, namely : Emma, 
who is now Mrs. P. J. Paule, of Burlington ; 
John J.: Matilda, wife of our subject;' 
Edward; William, a resident of Helena. 
Mont., is employed im the Great Xorthern 
Railroad ; Clara, who makes her home with 
her sister, Mrs. Dannies. The grandparents 
of Mrs. Dannies came to Burlington in 
early coloni.il limes, .'uid located on what 
is now known as South Hill, when there 
were only three houses on the hill. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dannies are both Christian 
people, and members of the German Evan- 
gelical Zion church. Politically. Mr. Dan- 
nies is a Republican, but does not aspire 



to office. He has always been reliable and 
trustworthy, and yet it is not his business 
record alone that makes him widely and 
favorably known in the city and vicinity. 
His character and upright manhood have 
gained iiim the confidence and good-will of 
all, so that he is highly respected by those 
with whom he is associated in the active 
walks of life. 



JOHN LINCOLN JONES. 

Joii.v L. JoNts lives on the place 
where Ills birth occurred, ami is well 
known in the county. He is one of the 
most extensive stock-raisers in this part 
of the State, and therefore well deserves 
mention in this review. The grandfather 
of our subject was a nati\e of .\nglesea. 
North Wales, and died Sept. 19. 1875, 
aged seventy-three years; and his wife, 
a native of the same jilace. ]iassed away 
I'ci). 2~, 1X73. also scxi'iUy-lhree years 
old. Tlu'v were the |);nents of seven 
children: John R.; Robert; Thomas; 
William; Sarah, married Rev. T. W. 
Evans, and died at Columbus Junction in 
1880; Daviil, of the province of .Mberta. 
Canada, served in the Civil War; and 
Isaac, whose whereabouts are unknown. 

The parents of John L.. of this review, 
w-ere both born in Wales, his father be- 
ing born in .\nglesea in 1825, came to this 
(.ountry in 1S45. and settled at once in 
Des Moines county. Here he purchased 
eighty acres of land in ."section 30, and 
added to this until ;it tlie time of his 
death, which occumil J.m. I, i<X)i. he 
owned three hundred and twenty acres of 
the best land in \'ellow .^^prings township. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



6oQ 



most of which was in a high state of cul- 
tivation. Flis wife's birth occurred in 
Balla, North Wales, in 1823. She waf 
married in Wales, when very young, to 
John Hughes, who died shortly after the} 
came to America, leaving one daughter, 
Hannah S., who married W. Z. Lloyd, 
of Atlantic, Iowa. By her marriage to 
J. R. Jones there were seven children that 
"■rew to maturity : Robert R., died in 
1900, aged forty-nine years, leaving a 
widow and six children residing in Cot- 
ter, Iowa; W'illiam R., died in 1879, at 
the age of twenty-seven years; Sarah A., 
married Thomas L. Jones, and lives in 
Kansas ; Elizabeth Jane, is the wife of J. 
C. E. Yohe, and resides in Morning Sun, 
Iowa ; Mary Ellen, Mrs. G. H. Archer, 
died in October, 1882; John L., of this re- 
view ; and David Owen, lives in Sioux 
City, S. Dak., and is a shoe merchant. 

Mrs. John R.. mother of John L., 
passed away in March, 1893, at the age 
of seventy years. Her name in maiden- 
hood was Gwen Owen, and she was a 
woman possessing all the noble traits of 
character that go to make up a true wife 
and devoted mother. 

John L., our immediate subject, was 
born in Yellow Springs township, Des 
Moines county, March 19, 1862, where he 
attended school for a number of years, 
and later took a course in Elliott's Busi- 
ness College, in Burlington, lowa. He 
was reared as a farmer, and has followed 
the same vocation all of his life, also rais- 
ing a great deal of stock. For the past 
ten years he has been a breeder of Here- 
ford cattle, having now some seventy-five 
head of this breed and forty head of com- 
mon breeds. He has established a fine 
reputation in stockmen circles, and is one 



of the leading members of the Hereford 
association of stock-breeders. He ships 
stock to all parts of the State. 

June 27, 1888, Mr. Jones was married 
lo Miss Sarah E. Portlock, daughter of 
M). L. and Elizabeth Jane (Eleenor) I'ort- 
lock, and they have been blessed with 
four children : Ral])h L., Laura W., 
Bertha Gertrude; and Detlcf Owen. 

Politically, Mr. Jones is a strong Re- 
jiublican, and in 1895 was elected town- 
ship trustee, and has been re-elected four 
consecutive terms. His farm comprises 
four hundred and fifty acres of land, and 
we are pleased to say that all is under 
cultivation except about fifty acres pf 
pasture. As a citizen, Mr. Jones is ever 
ready to do his part in building up the 
place in which he resides. Like his 
father, he is a man of strong convictions, 
and that which he considers right he will 
advocate, however much he may be op- 
posed or ridiculed. A man of this make- 
up makes friends of all and is a strong 
pillar in a community. 

When the Jones family came to this 
county they first built a stone house near 
the creek, it being a branch of Flint 
Creek, so they would be near to obtain- 
able water sources. In this stone house, 
located in the rolling timber lands, they 
lived until 1848, when the father of J. L. 
was married, and built a log cabin on 
the site of the present home of J. L., and 
which stood until about 1896, when it was 
torn down. In the meantime, about 1882, 
Mr. Jones erected the present fine resi- 
dence, which is one of the elegant homes 
of the township. 

The conditions were truly primitive 
when this family came, the country being 
wild and imbroken, and the nearest neigh- 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



bor being a long distance away. On the 
nortli of the old stone home there was 
not another building between that and 
Virginia Grove, which was situated west 
of Morning Sun. The prairie at that time 
was swampy, and was not considered to 
be worth anything, until one man put in 
tile. It being a wet year, peo])Ie came for 
many miles to see the enormous corn 
that grew on this property, while his 
neighbors' crops were drowned entirely. 
I'roni that time developments have been 
sikIi frDiii time to time, that now the 
swampy land has been transformed into 
the most fertile soil in the State of Iowa. 



THOMAS LEANDER SMITH. 

TnuM.\s Le.xnder Sautii is the oldest 
native son of Franklin township, his birth 
having occurred here on I'eh. 17. 1839. 
His parents were Tillman and Xancy 
(Doughty) Smith, the former a native of 
North Carolina, born July 18, 1810; and 
the latter of Tennessee, born March 15. 
1816. The paternal grandfather, Phillip 
Smith, was also born in North Carolina, 
married Nancy Cooper in IViinessee, and 
coming to Sangamon county, Illinois, 
lived there till their death. The father, 
a pioneer of Des Moines county, first 
came lure in 1833, ''"'1 brought his family 
in 1835. He entered four hundred and 
fifty-four acres of land in Section 16. 
Fr.iiiklin township, which was half tim- 
ber and half prairie. He placed all of the 
improvements u])on that property, de- 
veloping the farm from the wilderness, 
and transforming it into a highly pro- 



ductive tract. It required much arduous 
labor in breaking the sod, tilling the 
fields, clearing away the trees, and doing 
all the other work incident to opening up 
a new farm ; but Mr. Smith was an ener- 
getic and enterprising man, and his labors 
accom])lishcd an excellent result. His 
death (.)ccurre<l .\pril 28. 1874, and he was 
survived for about thirteen years by his 
wife, who died Nov. y, 1887. His home 
was the early meeting place of the pioneer 
Methodists. 

Thomas Leander Smith was the second 
son in a family of five sons and seven 
daughters, and was reared upon the old 
hoiue farm amid pioneer surroundings 
and environments. In 1861 he enlisted in 
the Thirty-ninth \'oluntecr Infantrj', and 
was with his company at Fort .Madison 
and Davenport; but after two months he 
was rejected, his teeth not being suf- 
ficiently strong to bite oflf the cartridge. 
He remained on the home farm until 
twenty-five years of age, when he started 
out in life on his own account. He had 
ac<iuired a good education in the public 
schools, and followed teaching for about 
fifteen years. He then began farming by 
renting land, and was thus engaged until 
1886. when he began teaming at I'.urling- 
ton, Iowa, at which he continued for two 
years. He also become the owner of two 
houses and lots in Turlington, which he 
afterward sold, and |)iirchased his present 
farm of eight and one-half acres, one-half 
mile north of Doddsville, taking up his 
abode in the residence U])on this jdace in 
1889. In 1902 he bought thirty acres of 
land on Section 18, Franklin township, of 
which twenty-five acres was timber land. 
The greater part of his life has been de- 
voted to agricultural pursuits, and his 




THOMAS L. SMITH. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, 10 IV A. 



703 



energy and labor have resulted in bringing 
him a creditable measure of success. 

In April, 1876, Mr. Smith was united in 
marriage at Doddsville, to Miss Lizzie 
Minard, a daughter of Robert and Ele- 
nora (Ruley) Minard. They were early 
residents of Dubuque, where Mrs. Smith 
was born, but later moved to Burlington, 
where she was educated. Later, he 
worked at his trade, harness-making, at 
Muscatine, ])ut returned to Burlington, 
where the father died in 1898. The 
mother still lives in Burlington. Though 
Mr. and Mrs. Smith have had no children 
of their own, they have reared and 
adopted a son, Thomas Raymond, who is 
still with them. 

In his political views Mr. Smith is a 
Democrat, keeping well informed upon 
the questions and issues of the day, being 
thus able to support his position by intel- 
ligent argument. He belongs to the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and is well 
known in his community as a man of 
genuine worth; while Mrs. Smith is a 
consistent member of the Presbyterian 
church. 

j:\.s stated, he is the oldest native son of 
Franklin township residing within its 
borders, and as a pioneer settler has wit- 
nessed the wonderful changes that have 
occurred here as roads have been laid 
out, the land subdivided into farms, the 
work of tilling the soil carried on, while 
churches and schools have been built, and 
in the towns and cities many industrial 
and commercial enterprises have been es- 
tablished. ^Ir. Smith has taken great 
pride in what has been accomjjlished here, 
and is a worthy citizen, contributing to 
the support of all progressive measures 
which he deems of public benefit. 



WILLIS ERWIN DOWNER. 

The gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch is a native-born citizen of Des 
Moines county, where he has resided 
since birth, and is therefore well and 
favorably known throughout the county. 
^^'illis Erwin Downer, a son of Erwin 
and Lydia (Patterson) Downer, was born 
in the village of Mediapolis, Oct. i, 1870. 
He was educated in the common schools 
at Kossuth, Iowa, and later took up farm- 
ing on his father's farm, where he re- 
mained for many years. He has always 
been a very successful tiller of the soil, 
and has witnessed many changes in and 
about his native township. 

Mr. Downer is one of three children, 
being the second born ; the others are : 
Lizzie, now Mrs. Henry Nichols, who 
lives at Sperry, Iowa; and Leah, now 
Mrs. Wm. Stout, of Burlington. His 
mother passed away in 1902, aged sixty- 
five years ; his father is living with his 
daughter, Airs. Wm. Stout, of Burlington. 

When he had become of mature years 
Mr. Downer married Miss Amy Parker, 
daughter of Irving and Margaret (Beard) 
Parker, whose birth occurred in Mon- 
mouth, 111., Sept. 24, 1880. Her father 
died in Arkansas in 1895, aged fifty-eight 
years. Airs. Parker passed away at Mon- 
mouth, 111., a number of years prior to 
her husband's death, when Mrs. Downer 
was but four years old. 

Airs. Downer lived with, and was mar- 
ried from the home of her sister Ellen, 
who was the wife of Joseph Hobbs, and 
resided in Alcdiapolis for a number of 
years. Airs. Hobbs died in 1903. 

As time has passed Air. and Airs. 
Downer have had two children added to 



704 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFA\- 



their liousciiold : Stilla M.irir. hurn Aug. 
4, 1898; and Clifford, Ixirn Jan. <), 1901. 

For some year.*; Mr. Downer acted as 
a tile contractor, and has done a great 
deal of tihng and <litching in this section 
of tlie country. lUit in Sei)teniber, 1905, 
he engaged with the Iowa Central Kail- 
road, and recently removed to .Morning 
Sun, Iowa, where he now lives. 

In politics Mr. Downer is a stanch Rc- 
puljlican, hut has never aspired to office. 
He has now been a continuous resident of 
Des Moines count}' f(jr some thirtv-li\e 
years, and during that time has so con- 
ducted his affairs that he has not only 
won success, but also a good name. 



FERDINAND H. KLINDT. 

Ferui.nand II. Ki.i.NDT, deceased, was 
a native of Ilolstein, Germany, born 
Aug. 2), 1840, a son of James Klindt. 
He was educated in the schools of the 
Fatlierland, and was reared to manhood 
there. Thinking that he might have bet- 
ter business opportunities in the New 
World, of whose advantages and priv- 
leges he had heard such favorable re|)orts. 
Mr. Klindt resolved to try his fortune in 
America, and accordingly crossed the .\t- 
lantic to Xew York in i86r. He worked 
for five years at the machinist's trade in 
the State of New >'ork, aiul tluii made 
his way westward to llurlington. Iowa, 
and secured employment in the shops of 
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road Company, where he continued, with 
the exception of six months at Clinton, 
Iowa, until Aug. 10, 1889, when his life's 
labors were ended in death. His long 



connection with the business was proof of 
his fidelity and the trust reposed in him 
by those who employed him. He was an 
excellent workman, and his diligence and 
trustworthiness secured him a good po- 
sition. 

( )n Dec. 2. i86<^ near Davenport, he 
married .So|)hia W. Schoel. .She was born 
in Ilolstein. ( iermany, .May 11, 1845, ^nd 
in 1852 came to .\merica with her par- 
ents, Frederic and Catherine Schoel. who 
settled near Davenport, following the 
business of a gardener, and later manag- 
ing a gentleman's fruit farm. There was 
Mrs. Klindt's home until her marriage. 

Unto Mr. and .Mrs. Klindt were born 
seven children: George J., a ])lumber 
and steamtilter, residing in I'.urlington : 
Clara C. at home: Alfred J., living in 
I'^lgin, 111.: irank C, a toolmaker of 
Clinton, Iowa: John and Fred \\'.. l)oth 
at home ; and ilertha S., also at home. 

Mr. Klindt was a Democrat in his po- 
litical \ iews, and had a strong attachment 
for the land of his adojjtion and its insti- 
tutions. When called to his final rest his 
remains were interred in the cemetery at 
Burlington, .\fter his demise Mrs. Klindt 
lived with her family in Burlington until 
.\ugust, \cj02. and then removed to the 
vicinity of Dan\ilic. seltling u])oii a tract 
of rented lanil of one hundred and thirty 
acres, where they conducted a dairy, own- 
ing a number of cows. In ii>04 the pres- 
ent farm of one hiindrfd and twent\' 
acres was jjurchased, which is devoted 
to dairying. They keep thirty-seven head 
of cattle, making butter and selling cream 
to the Burlington trade, and the business 
has proved quite profitable and remuner- 
ative, being the largest of its kind in this 
vicinity. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



JOHN DILON BRIDGES. 

No history of Des Moines county would 
be complete without reference to John 
Dilon Bridges, a native of Iowa and for 
many years a farmer of this county, who 
is now one of the leading contractors 
in Mediapolis. He is a representative of 
one of the prominent pioneer families of 
the county, being the son of David Morris 
and Claressa (Haightj Bridges. His 
birth occurred on Feb. 14, 1845, '" Yellow 
Springs townshij). He was reared on his 
father's farm and attended the schools of 
his neighborhood. These were the old 
subscription schools, held in log school 
houses with puncheon floors, and half- 
round slabs for seats and benches, which 
in later times became the free schools. 

He remained under the parental roof 
till the Civil War bioke out, and then en- 
listed April 6, 1863, in Company C, 
Seventh Iowa Cavalry, at Burlington, 
being mustered into service at Davenport, 
Iowa, and mustered out at Leavenworth, 
Kans., in 1860. He was engaged in many 
battles with the Indians on the frontier 
between Dakota and Xew Mexico. In 
Missouri, while on guard over a lot of 
rebels that had been captured, he was 
wounded in the knee, and had to lav bv 
in the hospital at Brownville for three 
months. When the war closed he was 
honorably discharged, and returned to 
his native county, where he learned the 
trade of a wagon- and buggy-maker with 
Leonard Gilson, of Kossuth, with whom 
he remained for two years. 

About this time, March 2, 1868, he was 
married to Miss Marcy Jane Vincent, 
a daughter of William and Sarah (Eddy) 
Vincent, and a native of Ohio. She came 



alone to Iowa during her girlhood days, 
and was here married. Her parents had 
elex'cn children, of whom four sons were 
in the Civil War, two of which died in 
service. The children were as follows : 
Ansel, Da\id, Cyrus, and James, wdio 
were the soldiers ; Justus ; Lydia, married 
James -Vgin ; and Amy E., wife of James 
Bartlett. The two last mentioned reside 
in Ohio. 

By the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. 
Bridges six children have been born : 
Wesley Dennit, a resident of (irunda Cen- 
ter; William Morris, died at the age of 
thirteen months ; Frederick Grant, assists 
his father; Miner\a Jane, familiarly- 
known as Minnie Jane, at home: John 
Alorris, and Sarah .Vbigail, known as 
Sadie, at home. 

In 1869 Mr. r.ridges went to live in 
Girard, Kans., where he was engaged in 
carpenter work for the following three 
y'ears. In 1872 he moved his family back 
to Iowa, and located in Mediapolis, where 
he worked Ijv the day for some years. 
Since 1880 he has been contracting, and 
is now one of the leading contractors of 
frame buildings in the village. He is a 
skilled mechanic, as his handiwork on 
many of the prominent residences and 
business houses in his city will show. The 
beautiful Masonic Temple is the last busi- 
ness place that he has had the contract 
for. 

]\lr. Bridges was brought up in the 
Methodist faith, and his daughters are 
members of the Baptist church. Polit- 
ically, he is a LaFollette Republican, but 
usually votes independently, and has 
never aspired to office. He is a member 
of the Masons, and also of the Grand Army 
of the Republic, of which he has been 



7o6 



BIOGRAPHICAL RHl'IFJl^ 



comniander. lie is a man wlio has had 
his lips and downs in hfe, but has always 
been active, cnteq^rising, and straight- 
forward in his dealings with men, and by 
so doing he has established an honorable 
reputation, and enjoys the confidence and 
friendship of all with whom he is brought 
in contact. 



CHARLES AUGUST. BREUER. 

Charles August Breuer, of Flint River 
township, Des Moines county, is numbered 
among the progressive and enterprising 
farmers of Southeastern Iowa, and his 
efforts along agricultural lines have been 
productive of success in gratifying measure. 
He is a son of Frederick and Caroline 
(Gerling) Breuer, and is a native of this 
township, his birth having occurred on Sec- 
tion 5, Aug. 8, 1830. His father, one of 
the early pioneers of Flint River township, 
located on Section 5 in 1844, his family be- 
ing one of the first in this township. Indians 
and wild animals roamed about everywhere 
at this time, and the whole county was in 
a wild and uncultivated state, but Mr. 
Breuer, Sr., lived to see many valuable im- 
provements throughout the whole township, 
as his death did not occur till 1886. 

Our subject was educated in the first 
scliools of his home district, and was brought 
up as a farmer, which ()Ccni)ation he has fol- 
lowed ever since except for two years, when 
he engaged in the general merchandise busi- 
ness in Pleasant Grove townsliip with Fred 
Kuhlenbeck. Selling liis interest in the 
business to Fred Breuer, he returned to the 
farm, and has since been located here. In 
1876 he bought his present farm of one 



hundred and twenty acres from his father, 
and has added to it from time to time till 
he now has about one hundred and eighty 
acres. He is engaged in general farming 
and stock-raising, meeting with the best re- 
sults in both undertakings. 

Feb. 18. 1872, Mr. Breuer married Miss 
Christina Mary Wischmeier, daughter of 
Frederick and Anna Mary (Able) Wisch- 
meier, who is al.so a native of l-'Iint River 
townsliip, her birth occurring Oct. 13, 1850, 
on Section 9. She too attended the early 
schcxils in this place. To Mr. and Mrs. 
Breuer have been bom eight children: 
Adina, the wife of Fred Stigge, resides in 
Danville township ; Fred ; Rhoda, married 
William Schluter, and lives in Burlington ; 
Clarence, Elmer, and Malinda, at home with 
their parents; and two died in infancy. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Breuer are valued members 
of the Salem Lutheran church, where for 
a luinilx'r of years he was one of the trustees. 
Politically, Mr. Breuer acts independently, 
always voting for the man he thinks is Ixjst 
(jualified for tlie office. He is well and fa- 
\orably known throughout the community 
whicli claims him as a life-long resident, 
liis business record is such as any man 
might be ])roud to possess ; for starting out 
in life at an early age, he has steadily 
progressed in the business world, and to-day 
is clas.scd among the respected farmers of 
worth and enterpri.'ie whose labors have been 
crowned witii success. 



FREDERICK GOTFRIED ERNST. 

Mr. Frnst, who has conducted an inde- 
pendent business enterprise in Burlington, 
Iowa, for a number of years past with uni- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



707 



form success, was born June 12, 1845, in 
the kingdom of Prussia, Germany, and was 
educated in the pubHc schools of his native 
place. When fourteen years of age he left 
school, and began the life of a farmer, 
which he continued until his twentieth year, 
when he was drafted into the military serv- 
ice. Being slightly under the required 
height, however, he was not accepted for 
the army, and returnetl to other employ- 
ments, among which was the trade of slate 
and tile roofing, which he learned. He had 
friends in America, living in Burlington, 
and on their representations came to Bur- 
lington in October, 1881, by the way of 
New York. 

After arriving in this city Mr. Ernst was 
employed in a furniture factory for two and 
a half years, and thereafter took a position 
in the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Rail- 
road shops at \A'est Burlington, remaining 
there for about four years. During the fol- 
lowing five years he worked in a coffin fac- 
tory in Burlington, and later entered the 
employ of the Burlington Lumber Company. 
It was while thus engaged that he met with 
an accident which changed in some measure 
the course of his life and materially altered 
his plans. While working on a high plat- 
form he accidentally lost his foothold, and 
fell to the ground, striking on his head, and 
sustaining a fracture of the skull and other 
injuries which confined him to the care of 
a hospital for six weeks. Previous to this 
time he had purchased the lot comprising 
three fourths of an acre, which lie still owns, 
and he now used this on which to start a 
dairy business, buying nine cows and a 
wagon. About eighteen gallons of milk are 
handled daily, and under the careful man- 
agement of Mr. Ernst the enterprise has 
proved at all times very profitable. 



The political affiliation of Mr. Ernst is 
with the Republican party. He has been 
very active in the religious work of Bur- 
lington, being an active member of the Ger- 
man Baptist church, and having for a num- 
ber of years acted as a teacher in its Sunday- 
school. 

He has been twice married ; first, on 
March 20, 1872, to Fredericka Bammel, 
(laughter of Plenry and Dorothy (Schutz) 
Bammel, and they had seven children, as 
follows : Ida A., who died at the age of nine 
weeks ; Otto, who died at the age of nine 
months ; Herman, now aged twenty-nine 
years, and engaged in farming; Minnie, who 
now resides in Colorado ; Ida, who died at 
the age of nine months ; Emma, who died 
Sept. 23, 1896, aged fourteen years ; Martha, 
who died when only two days old ; and one 
infant, which died unnamed on Feb. 9, 1886, 
at which time the death of the mother and 
wife also occurred. 

Mr. Ernst remarried on Nov. 12, 1886, 
his second wife being Miss Dorothy Shulz, 
daughter of Frederick and Fredericka 
(Reike) Shulz. To Mr. and Mrs. Ernst 
have been born three children : Sarah, born 
Jan. 16, 1888, is a graduate of the public 
schools of Burlington, and for one year was 
an attendant at the city high school ; Fred, 
born Oct. t6, i8gi, is a student in the 
grammar school : and Dorothy, who died at 
the age of five months and three weeks. 

Mrs. Ernst was born in Prussia, near 
Mieste, Dec. 18, 1859. and came to America 
in 1876 at the age of only sixteen years, and 
made the trip alone, her parents having 
come before. Her parents are now residing 
on Lemberger Street, Burlington, where the 
father has for five years lived in retirement. 
A number of years ago he purchased a farm 
near Kingston, ten miles from Burlington, 



7o8 



BlOGRArniC U RfriEW 



and this lie still owns. Mr. and Mrs. Ernst 
reside on Siinnvside Street, Mr. Ernst hav- 
ing purchased the old Sunnyside school 
building and remodeled it so as to form a 
very pleasant home. 



CHRIS WILLIAM MOEHLE. 

CiiRi.s \ViLLi.\M MoEHLE, a well-known 
and highly respected citizen of Yellow 
Springs lownshij), was burn in West 
Phalen, Germany, July 8, 1868. His par- 
ents were (iotlieb and Louisa (Crinkhoff ) 
Moehle, and were prosjierous tillers of 
the soil in the old country. After com- 
pleting his education in his native city. 
he remained under the parental roof till 
he was seventeen year.s old, when he was 
seized with a strong desire to come to 
America, .\pril I. 1885, he came to Tur- 
lington, and was em])loyed as a farm hand 
for a year, and then for two years was 
employed at l"r:inkliii .Mill, w lun he went 
to Yellow' Springs townshi]), where he 
was also engaged by the month on sev- 
eral farms. In i8<)6 he bought seventy- 
four acres in Franklin townshi]). where 
he previously lived for three years ; also 
bought ten acres of timber in Benton 
township. The seventy-four acres he 
sold in 1899, and bought his present farm, 
retaining his timber land in P.ontnn town- 
shi[). 

In i8<:)9, through his own personal ef- 
forts of industry and economy, he had the 
wherewith to jmrchase the farm of one 
hundred and twenty acres on which he 
resides. Forty acres of the hundred and 
twenty are in Section 32. and eighty acres 
are in Section 33. .\mong the improve- 



niciUb that Mr. Moehle has made on his 
place is a new well, a wind-pump, and 
last, but not least, a good barn and a 
modern house. He has seventy-two hogs, 
several calves, and seventeen yearlings, 
and is engaged in general farming, in 
which he is most successful. 

.March 3, i8f)6, .Mr. Moehle married 
.Miss Lizzie Kline, daughter of Henry 
and Mary (Maiikc) Kline, who was born 
I\"b. 19, 1876, in West Phalen, Gennany. 
They have two daughters : Marie, born 
Dec. 31, i8<)7: and Rose, born .\ug. 2, 

Politically, Mr. Moehle is an independ- 
ent, voting for the man he considers best 
suited for office. He and his good wife 
are Ixilh attendants of the German Lu- 
theran church. .Mr. Moehle is a .self-made 
man in the best sense of the term. 
Empty handed, he set out in the world 
determined to overcome the obstacles 
which he foresaw in his career, and with 
energy and and)ition as his sole stock in 
trade. Failing to accpiire the education 
he desired in his boyhood days, he has 
sought a fund of information by observa- 
tion and reading, and thus has made him- 
self a man of good judgment in the com- 
munity. His manhood has been charac- 
terized by an integrity which has ever 
placed his business dealings above ques- 
tion. 



DAVID EARNEST. 

D.wiD Earnest, who in pioneer times 
became a resident of Des Moines county, 
and was identified with its agricultural in- 
terests up to the time of the Civil War, when 
he laid down his life on the altar of his 



DES MOL\ES COUNTY, IOWA. 



709 



country, was bom in Palmyra, Lebanon 
county. Pa., Sept. 15, 1815. It was in the 
month of June, 1846, that he arrived in this 
State, and took up his abode on a farm in 
Union township, Des Moines county, where 
his family has since resided. 

Mr. Earnest was twice married. His first 
wife bore the maiden name of Caroline 
Seltzer, and was a native of Pennsylvania. 
There were four children of that marriage, 
of whom one daughter lived to reach 
womanhood and became the wife of Capt. 
E. J. Rizer, of Baltimore, Md. Her death 
occurred in June, 1888, and she is still sur- 
vived by her husband and seven children. 
After the death of his first wife, Mr. Earnest 
was married to Miss Catherine Garman, 
also a native of Pennsylvania, whence she 
came to Iowa with her parents, Henry and 
Catherine Garman, in June, 1846. There 
were four children of the second marriage : 
Christopher and David, who were locomo- 
tive engineers in the railroad service, and 
both met death in a railway accident, the 
former on July 5, 1894, and the latter on 
Oct. 31, 1902: Mark B. and Charles- G., 
who with their mother, are the only surviv- 
ing members of the family, and continue to 
reside on the old homestead. 

In his farming operations Mr. Earnest 
was active and energetic, and as the county 
emerged from pioneer conditions he kept 
pace with the universal progress in agricul- 
tural circles, and developed a good farm 
property. At the time of the Civil War, 
however, he put aside business considera- 
tions that he might aid his country, and. 
enlisted as a private of Company E, Twenty- 
fifth Iowa \'olunteer Infantry, under Cap- 
tain Bell. He died in the service at Mem- 
phis, Tenn., and was there buried. .\s a 
pioneer settler he was well known to many 



of the early residents of the county. His 
family have remained in Union township 
upon the old homestead farm, where his sons 
are still successfully engaged in carrying on 
agricultural pursuits. 



FREDERICK DONNER. 

Frederick Donner, a highly success- 
ful farmer of Huron township, Des 
Moines county, Iowa, was born in Ohio, 
Alarch 25, 1835, the son of Peter Donner 
and Barbara (Naffzinger) Donner. When 
Frederick Donner was only two years of 
age, his parents moved to McLean coun- 
ty, Illinois, where his father owned a 
farm. The subject of our sketch spent 
his early years on this farm, receiving his 
education in the common schools of Mc- 
Lean county, and learning the work of 
agriculture by assisting on his father's 
farm. He made his home in Illinois until 
moving to Iowa in 1903. 

In 1858, when our subject was twenty- 
three years of age, he was seized with a 
young man's restlessness and desire to 
see the world, and started by making a 
trip to Colorado ; but the fever for change 
was soon allayed, and he did not stay 
long. Two years later, in i860, he was 
married to Barbara Gingrich, daughter 
of John and Barbara (Garber) Gingrich, 
who has always proved a strong-hearted, 
earnest, worthy helpmeet for her hus- 
band, doing much to assist her husband 
in winning his present degree of success 
in life. About two years after our sub- 
ject was married, he and his young wife 
decided that they were ready to make a 
home of their own, in new surroundings. 



BIOGRAPHICAL REllEW 



Accordinjjly ihcy went to Woodford 
county, Illinois, where they bought one 
huiidreil and sixty acres of rich farming 
land. This was their home for twenty- 
five years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Donncr arc the parents of 
nine children, three sons and six daugh- 
ters : John M., born March i6. 1861 ; 
Mary Ellen, born Dec. 27, 18C3, and now 
li\ing in Colorado; I'arbara Anna, born 
May I, 1865, now the wife of Joseph 
Stucky, and living in Chenoa, 111.; Wil- 
liam, born March 30, 1868, married, 
.March 15, i'P5, Lena Mueller, of El 
Paso, 111., and resides at Gridl«y, III.; 
Lydia, born June i, 1870, was married 
May 27, 1903, to Simon Schultz, and lives 
in Gridley, 111. : Emma, born Jan. 26, 1872. 
and now living at Fairbury, 111.; Dena, 
born Feb. 5, 1873; Edward, born Feb. i<), 
1875; and Sarah, born March 10, 1882. 
The three last named arc living at home. 

John M. Donncr, the oldest son of our 
subject, left home at the age of nineteen, 
and commenced farmiiis; for hinisclf. He 
farmed for two years, and then went to 
work as brakeman on the railroad. He 
contracted with the Wabash Company, 
and worked with that railway for eleven 
years, and then made the change to the 
Chicago & Eastern Illinois, working as 
brakeman. He was with this company 
only three months when he was killed 
by accident, the exact cause of his death 
never having been ascertained. He was 
married, February, 1891, to Miss Anna 
Theresa Fox, and at his death left, besides 
his wife, one little daughter, Estella. 

In 1903, Frederick Donner and his wife 
decided that another move farther west 
would be advantageous to their interests, 
and accordingly, in January of that year. 



they came to Des Moines county, Iowa. 
Here they bought one hundred and sixty 
acres of rich farming land in Section 8, 
Huron townshi]). from Charles Winters, 
another two hundred acres in Section 5, 
from the widow Xunn. and also sixteen 
acres of timber in Section 3. This farm 
is of good arable land, well adajjted to 
general farming, and is mostly under cul- 
tivation. Here Mr. and Mrs. Donner have 
made a home, and won many friends 
by their hospitality and sterling worth. 
They are earnest, faithful members of the 
Christian Apostolic church, and by their 
example make for the bettering of the 
community. 

As a farmer Mr. Donner has been 
highly successful by reason of his busi- 
ness ability and his attitude toward op- 
portunities, coupled with a sound judg- 
ment and keen foresight that have en- 
abled him to carry his ventures to the 
desired issue; and as a man and a citizen 
he enjoys the general respect because of 
Ills honorable and upright methods in all 
matters in which he comes into contact 
wilh his fellow-men. 



DAVID L. PORTLOCK. 

On the roll of her pioneers, those who 
have been her makers and builders, Des 
Moines county has long since accorded the 
name of David L. Portlock a high and hon- 
orable place. Within her borders he has 
passed nearly fourscore years of continuous 
residence, and at a time which is now far 
beyond the memory of the present genera- 
tion, he courageously encountered and con- 
cpiered here the hard conditions of life in 




DAVID L. PORTLOCK AND WIFE. 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



713 



a new land. He is now residing in Pleasant 
Grove township on his large and product- 
ive farm of one hundred and forty-five 
acres in Sections 1 1 and 2. ]\lr. Portlock 
was born in Rush county, Indiana, on the 
4th day of January, 1S25, a son of Barnard 
D. and Sara (Lyons) Portlock. 

Barnard D. Portlock was a native of 
Barth county, Mrginia, his birth occurring 
Dec. 24, 1794, from whence he removed to 
Indiana at an early period in the history 
of that State. In Indiana he follo.wed the 
occupation of farming, and also worked at 
his trade as millwright and carpenter. He 
again came West in 1836, and became one 
of the very early pioneers of Iowa, locating 
at Burlington, where in his capacity of mill- 
wright he erected the first grist-mill in that 
city. There he resided until his death, 
which occurred Feb. 10, 1842. A Dem- 
ocrat in his political affiliation, he was a 
man of exceptional ability, and as such 
played a prominent part in the public affairs 
of his time. He early received- appoint- 
ment as justice of the peace, an office whose 
duties he capably discharged for a number 
of years. He held a captaincy in the Iowa 
State militia at the time of the trouble with 
Missouri over the boundary line between 
the two commonwealths. He was a member 
of the Baptist church, and during the time 
of his residence in Indiana was an elder of 
the church. His wife, who was also a mem- 
ber of the Baptist church, was born Aug. 20, 
1808, in Franklin county, Indiana, and her 
demise occurred Nov. 11. 1852, in Pleas- 
ant Grove township, this county. She was 
the mother of eight children, four of -whom 
survive, and of these our subject is the 
youngest, and the only one now residing 
in Des Moines county. 

David L. Portlock began his education 



in the schools of Rush county, Indiana, and 
in 1836, when but eleven years of age, re- 
moved with his parents to Burlington. 
There the father built a log house and es- 
tablished a home, and the boy continued 
his interrupted education in the only school 
•which the town afforded at that time. That 
humble pioneer home, could it be our priv- 
ilege to look upon it exactly as it was, 
would present many points of striking dif- 
ference from the palatial mansions of the 
city to-day. The house was made of logs, 
the old-fashioned fireplace of stone, roughly 
pieced together, while the huge chimney 
was constructed of sod. The sod was cut 
into squares, and these piled one upon an- 
other to the required height ; and while the. 
home may have lacked many of the comforts 
that we now enjoy, the song of the sparks 
and flames leaping from the wide fireplace 
up the great chimney on a winter's day was 
one of encouragement and good cheer not 
without its value. 

After leaving school Mr. Portlock was 
employed by his father for some time, but 
in 1842 began farming in Pleasant Grove 
township, purchasing a few acres of land 
south of the village of Pleasant Grove, 
where he farmed and worked as a carpenter. 
As soon as he had, in this manner, saved 
sufficient capital, he entered forty acres 
north of the village, but lived at the village 
for a few years. He then removed to his 
farm in the northern part of the township, 
to which he added by subsequent purchases 
until he was the owner of one hundred and 
forty acres, and he made that the place of 
his residence during a number of years. 
About the year 1863 he purchased his pres- 
ent holdings, where he has ever since re- 
sided. He has greatly improved the farm, 
and during the active period of his life en- 



■'4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



gfaged in general fanning and tlu- usual 
stock-raising with signal success. At the 
present time he is retired from active work, 
leading a life of quietness and case, and en- 
joying the rcAvanls of a long, honorable, and 
useful career. 

At rieasant Grove, in the month of Oc- 
tober, 1849, Mr. Portlock was united in 
bonds of holy matrimony to Miss Elizabeth 
Fleenor, daughter of Isaac and Lydia 
(Flecnor) I-'leenor. Mr. I"lecnor was a 
pioneer of this section, coming to Iowa in 
183C, and locating on a farm in Pleasant 
Grove township, where he was successful, 
and also became one of the prominent fig- 
ures of his day. He died at his farm home 
at an adv.mced age. Mrs. I'ortlock is also 
now tleceased. her death having occurred at 
the family home. Nov. 8, 1902. She was 
the mother of seven children, of whom the 
two eldest, which were twins, died at birth, 
and those living are as follows: Lydia. who 
married Charles Kemry, a farmer of this 
townshi]). and now resiiling with our sub- 
ject, and has four children. Waller F.. 
David, jlerlha. and Iva; I'laris.-^a. who is the 
wife of Henry ileckman. a retired farmer 
of Xew London, Iowa, has seven children, 
Mary. I--ffie. .\nna, \erdon. Lee, Henry. 
Clara ; Sarah, who is the wife of John 
L. Jones, of Roscoe, this county, has four 
children. l\ali)h. Laura, Gertrude, and Det- 
lef; N'erdon, who is now a retired farmer 
residing at New London, Iowa, married 
Miss Maggie Ritchcy, by whom he has two 
children. Anna and Grace: Flzorah. wife 
of William Wallnian. is engaged in farm- 
ing in Missouri. 

Mr. I'ortlock is a member of the Chris- 
tian church, in whose work he was for- 
merly very active, and for many years he 
held the office of elder. The Christian de- 



nomination was at one time the most nu- 
merous and flourishing in this vicinity, the 
membership numbering at its maximum one 
hinidred and thirty-one: but many of them 
have died, while others have moved away, 
so that .\lr. I'ortlock is the only one of all 
these now left. He has also been prom- 
inently connected with ])ublic life, and as 
a member of the Democratic party has been 
honored by election to almost all the offices 
within the gift of the ])eo]>lc of his town- 
shi]). For a perio<l of alx>ut ten years he 
held the office of justice of the peace, and 
by reason of his reputation for fainiess and 
absolute imjiartiality. his court was resorted 
to for the trial and determination of a great 
many im])ortant cases at law. He was also 
ai)pointed county supervisor to fill an unex- 
l)ired term, and at the termination of his 
regular period of .service was elected to that 
office, which he continued to occupy for a 
further three years. .\t the time of the 
L'ivil War he received ajipointmcnt as 
deputy ijrovost marshal, and served in that 
capacity throughout the course of the war. 
He is widely kncAvn throughout Des Moines 
county, enjoys the warm and sincere reganl 
of a host of friends, and by virtue of his 
ii])right and stainless life and character 
commands the respect of all. 



RHEINHART HERZOG. 

For long years Rheinhart llerzog has 
been a ])rominent and cnter])rising farmer of 
llint River township and a citizen whose 
honorable life and ujiright career has gained 
for him the gmid-will an<l respect of all the 
connnunity in which he moves. 

He is a son of George and .Anna (Stat- 



DES MOINES COUXTV. IOWA. 



715 



tier) Herzog, and was born in Baden, Ger- 
many, July 2, 1844. After taking a course 
in the graded schools where he was born, 
he at once entered a large brewery, and 
learned the business, which he followed for 
a number of years. Thinking there might 
be a broader field of o])portnnities in Amer- 
ica for him, he came to Hamilton, Ohio, in 
1868, where he remained two years, after 
which he came to I'eoria, 111., making his 
home there for three years, and later was in 
Pekin, 111., till 1893. In each of these cities 
he was employed in large breweries and 
malt houses. "Coming to Des Aloines county 
in 1893 our subject decided to purchase 
land and try his fortune as an agriculturist. 
He bought one hundred and sixty acres of 
farm land in Flint River township on Sec- 
tions 16 and 21. This venture proved to 
be a good one, for during this time he has 
carried on general farming and stock-raising 
with gratifying success. 

Mr. Herzog married Miss Grace Francis 
Sherf, June 3, 1876, the year of the great 
Centennial in Philadelphia. Mrs. Herzog 
is a daughter of Joseph and Mary (Bach) 
Sherf, and was born Aug. 14, 1849, in or 
near Louderback, Germany. She came to 
America with her parents when a mere 
child of three and a half years. They settled 
in Beloit, Wis., later moving to Peoria, 111., 
where they both passed away, the father in 
1864, and the mother in 1900. They were 
the parents of the following seven children, 
who are all living : Charles ; Andrew : Jose- 
phine : Marcus : Francis, wife of our sub- 
ject ; Ella ; and Sebastian. 

Mr. and Mrs. Herzog have been blessed 
with nine children : Rudolph, of Centralia, 
111., tern April 29, 1877, engineer on the 
Illinois Central Railri>ad : Hattie. born Dec. 
19, 1881, learning to be a .Sister of ?ilercy 



in a convent at Leavenworth, Kans. ; Anna, 
born. Oct. 25, 1883, a resident of Burlington, 
Iowa ; Ella, born Nov. 10, 1885, employed in 
a bakery at Leadville, Colo. ; Victoria, born 
July 3. 1887, at home; Wilhelmina, born 
June 22, 1892, with her parents; Richard, 
born June 11, 1896, on the farm; John, 
born Nov. 18, 1880, died Dec. 31, 1880; 
Rheinhart, Jr., died at the age of five 
months. These seven living children all 
received good common-school educations, 
the younger ones attending the Prairie 
Grove school in their own district. 

F'olitically, Mr. Herzog is a strong Re- 
publican. He has ever been active in the 
support of the principles in which he be- 
lieves, but has no aspirations in the direction 
of office-holding. By reason of his large suc- 
cess, his unblemished character, his just and 
liberal life, and the universal esteem which 
he here enjoys, Mr. Herzog might, without 
invidious distinction, be called one of the 
foremost men of his township. 



JAMES KILLOUGH. 

James Killough, one of the old and 
honored citizens and successful farmers 
of Yellow Springs township, is known as 
a reliable business man, industrious, am- 
bitious, and progressive. He was born 
in Preble county, Ohio, Aug. 15, 1832, his 
])arents being William and Jane (Nicol) 
Killough. The father died in Ohio at the 
age of forty-eight years, and the mother 
afterward came to Iowa with her son, 
James, her death occurring in this State 
when she was fifty-nine years of age. 
William Killough was a native of South 
Carolina, and his wife of the Buckeye 



7i6 



BIOGRArillC.lL RlilJJ-.lf 



State. They were tin- |)arents of five chil- 
dren : Sarah Jane, wlu) acts as house- 
keeper for her Ijrother James; Mary .\nn, 
the deceased wife of Wilhani Reid ; Uc- 
hecca, the wife of W. W. Stetson, State 
siiperinten<Ient of schools, and resides at 
Auburn. .Me.: \\ illiani. who died at the 
age of fi\e years; and James, llie eldest 
of the family. 

In the early suhscriplion and public 
schools of his native county James Kil- 
lough pursued his education, and in the 
periotis of vacation he worked u])on the 
home farm. He took his ])lace in the 
fields almost as soon as old enough to 
handle the plow, and gradually more and 
more of the work of the farm was en- 
trusted to him, so that he gained broad, 
practical e.x])erience in the best methods 
of caring for tlie land and producing 
crops. He came to Iowa in the fall of 
1851, locating first in Louisa county, 
where he lived for a brief period. About 
1854 he i)urchased eighty acres of farm 
land and ten acres of timber land in Des 
Moines county. lie put all of the im- 
provements u])on that property, erecting 
a modern brick house, good barns, and 
other buildings, and the land was brought 
to its ])resent condition of high cidtiva- 
tion through his efforts. .Mr. Killougli 
is also engaged in raising cattle to some 
extent, and keeps about sixty head of 
hogs each j'ear. He has at two different 
times taken stock in threshing machines 
which have o])erated throughout the 
neighborhood. In all of tlu- farm work 
he is practical and progressive, and his 
carefully clirecled labor, sound business 
judgment, and unfaltering perseverance 
have been the strong elements in his 
success. 



-Mr, Killougli is a member of the Re- 
lormed I'resbyterian church, and is true 
to its teachings and faith. He has never 
married, and his sister acts as his house- 
keeper. They have adopted and reared 
several children: Alfred Killougli. who 
was born in I'oston, Mass., Dec. 5, 1864, 
and is now an enterprising agriculturist, 
nper.'iting the old home farm; Kva, a na- 
tive of .Mlegheny City, I'a., born Jan. 4, 
1879, and is a trained nurse in the city 
of r.urlington. but still makes her home 
at the farm; William, born in Alleghenv 
City. Pa.. i"eb. 28. 1881. and now in Logan 
& (iraig's wholesale hardware store in 
.Mlegheny City, Pa. Harry, Sadie, anil 
Charles were also adopted into the home 
of Mr. and .Miss Killougli. The last 
named is now decease<l. and after several 
years the others returned to their people 
in .Mlegheny City, where Sadie is now 
engaged in dressmaking. Harry at this 
time is a member of the regular army, 
stationed at Fort W orth, Kans. W illiani 
was a volunteer of the Spanish-American 
war. enlisting June 25, 18(78, as a member 
of Com])any C, l-'iftieth Iowa Infantry. 
He was taken ill in camp at Jacksonville: 
and returning home, he afterward entered 
I'.Uioti's Itusiness coikge. of P.urlington, 
and was thu> |)re|jared for the ])ractical 
duties of a i)nsiness life. 



JOHN B. LINES. 

Onk of the younger agriculturists of Des 
Moines county, a man who has won promi- 
nence in the political as well as the social 
and business affairs of the county, is John 1!. 
Lines, of I'ranklin township. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



717 



John Barclay Lines, son of Allison and 
Elizabeth (Bishop) Lines, is a native son 
of Franklin township, being born there 
April 5, 1868. In boyhood he attended the 
public schools of the townshijj, and being 
reared on ^ farm, learned the stern lessons of 
farm life at the same time. Always recog- 
nizing the many advantages of the free life 
of a farmer, as well as the less pleasant side 
of the hard wcirk, he has chosen to follow 
that vocation for his life work. 

At the age of twenty-one years he left the 
parental rooftree, and started to fight the 
hard battle of life for himself. For the first 
six months he engaged as a farm hand, 
working by the month : and during the re- 
mainder of the year he found employment as 
a day laborer. 

On Dec. 18, 1890, the year following his 
majority, he was united in marriage to Miss 
Margaret May Herrill, of West Burling- 
ton. She was a daughter of Anderson and 
Charlotte (Davis) Herrill, being born in 
Flint River township, this county, Nov. 12, 
1867. Her mother died when she was only 
eight years of age, and her father when she 
was eleven years old, both parents being 
buried in Flint River township. She re- 
ceived part of her education in the public 
schools of Flint River township, making 
her home with a brother after the death of 
her parents. \\'hen thirteen years of age 
she went with an old-time friend of the 
family to Yellow Springs township, finishing 
her education in the public schools of that 
township, and making her home with this 
friend until she reached years of maturity. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lines became the parents 
of si.K children, as follows : Grace, born Alay 
5, 1892, died Sept. 19, of the same year; 
Clyde Allison, born May 13, 1893 ; Luella 
and Estella, twins, born Aug. 6, 1895 ; Port 



Leroy, born Dec. 22, 1899; and Charlotte, 
born Jan. 22, 1903. 

Immediately after his marriage, in De- 
cember, 1890, Mr. Lines began farming for 
himself. At first he rented a farm, it being 
the same place which he now owns, and on 
which he lives. At that time he remained 
on the place for two years ; after which time 
he rented another farm two miles farther 
north, living on it for about three years. At 
the expiration of that time he bought his 
present farm in Section 16, Franklin town- 
ship, lie has forty acres of fine fertile land 
devoted to general farming, all except about 
eight acres being under cultivation. He has 
jnit a portion of the improvements on his 
farm, and now has a cozy and comfortable 
home, and a well-improved, thoroughly cul- 
tivated farm. 

Mr. Lines was brought u\> in the Baptist 
church, and has always had a strong sym- 
jiathy for work done by that denomination. 
Politically he has affiliated himself with the 
Republican party, whose principles he con- 
siders most closely represent his ideal of 
a popular government. He has been a 
loyal and efficient worker for his party, and 
has served it in several capacities. He was 
elected clerk for Franklin township in 1896, 
and in 1898 the citizens of the township 
showed the esteem and confidence in which 
they held him by bestowing upon him the 
highest gift in the way of political pre- 
ferment that was in their power to bestow, 
electing him township trustee. He served 
with credit to himself and satisfaction to 
his constituents, and in 1902 was appointed 
to this same office, to fill a vacancy. In 
1903 he was again elected trustee, and is 
still filling this responsible position, his 
present term expiring in the autumn of 1906. 
Although still a young man, Mr. Lines 



•iS 



BIOGRAPHICAl. k'Ulll-.U' 



has wtm a position of prominoiico in the 
coninninitx- tliat k-stifii-s to unusual business 
sagacity and poHtical insight, as well as to 
the qualities of sterling integrity antl up- 
right manhood that have made his name 
a synonym for worthy citizen and stanch 
friend anioiiir all who know him. 



GEORGE JENKINS. 

GEoRGii JiiNKiNS has a notable military 
record, embracing service in the Civil War 
and against the Indians ; and he also at- 
temi)ted to become an advocate of the coun- 
tr\ s interests in the Spaiiish-.\merican War, 
hut his advanced years precluded his ac- 
cei)tancc. He was born in Pulaski county, 
Kentucky. Oct. 9, 1836. his parents being 
John and Sallie (Whitson) Jenkins. In the 
place of his nativity he spent his early youth, 
and ac(|uired his education in the subscrip- 
tion schools. The sessions, however, lasted 
for only about three months in the year. In 
1855 he came to Des Moines county. Iowa, 
settling in Franklin township, where he car- 
ried on farming until (Jet. 2. iS(n. His 
patriotic spirit having been aroused, he re- 
sponded to the call of his country on that 
date, and became a member of Company C. 
Fourteenth Iowa Infantry, enlisting at Bur- 
lington under command of Captain Shan- 
non. He joined the army for three years, 
but at the end of a year and a half became 
ill. and was sent to the hos])ital at Fort 
Reynolds, in north western Dakota, where 
he was honorably discharged -May 25. 1863. 
His company, with two others of the first 
battalion, was detailed in Dakota to figlit the 
Indians, and had several hotly contested 
battles with the red men. 



Wlien Mr. Jenkins entered the army, 
he weighed one hundred and eighty-six 
pounds ; hut the rigors and hardshi])s of 
war midermined his strong constitution, and 
his health became impaired. He was a non- 
comissioned officer in the early days of his 
.service. Following his return home he 
raised one com|)any of militia, and had them 
well drilled ; but the war closing, they did 
not enter the service. 

Returning to I'ranklin townshi]) he re- 
sumed farming pursuits here. April 10, 
1865. Mr. Jenkins was unitetl in marriage 
to Miss Sarah Jane liradley, a daughter of 
Aaron and iCIvira (.Vdnik) Bradley, and a 
native of Fuiaski county, Kentucky, lx)rn 
July 14. 1843. She came Ui Des Moines 
count) at the same time her future husband 
arrived here. For about three years they 
lived in l-Vanklin township, and then re- 
moved to ^■ellow Springs township, where 
they resided for a long period. Her father's 
ileath occurred there in the fall of 1866. 
when he was forty-four years of age: and 
her nioilier passed away in Sheridan, Iowa, 
in l-eliruary. 11,04. ='' t'l*^ ^.'J^' "^ eighty-one 
years. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins became the jjarents 
of four (laughters: Cora I'.elle. the wife of 
(ieorge Diniick, of Oklahoma: ( )llie, the 
wife of Xewton Reiker. of Warren county, 
Missouri: Julia, the wife of James Brown, 
who is living in Washington. Iowa : ami 
Jennie, the wife of William Essmann. who 
was formerly proprietor of the Heyer 
House, one of the hotels of Burlington, but 
sold Mill in the spring of i</>5, and removed 
to Chicago. 

I'olitically. .Mr. Jenkins is a straight 
Republican, never faltering in his allegiance 
to the party. He has, however, continually 
refused to become a candidate for otYice. 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



and when elected justice of the peace in 
1905, would not qualify. He is a member 
of Post No. 157, Grand Army of the Repub- 
lic, at Mediapolis, and takes great interest 
in the organization whereby he maintains 
pleasant relations with his old army com- 
rades, spending many an hour at its camp- 
fires. He had many hairbreadth escapes 
while in the West, and relates many in- 
teresting incidents concerning his encounters 
with the red men. 

Throughout his business career he fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming. Patriot- 
ism is his predominant characteristic, and 
his example of loyalty to his country might 
Avell be followed. He is always the cham- 
pion of its interests and institutions, and has 
never been known to falter in his allegiance 
to the stars and stripes, either upon the field 
of battle or in the days of peace. 



SMITH H. JACKSON. 

Smith H. J.vcksox, one of the most 
e.xtensive farmers of I'Vanklin township, 
operating three hundred acres, and en- 
gaged in raising and dealing in horses, 
cattle, and hogs, was born Nov. 6, 1862, 
in Franklin township, within the borders 
of which he still makes his home. His 
parents were Edward and .\bigail 
(Chase) Jackson, natives of Pennsylvania 
and Xew York, respectively, and with his 
parents the father came to this State in 
184J, the family home being established 
on a farm on Section 14, Franklin town- 
ship, which the grandfather, ^^'illiam 
Andrew Jackson, purchased, and on 
which he and his wife, Jerusha. lived 
luitil called to their final rest. Edward 



Jackson received his share of the home 
farm, thus jjecoming owner of si.xty acres, 
w'hercon he resided until his death. His 
wife passed away in November, 1S75, and 
he survived until May 8, 1899. 

Smith H. Jackson was reared in the 
usual manner of farm lads of the period, 
acquiring his education in the puldic 
schools, and gaining an intimate knowl- 
edge of the best methods of farming from 
the instruction of his father and the ex- 
perience which he received in the work 
of the fields. He continued upon the 
home farm imtil 1898, when he removed 
to his present jjlace of residence on the 
John JMcCuUough farm of two hundred 
and forty acres, of which two hundred 
acres are in cidtivation. Here he cultivates 
corn and oats, and is also engaged quite 
extensively in raising and breeding 
horses, cattle, and hogs. He still owns 
and operates the home place of sixty 
acres, and in addition he has ten acres 
of timber land. He is practical and pro- 
gressive in all his farm work, and is meet- 
ing with creditable success in his under- 
takings. 

.\'ov. 6, 1888, Mr. Jackson was united 
in marriage to Ida B. Guelick, wdio was 
born in Burlington, Iowa, and is a daugh- 
ter of Lee and Nancy (Gregory) Guelick. 
The children of this marriage are four in 
nund)er: lUirr, born Nov. 19, 1889; Inez, 
])orn Jan. 2y, 1896; Nellie, born May 7, 
1900: and Horace, born Aug. 24, 1902, 
all at home. The parents are faithful 
members of the Baptist church, of Sperry, 
and Mr. Jackson is identified with the 
Modern Woodmen of America. In his 
political views he is a Democrat, and 
while he keeps well informed on the ques- 
tions and issues of the dav, as everv true 



720 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



American citizen shuuld ilo, he has never 
sought or desired office, for he considers 
his business interests abundantly worthy 
of his l)est efforts, and in the careful con- 
duct of his farm work and stock-raising 
he is meeting with gratifying success. 



JACOB CHRISTIAN WERTZ. 

Jacoh Christian Wkrtz, a highly re- 
spected farmer of l-'lint River township, 
is a native of Des Moines county, being 
born in the city of Burlington, Iowa, Dec. 
2<J. '853. He attended a German school 
for one winter. When at the age of six 
years his parent's moved to Union town- 
ship, where he attended the district 
schools and later finished his education 
in the grammar schools in the city of his 
birth, boarding with a relative. Mr. (i. II. 
I'.icklen. He has followed general farm- 
ing and truck-gardening all his life, at 
whifli lu- li.is l)eiii very successful. In 
i8<;2 he bought ninety-six acres of land in 
l-"lint River township, upon which he has 
a farm and nursery, besides raising all 
kinds of small fruits. 

I-'eb. r.. 1882. Mr. Wertz married Miss 
IClizabeth Heckenberg. daughter of Her- 
man and .Vnn (Schmeil) Heckenberg. 
'riic\ are the hai)))y i)arents of eight chil- 
dren : r.ertha, Clara. Lydia. Lillie. Olva, 
Laura. .Mma, and listher. all at home ex- 
ec]): the two oldest, who work in lUirling- 
ton. 

Politically. Mr. Wertz is a straight Re- 
publican, but does not care to hold any 
office in the hands of his |)arty. He has 
made all of the improvements on his farm 
from time to time, and is just now com- 



pleting a large new barn 30 x 42 feet, and 
also a neat cottage of four rooms for a 
residence. 

He is a man of much energy and enter- 
prise, being deeply interested in the wel- 
fare of his township ; he is a man who 
never takes advantage of the necessities 
of his fellow-men. and lives day by day in 
the ho])e of rounding out a life well be- 
gun, and one worthy of the emulation 
of all. 



ALBRECHT STIEFEL. 

I.N" this enlightened age, when men of 
energy and merit are rapidly pushing their 
way to the front, those who, by their oVvn 
individual efforts, have won favor and 
fortune, may properly claim recognition. 
Mr. Stiefel is a worthy representative of 
this class. He is the proprietor of an es- 
tablishment where all kinds of steel and 
iron articles can be rei)aired and sharpened. 
He has mastered the business in its vari- 
ous departments and gained advancement 
as he displayed ability and energy. 

He is the son of Qiristof and Elizabeth 
(.Schwartz) Stiefel, and was born in Gros, 
Altorf. Wurtemberg, Germany, Nov. 18, 
1840. Reared under the parental roof he 
acquired his education in the public schools 
of the Fatherland in accordance with the 
laws of that country. He afterward en- 
tered upon an apprenticeship to the steel 
cutler's trade, ami completed tiif term of 
four years, becoming an excellent work- 
man, with a thorough understanding of the 
business in every department. — making 
keys, knives, and all kinds of edge tools, 
and doing the repairing of the same. He 
worked at his trade till he was twentv-six 




JACOB C. WERTZ AND FAMILY. 



DES MOINES COUXTV. IOWA. 



years of age ; and hoping he might find 
better openings for business .in this coun- 
try, he crossed the Atlantic to the New 
World, and from the Atlantic Coast he at 
once proceeded to Bristol; Conn., where he 
had a sister living, and with whom he re- 
mained for three months. He next spent 
one summer with a brother, who was a 
prosperous farmer in Henderson County, 
Illinois. In April, 1866, he came to Bur- 
lington and located permanently, first being 
employed for a year in a wagon shop. He 
then started in business for himself, doing 
all kinds of light grinding, filing of saws, 
sharpening scissors, knives, and making 
various tools. His place of business at this 
time was on North Alain Street in a stone- 
cutting shop, where he tempered and sharp- 
ened all their tools. After this Air. Stiefel 
occupied different rooms on West Jefferson 
Street, in each place always having enough 
work to keep him busy from early morn 
till late at night. In 1899 he moved to 
709 Jefferson Street, where he is now lo- 
cated at this writing. His work is all of the 
best class, doing the most of it himself, and 
his judgrnent can always be relied upon. 

In February, 1869, Mr. Stiefel wedded 
Miss Louisa Lee, of Burlington, who was 
born in New York. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Stiefel four chil- 
dren have been born : Nellie, who married 
L. Simmon, a shipping clerk at the Bur- 
lington Lumber Company. They have a 
beautiful home on Arch Street, Burling- 
ton, Iowa : Lulu, with her parents, who is 
an artist of considerable ability, doing all 
kinds of painting in oil colors ; Albert, of 
Arkansas ; Reuben, at home, and a popular 
clerk in Beckman"s dry-goods store. Mr. 
Stiefel is a Republican, believing firmlv in 
the principles of the party and their adapta- 



bility to the best good of the State and na- 
tion. Mr. and Mrs. Stiefel are both highly 
respected, and devoted members of the Ger- 
man Methodist church, and are among the 
most regular attendants. Airs. Stiefel also 
takes an active part in the Ladies' Society 
of this church, sparing neither time nor 
strength to promote its prosperity. 

There is probably no man in the city who 
has lived a more quiet and regular life than 
has our subject. One might well say that 
regularity has been a part of his religion, 
and that to this one trait he owes much of 
his success. The entire career of Mr. 
Stiefel is illustrative of the fact that certain 
results are obtained through certain actions 
— that industry and perseverance, guided 
by sound judgment, always win prosperity 
in the land of the free, where labor is not 
hampered by caste or class. Mr. Stiefel's 
pleasant home is located at 827 Arch 
Street. 



JOSHUA PARIS. 

JosHU.\ F.\Ris is one of the prominent 
and highly respected farmers of Des Moines 
county, and his home in Yellow Springs 
township is the center of a refined and cul- 
tured social circle. There are many ele- 
ments in his life record that are worthy of 
emulation. His business career has been 
characterized by honorable and straightfor- 
ward methods, and in all life's relations he 
has been actuated by high and worthy prin- 
ciples. Air. Paris was born in Washington 
county, Indiana. April 25, 1835, his parents 
being Isaac and Alargaret (Mclntyre) Paris. 
The father was a brick- and stone-mason 
by trade, and came to Iowa in 1856, loca- 
ting in Yellow Springs township, where he 



724 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIUIFAW 



boiiglit one hundred anil sixty acres of land 
in Section 8, which was later sold ; and also 
one Inmdred and sixty acres in Section 17. 
which is now owned by John Lane and John 
MehalTy. 

Joshua Faris was reared under tlie paren- 
tal nM)f. and received a good education in 
the free schools of his native county. After 
coming; to Iowa with his parents he re- 
mained on his father's farm for some years. 
In 1875 he bought one hundred and eighty 
acres of rich farm land from the late Will- 
iam Lynch, where he has since resided. 
This farm is considered one of the very lx*st 
in the county. It is well tilled, and the 
greater part of it is under cultivati<in. both 
field and meadow yielding abundantly. 
Whatever Mr. Faris undertakes he does 
with his might and main, which is well sub- 
stantiated by the methodical manner in 
which he ])lans and works. His home i.s. a 
comfort.il)Ie one. and liis stock is also well 
cared for. He is engaged in general farm- 
ing, and is also interested to some extent in 
stock-raising, raising about fitly head of 
hogs anmially, as well as feeding two car- 
loads of tine cattle a year. I'csidcs this 
beautiful home. .Mr. I-'aris owns twenty 
acres of timber land in Wapello township, 
Louisa county, Iowa, and Mrs. I'aris owns 
eightv acres in ^'ellow Springs townshi]), 
forty of which are in Section 20 and forty in 
Section 2\. It is recorded in the name of 
Mrs. Xancy Faris, she renting it. 

Mr. and Mrs. Faris were married Jan. 
16, l86(), Mrs. l'"aris being in maidenhood 
Miss Xancy MehalTy, a daughter of Will- 
iam and Mary (Irwin) MchalTy. .As time 
passed, ten children were added to this 
household, of whom live are living: luta, 
married I'eter Walker: William Isaac, lives 
in North Dakota; Ida .Minnie, at home: Ida 



lilanche, a twin to Ida Minnie, is the wife 
of J. I*. Heard, and lives northeast of Linton, 
Iowa: Maggie Jennie, ilied at the age of 
fourteen years; John Cameron, at home; 
Ralph Howard, died when two years of age ; 
John Irwin, died when seventeen months 
old; Margaret Jane, died aged two years; 
and an unnamed infant, also deceased. 
These children, of whom their parents are 
justly proud, were all born in Velk)w 
Springs township, and attended the Re- 
formed Presl)yterian church, of which Mr. 
and Mrs. Faris are members and liberal 
supporters. 

He has ever stood shoulder to shoulder 
with all men who were strong advocates 
of high and noble ])rinciples. and his daily 
life has grandly exemplified this assertion. 
Being of a sunny and bright disposition, one 
would scarcely think him to be a man who 
lias passed his threescore years and ten, and 
his general activity is efpialed by few. 



LEE R. SHERRILL. 

A M]i-.\(; :uul rising business man, ener- 
getic and typical of twentieth-century push 
and aggressiveness in business, is Lee R. 
Sherrill, secretary and manager of the 
Sherrill-Moore Electric Company, and 
secretary, manager, and director of the 
Model Electric Coni])any. of Burlington, 
Iowa. Mr. Sherrill was born Feb. 2. 1881. 
in Schuyler county, Illinois, son of John 
Sherrill, who was born in Virginia, 111., and 
Laura ( Price) Sherrill, who is a native of 
the same place and of Pennsylvania parent- 
age. He is the third of four sons, of whom 
the others, W. H., George, and John. Jr.. are 
all farmers living in Illinois. The grand- 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



father, Jolin Sherrill, was a soldier of the 
Civil War, and died on a river transport of 
yellow fever. The paternal grandmother, 
who was of French nationality, is still liv- 
ing at the age of ninety years. 

Air. SherrilTs first years were devoted 
to the work of the farm and to securing his 
preliminary education in the district schools, 
and the first employment which brought him 
a cash return was the selling of newspapers 
in the town of Cuba, Fulton county, 111., 
where he enjoyed a monopoly of that busi- 
ness. In 1896 the parents and family re- 
moved to Burlington, and here for a year 
the father was proprietor of the " Amer- 
ican " restaurant, located on South Main 
Street, where the Dunn hotel now stands. 
Later he led a retired life during six years, 
at the expiration of which period he re- 
turned to the farm in Illinois, where both 
parents are still living. After completing 
his common-school education our subject 
pursued a correspondence course of study 
in electricity in the International Corre- 
spondence Schools, and in Burlingfon he 
entered the employ of the street railway 
company as a curve greaser. Later he was 
promoted to the shops, wliere lie was first 
an oiler in the dynamo room, and later en- 
gaged in construction and repair work for 
the" same company, in whose service he re- 
mained for six years, thus gaining a large 
and valuable practical knowledge in addi- 
tion to his theoretical training in electricity. 
The company by which he was employed is 
that variously known under the names of 
the People's Gas and Electric Company, the 
Burlington Street Railway Company, the 
Burlington Electric Light Company, the 
Burlington Gas Light and Fuel Company, 
and the Burlington Steam Heating Com- 
pany. 



With the knowledge and experience of 
electrical machinery and engineering thus 
acquired, and desiring to establish himself 
in business, he became associated with Dr. 
J. J. Little, under the firm style of L. R. 
Sherrill & Company, in Ai^ril, 1902, he 
being made manager of the company ; and 
in July of that year the business was incor- 
porated under the name of the Sherrill- 
Aloore Electric Company, with Dr. J. J. 
Little as president ; J. F. Barr, vice-presi- 
dent : H. A. Moore, manager ; and Mr. Sher- 
rill. secretary. The interest of Mr. Moore 
has since been purchased by Mr. Sherrill, 
and the firm is now doing a large general 
retail, repairing, and construction busi- 
ness in this city and surrounding territory. 
In July, 1904, the Model Electric Company 
was incorporated with the following offi- 
cers : President, J. J. Little: secretary- 
treasurer, L. R. Sherrill. This company is 
engaged in wholesale dealing in supplies 
and the manufacture of telephones. Since 
Oct. I, 1904, the two concerns have been 
conducted jointly at 204 North ]\Iain Street, 
where an average of ten skilled workmen 
are employed, while two traveling repre- 
sentatives are maintained in the interest 
of the business and of certain ])atented 
specialties. 

"Sir. Sherrill recentl}- distinguished him- 
self in a situation calling for remarkable 
forethought and presence of mind, and was 
at the same time able to perform a highly 
valuable service for a number of persons. 
He happened to be riding on a street car. 
and at the steep incline on A'alley Street 
the car got so far beyond control that the 
motorman. in fear of his life, jumped off. 
followed by several passengers. Mr. Sher- 
rill. however, sprang to the rear end of the 
car, with the intention of checking the 



726 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



speed of the car. but finding the brakes 
broken, lie returned to his seat, and by 
holchng a number of women, prevented 
them from jumping off the car. and un- 
doubtedly receiving serious injury, a feat 
vvhicli won for him tlie gratitude and 
praise of the street railway company and 
of those who witnessed the deed. Cer- 
tainly his expert knowledge of the manage- 
ment of street cars stood him in excellent 
stead at that critical time. Mr. Sherrill has 
many friends, and has fraternal relations 
with Iowa Camp, No. 98, Modern Woodmen 
of America, in which he is an active mem- 
ber. He is an enthusiastic advocate of 
Democratic princii)les, and is constantly 
active in tlie work of that party, in which 
his unusual talents are recognized, for he 
holds the position of committeeman for the 
l'"ourth Ward. .Xs a young man who has 
made his way in the world independently by 
native resources and by a determined at- 
titude toward his work, he has won the ad- 
miration of all. He has achieved a very 
gratifying measure of success, and if the 
past be a criterion of prophecy, is destined 
to occupy a prominent place in the business 
and public life of Turlington. 



HENRY WILLIAM PIEPER. 

Onu of the most industrious and en- 
terprising farmers of Flint River town- 
ship, wlin was l)i>rii anil raised on tlic 
farm which he now owns, and on wliich 
he also resided since his birth, is Henry 
William l'iei)er. He is a son of Herman 
Henry ami W illuliniii.i ( W'esterbeck) 
I'iepcr, and was born June 21, i83(). The 
father died when our subject was only 



eight years old, and his mother passed 
away April i. 1900, aged seventy-six 
years. Henry William received all of his 
education in the district school of his 
native township, and as soon as he laid 
aside his text-books he at once proceeded 
to take up farming, so as to aid his 
widowed mother. His farm consists of 
sixty-eight acres on Section 9, most of 
which he has under cultivation. .Mr. 
I'iepcr carries on general farming, at 
which he has been most successful. ' He 
now has two good horses, nine head of 
cattle, and raises from fifteen to thirty 
fat hogs annually. 

May 15, 1895. .Mr. I'ie])er married .Miss 
.Xmia Hobesiefken, daughter of Rankie 
Holjesiefken. This union was blessed 
with two children, both of whom died in 
infancy. .Mr. l'iei)er has passed through 
deep .sorrow, as his beloved wife died 
when they had been married only five 
years. Her death occurred .Xpril 19, i<)00, 
only a little over two weeks after his aged 
mother. This left him alone on the home 
|)lace. The next three years his two 
nieces, Sarah and Minnie I'lrandnieier, 
lived with him and kept house for him. 
.Since then he has lived alone, doing all 
of his own cooking and housekeeping and 
all of the farm work. 

Politically, he is a Republican, but gen- 
erally casts his vote for the man best 
qualified for office, and has never aspired 
to hold office himself. He is a member of 
tile Swedenborgian church. During this 
lung continuous residence of forty-six years 
Mr. I'ieper has witnessed many changes 
linili in the county and in the peo]ile. 
Mint l\i\cT tovvnshi]), at the time of his 
birth, was considered by some as the 
"jumping off place," it presented such a 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



wild and desolate appearance, having 
only a field here and there under cultiva- 
tion. Log cabins and small two-roomed 
buildings served as the houses, and the 
oxen were the beasts of toil, drawing the 
plough and the wagon when travel was 
necessary. To-day this township is 
thickly settled by a thrifty class of Ger- 
mans, who all own large farms, and have 
hundreds and hundreds of acres uiuler 
cultivation, yielding annually thousands 
of bushels of golden grain ; and who have 
erected modern houses and well-built 
barns. These, together with the miles of 
good roads and numerous bridges, all 
tend to make it one of the prettiest val- 
leys in the county. 

Our subject, though still a young man, 
has seen the majority of the original 
farmers pass away and other new comers 
fill their jilaces. His own farm is known 
to all as an old-time landmark ; and were 
it to change hands to-morrow, it probably 
would go for years by the name of the 
Pieper place. Mr. Pieper's motto has 
ever been, "Upward and onward." His 
career has been a busy one, as well as one 
of good deeds. • 



JACOB ROBERT NORDSTROM. 

J ACQ]! Robert Nordstrom, for many 
years connected with industrial inter- 
ests in Mediapolis, and also a factor in 
financial circles, being a director in the 
Mediapolis State Bank, is one of the most 
influential Swedish-American citizens of 
this place, and has done much to assist 
his fellow-countrymen in founding homes 
in this part of the State. He has likewise 



contributed to the general welfare along 
many progressive lines, and justly de- 
serves representation in the BiOGRAPHiCAr, 
Re\iew of Des Moines County. 

He was born in Sweden, Feb. 19, 1845, 
his parents being Calos Peter and Helen 
Sophia (Hulmgrenj Nordstrom. His edu- 
cation was acquired in the public schools 
of his native country, and later he learned 
the pai)cr-making trade, wliich he followed 
for four and a half years, when he began 
learning the blacksmith's trade under the 
direction of his father. He followed that 
pursuit in Sweden until 1868, when, be- 
coming convinced that the New World 
offered better business opportunities, he 
crossed the Atlantic to New York city, 
whence he made his way direct to Bur- 
lington. After a short time there, he 
went to St. Joseph, Mo., where he spent 
two years : but he always regarded Des 
IVIoines county as his home, and on the 
expiration of that period returned to Bur- 
lington, purchasing a shop at Northfield, 
where he lived for about seventeen years. 

On selling out there he came to Medi- 
apolis, and entered into partnership with 
Frank Nelson, building the shop now con- 
ducted by his son. This was in i8yo, and 
for seven years he was associated in the 
business with Mr. Nelson, at the end of 
which time he disposed of his interest to 
his partner, and has since lived retired. 
He is. however, financially interested in 
the Mediapolis State Bank, of which he 
was one of the organizers, associated in 
this movement with William Harper and 
others. On its organization he was 
elected one of the directors, and has been 
thus engaged with the institution to the 
present time, while his son, Emil Robert, 
is now assistant cashier of the bank. In 



728 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



\^)0 Mr. Xurilstroni purcliascd liis i)rcs- 
cnt residence property located on Main 
Street, wliicli C(jnstitutes a very coninio- 
dions and comfortable home. 

In Sei)teml)er. 1X70. Mr. Xordstrom 
was united in marriajje to .Miss Johanna 
Caroline .Muns(»n. a daujjhter of Magnus 
.\hinson. Tiiey have become the parents 
of five children : .\lbert I-Mward. who is 
now engaged in the carriage-making and 
blacksmithing business in .\ledia])olis. 
having learned the trade from his father; 
Emil Robert, of the Mediapolis State 
Hank: ( )scar Lei)nar<l, a graduate of the 
college at Rock Island. 111.: Mamie 
Otelia. at home: and X'eriur I".iii;miul. 
who completes the family. 

Mr. Xordstrom was elected school di- 
rector of Xorthfield. and has also been 
called 111 the same office in Mediapolis, 
acting in bmh places for three years. He 
was likewise elected and served for three 
years as councilman, and is interested in 
every measure that tends to advance the 
general welfare along material, social, and 
intellectual lines. He is sjjccially inter- 
ested in church work, contributes gener- 
ously to its sui)pi>rt. an<l cooperates' in 
various church activities of the Swedish 
Lutheran denomination. .\ man of fine 
character and genuine worth, he has lived 
an industrious, enterprising life, in which 
he has manifested good financial ability 
and keen discermnent. His labors Iiave 
been crowned with a gratifying measure 
ol success, but mure than that he ii.i-. won 
the esteem and trust of his fellow-men. 
and his friend.ship is valued by those who 
have won his personal regard. His ef- 
forts in behalf of his countrymen li;i\ e 
been far-reaching and beneficial, and in a 
review of his history we are again im- 



l)ressed with the verity of the statement 
that "Sweden is the home of the honest 

man." 



WILLIAM SCHULZ. 

\Vii.Li.\.M ScHfi.z, who has lived and 
farmed in Flint River townshij) for the past 
nine years, where he is a highly respected 
citizen, is a son of I'Yed and Anna Mary 
Elizabeth (.\nholz) Schulz. He was born 
in Prussia. Germany, Feb. 11, 1870. His 
father was a substantial farmer, and a shoe- 
maker by traile, and our subject was reared 
on the home place, attending the public 
schools there when his parents could spare 
him, during the winter and .spring months. 

In 1886 he came across the Atlantic to 
the " home of the free and the land of the 
brave," and located in lUirlington. Being 
only about si.xteen years old at this time, he 
was employed by various farmers of the 
surrounding country as a farm hand by the 
year. During these years he was enabled to 
accumulate a little of this world's goods, 
so that in i8()() he could begin farming for 
himself, and at once purchased eighty acres 
of laiKJ in Mint River township. When he 
took up his residence on this ])lace there 
were very few im|)rovements on it. but .Mr. 
.Schulz has added the necessary buildings 
for his stock and grain as time has pennit- 
ted. He raises cattle and hogs, and carries 
on general farming. 

April 2i). 181/). the same year he moved 
onto his farm, he married .Miss Mary Min- 
nie Miller, daughter of William and Dor- 
othy (Schulz) Miller. She was born in Flint 
River townshij). 1\1). 2. 1878. and received 
lier education in the district schools of the 
same ])lace. Her |)arents were highly hon- 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



729 



ored and well-to-do farmers. Air. Miller's 
sketch may be found elsewhere in this book. 
Mr. and Mrs. Schulz have been blessed 
with four children, namely : Anna, born 
March 13, 1897; Mary, bom Sept. 28, 1899; 
Bertha, born Xov. 11, 1900; William, born 
May 3, i8g8, died Nov. 13, 1902. Our sub- 
ject and his wife are devoted members of 
the German Lutheran church, where they 
take much pleasure in the duties devolving 
on them. Politically, he is a strong Repub- 
lican, and has always been ready to assist 
his party in any way, but has never aspired 
to office, .\lthough he is a man of only 
thirty-five years, and has been a resident of 
the township for only a little over nine 
years, still his life record is a good one. and 
his success along business lines is one of 
which he may well be proud. He and his 
worthy wife enjoy the hospitality of many 
of the homes of the township, and have by 
their kind and pleasant disposition made 
friends of all. 



SAMUEL RUTTER. 

In Des Moines county there are manv 
inhabitants of foreign birth, who, at- 
tracted by more progressive institutions, 
broader educational facilities, and the su- 
perior advantages of making a living, 
have come here with their families and 
means, intending to found a home in the 
new country. These valuable additions 
to the native population have by their in- 
dustry, economy, and honorable methods 
become essential factors in the growth 
of a city. Of such a class Samuel Rutter 
was a representative. He came from 
England, and here, by his upright and 



exemplary life, won for himself an hon- 
ored name, and gained many friends who 
entertained for him the highest regard, 
and who felt the deepest regret when he 
was called from this life. 

Mr. Rutter was born in the city of 
Sheffield, England. Dec. 26, 1840, a son 
of Frederick D. and Catherine (Paschley) 
Rutter. His parents were both natives 
of England, the father being a silver- 
smith of great ability, making many use- 
ful and ornamental articles. Mr. and 
.Mrs. Rutter were the parents of eight 
children, of which Samuel was the young- 
est. The names of them are : George, 
Frederick, \\'illiam, John, Reuben, Ann, 
Sarah, and Samuel. 

In 1847, ^^ illiam, the third son, came 
to America, locating in IJurlington, Iowa, 
where he secured work on the farm of 
Hon. John Patterson. When our subject 
was only five years old, his mother died, 
and was buried in Sheffield, England. In 
1850 Mr. Rutter decided to bring the 
seven motherless children to America, 
and made the trip in an old-time sailing 
vessel, coming Ijy way of Xew York, and 
being three long, tedious months on the 
great Atlantic. They came at once to 
Uurlington, and while on the Ohio River, 
Reuben fell overboard and was drowned, 
which cast a great sadness over them all, 
and was a painful ending to their sum- 
mer trip. Upon reaching Burlington, in 
the fall of 1850, the father began to work 
for the city, hauling rock and other ma- 
terial with which to make the levee. 
After a residence of twelve years, in 
which he did general teaming, Mr. Rutter 
removed to Benton township where he 
bought a farm of forty acres from Ander- 
son Earl. Here he was engaged in gen- 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFJ'iEll' 



tTal farmiiifj and stock-raisinj; till his 
death, which occurred Jan. 20. 1873. 

In politics he was a stronjj Democrat, 
and in Christian belief was a member of 
the tluirch of luij^land. He was an hon- 
est man. and one fidl of enerj^y and hiph 
morality, thus commanding the respect 
and re}^ard of all. His daughter Sarah, 
who deserves a jjreat deal of credit for 
keeping house fi)r her lather, brothers, 
and sister for so lonjj a time, and who 
married William Wirt, a |)rosperous 
farmer of Lovilia. Monroe county. Iowa, 
is the only surviving member of her 
father's family. 

Dur subject was educated in the North 
Hill school, of I'.urjinglon. where Miss 
Lizzie Richie was one of his early teach- 
ers. Upon leaving school he entered the 
higher ami broader school of life, and be- 
gan to battle for himself. l'"or several 
years he was em])loyed by the city in 
making the levee. He then bought ;■ 
team, and worked with his father haul- 
ing for the stone- and brick-masons, who 
kept him busy the greater ]iart of the 
season. When his father located in Ben- 
ton townshi]). .^anuu'i went witii him. but 
reniained only about a year on the farm, 
when he was seizeil with a great desire 
to go West. In company with Fred 
Riejje, of I'urlington. and I'.irt llillliouse. 
brother of .\. J. Hillhouse. of the same 
city, he started overland to California. 
Mr. Rutter was the trusted driver of the 
four spirited white horses all the way. 
They met many Indians on the plains, 
who were very friendly and kind to them. 
He remained in California for two years, 
being engagcil in hauling ori- from \'ir- 
ginia City to the govermnenl mint in San 
Francisco. It took the party three 



months to make this tri|), but they came 
back by water in a much less time. On 
the way home Mr. Rutter stopped at 
Pittsburg, where his brother (ieorge then 
resided. 

On returning to Hurlington he was 
married to .Miss Harriet Dearlove. .\pril 
22, 1S67. Mrs. Rutter is a daughter of 
Richard and .Agnes (Uarnes) Dearlove, 
and was born on Mrovvn Street, London, 
Fngland, .\ov. 12, 1S48. and was chris- 
tened in .St. I'aul's cathedral. Her father 
was born in London, and her mother in 
Devonshire, England, where the former 
had a milk-walk. .Mr. and Mrs. Dearlove 
were blessed with nine children, two be- 
ing born in I'nglanil and the others in 
.\merica : .\gnes : Harriet, wife of our 
subject; Elizabeth; John; Lydia .Ann; 
.Mary; (ieorge; Cora; and Julia. George. 
.Mrs. Kntter. and .Mary, who married John 
'lee, all reside in llenton townshi]). Des 
Moines county, Iowa; while Cora, who 
married jerry Sullivan, of New York, 
lives in I'.urlington. The other children 
have passed away. .Mr. anil .Mrs. Dear- 
love caiue to .\merica in 1851, and this 
voyage was one long to be remembered, 
as they were detained some three weeks 
in the English channel on account of the 
lack of a proper wind to carry them 
safely from the rocks. During this tie- 
U]) the passengers suffered greatly for 
food. .After being on the water three 
months they lande<l in Xew ( )rleans, and 
l)roceede(l to ISurlington, Iowa. Here the 
father was engineer for two years at the 
.Sunderland-Marchant mill, when he ac- 
cei)led a similar i)ositiou with the I'arkin- 
.son & Joy Plow Coni|)any. Later he 
conducted a grocery for a nimiber of 
vcars, when he traded it and his hoiue 



DES MOIXRS COUNTY. IOWA. 



731 



for eighty acres of farm land in Benton 
township, where he operated a good farm 
for many years. 

Mrs. Dearlove died April 14, 1883, in 
Kingston, Iowa, and Mr. Dearlove passed 
away July 29, 1903. They are both 
buried in the Kingston cemetery. They, 
too, were members of the Church of 
England, but never identified themselves. 
with any denomination in their adopted 
country. In politics ^Ir. Dearlove was a 
Democrat. He and his worthy wife were 
much loved, and their memories are still 
g^reen in the hearts of those who knew 
and loved them best. 

Mrs. Rutter received her education in 
Burlington, first attending the private 
school of Miss Mercy Lewis, who was a 
thorough teacher and disciplinarian, and 
a lady of great dignity, whose life was full 
of good, charitable deeds done in behalf 
of others. She next was a pupil in the 
school conducted by Miss Lloyd, and 
later pursued her studies in the North 
Hill school under the principalship of 
Professor Dows. 

Unto Mr. and ^Mrs. Rutter six children 
were born, as follows: Dora Agnes, born 
Jan. 31, 1868, married Lynas Brockway, 
a. farmer of Benton township, and has 
three daughters, Libbie ]\Iabel, Harriet, 
and Hazel; Louisa Ann. born Oct. 19, 
1871, was accidently killed Oct. 8, 1874, 
by a barrel of ashes falling on her: 
Reuben William, born April 13, 1875, and 
died July 14. 1883: (jrace J., born Oct. 
I, 1876. is the wife of John Brockway, a 
farmer of Huron township, and has three 
children, Cora, Claude, and Blanche ; 
Herbert Hayden, born Sept. 2Ci. 1879, 
married Miss Ada Brockway, and has 
■one dausfhter. Olive: Marv Catherine, the 



youngest child, born Sept. 26, 1885, mar- 
ried Harry Gibbs, and resides in Benton 
township. These children received their 
education in the Kingston schools and the 
Limestone school, just out of Kingston. 

Mr. and Mrs. Rutter established their 
first home on the William Rutter farm 
of eighty acres in Benton township, 
which they bought, and were very mate- 
rially aided by the late Cornelius Ber- 
nard, of Burlington. After farming here 
for seven years, they sold the place, and 
purchased a home in Kingston, and for 
many years Mr. Rutter worked the farm 
owned by ^Ir. Henry Haight. In 1885 
he was greatly afflicted with a paralytic 
stroke, thus causing Mrs. Rutter to be- 
come the bread-winner for the family. 
Through the great kindness of her neigh- 
bor, Mrs. Haight, Mr. James F. Klein, 
and the Pilger Grocery Company, both 
of r.urlington, she was enabled to start 
a grocery in the village of Kingston, 
where for ten long years she conducted 
this store and cared for her aftlicted 
husband. 

In 1895 she sold the grocery to Frank 
\'olknier, and bought eighty acres of 
land in Huron township from Simeon 
Russell, of lUirlington. \\'ith the aid of 
her son Herbert she was able to carry 
on general farming, and ever found a 
ready sale for her produce in Burlington. 
She had much to contend with at first 
while on this farm, as high water over- 
took her, and her corn crop was washed 
away several seasons. After the rip- 
rapi)ing of the river, however, the land 
increased greatly in value; and as Mr. 
Rutter had another stroke, in 1898 she 
sold her farm, to good advantage, and 
ag-ain moved to Kingston, where she 



732 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFJIEW 



bought a small home. Here she devoted 
all lur time to her invaliil hushand. who 
gradually grew worse till death claimed 
him, Sept. 26, 1903. She laid him to rest 
in the Kingston cemetery beside his 
father. 

Mr. Ruttcr was a Democrat, but never 
cared to hold office, lie and Mrs. Rutter 
were members of the Presbyterian 
church, but owing to his alHiction he was 
denied the privilege of attending regu- 
larly. Mr. Rutter was nf a very retiring 
disposition, but <jne strong in all that 
was just and right, and was a synonym 
for honorable dealing. His younger days 
were rounded out with the greatest of 
activity. He was a large, warm-hearted 
friend, a good husband, loving father, 
and a man wlm left his family something 
better than great ricIu-B — an untarnished 
name. Mis widow still resides in the 
home in Kingston, and her son Herbert 
lives with her. .Mrs. Rutter is of a very 
hap])v and simny (lis])osition, and through 
all the many hardslii])s she has been 
calle<l n])on to eiulure she has never been 
known to murmer or complain. She 
justly appreciates a kindness, as this 
record shows, and possesses great busi- 
ness abilitx. Slu deserves great credit 
for her labors of the past : and when she 
too, is called to meet her Lord, we have 
the assurance she will receive a place at 
his right hand. 



THOMAS WILLIAM SHERIDAN. 

Tho.mas William Sheridan, who is well 
known as a stock-raiser and dealer of 
Huron township, shipping on an average 



four or five car-loads of cattle annually, 
was born on the farm which is now his 
home, his natal day being Oct. 30, 1854. 
His parents were Thomas and Eliza (Latta) 
Sheridan. The father came to Des Moines 
county from Pickaway county, Ohio, about 
1840, finding here a region largely unde- 
veloped and unimproved. Much of the land 
was still in possession of the government, 
and he secured a claim of three hundred 
twenty acres on Sections 2 and 3, Huron 
township. This he developed into an excel- 
lent farm, making his home thereon up to 
the time of his death, which (xrcurred in 
January. 1S71, when he was sixty-one years 
of age. His widow survived him for a few 
years, and passed away at the age of sixty- 
six. They were worthy pioneer people, who 
aided largely in planting the seeds of civil- 
ization and improvement here, and they well 
ileserve mention on the pages of history de- 
voted to the representative citizens, past and 
present, of Des Moines county. 

In retros])ect one can see Thomas William 
Sheridan as a fanner lad in attendance on 
the district schools of his township, and 
when not busy with his text-books and the 
])leasures of the ])layground. assisting in 
the work of the home farm. He has always 
followed agricultural pursuits, and has made 
most of the im])rovements upon the property 
which he now owns and occupies. The old 
house which was built by his father has 
recently been torn down, and is supplanted 
by a new, modern residence. There are also 
good barns and other outbuildings for the 
shelter of grain and stock, and everything 
aliinit liis |)lace is kept in good repair. He 
raises and feeds from four to five car-loads 
of cattle atinuall)', and about the same num- 
ber of hogs. He makes a specialty of Du- 
roc hogs, and raises hor.ses of the Norman 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



733 



breed for draft purposes. He is considered 
an excellent judge of stock, and is author- 
ity on their value and on the best meth- 
ods of caring for farm animals. He has 
erected several substantial barns, and every- 
thing about his place is in keeping with 
modern ideas of progressive farming. He 
has added to his property a tract of eighty 
acres on the east, which he bought of An- 
thony Schutt ; and from Frank Wilcox he 
purchased one hundred twenty-five acres 
in Section ii. Huron township. He there- 
fore now has extensive and valuable property 
interests, and is one of the leading agricul- 
turists of his community. 

Mr, Slieridan was married in February, 
i8go, the lady of his choice being Miss 
Anna Mary Wilkie, a daughter of Thomas 
and Luella (Banty) Wilkie, and a native of 
Huron township, Des Moines county, Mr, 
and Mrs. Sheridan now have eight children. 
namely: True, Paul. Loyal, Ronald, Clif- 
ford, Carroll, Genevieve, and Kermit. The 
parents hold membership in the Methodist 
Episcopal church, and ]\Ir. Sheridan belongs 
to the Modern Woodmen Camp, No. 4380, 
of Oakfield. He is interested in the progress 
and improvement of the county in social 
and church affairs, and in political questions 
which affect the welfare of the county. State, 
and nation : but his chief interest centers in 
his business, and through capable manage- 
ment and unfaltering diligence he has be- 
come one of the foremost representatives 
of agricultural life in Huron township. 



WILLIAM VAHLE. 

WiLLi.\M Vahle, one of the prominent 
and respected German farmers of Flint 
River Township for the past thirty years, 



is a son of Zacharias and Anna (Forker) 
X'ahle, and was born in Prussia, Germany, 
-April 25, 1850, He was reared to manhood 
upon the parental farm, receiving his edu- 
cation in the district schools in the vicinity 
of his home. 

In 1868 he came to America, locating in 
St. Louis, where he remained till 1872, when 
he became a resident of Des Moines county, 
Iowa, In 1875 he bought one hundred 
acres of land in Section 8, and twenty-five 
acres in Section 9, Flint River township, 
where the bridge is now located. His deed 
calls for twenty-five acres, but the road com- 
missioners put a road through this land 
and built a bridge thereon, without the con- 
sent of Mr. \'ahle. 

June 23, 1873, Mr, \'ahle wedded Miss 
Christina Dicks, daughter of John Dicks. 
They became the parents of eleven children, 
of whom eight are living; Gusta married 
A. Westerbeck, and died at the age of 
twenty-six years ; Ina is the wife of Fred 
Meyer ; Emma married Fred Weile ; Louisa 
became the second wife of A. Westerbeck ; 
Minnie, who is now Mrs. William Camp- 
bell : Henry died aged nine years ; William 
died when a babe of only nine months ; 
Nellie, Edward, and William at home. 

The devoted wife and mother of this large 
family passed away to the great Ijeyond in 
April, 1898. December 7, 1899, Mr, Vahle 
married Mrs. Mary Schilte. Mrs. Vahle's 
first husband was Henry Lee, by whom she 
became the mother of two children, Charles 
and Louisa. By her second marriage, to 
August Schilte, she had six children : Anna, 
who is now Mrs, James Riady ; William ; 
Lena, wife of Otto Jaeger ; ^Minnie, who 
married Fred Jaeger ; Emma and Elsie, at 
home. 

Politicallv. Mr. \'ahle casts his vote in- 



r.u 



BIOGRAPHICAL REI'IEU' 



(Jependently. and lias never aspired to any 
office, lie carries on fjeneral farming, in 
ail branches of which he is most successful, 
as he is well versed in the best methods of 
producing crops and raising stock. He has 
made all the improvements on his place, 
built a good residence, a new liarn 30x40 
feet, and other necessary outbuildings. Mr. 
\'ahlc deserves much credit for his success 
in life. He had no financial backing, but 
by his own energy, activity, and willing 
hands he has accomplishetl much, and his 
example in business is worthy of emuiation. 



THEODORE WOEPKING. 

TiiiiODORK WoKi'KiNG, wiio lias for a 
number of years occupied a prominent 
position in the Ixisiness world of I'.urling- 
lon. Iowa, as a leading hardware mer- 
chant, was born in r.urliugt(jn Feb. 16. 
1864, and for his education is indebted to 
the public schools of this city. ( )n leav- 
ing school he took employment as a clerk 
for Mr. L. Tenscher, with whom he re- 
mained for a period of eighteen to twenty 
months, .hk! tluTcal'tir was engaged as 
a painter for a year and a Iwlf. He then 
decided to take up the tinner's trade, and 
went to work with his brother, William. 
Aftei serving an a])prenticeship at the 
tinner's bench, on I'eb. 14. i8<)8, he began 
business for himself at his ])resent loca- 
tion, 1700 Osborn Street, where he car- 
ries a large line of hardware and build- 
er's supplies, also having a tin and job 
shop in connection, and executing all 
kinds of sheet metal work. 

Dec. 2i>, 1887, he was married to Miss 
Anna Rest, a native of Franklin, Iowa. 
Thev have two sons, Warner and Harrv. 



Mr. Woepking is identified in a frater- 
nal way with the I'urlington organization 
of the .Modern Woodmen of .Xnierica, and 
is extensively known in fraternal and 
social circles. He has achieved material 
pro.sperily in ])roportion to his ability and 
merits, and success has been his in gen- 
erous measure. He enjoys the general 
respect and regard, and the public spirit 
which has characterized his business life 
entitles him to universal consideration. 



WILLIAM MILLER. 

W 11. 1.1 AM .Mii.i.i;k. an honored and well- 
to-do farmer of l'"Iint River township, is 
a son of Clirist and Mary (Ritter) Miller. 
He was born Sept. 22, 1842, in Yearstead, 
Prussia, (jermany. After completing 
his early schooling and training in the 
free schools of his native i)lace he was 
a])pi enticed to a tailor, from whom he 
learned the trade of a first-class tailor. 
He was busily emiiloyed as a journeyman 
with several of the leading tailors in the 
city of his birth till i8<)(), when he took 
a suainer from Hand)urg, (ierniany, to 
England, and thence came in an old-time 
sailing vessel to Xew York, where he 
spent some three months (juickly learning 
the .\merican methods of tailoring. 

July, i8()<i. was the date of his coming 
to liurlington, where he followed his vo- 
cation for five years with one of the mcr- 
cbanl tailors. At the expiration of this 
lime. 1H71, he made a radical change in 
his business, buying twenty acres of farm 
land from Robert Hare, in I "lint River 
township, where he lived for seven years, 
adding in the meantime twenty acres 
more. He then traded his fortv acres to 




WILLIAM MILLER AND FAMILY. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. lOlVA. 



a man by name of Frcil Schultz, for one 
hundred and sixty acres of land in Ne- 
braska. A little difficulty arose, and he 
was obliged to take back twenty acres of 
the original farm, and then later sold that, 
and traded with lulvvard Johnson the one 
hundred and sixty acres in Nebraska for 
three pieces of property in Flint River 
township, — sixty-one acres on Section 15. 
eighty-one acres on Section 9. and one 
hundred and forty-one acres on Sections 
10 and 15. When he took possession of 
this ])lace it was in a \'ery wild condition 
with unbroken prairies, and much of it 
containing old dead trees and huge 
stumps, with no buildings on it at all. 
Mr. .Miller has erected many necessary 
outbuildings for his convenience, and also 
erected a comfortable house in the year 
i88j. The house is of stone, cemented on 
the outside. Beside his general farming 
he laises a good deal of stock — about 
twenty head of cattle, eight head of 
horses, and from twentv to forty hogs 
annual!}-. ( )ne can hardly Ijelieve his 
beautiful home of to-day is the one that 
was in such an uncultivated condition 
such a short time ago. 

In 1872, Air. Miller married Miss 
Dorothy Schultz, daughter of Andrew 
Schultz. Mrs. Miller was born Nov. 30, 
1846, in Ouinabeck, Prussia, (iermany. 
This union was blessed with eight chil- 
dren : Louisa, born June 18, 1873, who is 
Mrs. \\'illiam Isoman, of Burlington; 
William, born Aug. 25, 1874, resides on 
eighty acres in Flint River townshij); 
Emma, born January, 1870, at home: Min- 
nie, born Feb. 2, 1878, is the wife of William 
Schultz, whose sketch also appears in 
this review, and lives in Flint River town- 
ship, on the property recently owned by 



William Griffith; lidward, born April 28, 
1881 ; Clara, born Nov. i, 1883; Herman, 
born April 29, 1885; and John, born July 
5, 1887. The last four children are at 
home with their father. Mrs. Miller died 
Jul)' 28, 1899. Mr. Miller is a member 
of the German Lutheran church. In all 
the work of improvement and general 
progress of the township, Mr. Miller has 
always done his jiart, and as a citizen is 
one of the most higlilx' res])ected in the 
commiuiit}'. 



CHARLES AUGUST HECKENBERG. 

Ch.\rles .\ugust Heckenberg, who 
was born in Burlington, is a son of Her- 
man Henry and Mary (Schnmell) Hecken- 
berg, his birth occurring ]\Iarch 19, 1856. 
He is indebted to the grammar schools of 
the city of his birth for his education. His 
school days over, he went at once to work 
on a farm, and in 1872, when only seven- 
teen years old, he bought one hundred and 
nineteen acres of land on Section 22, in 
Flint River township. This was quite an 
undertaking for one so young, as all this 
land except eighteen acres was in a wild and 
rough condition. There were no buildings 
on the place except the old-fashioned house, 
and only a very little fence. Mr. Hecken- 
berg has fenced all of the farm, built all the 
necessary buildings used on a farm, besides 
a large and commodious modern barn, which 
he erected in 1895. The barn is thirty by 
forty feet, and enhances much the value 
as well as the beauty of the place. At the 
present writing he carries on farming quite 
extensively, having about sixtv acres under 
cultivation. He rai.ses from fifteen to 



738 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA lElV 



twi-nty Imps and four or tivc head of cattle 
annually, and has invested largely in 
modern farm implements and machinery. 
He is a subscriber of the F"lint River X'alley 
Telephone C'om])any, and tinds the coiuiec- 
tion with the city a great convenience. ( >n 
Feb. 13. 1883, Mr. Hcckenberg was mar- 
ried to Miss Mary ISerning. daughter of 
Herman and Mary I'erning. This mar- 
riage has been graced by five children, two 
sons and three daughters : George, Laura, 
Oscar, Selma, and Lena, all living and all 
at home with their parents. 

Mr. and .Mrs. Heckenberg are members 
of the (jerman Evangelical church, where 
they arc actively engaged in all that per- 
tains to the advancement of the church and 
the promoting of Qiristianity. Politically, 
lie is a stanch Democrat, but has never as- 
pired to any public office, though he has al- 
ways been loyal to his party. 1-ven though 
Mr. Heckenberg is still in the prime of life, 
yet he has witnessed many changes during 
his residence of fifty years in Des Moines 
county, and lii'- liniiu- jiiacc is a good ex- 
ample of the ability of a thrifty farmer. 
His |)rogress has Ix'cu slow hut sure, and his 
untiring energy and i>rogressive spirit have 
always inspired him to look ahead to a day 
of rest, whicli he lias partially obtained. 
His ui)riglit and straightforward dealings 
ill liusiiK-ss have won for him the confidence 
and res|)cct of all the valley. 



. . JAMES WALLACE BAIRD. 

J.\MKs \\'.\r,L.\CE I'.MKD has since the fall 
of 1873 made his home on Section 10, N'el- 
low Springs townshij), where he has an ex- 
cellent farm of one hundred acres of land 



that is rich and arable, bringing him good 
harvests annually. He is a native .son of 
Iowa, and ])ossesses the enterprising spirit 
which has been the dominant factor in the 
growth and develo])ment of the .State. His 
birth occurred in I-ouisa county, Sept. 18, 
1847, and he is a son of John and Catiierine 
( McLlhinney ) Haird, both of whom were 
natives of C()unt\ Derry, Ireland. ihe 
mother was only three years old when 
brought by her parents to America. She 
was l)orn .\ug. 10, 1822, and died April 14, 
i<^)o. John llaird. however, was reared 
and educated in his native cor.nlry. and was 
a yomig man of twenty-four years when he 
decided to seek a home in the New World. 
He accordingly crossed the Atlantic, and 
for a few years remained a resident of 
r'hiladel|)hia. Pa., where he worked as a 
laborer. 

In .March. 1X40, he was married in that 
city to Miss McElhinney, and about May 
1, 1840, came direct to Iowa, where they 
lived until called to their final rest. F(3r 
a brief ])eriod they remained in Louisa 
county, but during the infancy of their son 
James, came to Des Moines courity. About 
1848 the father entered a tract of land of 
eighty acres, hut later sold that i)roperty 
and entered another eighty-acre tract on 
Section 4. His wife also bought an eighty- 
acre tract, and upon that farm they made 
their home. Not a furrow had been turned 
nor an im])rovemcnt made when the land 
came into the possession of the father, but 
with characteristic energy he began its de- 
velopment, and as the years went by his 
fields became productive and his labors 
profitable. The old home place is now 
owned by the youngest son, J. P. Baird. 

There are twelve children in the family : 
Robert, now deceased: John L., who is 



DFS MO/A'ES COUNTY, IOWA. 



730 



living in Centerville, Iowa ; Samuel C, 
who died in Nebraska in 1904; James \V. ; 
Nanc_y Jane, the wife of Daniel" Yohe, of 
Nebraska; Margaret Ann, the wife of 
Adam Walkinshaw, who is hving in Ne- 
braska; Robert M., who resides in Win- 
field, Henry county, Iowa: EHzabeth, the 
wife of Robert G. Reed ; Alarv C, at home ; 
Rosanna, the wife of I. R. Carithers ; and 
Joseph VV., who is Hving on the old home- 
stead farm in Yellow Springs township. 
The father was a member of the Presby- 
terian church in his native country, and in 
1846, in company with others he organized 
the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation 
of Sharon, in this county. He was a man 
of upright life, believing firmly in the Chris- 
tian religion, and exemplifying his faith in 
his daily conduct and in all his relations 
with his fellow-men. He died July 4, 1S81, 
when in his seventieth year, his birth hav- 
ing occurred, about 1812. 

James Wallace Baird was brought to Des 
Moines county during his infancy, his par- 
ents locating in Yellow Springs township. 
He acquired his education in the district 
schools of Des Moines and Louisa counties, 
and his boyhood days were quietly passed 
in the usual manner of farm lads of the 
period. Having arrived at years of ma- 
turity, he was married, April 7, 1871, to 
Miss Mary Ann Walkinshaw, a daughter 
of John and Margaret (Glasgow) Walkin- 
shaw. Mrs. Baird was born in Guernsey 
county, Ohio, March 19, 1851, and by her 
marriage has become the mother of nine 
children, namely : Minnie Loretta, the wife 
of J. T. Carithers, who is living in Yellow 
Springs township ; Edmond Alfonz ; Lena 
Mabel, the wife of John P. Robertson, who 
is living on the William Hensleigh farm, in 
Yellow Springs township; Merrill Waldo, 



who attended the business college at 
Quincy, 111. ; Oliver Emmet ; Otto Clar- 
ence ; Ralph Ehrman, C^scar Marion, and 
Blanch Verona, all at home, the last two 
being twins. 

It was in the fall of 1874 that Mr. Baird 
purchased his present farm, taking up his 
abode thereon. He has made good im- 
provements here since, including the erec- 
tion of a fine barn and other buildings. 
The farm comprises one hundred acres of 
land, and is all under cultivation, the 
fields returning excellent crops of corn, 
wheat, and other cereals. Mr. Baird is 
also well known as a stock-dealer, and usu- 
ally raises several head of horses each year, 
at the present time having seventeen head, 
principally draft horses. He also has some 
good cattle upon his place, and about forty 
head of Poland China hogs ready for the 
market. He is a busy man, and indolence 
and idleness are utterly foreign to his na- 
ture. As the years have passed he has 
worked persistently and energetically, and 
that he is now in possession of a comfort- 
able home is attributable entirely to his own 
labors and God's blessine'. 



JOHN YAGER. 



John Yager is one of the enterprising 
and progressive business men of Yellow 
Springs township, connected with farm- 
ing and stock-raising interests. He is a 
native of West Phalen, Germany, his 
birth having occurred in Usinger. He 
was brought to America by his parents 
when only six weeks old, and the family 
located near Dodgeville, Franklin town- 
ship, where they lived for some years. 



740 lilOCRAPHlCAI. RlillEir 



FRIEDERIC CHARLES SIELER- 
MAN. 



'llic fatlicr had i)ri\ ioiisly Ifanicd tin- 
l)iitchfr's trade in (ii-rniany, and after 
coining to tlie New World he worked as 

a laborer hy the day. Later he was em- I'rikkeric Charles Siklermax, a farm- 

l)loyed at the jdaster mason's trade, and er by wcnpation. owinff his success to his 

heljjed to build the old stone mill at jjersistent efforts, is a native of I'russia, 

Dodgcville. which was the first work he (iermany. iiis birth having occurred in 

did in the State of Iowa. He afterward the province of Westphalia, on the yth 

took u]) his abode in ilurlington. and fol- of May, 1835, his parents being Charles 

lowed butchering in the winter months, and ICIizabeth Sielerman. He pursued 

while in the summer season he was em- his education in the place of his nativity, 

ployed as a builder in luason work. He and remained there until twenty-two vears 

had a family of eleven children. of age. when he crossed the Atlantic to 

John Yager spent the days of his boy- America, making his way directly to 

hood and youth in his father's home, and .S])erry, Iowa, where he arrived Nov. 2^, 

was early inured to labor, it being neces- 1857, having reached Uurlington the pre- 

sary that he provide for his own supjiort, vious day. 

as his father had a large family, and was 'J'wo days later he began working for 

in limited financial circumstances. There Mr. Gillette, and was employed as a farm 

were only three stores in lUirlinglon at hand by the month until l-'ebruary, 1830, 

the time the family home was establishetl when he was married to Miss Marie 

in this i)art of the State, and .Mr. N'ager .So|)hie I )rei-kineyer, a daughter of l-'red 

has since been a witness of the develo])- and .\nna .Marie ( Langc) Dreckmever, 

ment and growth that have wrought a who was also a native of the province of 

wdiuKrful liansformalioii lure. None of \\'esl])halia, I'russia, her birth there oc- 

his brothers and sisters ha\ e ever mar- curring Sept. 5, 1833. She came to .Amer- 

rieti. He and his brother John are con- ica at the age of twenty-four years on the 

necte<l in their business interests, and same shi]) with her husband — an old-time 

lluir sister .Mary .M.iria acts as their sailing vessel which was nine weeks and 

housekeeper. She w-as born Xov. 16, 1843. three days from port to jrort, anchor be- 

Mr. Yager and his brother are now build- ing dropped in the harbor of .\'ew 

ing a suspension bridge from the to]) of Orleans, lie then made his way uj) the 

one hill to another. The bridge is about ri\er as far as I'ort Madison, where thev 

twt) hundred feet long, and about twenty took wagons for Uurlington. since, on 

feet and ti\e inches high, and is con- account of the frozen condition of the 

structed of wire cal)les. They are well river, they could not proceed further bv 

kiunvn in connection with industrial life boat. 

in this ])art of the State, and are known as .Mr. Sielerman has always followed liie 

enterprising business men. giving their occupation of farming, and in 1875 made 

undixidrd attention to the interests en- bis first purchase of lantl, becoming the 

trusted to their care and lo their private owner of forty-seven acres on Section 13, 

liiisiiu-.-- loiii-crns. 1-Vanklin townshi]), and twenty acres in 



DES MOINES COUXTV. IOWA. 



741 



Benton township. He has placed all of 
the improvements upon his farm, and 
now has one of the attractive homes of 
this section, lie has planted many kinds 
of fruit, has a good orchard, and well- 
tilled fields. He also has some good 
stock upon his place. In fact, it is an 
excellent farm, owned by a man of pro- 
gressive spirit and laudable ambition. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sielermah have 
been born twelve children : Eliza, who 
died at the age of two years; Charles 
Fred, who is a farmer, and lives in Frank- 
lin township ; Anna Elizabeth, the wife 
of Otto Wunnenberg; Herman Henry, 
who died at the age of five months ; 
Alary, the wife of Charles W'eischmeyer ; 
Charles, who died at the age of ten years ; 
two who died in infancy ; Carrie, at 
home; and John and P'rederick, who as- 
sist in the operation of the home farm. 

Almost a half century has passed since 
Mr. Sielerman took up his abode in this 
county, hoping to find in the business 
conditions of the Xew ^^'orld better op- 
portunities than he could enjo}' in his 
native land. Xor has he been disap- 
pointed in the hope that led him to Amer- 
ica, for he finds that in this country labor 
gains its true reward, unhamperetl by 
caste or class. He has steadily perse- 
vered in his chosen field of labor until 
he is now in possession of a good ]jro]> 
ertv. 



JOHN FREDERICK ROLF. 

Joiix Fki:l)I-:ricii Rolf, whose life record 
is another demonstration of the fact that 
persistent effort, guided by good business 
judgment, results in success, was born in 



West L'iialen, Prussia, Germany, July 9, 
1853, his parents being Gottlieb and Catha- 
rine (Ackhorst) Rolf. He is indebted to 
the jniblic schools for the educational advan- 
tages which he enjoyed in his youth, and 
when he put aside his school books at the 
age of fifteen years, he was apprenticed to 
a merchant to learn the busiiTess, acting in 
that capacity for three and a half years, and 
thus gaining business experience which has 
proved of considerable value to him in later 
years. 

In February. 187J. Air. Rolf left his na- 
tive land and started for America, landing 
at New York in Alarch. He did not tarry 
long in the I'.astern metro])olis, however, 
but came directly to iUirlington, Iowa, 
where he entered the employ of the Chicago, 
Burlington & Ouincy Railroad Company,, 
being connected with the section crew for a 
year. He afterward spent a year as clerk in 
the grocerx- store of H. H. Niemyer. after 
which he began working for John Blaul. but 
two weeks later he became ill with typhoid 
fever and it was some time before he re- 
gained his health and strength. When he 
jiad reco\'ered, he began working for the 
firm of Rhodes & Kelle\-, general merchants, 
continuing with them until the dissdlntion of 
the partnershij), after which he remained 
in the employ of John Rhodes, who became 
sole proprietor of the business. .Mr. Rolf 
continued with him for five years, and then 
began business on his own account, as a 
partner of Jacob Scholl, under the firm 
style of Rolf & Scholl, dealers in groceries, 
at the corner of Xinth and Locust Streets. 
This relation was maintained for three 
}ears. when Mr. Rolf sold liis interest 
to Mr. Scholl. and formed a partnership- 
with Henry Miller as dealers in general 
merchandise, at the corner of Center .\ve- 



742 



HincRAPiucAL RF.nr.ir 



mil.' and Scmtli Strci-t. uikUt the tirin name 
of Miller & Kolf. Six months later Mr. 
Rolf disposed of his interest and spent 
four months in the sui)i)ly department of 
the Chicago. Ihirlington & Ouincy Railroad 
Company, in West P.urlington. Subse- 
quently he engaged with his old-time em- 
ployer, Mr. \'iemyer, being with him for 
about four years in the grocery business, 
Mr. Rolf having entire charge of the feed 
store. He then bought out the feed business 
at 622 Jeflfcrson Street, continuing in that 
location for eight \ears, when he leased a 
piece of ground at 702 Jefferson Street 
and built a store which he occupied for six 
years. In the meantime he bought the 
land and moved the old building and erected 
the jiresent brick block at 702-04 Jeffer- 
son Street, and has since conducted busi- 
ness here as a dealer in flour, feed, hay, and 
grain. He now has a large patronage, 
which renders his business profitable, and 
he is regarded as one of the reliable mer- 
chants of his section of the city. 

May 7, 1878, Mr. Rolf was married to 
Miss Emma Hijjpe. a daughter of John 
Frcidcrich and Louisa ((ioesling) Hi[)i)e. 
They have si.x living chiklren and have lost 
two, Johannas, who died at the age of one 
year, and Freiderich, who died in infancy. 
The others arc : Louisa Amelia, who is liv- 
ing at home ; William Henry ; Anna, thir- 
teen years of age: Ruth, age eleven; Carl 
George, age eight: and Reginald, one year 
old. 

Mr. Rolf is a member of Excelsior Lodge, 
No. 268, Independent Order Odd Fellows, 
anfl was its secretary for some time. He 
als<i belongs to Crystal Lodge, No. 272, 
Ancient Order of United Workmen. He 
is an advocate of Democratic principles, but 
does not consider himself bound by party 



ties, anil at local electit>ns regards the capa- 
bility of the candidate rather than the ])arty 
allegiance. Coming to .\mcrica when a 
voung man of eighteen years, he lias made 
his own way in the world unaided, nor has 
he ever had occasion to regret his determina- 
tion to seek a home in America, for labor 
is more certain of a just reward in this coun- 
try, and his own perseverance and resolute 
purpose have enabled him to become the 
proprietor of a paying business which af- 
fords him all of the comforts and many of 
the luxuries of life. 



CHARLES H. KRUEGER. 

As a boy of only nine years. Charles H. 
Krueger became responsible for his own 
support, and has ever since depended solely 
upon his own efforts for advancement, evin- 
cing at all times a steady determination of 
|)ur]Hise which is highly i)raisewonhy. He 
was l)orn Jan. .^o, 1861, in the city of Bur- 
lington, Iowa, a son of Fred W. Krueger. 
a native of Germany, who came to .Amer- 
ica about the year 1857, landing at New 
Orleans after an ocean voyage of two 
months' duration, coming northward from 
that port to St. Louis, where he remained 
for a short time before settling in Burling- 
ton. The elder Krueger died in this city in 
1870. at the age of thirty-six years, and was 
buried in .\spen Grove cemetery, surviveil 
by his widow, who before marriage was 
Miss Louisa Detering, and by her there were 
seven children, as follows : I-'red W., who 
married Miss .Sophia I'"oelke. and resides in 
Burlington; Charles H., the subject of this 
review ; W. C, of Burlington, who married 
Miss Minnie Berges ; H. W., chief clerk of 



DBS MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



743 



the Burlington postoffice, who married 
Miss Lizzie Schwam ; Mrs. Fred Gunther, 
wife of the well-known contractor of this 
city ; and Louis H., of Burlington, who 
married Miss Kate Knox. One daughter, 
Mrs. John Higgins, is now deceased, and 
lies buried in ;\spen Grove cemetery, Bur- 
lington. The mother of this family again 
married, her second husband being Daniel 
Desgranges, now deceased, and she resides 
at 1720 Mark Lane Street. 

The father of Mr. Kruegcr was a carpen- 
ter and contractor, but he himself began 
active life on a farm, continuing at tliat 
work for three years, or until he was twelve 
years of age, and shortly afterward he ob- 
tained employment as night mail clerk in 
the Burlington postoffice. Failing health, 
however, obliged him to relinquish this posi- 
tion after a tenure of only six months, and 
for two years immediately following he was 
engaged as porter in the wholesale estab- 
lishment of S. R. and L C. McConnell, while 
the next two years were spent in the Henr)- 
Herman shoe store. Meantime he had been 
led by a worthy ambition for self-advance- 
ment to attend night schools, while devoting 
his days to labor, and thus by dint of hard 
work and hard study acquired an excellent 
practical education, and fitted himself for 
a broad and successful career. 

By diligent application and careful man- 
agement, Mr. Krueger amassed the nec- 
essary capital, and in 1884 started a retail 
grocery store at 1321 Osborn Street, 
later removing to the corner of Osborn and 
North Oak Streets, where he remained for 
seven years. In September, 1893, he again 
moved, this time to iSio Osborn Street, 
at which location he has since remained, 
having erected there a fine brick building, 
two stories in height, of generous propor- 



tions, to accommodate tlie rapidly increas- 
ing volume of business ; for he has from 
the first enjoyed unusual success as a result 
of his fair and just methods. He is assisted 
by his brother. W. C. Krueger, who acts 
as clerk in the store. In 1893 he erected 
a modern dwelling-house on the lot adjoin- 
ing the store, 1812 Osborn Street, which 
has since been his residence, and also owns 
other valuable property in Burlington. 

In 1884, Mr. Krueger wedded Miss Anna 
M. Wolbrand, who was born in Burlington, 
Iowa, July 9, 1865. of German parentage. 
Mrs. Krueger's father, who was engaged in 
the grocery business in this city, is deceased, 
while the mother survives and resides at 
1419 Gnahn Street. A sister, Mrs. Will- 
iam ^^'oepking, resides on North Oak 
Street, Burlington, and a brother, Henry 
Wolbrand, of Cedar Rapids, is an engineer 
in the service of the Rock Island Railway 
Company. Mr. Krueger is an adherent of 
the Democratic party, but has never cared 
to hold political office, although his connec- 
tion with public affairs is quite extensive. 
He is a member of Washington Lodge, No. 
X, Independent Order Odd Fellows, having 
passed through the chairs, and being a past 
grand of that Lodge. He is also in mcm- 
bcrshi]3 relations with Fureka Encampment, 
No. 2, of the Independent Order Odd P'el- 
lows : Excelsior Lodge, No. 253, Ancient 
( )rder I'nited Workmen, through whose 
chairs he has passed ; and of Camp No. 98, 
^lodern Woodmen of America. He is 
actively interested in the commercial pros- 
])erity of Burlington, as a member of the 
Retail Grocers' Association, of which he 
has been treasurer, and of the Business 
Men's Association. He gives of his time 
to the public service as a member of the 
Improvement Committee for Aspen Grove 



7+4 



BIOGRAI'HICAL KEIIIIU' 



cfiiietery. wliili- lu- served lor five years as 
a director of Itiirlinjjtt)!) Hospital. In his 
religious connection he is a member of the 
First German Mvangelical Church, whose 
house of worship is located at the corner of 
.^ixth and Columbia Streets, and at one time 
served as director of the German Parochial 
School maintained in connection with that 
church. He is a stockholder of the liurling- 
ton Savings Hank, antl is in many ways 
intimately connected with those progressive 
movements which have for their object the 
furthering of the moral and material inter- 
ests of the city. Heginning at the bottom 
of the ladder, he has worked his way up- 
ward to an honored and res])ected position 
in the community entirely by his own ef- 
forts and abilities, proving himself a man 
of jieculiarly sane and sound business judg- 
ment. His business establishment is one 
of the most comi)lete and neatly arranged 
in the city, and his wide circle of loyal 
friends insures his continued success. 



ENOS THOMAS. 

I'-No.s Thomas, imw a highly respected 
and |)ro.sperous merchant of Uouldcr, Jef- 
ferson county. .Mont., was born in (,'iiester 
county. Pennsylvania. Dec. 4. iS4(). The 
paternal grandparents of .\lr. Thomas were 
Knos and Anna ( b'orscythe) Thomas, the 
former biing l)i>ni in Wales, and the 
latter a descendant of L'harles the Second 
of ICngland. The parents of our subject 
were John and Sarah (Harmen) Thomas, 
worthy and much-respected citizens of I'hil- 
adeli)hia. where the father was engaged 
in the wholesale tea business. 



.Mr. 'ihoinas began his e<lucation in the 
l)nblic schools in his native county, and 
later finished it in a private school in 
W estern Pennsylvania. I'.idding adieu to 
school days, he assisted his father, and 
remained under the parental roof until 
he was twenty-one years of age. 

.Soon after reaching his majority he 
learned the tra<lc of a tinsmith, and in 
i8<)8 he moved to Tama county, Iowa, 
where for ivur or five vears he was en- 
gaged as an enterprising f.irmer. He then 
became a merchant until 1885. when he 
located in the far West an<l opened a 
hardware store in lioulder, Mont., in 
which business he is still engaged. 

.May },Q. ii^oo. Mr. Tht>mas was mar- 
ried to .Miss .Susan .Serena David at the 
home of her cousin, .Mrs. Samuel Mercer. 
721 Washington Street. P>urlington. Iowa. 
.Mrs. Thomas is a (laughter of Barton T. 
and Mary Ann ( l-'rancis) iJavid. Michael 
David, lather of IJarton T. David, was 
born in 1 leidellx-rg. Germanx. He came 
to America and settled in .Mason ctmnty. 
Kentucky. He fought in the Revolution- 
ary War. and also in the War of 1812. 
The mother of I'.arton T. David, Cecelia 
(Tharp) David, was burn in Wales. 

liarton T. David was engaged in the 
grocery business in Olena. 111., and in 
1X4J and 184^ in a general store on Water 
Street, in Hiirlington. Iowa, with Thomas 
Kitchen. .\ more extended sketch of his 
life will be found in the sketch of Charles 
G.'inn.m. wlio was the husband of his 
(laughter .Mary. 

Mrs. Thomas was born in (Jlena. 111.. 
June I. 1853, and came with her parents 
to liurlinglon. Iowa, when a very small 
child. .She attended the public schools, 
whole she spent her girlhood, and at the 



DES MOIXES COL'XTV,, IOWA. 



745 



death of her mother became her father's 
housekeeper, which position she filled for 
many years, till her father passed awav. 
After the death of Mr. David, Airs. 
Thomas resided in the home place for 
some years, till her marriage. She still 
owns the old home place. She united 
with the Baptist church in 1870, and was 
one of the most devoted and earnest 
workers in the ^^'alnut Baptist church, 
in Burlington, to the time of her removal 
to Boulder, Mont., where she is now act- 
ively engaged in Christian church work. 

]\Ir. Thomas belongs to the Society of 
Friends. He is a man of excellent repu- 
tation, high principles, and integrity, and 
possesses superior business capacity. 
Though very quiet and retiring in his 
manner and disposition, yet he makes and 
retains friends by the hundreds, and com- 
mands the highest regard of all the com- 
munitv. 



CHARLES HENRY SCHICK. 

Numbered among the progressive young 
men to enter the field of business in Bur- 
lingfton during recent years is Charles Henry 
Schick, who was born in Burlington, Oct. 
20, 1864, a son of Charles Frederick and 
Lena (JMiller) Schick, the latter o^ whom 
is now deceased, while the father survives, 
and resides at the corner of Center Avenue 
and Ash Street, with his son-in-law, Frank 
Bouquet. 

Mr. Schick received his preliminary edu- 
cation in the public schools of Burlington, 
of which he is a graduate, and also attended 
Elliott's Business College during one term, 
but in addition he has always been an ex- 
tensive reader, especially along the lines of 



advanced and scientific thought, and is a 
man of broad and accurate information on 
all phases of current questions. His first 
work for which he received pay was as a 
carrier for a German newspaper, in which 
capacity he acted for four months, and dur- 
ing the following period of seven months 
he worked at the marble-cutting trade for a 
I\Ir. Fitzpatrick. This he abandoned, how- 
ever, for the trade of harness-making, in 
which he began his apprenticeship under 
the direction of Air. A. Forkel. and com- 
pleted it with Mr. Fred Beckenbach, finish- 
ing in 1884. Having mastered this trade, 
he was employed in various factories until 
1902, thus gaining a broad and valuable 
experience along practical lines. In the 
latter year he established an independent 
business at 904 Maple Street, where he has 
since continued with very marked success. 
•Here he carries a full line of all kinds of 
harness and saddlery, and in addition does 
repair work, a branch of the business in 
which he is particularly expert. 

On May 23, 1885, Air. Schick was united 
in marriage to Miss Lulu C. Kahre, daugh- 
ter of Frederick and Catherine (Kunz) 
Kahre, and to them have been born four 
sons and three daughters, as follows : Ben- 
ton, aged nineteen years: Harry, sixteen; 
Lulu, fourteen : Clyde, twelve : \'era, ten : 
Marjorie, si.x ; and George, three. 

Fraternally. Air. Schick is a member of 
Camp No. 98, Alodern \\'oodmen of Amer- 
ica, of Burlington, with which he became 
identified in 1890. In his attitude toward 
the political tendencies of the times, he sup- 
ports the Socialist or Social Democratic 
party, in whose work he is prominent, and 
occupies a position of distinguished influ- 
ence, having at the last elections been the 
candidate of his party for congressman of 



746 



BIOGRAPHICAL RlilllLW 



till- ilislnct. 1 lie stri'iijjtli (if the in'>v(.inent 
in this section and the personal jxipiilarity 
I if Mr. Schick may l)c judged by the fact 
that he received the unprecedented number 
of niore than seven hundred votes in Des 
Moines county alone. His personal char- 
acter and private life are such as to com- 
mand the highest res])ect. and as a man of 
vast information, strong (jualities of leader- 
ship, and sane judgment, it may be safely 
])redicted that distinguished hdnurs await 
him. although he is not one In seek his indi- 
vidual advancement at the expense i>f the 
common welfare or that of the cause which 
he has espoused and champions with such 
marked ability. 

Mr. .Schick has also been quite an in- 
ventor, and receiUly was granted a i)atent 
on a lawn trimmer that will become exten- 
sively used. He lias organized a stock com- 
pany, the r.urlington Lawn Trimmer Com- 
pany, to place it on the market. This com- 
])aii\ has a ca])ital stock of fifteen thousand 
dollars : W. W. C'(jpcland is i>rcsident ; C. H. 
Schick, vice-jjresident and secretary ; and 
I'rank G. Andre is treasurer. Mr. Schick 
has also a number of other valuable inven- 
tions. 



JOHN MEHAFFY. 

Prominent in business circles, and equal- 
ly popular in social life. John Mchaffy, who 
is a native son of the Emerald Isle, well 
deserves representation in this volume. His 
parents, David and Hannah (Wright) Me- 
liafTy. were Scotch-Irish, and raised a large 
family. In order that bis sons might have 
better advantages the father brought them 
to America, where his hopes were fully 
realized. 



John Mehaffy was born in County Mon- 
aban, Ireland, May 28, 1S40, and attended 
the schools of the county. Following in the 
footsteps of his father he selected the occu- 
pation of farming as his calling in life, and 
for many years after reaching his manhood 
he carried on the work of a farmer in the 
place of his birth. 

In 1872 Mr. Mehaffy crossed the ocean, 
with the State of Iowa in view as his desti- 
nation. After l(X)king around for a short 
time, be bought one hundred and twenty 
acres of fine rich land on Section 17, in 
Yellow Springs township, and began his 
labor. He bad much to accomplish in order 
that he might obtain the best results from 
this farm, as some of it was covered with 
timber, and the inqjrovements on it were 
on a very small scale. He had great am- 
bition, and being a man of great energy and 
activity, at once commenced to clear the 
land. In a few years his labor yielded him 
very good |)rofits. and he was able to make 
very substantial improvements. 

It certainly must be very gratifying to Mr. 
.Mehaffy. when he casts his eyes about and 
notes the condition and general appearance 
of his beautiful farm to-day. and then pic- 
tures in his mind what it looked like when he 
first owned it, to be able to say it is the work 
of his own hands. The land is all under 
cultivation, and is well tiled and drained; it 
fully verifies the statement that Iowa is the 
place to raise the finest corn. At one time 
Mr. Mehaffy and his sons were known far 
and wide as the Mehaffy corn planters, as 
they operated some seven hundred and si.xty 
acres and met with great success. The 
modern barn, convenient and well-built 
house, together with the other buildings and 
the fences on the place, all stand to-day as 
testimonials of the progress and advance- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



747 



merit Mr. Alehaff)' has made in life. Besides 
making a specialty of corn-raising, he carries 
on general farming to a large extent, as well 
as feeding a car-load of cattle and raising 
about sevent}' hogs annually. 

In January, 1861, Mr. Mehafify was mar- 
ried to Miss Elizabeth Winslow, daughter of 
Wilson and Elizabeth (Lister) Winslow. 
This union has been blessed with nine chil- 
dren, all of whom grew to manhcx>d and 
womanhood and are now living, and are a 
great credit to the parents. The children 
are : Hannah Jane, who married Joseph 
1 irown ; David, of Mediapolis ; John Wright, 
of Linton ; Samuel, of Yellow Springs town- 
ship ; Lizzie, who became Mrs. James Edgar, 
of Crookston, Minn. ; Lena, at home ; 
William Wilson, of Roscoe ; INIattie, at 
home ; and Joseph, who lives east of 
]\Iediapolis. 

After sharing the joys and sorrows of 
married life for a little over thirteen years, 
Mrs. Mehaffy was called to her final reward, 
Sept. 14, 1878, at the early age of twenty- 
eight years. She had many friends who 
loved her dearly, and at her death mingled 
their tears of deep sympathy with the be- 
reaved husband and sorrowing children. 

March 6, 1886, Mr. Mehafify married Miss 
Elizabeth Hutchinson, who was Iwrn in 
County Almera, Ireland, and is a daughter 
of John and Agnes (Andrew) Hutchinson. 
Mr. and Airs. MehafTy are both devoted 
and influential members of the Reformed 
Presbyterian church, and always rejoice in 
the spiritual advancement of the same. 

Mr. Mehafify has never sought for public 
office, but for his good judgment and 
ability was placed in the position of super- 
visor of his township, an appointment which 
he held for some sixteen years. 

The hospitable home of this worthy couple 



is ever open to one and all of their host of 
friends. They are always on the alert to per- 
form a deed of kindness, and to reach out a 
helping hand to the poor and needy. Mr. 
Alehafify is a whole-souled man whom it is a 
pleasure to know. He is broad and liberal 
in his views, fond of a good joke, and of an 
exceedingly junny disposition, which char- 
acteristics, coupled with principles which 
make for right, justice, and morality, have 
endeared him to the wliolc community. 



ALLISON LINES. 

Allison Lixes. deceased, was a pioneer 
resident of Des Moines county, who took 
up his abode within its borders in 1838, and 
continued his residence here until his death 
sixty-seven years later. He was born in 
Rush county, Indiana, July 16, 1824, and 
was a son of John and Diana (Harrington) 
Lines. Arriving in Des Moines county in 
1838, he settled on Section 20, Franklin 
township, where William Wagner now 
resides. The trip was made with his par- 
ents, and the father purchased the farm, 
comprising two hundred and twenty acres 
of land, which was rich in possibilities, but 
then undeveloped. They broke the prairie 
and tilled the fields, and Allison Lines con- 
tinued to remain with his parents until they 
were called to their final rest, assisting the 
father in the arduous task of improving a 
new farm. He was the third in order of 
birth in a family of twelve children — nine 
sons and three daughters. 

Allison Lines was reared as a farm lad, 
acquired a common-school education, and 
early became familiar with the work of the 
fields. After reaching man's estate he saw 



748 



BIOGK.U'HKAL Rlillllir 



no need to clianpe his occupation, antl con- 
tinued to engage in agriculture, which 
Washington said " is the most useful and 
most honorable occupation of man," oper- 
ating a farm of sixty-two acres, and own- 
ing twenty acres of tiiiil)er. He was also 
a carpenter, and did iiuich work in that 
direction, being itlentified for many years 
with building operations. Whatever he 
undert(H)k claimed his close a|)plication and 
earnest efforts, and by his well-directed 
laliors he gained a gratifying measure of 
prosperity. 

Sept. 7, 1S4S. .Mr. Lines was united in 
marriage to Miss Elizabeth Bishop, a daugh- 
ter of Jonathan and Henrietta (Reader) 
15ishop. She was born June 17. 1830. in 
Kush county, Indiana, within five miles of 
her husbantl's birthplace, but they did 
not become accjuainted until they arrived 
in this .Slate. .Mrs. Lines came to Des 
Moines countv in 1X4'), and s|)ent the re- 
mainder of her girlhood in Danville town- 
ship. l"nto our subject and his wife were 
born nine children: Sarah C. who died 
when eleven years of age: .Mary, the wife 
of James Smith, of Franklin township: 
Diana, who dieil at the age of four months; 
William I lenry, who died when eighteen 
months old; Charlotte, the wife of .Amos 
Reere, of \'ellow .Springs township; .\1- 
mira, at home ; Kmma. the wife of Edward 
Heitmeier, of Columbia Junction, Iowa; 
John 15., a farmer, and trustee of Franklin 
township ; and .Anna, who died at the age 
of twenty-tw'O years. 

In early days Mr. Lines became a su])- 
porter of the Know-Xothing party, and 
later gave his political allegiance to the Re- 
publican party. .Almost his entire life was 
passed in Franklin townshi]), where he ar- 
rived when fifteen years of age. He trav- 



eled past the eightieth milestone on life's 
journey, passing away March 10, 1905, at 
the age of eighty years and nine months. 

I'oth .Mr. and .Mrs. Lines were repre- 
sentatives of the oldest families of this 
IcKality, and they became widely kni>wn, 
and made many friends because of their 
excellent traits of character and genuine 
worth. They were honorable peoiiie, well 
liked by all; and when Mr. Lines was called 
from this life, the community mourned the 
loss of a ])riiminent |)ionecr settler. He 
was thoroughly familfar with many of the 
incidents and events which have framed 
the history of this county, and was per- 
.sonally a witness of the work which trans- 
formed this section of the State into one of 
the finest counties of the great common- 
wealth. 



AUGUST H. JOHNSON. 

-A Ki:i'Ui;siCNr.\ri\K and honored citi- 
zen of Mediapolis, Yellow .Springs town- 
shi]). is .August H. Johnson, who is a 
native of Swetlcn, Ixirn Dec. 9, 1847. He 
attended the common schools of .Sweden 
for a short time, but was not privileged to 
go iiiucli after he was thirteen years old, 
So that his education is mostly from the 
broad school of experience and general 
reading. 

His parents were industrious .Swedish 
farmers, owning a good farm in the 
i-'alberland. where their son, subject of 
this re\iew, remained very contentedly 
hel|)ing with all of the farm work till he 
was about twenty years old. He then 
conceived the idea that the land beyond 
the sea afforded better facilities for prog- 
ress, and he made prejiarations to leave 



> 
c: 
o 



o 



> 



^ 

F: 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



751 



h'is home and come to America. Locating 
first near Burlington, Iowa, he worked 
for a time on a farm, afterward secur- 
ing work as a grader for the Chicago, 
Burlington & Quincy Railroad, where he 
remained for six months. 

In the following year he located in 
Mediapolis, and engaged in the stone- 
mason trade, at which he was exceed- 
ingly successful, doing a greater part of 
the stonework of the town and township. 
At the end of ten years he had made such 
advancement as to warrant his joining J. 
T. Lee in the erection of a large tile fac- 
tory. The capacity of this factory was 
limited at first, and the partnership lasted 
only one year; then Mr. Lee sold out his 
interest to M. L. Heizer, with whom he 
worked the following three years. Mr. 
Johnson then bought the interest of Mr. 
Heizer, and has since continued alone. 
The plant has 'Seen greatly enlarged, hav- 
ing now a capacity of ten thousand three- 
inch tile, or ten thousand brick, per day. 
He has tweh'e thousand seven hundred 
and forty-four square feet of drying space, 
and can burn one hundred thousand brick 
or fifty thousand tile at one time. He 
manufactures all sizes of tile up to fif- 
teen-inch, and his factory is said to be the 
largest in the county, giving employment 
to several men. Much of his tiling is 
shipped to various parts of the State, and 
thousands of feet of it are used by the 
farmers of the surrounding country. 

On March 14, 1873, Mr. Johnson was 
married to Miss Augusta Nelson, a highly 
respected Swedish lady, who is a daugh- 
ter of Mangrus Nelson, a native of 
Sweden. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the 
parents of five children: Ella, Amanda, 
Esther, Martin, and Emanuel. They are 



all at home with their parents except 
Ella, who has been in Chicago for the 
past five years. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson 
are both consistent members of the 
Swedish Lutheran church, being active 
in all church and Sabbath-school work. 
In 1895 J^Ii'- Johnson built his present 
large and commodious residence of brick, 
it being one of the most substantial 
homes in the village. It is located on 
one of the principal streets, and is a very 
pretty piece of architecture. 

Mr. Johnson has always been a stanch 
Republican, and has taken much interest 
in the welfare of his party. This party 
recognized the executive ability of Mr. 
Johnson, and honored him by election to 
the city council for three terms, a posi- 
tion which he filled with much dignity 
and to the entire satisfaction of the city. 
He is a man who has risen step by step 
from a mere farmer-boy to be the owner 
and proprietor of a large tile factory. He 
has had no financial backing, and his 
great success in business is due to his 
own activity, energy, and uprightness. 
His friends are without number, and all 
accord him a man among men whom to 
know is to respect and admire. 



CHARLES ARTHUR LANE. 

Cii.\RLES Arthur L.\ne is one of the 
industrious and enterprising young farmers 
of Yellow Springs township, where he was 
born July 8, 1873. His parents, John and 
Ann (Hutchcroft) Lane, were prosperous 
tillers of the soil of Des Moines county, 
where they enjoyed the good-will of all the 
people to a rare degree. Mrs. Lane belonged 



r52 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVllilV 



to a well-known family who had settled in 
this part of the country at an early date, 
and who also did much toward the improve- 
ment of the townshii). Mrs. Lane died in 
the year iyo2 at the atje of sixty-five years. 
Mr. Lane is still living, and makes his home 
witii his son I-'rancis. 

(Jur subject was educated in the district 
schools of his native township, and after 
putting his text-books aside, he assisted his 
father on the home farm for a luiniber of 
years. Dec. 23. 1H97. .\lr. Lane was married 
to Miss Callie Stivers, a daughter of John 
and Sarah (V'andemark) Stivers. They 
have been blessed with three children, as 
follows: Ora, born July 14. 1899: Ethel, 
bom Jan. 19, 1902 ; and John Everett, born 
Dec. 16, 1904. Several years after his mar- 
riage Mr. I^ne purchased of Mr. Gottlieb 
Mochle a farm of eighty acres in Section 
2,7,, where he carries on general fanning, and 
raises about thirty head of hogs and feeds 
about one car-load of cattle every year. 

Politically, he is a Republican, but does 
not care for public recognition. He and his 
good wife are both respected members of 
the Methodist church, ainl the upright man- 
ner in which Mr. Lane has always con- 
ducted his business affairs has placed him 
before his friends and neightors in a very 
favorable light. His great activity and in- 
tegrity have brought him success in life in a 
very gratifying way. and there is certainly 
a bright future before him. 



JOHN BEERE. 



Joii.v l*.i:i;i<K, who follows the occupa- 
tion of farming, and has won a fair 
measure of success, owns and operates 



al)out one hundred acres of lan<l in Yel- 
low Si)rings township. He was born in 
Brooklyn, X. V.. Jan. <>. 1844, his parents 
being Charles and Ann ( Ruth van) Becre, 
who came to Des Moines county, Iowa, 
when their son John was only two years 
old. 'I'hey settled in l-Vanklin township, 
and he was reared upon his father's farm. 
Mr. Beere had followed cabinet-making in 
.\'ew York, having in early life learned 
that trade: but after his removal to the 
West, he jjurchased one hundred and 
twenty acres of land in this county, and 
throughout his remaining days carried 
on general agricultural |nirsuits. He died 
in .\pril. 1869, at the age of fifty years, 
and is still survived by his widow, who 
is now li\ iiig in llie home of I. 11. (line, 
in .Media|)olis. 

John Iteere pursued his education in 
tlic district schools of Franklin townshij). 
and worked in the fields from an early 
age. becoming familiar with the best 
methods of caring for the crops and for 
the stock. lie has always engaged in 
general farming since attaining man's 
estate, and in the spring of 1880 he pur- 
chasetl one lumilred acres of land in .Sec- 
iii)n 12, ^'el!ow ."Springs townshi]). Here 
he follows general farming, now feeding 
from thirty-five to forty head of cattle 
an<l about one hundred head of hogs each 
\ear. His i)Iace is well iniproved, all the 
result of his own elTorts. except that a 
part of the house was standing when he 
took possession of the property, but this 
he has remodeled. He uses the latest im- 
])roved machinery in carrying on the 
work of the fields, and everything about 
his pl;icc is niiit and thriftv in ap|)e.ir- 
ance, while the work is carried nn in a 
systematic, jirogressive manner. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



753 



Sept. lo, 1872, Mr. Beere was united 
in marriafje to Miss Mary Eliza Kitchen, 
a (lausihter of Thomas and Mary (David) 
Kitchen, who was born in Burlington, 
Iowa, May 17, 1847. There is one daugh- 
ter hy this union, Susan, who was born 
Dec. II, 1871), "and is now the wife of 
Thomas Luckinhill, a resident of Xorth- 
field, Iowa. 

Air. Beere's study of the questions and 
issues of the day has led him to give his 
support to the men and measures of the 
Democrac}'. hut at local elections where 
no issue is invohed he \'otes independ- 
ently, regarding only the capability of 
the candidate. He has served as road 
supervisor for two terms, but has never 
been active as an office seeker. He be- 
longs to the Baptist church, and is a be- 
liever in all that is right and honorable 
in his relations with his fellow-men. His 
activity has been exerted along lines that 
have not only brought to him success 
l)Ut has also led to a character develop- 
ment that is worthv of emulation. 



HENRY WUNNENBERG. 

That the life of Henry W'unnenbcrg, 
of ISenton township, illustrates a high and 
noble ideal of American manhood is due, 
in part, to a rigid discipline in the school 
of experience and honest labor during his 
early years, as well as to those personal 
characteristics which are peculiarly his 
own. Mr. \\'unnenberg was born Sept. 
3, 1855, in I'enton township, and has 
claimed Des Moines county for his home 
throughout his entire life, being one of 
her native sons to whom she can always 



point the finger of pride. He was the 
son of Henry and Amelia Wunnenberg. 

PiOth parents of Mr. W'unneidierg were 
natives of Germany, and came to Amer- 
ica in 1854. They located in Benton 
township, and on the third day after their 
arrival in the county bought a farm of 
forty acres. Under their skilful farming 
and careful management they prospered 
greatl}-, so that after a nundjer of years, 
when the father sold this farm, he was 
able to buy a much larger farm, consist- 
ing of one hundred and twenty acres of 
rich farm land, and forty-five acres of 
tirnber, which is now the home farm. 

Here Mr. Henry Wunnenberg, the 
father, lived, carrying on very success- 
fully a general farming business, and stock- 
raising. He made this his home, and 
made all the imprcjvements, until there 
were not many farms in the community 
better fitted with the comforts and con- 
veniences to be found in modern farm 
homes. .Mr. Wunnenberg was a devoted 
member of the German Lutheran church 
until the time of his death, which oc- 
curred on the home farm when he was 
seventy-nine years of age. He was a fol- 
lower of the principles of the Democratic 
party, and was a faithful helper to the 
leaders of that party. 

The mcjther died some fourteen years 
before the father. She was an earnest 
Christian woman, and a faithful member 
of the Evangelical church. She was the 
mother of eleven children, nine of whom 
are still living. 

The subject of our re\-ievv obtained his 
education in the conunon schools of Ben- 
ton township, and assisted upon the 
home farm, remaining there until he was 
twenty-one years of age. After this he 



7d4 



BIOGRAPHICAL KEllEW 



worked by the luonlli upon different 
ncif^hborinp farms till lie was twenty- 
seven, when he went to farming for him- 
self, renting for some years in Franklin 
township, then in Washington township, 
and finally coming to his present place 
twenty-two years ago. This is a fine, well- 
kept place of eighty-six acres, nearly all 
of which is under cultivation, and showing 
everywhere the thorough knowledge of 
farming and care of its owner. Besides 
this farm. Mr. Wunneiiherg owns sixty- 
two acres of good land elsewhere in Ben- 
ton township, some of which has already 
been improved. Mr. Wuiiuenberg has 
recently erected a large sui)stantial two- 
story dwelling upon the place. 

.Mr. \\ umienberg early allied himself 
with the Democracy, believing its prin- 
ciples to be more consistent with .Amer- 
ican ideas of liberty and popular govern- 
ment than those of any other party. In 
religious matters he has affiliated himself 
with the Evangelical church, of whose 
teachings he is a follower. 

In 1881 .Mr. Wunnenbcrg was united in 
marriage to .Miss Lydia .\. Gieselman, 
daughter of Henry Gieselman, who was 
an tarly settler of Des Moines county. 
Mr. Gieselman formerly owned the place 
where our subject now resides. He was 
a man who was prominent in all local 
enterprises, and was respected by all who 
came in contact with him. He died at 
the age of seventy-seven }ears. His 
widow still resides on the old homestead 
of thirty acres in Beiitnu tuwiiship. one 
and a half miles west nf I, ally, with her 
son, Henry Gieselman. 

Mrs. \\ niiiunberg, who was also a 
member of the Evangelical church, died 
in i8i)0. leaving behitul her the five chil- 



dren who were born to this union. These 
children were as follows: Ida, wife of 
I'cter Smith, a farmer of Benton town- 
ship, to whom has been born one child : 
Otto, who is married to Miss .\nna Stef- 
fencr.'imd resides at home; Frederick and 
.\rlhur. who live at honu': and one child 
who died in infancy. 

On April 20, 1892, Mr. Wunnenbcrg 
was agaifi married, this time to Miss 
Elizabeth W'iegert, who was also a native 
of Benton township. To this union have 
been born four children : Goldie. Elsie, 
Esther, and F.rnest. the latter of whom 
died in t<KX). 

Mrs. W'unnenberg is a inemi)er of the 
Evangelical church. She possesses those 
thrifty housewifely qualities which are so 
inucli needed to make a worthy help- 
meel for a man whose success must come 
from tilling the soil to the best advantage. 

.Mr. Wunnenbcrg is a well-known citi- 
zen of Benton township. The circle of 
his ac(|uaintancp is wide, and co-exten- 
sive therewith is the circle of those who 
honor him for what he is. 



ALBERT L. HAMILTON. 

.\i.i;i:kt L. H.wiilton, residing f)n one 
hundred and six acres in Section 26, 
Huron townshi]). Des Moines county, is 
a sou of one of the respectetl families of 
this county. He was born in Lee county, 
Iowa. .March 11;. 1857, and is a son of 
James and .Margaret (Thomas) Hamil- 
ton. His father was born near I'ittsburg, 
I'a . w.is married in Pennsylvania, and 
came to I(.)wa in 1853. They were the 
parents of six children: I*"lizabefh and 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



755 



Anna died in infancy; William Alfred 
went to Arizona when thirty-two years 
of age, and was killed by the Apache 
Indians, who had gone on the war-path ; 
Andrew lives in Dcs Moines county ; 
Robert went to Washington in 1890, and 
was drowned at Portland, Ore. 

The father of oiir subject enlisted in 
the Civil War in 1862, joining the Iowa 
Cavalry. He took part in a number of 
battles, and was taken prisoner, dying in 
Andersonville prison. Mrs. Hamilton 
lived in Des Moines county till 1883, 
when she went to Kansas, where she 
died Aug. 14, 1897, and is buried in Glen 
Elder, Kans. 

Our subject was educated in the public 
schools of Des Moines county, and reared 
on his father's farm. He now carries on 
general farming, and raises thirty head 
of cattle and fifty head of fine hogs annu- 
ally. Politically, he gives his allegiance 
to the Democratic party, and is ever 
ready to assist in all that will promote 
the general good of our country. He has 
acted as school director for two years. 
and is now road superintendent of Huron 
township. 

May 28, 1883, Mr. Hamilton married 
Miss Barbara Eibes, daughter of Joseph 
and Barbara (Christ) Eibes. Mrs. Ham- 
ilton was born in Burlington, Iowa, Oct. 
20, 1862. They have been blessed with 
two children of whom one is living : 
.\nna Marie, born June 10. 1892, is at 
home; Albert Joseph, born July 24, 1897, 
died in infancy. 

Air. Eibes, father of Mrs. Hamilton, 
was born in Prussia, Germany. Dec. 20, 
1825, and her mother was born in Swit- 
zerland, Feb. 2, 1835, 3^'itl came to Amer- 
ica in the spring of 1856, coming at once 



to Burlington, Iowa. Mr. Eibes served 
in the Prussian army in 1848, and was hon- 
orably discharged at the close of the war. 
He came to America in 1854, and after 
spending one year in Louisville, Ky., came 
to Burlington, where he was married May 
4, 1858. 

Mr. and Mrs. Eibes have been blessed 
with six children: Catherine C, born 
Oct. 17. 1859, married Joseph Schier, Oct. 
28, 1879, ^""J <i'ed Feb. I, 1904; Anna 
Marie, born Feb. 15, 1861, married Elias 
Eliert, June 14, 1880, and resides in Bur- 
lington, Iowa; Marie Louisa, born Dec. 
28, 1864. is the wife of Alichael Hellen- 
thal. whose sketch appears in this book 
on another page; John Joseph, born Aug. 
2},. 1872, is married and lives in Huron 
township ; Charles, born Jan. 22, 1878, 
lives in Oskaloosa, Iowa. Mr. and Mrs 
Hamilton are devoted members of St. 
Mary"s church. They occupy a high po- 
sition in public regard, and have many 
friends in business and social circles. 



FRANK OSCAR JACKSON. 

Fr.\xk Osc.-\r J.\ck.so.\'. one of the in- 
dustrious farmers of Hiu^on township, came 
to America in 1868, when" a lad of six years, 
and by a continuous residence in Des 
Moines county has become well and favor- 
abl}- know. He is a son of Alfred and 
Christina (Pearson) Jackson, his birth hav- 
ing occurred in Sweden, Aug. 5, 1862. His 
father was born in Sweden in 1837, where he 
was a prosperous farmer. In 1861 he mar- 
ried Miss Christina Pearson, who was born 
in Sweden March 20, 1837. They were the 
parents of seven children ; Frank Oscar, 



756 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIU 'IliW 



Iwrn Aug. 5. 1862: Andrew Peter lives in 
Mediapolis, Iowa ; Anna dieil when very 
young; John \'ictor also resides in Mediap- 
olis ; Ellen Caroline married Albert Jack- 
son, of Huron township; Jacob Albert died 
when twenty years of age. Mr. and Mrs. 
Jackson were both devoted members of the 
Swedish Lutheran church, and were active 
workers in the same. Mrs. Jackson died 
Feb. 22, HJ05, and is buried in the Swedish 
Lutheran cemetery. 

Our subject received his education in the 
district schools of Huron township, and 
was reared a farmer. He is carrying on 
his father's farm of fift_\-nine acres in Sec- 
tion 26, Huron townshij), and also farms 
fifty-five acres outside of this. 

March i, 1893, Mr. Jackson married Miss 
Amanda Christina Swanson, daughter of 
August and Emma Christina Swanson. 
Mrs. Jackson's i)areuts were born in .Swe- 
den, and came to America when very young. 
They were married in ISenton townshi]), 
Des Moines county. Iowa, where they owm 
one htmdred and fifty acres of good farm 
land. rhe\ are the parents of six children : 
Amanda Christina, wife of Mr. Jackson: 
John William, born Aug. 12, 1872, and 
lives with his parents ; Carl Theodore, bom 
Oct. 24, 1873. and died Nov. 6, 1894, and 
is buried in the Swedish Lutheran ceme- 
tery; Frank Oliver, born Oct. 17, 1877, 
is married, and living at home ; Hilma \'ic- 
toria, born March 3, 1880, married Charles 
Blomburg, and resides in lUirlington, Iowa ; 
Esther l-'lvira, born April 27, 1884, lives 
with parent. 

Mrs. Swanson w-as one of the charter 
members of the Swedish Lutheran church, 
and died Nov. 30, 1903, and is buried in 
the cemetery of this church. Mr. Jackson 
is progressive and enterprising, and by close 



attention to all the details of agriculture 
has won much success in business, and by 
his fair and manly dealings he has estab- 
lished a good reputation, and counts his 
friends b\ the hundreds. 



JAMES HENRY SCHULZE. 

James Hknrv Schulze was a man of 
high moral worth, of strong princi]>les, and 
of deep symiiathy, and the sterling traits 
of his character endeared him to all with 
whom he came in contact. He is a son of 
Henry and Anna .Margaret Schulze, and was 
Iwrn in the ])r(>vince of Saxony, Cermany, 
Feb. 12, 1837. .\fter taking a course in the 
connnon schools in the place of his birth, 
he spent the time on his father's farm, 
carefully learning everything pertaining to 
tile management and equipment of a good 
farm. Tn 1SS4 lie crossed the great ocean, 
and landed in a new world, full of golden 
opportunities oi)en to any and all who will 
hut reach and grasj) them. .\\)r\\ I. 1885. 
he lK)ught seventy acres of grnxl farm land 
in Mint River township, a little later added 
ten acres more to it, and in 1901 purchased 
an adjoining farm of two hundred and six 
acres, making in all about two hundred and 
eighty-four acres in Section 4. Mr. Schulze 
made great cflForts to secure this much prop- 
erty, but was not destined to enjoy it long, 
for May 7, 1904, the grim messenger 
Death came for him at the age of sixty- 
seven years. 

April 30, 1869, .Mr. Schulze was married 
to Miss Doratha Harms, daughter of James 
and Catherine Mary (Schulze) Harms, who 
was born Feb. 25, 1842. This union was 
blessed with four children: Martha, born 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



757 



May 24, 1870, at home with her mother ; 
Alwine, born Aug. 28, 1874, died Aug. 17, 
1884; Johannes, born June 23, 1877, and 
Albert, born Aug. 20, 1880, both at home. 
Mr. Schulze was always a stanch Demo- 
crat, though he never held any office. Mrs. 
Schulze is a devoted and consistent member 
of the German Lutheran church, as was also 
her departed husband. He had been act- 
ively engag'ed in farming, and devoted much 
time to the raising of fine stock, and since 
his death Mrs. Schulze has tried to carry on 
the place much as her good husband did. 
She has sixty-three head of Hereford stock, 
twelve fine horses, and is able to ship about 
fifty fat hogs to the local markets annually. 
She and her children deserve much credit 
for their thrift, energy, and untiring efforts 
to succeed. 

The memory of Mr. Schulze is held kindly 
in the hearts of all who knew him. He lived 
a life of harmony with the highest prin- 
ciples of manhood, was reliable in business, 
loyal in citizenship, and most faithful to the 
duties of friendship and of the home. 



JOHN WILLIAM HARMS. 

John William H.\rms, of Burlington. 
Iowa, 'widely known as a practitioner of 
the healing art of wonderful skill, as well as 
one of the substantial land-owners of Des 
Moines county, was born in Amstetten, 
Germany. April 11, 1834, the son of Fred- 
erick and Margaret (Theilenger) Harms, 
and was educated in the schools of his native 
place. At the termination of his schooling, 
Mr. Harms was engaged in farming, and at 
the trades of shoemaking and butchering, 
which he learned. These occupations he 



continucil successfully until Nov. 24, 1867, 
when he came to America in search of the 
more abundant opportunities of the New 
World, and located in the city of Washing- 
ton, where for a time he was in the employ 
of the Adams Express Company. Later he 
did shoemaking, then returning to his trade 
of butchering, to which he devoted himself 
until 1869. 

At that time he decided to cast his lot 
with the West, and came to Burlington. 
During the first three years of his residence 
in Des Moines county he was in the em- 
ploy of Mr. John Wright, a farmer, and 
the following three years he worked for Mr. 
Eli Wright : but in 1875, having accumu- 
lated a small capital by thrift and diligent 
application to duty, he purchased a tract of 
eight acres of fine farm land in Pleasant 
Grove township, and thereafter devoted his 
whole effort to independent agricultural op- 
erations. In this venture he met with such 
success that he was afterward able to in- 
crease his holdings largely. The farm now 
comprises one hundred and twentv acres, 
where general farming and stock-raising are 
carried on, besides the operation of a large 
and valuable stone quarry located on the 
land, in which Mr. Harms has four men 
constantly employed, and which of itself 
yields him a very handsome revenue. 

In addition to his farm work, Mr. Harms 
early became deeply interested in the treat- 
ment of disease by the method of massage 
and hypnotic suggestion, and by hard and 
patient study obtained a remarkable insight 
into the interplay of the human mind and 
the forces of the physical system. This led 
him naturally to a practical use of his 
knowledge, and he soon performed a num- 
ber of complete cures in cases which phy- 
sicians had pronounced hopeless. In conse- 



758 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



qiience his practice rapidly grew to such of Science, of Rochester, N. Y., in hyp- 
great proportions that he was constrained notism and magnetic heaHng, and the pre- 



to abandon all other duties, and in iy04 he 
removed to Burlington, as a central jwint, 
to give his time exclusively to the relief of 
human suffering. Selfish motives have 
never played a part in shaping his decisions, 
and no one appeals to him in vain. He 
gives his best efforts to the relief of the poor 
in distress, without hope of reward, and in 
many cases where it is absolutely certain 
that no return can be forthcoming except 
the approval of conscience. Hundreds of 
the afflicted have availed themselves of his 
ministrations, and many difficult and appar- 
ently desperate cases have been the occasions 
of his complete triumph over disease. His 
practice is drawn from a vast expanse of 
territory, throughout which his name and 
the fame of his work are universally known 
and appreciated as the prophecy of a new 
era in human history. 

In Germany, on May i6, 1862, Mr. 
Harms wedded Miss Annie Fox, daughter 
of Frank and .\niia (Rader) Fox, and to 
them have been born six children, as fol- 
lows : Frederick, who died at the age of two 
and one-half years; Mary, wife of Henry 
Coldway, now a resident of Mount Union ; 
William, who also died at the age of two 
and a half years ; Henry, who has charge of 
the home farm ; John, who died at the age 
of nine months : and George, associated with 
Henry in his work of the farm. 

j\lr. Harms's political affiliation has al- 
ways been with the Republican ])arty, of 
whose principles he became a sup])orter 
upon his first settlement in .Xmerica, but he 
has never cared for the honor of public 
office, preferring to give his time and 
thought to scientific studies and research. 
In iip2 he was graduate<l from the Institute 



vious year was graduated from Professor 
Rozenburg's Institute, of Glandorf, Ohio. 
He is a faithful worker, and very prom- 
inent member of the Lutheran church, 
which he served as trustee for the long 
jieriod of fifteen years. A man of absolutely 
unblemished character, distinguished ability, 
and marked attainments, his standing in the 
community is in all respects enviable, and 
as a courageous pioneer in an almost untried 
field of effort and usefulness, he deserves 
every encouragement and all praise. 



DR. WILLIAM H. RYUN. 

Dr. VVilli.\m H. Rvlx, whose skill as 
a specialist in the cure of cancerous diseases 
has gained him a most extended and well- 
merited reputation, was born in Wayne 
county, Iowa, Feb. 5, 1861, his parents 
being John M. and Polly (Clarke) Ryun. 
His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Ryun, 
was born in Fayette county, Ohio, in 1785, 
and died in 1870, while his wife passed away 
in 1833, — the year celebrated because of 
the great shower of falling stars, — at the 
age of thirly-five years. 

J'. M. R\un was born in Fayette county, 
Ohio, in 1821, was reared to the occupation 
of farming, and followed that pursuit 
throughout his active business career. He 
came to the West in 1849, settling for three 
years in Davis county, Iowa. He afterward 
lived for forty years in Wayne county, 
Iowa, where he followed the occupation of 
farming, and on the expiration of that pe- 
riod he removed to Republican City, Nebr., 
where he lived retired until his death, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



759 



which occurred in 1900. He was a mem- 
ber of the Masonic fraternity, and in his 
life exemplified the beneficent spirit of the 
order. In his poHtical views he was a stal- 
wart Democrat, and served as school di- 
rector, road trustee, supervisor, and in 
other local offices. His Christian faith was 
evidenced by his membership for a period 
of forty years in the Methodist church, in 
which he served as steward, while in the 
various activities of the church he took a 
helpful part. 

He was married to Miss Polly Clarke, 
who was born May 10, 1822, in Fayette 
county, Ohio, and spent her girlhood days 
there, giving her hand in marriage to Mr. 
Ryun in July, 1840. She still survives her 
husband, and now at the advanced age of 
eighty-three years is able to sew and read. 
She also attends the services of the Meth- 
odist church, of which she has been a mem- 
ber since thirteen years of age. She makes 
her home with her daughter, Mrs. Dawson. 
In the famil}- were ten children, all of 
whom reached adult age, namely : Sarah. 
the wife of Daniel Williams, a resident of 
Republican City, Nebr. ; Benjamin F., who 
married Elizabeth Cook, and is also living 
in Republican City ; David C, who wedded 
Susanna Hidee, and resides at Gravotte, 
Ark. ; Polly A., the wife of Jacob Burley, 
of Missouri; Nancy J., who became the 
wife of James Cook, and died about twelve 
years ago ; Elvira, the wife of William 
Dawson, died in 1877: Amos L., who mar- 
ried Miss Livingston, and resides at Re- 
publican City, Nebr. ; W. H., of this review ; 
Lenora Dean, the wife of Silas Burley, of 
Wayne county, Iowa; and Ida, the wife of 
William Dawson, of Mount Pleasant, 
Iowa, who was formerly the husband of 
her sister Elvira. 



Dr. Ryun acquired his education in the 
jniblic schools of his native county, and 
through the summer months assisted in the 
work of his father's farm, whereon he re- 
mained until twenty-one years of age. Be- 
•fore leaving the farm he had become in- 
terested in the subject of the cure of 
cancer, and had carried forward his inves- 
tigations to a considerable extent along that 
line. He became imbued with a strong de- 
sire to alleviate the suffering caused fnjm 
this trouble, and even before he left the 
farm he began removing cancers by means 
of outward application. After leaving the 
parental roof he practiced in Wayne county 
for eight years, and then went to Nebraska, 
where he remained for eighteen months. 
In 1890 he located at 506 Clay Street, 
Mount Pleasant, in the old Leonard Farr 
home, where he made many improvements 
and additions, transforming the place into 
a beautiful residence and hospital. 

Nov. I, 1905, however, he removed to 
Burlington, Iowa, and located at 213 Polk 
Street, on Prospect Hill, in order that he 
might have a more central location and be 
more easily reached by his many patients 
coming from a distance. Also, in order to 
accommodate those from the South and 
West, he has opened a branch office in St. 
Louis, where he spends a part of his time. 
Throughout all these years Dr. Ryun has 
carried forward his studies concerning can- 
cerous growths and their cure, and has 
gained that knowledge and understanding 
which always rewards patient, persevering 
effort. His labors have been attended with 
gratifying success when viewed from a 
professional standpoint, and his services 
have been sought by people from all sec- 
tions of the country, a fact which indicates 
that his fame has spread abroad as the re- 



760 



BIOiJRAPHICAL REVIFJV 



suit of tlif remarkable cures that lie has 
effected. 

Oct. 15, 1884. Dr. Ryun was married to 
Miss Rosa H(japlin, a daughter of John. 
Jr., and Caroline ( Webb) Hoaglin. She 
was born Nov. i, 1865, in Salina, Jefferson 
county, Iowa. Her father, a native of 
\ew York City, was born Jan. i. 1808. and 
was a son of John Hoa).jlin. a shi|)builder 
of the Eastern metropolis. John Hoaglin, 
Jr., however, was left an orphan at a very 
early age, after which he was bound out. 
He left the East, however, when seventeen 
years of age, and eventually became a mer- 
chant in St. Louis. Mo., and afterward in 
Salina, Iowa, where he remained for thirty- 
six years. He then took up his abode in 
Eairfield, where he was also identified with 
business pursuits, but he is now living re- 
tired in Mount Pleasant, at the present 
time making his home with Mrs. Ryun. at 
the advanced age of ninety-six years. He 
has led an earnest Christian life, holding 
membcrshi]) originally with the Methodist 
ami later with tin- Congregational church. 
His political allegiance is given to the 
Democracy. lie is undoubtedly one of the 
oldest men (jf the county, and is still hale 
and liearty, although for tiic past six years 
he has been lilind. 

Mrs. Hoaglin died in 1895, at the age of 
sixty-three years. She was a native of 
Nashville, Tenn., l)orn in 1832, and by her 
marriage had a family of thirteen children, 
eight of whom are yet living: C. S.. who 
married Miss Minnie McCosh, and resides 
in Oregon ; A. B., who wedded Miss Anna 
Ilildebrand, by whom he has three soii.s, 
their home being in Idaho; J. L.. who mar- 
ried Miss Lizzie McDorman. and resides 
in Mount Pleasant, Iowa: H. A., of Salt 
Lake. Utah, who married Miss .\nm. Snook, 



and has two children : C. I*., who wedded 
Miss Melissa Boley, by whom he has eight 
children, and makes his home at Hillslwro, 
Henry county, Iowa; Mrs. Ryun; Delia, 
the wife of William Swaine, of Lucas, 
Iowa, by whom she has three children ; 
and Rosa, the wife of William H. Ryun, 
a resident of Burlington. 

Dr. and Mrs. Ryun have had one child, 
Lester, who was born .Se])t. 26, 1885. but 
lived for only six weeks. They now have 
an adopted son, Merrill, seven years of 
age, who has been with them since early in- 
fancy. The doctor is a stanch Prohibition- 
ist in his ])()litical affiliation, lieing in hearty 
sympathy with the temperance cause : and 
fraternally he is connected with the Ancient 
Order of United Workmen. His life has 
been devoted to his profession, and he has 
had a wonderful practice, in which he has 
been very successful, his ])atients coming 
to him from all parts of this country and 
Canada. He is a gentleman of |)leasant 
disposition and genial manner, of U])right 
life and geiuiine jiersoual worth. I'mtii he 
and his wife possess scholarly tastes, devn- 
ting nuich time to reading, and a retentive 
memory enables them to assimilate what 
they read, thus broadening their knowledge 
and enrichinsr their conversation. 



HUGH HARVEY MARTIN. 

.\mon(. tile tinu'-lionored citizens, and 
one who has been engaged in agricul- 
ture for many years in Yellow Sjjrings 
townshij). we mention the name of Hugh 
Har\ey .Martin, who may justly claim to 
be not only an old resident, but one of 
the most successful men of this town- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



761 



ship. He is a son of ^^'illianl and Jane 
(Harvey) Martin, and was born in 
County Down, Ireland. March 13. 1854. 
His education was acquired in the place 
of his birth, and when seventeen years 
of age he crossed the great Atlantic and 
settled in Yellow Springs township, where 
he worked by the month on a farm in 
the summer-time and during the winter 
months attended the public schools. He 
continued working by the month till 1884. 
when he took unto himself a wife and 
rented a farm. His marriage to Miss 
Nancy Anna Hensleigh, a daughter of Will- 
iam and Susan (Wilson) Hensleigh, 
whose record may be read on another 
page in this review, occurred in 1884. 
She was born in Yellow Springs town- 
ship, on the place where they now live, 
Feb. I, 1862, and has been a continuous 
resident of the township ever since. 

As the years have passed, Mr. and Mrs. 
Martin have had eight children added un- 
to them as follows : Ola Blanche, born 
Oct. 20, 1885: Martha Pearl, born Nov. 
22, 1887; William French, born Nov. i, 
1889; Susanna Jeannetta, born March 20, 
1892; James Alonzo, born Jan. 11, 1894; 
Ellis Elizabeth, born Sept. 26, 1896; Anna 
May, born Dec. 25, 1898; and Emma, 
Agnes, born Feb. 26, 1904. The above- 
named children received good educations 
in the district schools, and all reside with 
their parents. 

Mr. Martin's father died in Ireland in 
i860, and his mother brought her six 
surviving children to America in 1875. 
Those living are : James ; Martha, mar- 
ried J(ihn Allen, and resides in Nebraska , 
Mary, is Mrs. Charles Childers, also of 
Nebraska; Agnes, lives in Nebraska, and 
is the wife of John Martin ; and Hugh 



Harvey, of this review. The names of 
those dead are: Jane and William, died 
in Ireland ; and Eliza1)cth, died in Amer- 
ica. The mother of our subject made her 
home with the subject of this review for 
some years prior to her death, which oc- 
curred in 1895. 

In 1886 Mr. Martin bought a farm of 
one hundred and twenty acres in Section 
16, which is now all under fine culti\'a- 
tion. on which he does general farming, 
and raises some seventy-five head of hogs 
and feeds two car-loads of cattle annu- 
ally. He has since also added one hun- 
dred and twenty acres adjoining his place 
on the north, which is also under his per- 
sonal supervision. 

Mr. and Mrs. Martin are members of 
the United Presbyterian church. He has 
ne\er sought public ' office of any kind, 
preferring to devote his entire energies 
to the cultivation of his farm, which is 
finely improved with all necessary build- 
ings. He is an enterprising and success- 
ful agriculturist, is genial and cordial in 
disposition, upright in his dealings, and 
enjoys the confidence and respect of the 
communitv jreneralh'. 



HENRY J. LUECKING. 

Numbered among the iiKjst sub.^tantial 
and progressive farmers of Flint River 
township, Des Moines county, Iowa, is 
Henry Luecking. residing on his valu- 
able farm of one hundred and eighty- 
five acres in Section 8. where he has 
erected a large and handsome frame 
dwelling and many modern buildings, 
and conducts general farming and the 



-fi2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



raisinj^ ot tine stuck. Mr. Liicckiiij; is a 
nativi- of ("icrinany, having Ijct-n born in 
Prussia, May 26. 1849. He emigrated to 
America with his parents in 1854, making 
a voyage eight weeks in duration, and 
landing at Xew Orleans, whence they 
traveled by ri\er to Iowa, and locate<l in 
Des Moines county. Here the father ])ur- 
chased a farm of forty acres in Flint 
River townshij), t(j which lie added until 
his holdings amounted in <nu- hundred 
acres, making his home there until his 
death, March 5, 1898, at the age of eighty- 
four years and some months. His own 
death had been preceded ten years by that 
of his -wife, who died Feb. 12, 1888, aged 
sixty-seven years and four months. Of 
the six children born to them only two 
arc now living. 

The elder Luecking was in his political 
faith a Democrat, holding strongly to the 
tenets of that party, and his religious con- 
nection was with the Fvangelical Lutheran 
church. He was a man of ability, being 
quite successful as a farmer. 

.Mr. Luecking received his education in 
the ]>ublic schools of this township and in 
the deriuan subscri])tion schools. When 
he was about twenty-six years of age, he 
purchased his jjresent farm, and at once 
devoted himself to the task of its im- 
provement. This ])roject he has carried 
out along the most modern and ap])roved 
lines, and with eminent success, making 
it one of the model farms of Flint River 
township. 

On July I, 1875. he wedded .Miss 
Hannah Schwartz, daughter of Henry 
Schwartz. Mr. .Schwartz, who is a native 
of Germany, came to the United States 
at an early date (about 1857 or 1838), 
and located in Franklin township, this 



county, where he farmed for several years, 
and where his ileath occurred in 1875, in 
tile fifty-second year i)f his age. He is 
survived by his widow ( who is eighty 
years old at this writing), who still lives 
on the home fa^rm in Franklin township, 
and by six children, there being one 
deceased. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Luecking have been 
born eight children, as follows: .\nnie, 
luarried William I'lachmann, .March 24, 
1898. and has one child. Ralph ; licrtha, 
luarried Henry Gueldenhaar, of Flint 
River township, Oct. 12, 1899, and has 
one child, Walter: Clara, luarried .\rthur 
Sarmann, Flint River township, .April 22,, 
1902. and has one child, Irwin: Elsie, at 
home: Walter, died June 20, 1892, aged 
four years and nine months: and Herman, 
Arthur, and Sadie, who are at home with 
Mr. and Mrs. Luecking. 

Tolitically, Mr. Luecking is a member 
of the Democracy, in whose i)rinciples he 
is a thoroughgoing believer, although he 
is not csi)ecially active in public affairs, 
l>referring to devote his attention princi- 
])ally to private business as the field of 
endeavor for which he considers hiiuself 
best fitted: and certainly the event has 
justified his choice, for he has accom- 
plished much, and assumed a position 
among the property interests of his coiu- 
mimity which is truly enviable. During 
his entire life he has been identified with 
the Evangelical church, in which he is a 
prominent worker, and fcr the past twen- 
ty _vears has acted as one of its trustees — 
a long period of useful service, which 
speaks luuch for his practical ability and 
his zeal in behalf of a good cause. He 
enjoxs great popularity among his itume- 
diatc neighbors, and is widely ac(|uaintcd 
throughout Des Moines county. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



763 



ANDREW FREDERICK 
GUSTAFSON. 

The subject of this sketch has achieved 
success entirely by his own efforts, and 
reared for himself a noble edifice of repu- 
tation. "Mr. Gustafson is one of the many 
men of Swedish birth to whose native 
thrift and practical common sense Des 
Moines county owes so much of her pres- 
ent prosperity. 

Andrew Gustafson was born in Yonko- 
pings Lan, Smoland, Sweden, on April 

20, 1839, the son of Gustave and Lena 
(Magnison) Peterson. At that time there 
were no public schools in that part of 
Sweden, and as his father was unable to 
employ a private tutor, all the education he 
received was what . he obtained at the 
parochial school, and what he was able 
to gather by himself. He was brought 
up a farmer, and has always preferred 
that occupation to an\' other. 

A\'hen he was about twenty-nine years 
of age he became convinced that the New 
World offered better inducements to him, 
not only in better prospects of financial 
success, but also in better educational and 
social advantages for his family. Accord- 
ingly he came to America June 22, 1868, 
coming by way of New York directly to 
Burlington, Iowa. He began work there 
as a section hand for the Burlington & 
Missouri Railroad Company, working 
there for two years. 

During this tihie, by carefid economv 
and thrifty way"S, he had saved enough 
so that he came to Huron township and 
bought a farm of twenty acres in Section 

21, from James Rankin. He lived there 
for seven years, then sold that farm and 
purchased forty acres in Section 28, 



Huron township, where he now resides. 
To this he has since added another forty 
acres. He has cleared and stumped the 
land, brought it all under cultivation, 
built a comfortable house and a good 
barn, and improved the farm from time 
to time in many ways, as occasion arose, 
till he now has a comfortable home on 
one of the best-kept modern farms in the 
township. The land is well adapted to 
the business of general farming and 
stock-raising that he carries on. 

Mr. Gustafson was united in marriage 
before leaving Sweden, his wife being 
Miss Hannah Johnson, to whom he was 
wedded on May 25, 1868. She was the 
daughter of John and Magdalena (Johan- 
son) Johnson, and her natal da\' was May 
12, 1833. To this union were born four 
children, of whom one son and one 
daughter are now living. The children 
were: Wilhemenia \V., born June 24, 
1867, died at the age of nine months; 
Carl Frederick, born May 25, 1870, also 
died at the age of nine months ; Amanda 
G., born Jan. 21, 1872; and Herman G., 
born June 23, 1874. Amanda and Her- 
man recei\ed their education in the pub- 
lic schools of Huron township, and now 
live at home with their parents. The son 
supplemented the education which he re- 
ceived in the district schools with a 
course of one term in Elliott's Business 
college, of Burlington. 

Mr. Gustafson and his family are ac- 
tive members of the Swedish Lutheran 
church, faithful in their observance of its 
teachings, and loyally supporting all its 
benevolences. They have ever exhibited 
a praiseworthy devotion to all worthy 
causes, and are valued factors in the 
social life of the commimitv. Li the at- 



764 



BIOGRAI'HICAL REl 1 1- II ' 



tainiiK'iit of his present prosperous estate, 
Mr. Ciiistafsoii lias had many obstacles to 
overcome, and what he has accomplished 
has been done without assistance, being 
entirely the result of his own force of 
character, so that lie is fully deserving of 
tliat old l)ut expressive title of self-made 
man. These facts in his career have made 
him nijniy admirers, while his genial dis- 
position and integrity in his dealings have 
won for him the general respect and a 
large number nf sincere friends. 



ALBERT RAUHAUS. 

Albkrt Kaihais, who is engaged in 
farming on Sections 18 and 19, Huron 
townshi]), where he owns two hundred 
and forty acres of land, was born in 
Alsace-Lorraine, then a i)art of France. 
May 10, 1856. his ])arents I)eing Herman 
and Magdaleiia Rauhaus. The father was 
a toolmaker l)y trade, and in 1867 he 
brought his family to .America, reaching 
this country in August. Albert Rauhaus 
was then eleven years of age. The fam- 
ily located first in I'enria. 111., and after- 
ward in Fort Wayne, Ind., where the 
son comi)leted his education in the public 
schools. He has always followed the oc- 
cupation of farming, and the success he 
has achieved has been gained entirely in 
this way. His methods are practical and 
progressive, and in all his work he is sys- 
tematic and industrious. He came to Des 
Moines county in February, 1903, from 
the vicinity of Muscatine. Iowa, and here 
])iircliasi'il 1 w ( I huiidriMl and forty acres 
of land from Wilson Williams. This is 
located on Sections 18 and i<). Huron 



township, and constitutes a valuable 
property. Already he has made consid- 
erable changes in the appearance of the 
place, his fields being well tilled, while 
to some extent he has tiled the land. He 
has al.so built a new corn-crib, and is now 
erecting a large barn, thirty-four W forty 
feel. Rverything al)i>ut the place is kept 
in good repair, and already the farm is 
yielding to him a good income. 

On April, 30, 1882, Mr. Rauhaus was 
married to, Miss Catherine Conrad, a 
daughter of Jacob and IClizabeth (Som 
mers) Conrad, a native of Lee. hid.. 
born March 5. 184^. They have become 
the parL-nts of seven children: William, 
born Nov. 2, 1883: Herman, May 30, 
1885; Emma, Feb. i.>. 1887; Otto, March 
14. 1889; George, .\ug. 18, 1892: Eli 
Albert, Xov. 18, i8v4: and I'.ertha Cath- 
arine. Dec. 30, iSff). 

Mr. Rauhaus is a member of the 
.\postolic (ierman church, and holds the 
office of secretary of this religious organ- 
ization. He is a man linn in his beliefs 
and true to his cnn\ ictiims. 



JACOB L. LEHMANN. 

Till-: name of Lehmann is one that has 
long been identified with the business and 
musical circles of I'.tirlington, Iowa, and 
in both of these the subject of the present 
review is proving his rigltt to an increasing 
measure of consideration. Mr. Lehmann 
was born in I'urlington Sept. 4, 1868, a son 
of lose|)h and Mary (^Follard) Lehmann, 
and the family in America was founded by 
his grandfather, who was a resident of 
liaden-l'aden. Ciermanv. where he was a 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



765 



musician, and whence he came to the United 
States about the year 1855. The grand- 
father is now deceased, having died at the 
age of seventy-two years. The father of 
Mr. Lehniann, also now deceased, was by 
trade a cigarmaker, and was a musician and 
composer of talent. He never published his 
compositions, and thus never became known 
to the general public, but as a musical per- 
former and director attained a large local 
popularity, being the director of Lehniann's 
band and orchestra in Burlington, which 
he always maintained at a high standard of 
efficiency, and with w-hich he visited many 
surrounding towns and cities, everywhere 
gaining great praise. He is survived by 
his widow, now residing in Burlington, and 
they were the parents of nine children, as 
follows : Joseph, who died in boyhood ; 
Louisa ; Emma, widow of Charles Behrens ; 
Charles ; Leopold, now deceased ; Mary, 
wife of Anton Grothc : Jacob L., our sub- 
ject : Bertha, wife of Andrew Follard : and 
Edward Henry. 

Air. Lehmann was educated in the Catholic 
parochial school and in the public schools of 
Burlington, and his musical training began at 
a very early age, he playing in his father's 
orchestra at the age of seven years, and ever 
afterward continuing one of its members. 
.-\s a means of livelihood, he learned the 
trade of house-painting, which he followed 
for a period of nine or ten years, and sub- 
sequently traveled extensively as a musician 
in theatrical and circus companies, visiting 
in this capacity the leading cities and towns 
of a large part of the country, and playing 
every sort of musical instrument. Among 
the organizations with which he was con- 
nected mav be mentioned the Mclntyre & 
Heath Minstrels, the Weber Comedy Com- 
pan\-, and a Duck, Dog, and Poultry Show, 



and Andrews & Shomes's Circus. During 
the last two years he has been proprietor 
and manager of a' progressive confectionery 
establishment and news-stand on Eighth 
Street, Burlington, in the conduct of which 
his wide popularity, combined with diligent 
and careful management, has brought him 
excellent success. 

Mr. Lehmann and his brother Charles are 
proprietors of Lehmann's Orchestra, which 
they took under their charge at their father's 
death, and of which Mr. Lehmann had been 
director \ir\or to that time. His efforts have 
won for the orchestra a still greater measure 
of public favor than it formerly enjoyed, 
and its merits are widely recognized. For 
two years he was, in addition, musical di- 
rector at Ferris Wheel Park, in Burlington, 
and for one year at Ebner's Park. May 
26, 1888, he wedded Miss Mary Ohle, a 
native of Halmstad, Sweden, wh^ce at two 
years of age she came to America with her 
father, Louis Ohle, of Schleswig-Holstein, 
and her mother, Sophie Ohle, who was born 
at Halmstadt. The father of Mrs. Lehmann 
died after his removal to America, but the 
mother survives, and is a resident of this 
city. Air. Lehmann is a gifted composer, 
and has ]niblished several works that have 
attained genuine popularity, among them 
the " Blue Label March," " AIcKinley's 
Funeral March," the waltz, entitled " I Am 
a Buffalo," a two-step published by Lyon 
& Healy, of Chicago, entitled " South Caro- 
lina Sunshine," and " lone," a march and 
two-step. Unpublished pieces are : " So 
Lovely Waltzes," a march, entitled " Robert 
J.," " Chicago Blonde Two-step." Thus 
musical and business activity have absorbed 
his most earnest thought, although he makes 
a study of jjublic questions. He has not, 
however, allied himself with any political 



766 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



party, but acts iiiiJcpcndcntly in the exercise 
of his duty as an elector, casting his ballot 
for good government, as he personally con- 
ceives it. Frattrnally, he has been a mem- 
ber of the Knights of the Maccabees, in 
which he was a valued worker, and his 
social connections are numerous and pleas- 
ant, for he has earned the esteem and regard 
of all with whom he has come in contact. 



H. J. TACKENBERG. 

-V FINE rei)resentative of the younger 
generation of business nien of Mediapolis 
is H. J. Tackcnberg, who is a native of 
Des Moines county, being born in Benton 
township Dec. lo. 1871. It was in the 
district schools of his township that our 
subject ^rst learned reading, writing, 
and the rule of three, or more commoiilv 
speaking, to cipher. 

His parents, Henry and .\lvina (Coutz) 
Tackenberg, were prominent and pros- 
perous farmers of Des Moines county, 
and it was upon their beautiful place that 
their son H. J. spent his time till he was 
twenty-three years of age. In 1894 he 
decided that he would prefer city life to 
that of one in rural districts, and engaged 
as a carpenter in the building department 
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy . 
Railroad. He remained with that road 
till 1903, during which time he assisted 
in the erection of many large buildings 
and stations. 

He then made another change in his 
business, being able at this time, through 
his own efforts, to branch out for himself, 
buying out the -livery stable of \V. S. 
McCray, of Media])olis. Disposing of all 



the old material, he added new and mod- 
ern vehicles and a fine stock of horses, 
and conducted this place alone with much 
])rofit and success till Feb. i, i<)05, when 
he entered into partnership with E. M. 
Colby. They had one of the neatest and 
best stables in the county until their part- 
nership dissolution June i, i<x>5. when 
-Mr. Tackenberg bought out his partner's 
interest, and is now conducting the 
business alone. He does nearly all the 
livery business of the town, and though 
he began with but ten buggies and 
twelve horses, his trado has increased to 
such an extent that he is now on the 
lookout for more horses and vehicles. 

Mr. Tackenberg was married Jan. i^, 
1893, his wife being, in maidenhood, Miss 
.\nna M. Schuler, one of Des Moines 
county's noble daughters, whose parents 
were Joseph and 'Mary (Myers) Schuler. 
They are the parents of a bright and 
promising daughter, Esther, who.se birth 
occurred in Mediapolis, March 12, 1894. 
She is now a student in the grammar 
sdiools of her home place. Politically, 
-Mr. Tackenberg is a stalwart Kei)ublican, 
but has never been one to ask favors at 
the hands of his chosen party. He is a 
member of the .'\ncient Order of United 
Workmen of Burlington, Iowa, and also 
a member of the Ancient Free and Ac- 
cepted Masons, of Mediapolis. 

He is deeply interested in everything 
pertaining to public progress and im- 
])rovcment. llis business interests have 
been so capably conducted that success 
has attended his labors, and he well mer- 
its the prosperity that has come to him, 
and the approval of his fellow-men, and 
is well worthy of representation in this 
work. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



769 



HUGH C. GETTY. 

A SUCCESSFUL career has been that of 
Hugh C. Getty, now located as a clerk in a 
store in Winchester, Kans. He was born 
Dec. 22, 1864, on his father's farm in Ben- 
ton township. His parents, Robert and 
Eliza (La Monte) Getty, are both natives 
of County Derry, Ireland. They were mar- 
ried in Philadelphia, and also lived in Bal- 
timore for many years. After coming to 
Iowa he owned and farmed one hundred 
and eight}--eight acres as long as he was 
able, during that time serving as justice of 
the peace for sixteen years, and then made 
his home with a son in Winchester, Kans., 
where the father died Jan. 30, 1899. He 
had made some five trips to Ireland, and 
was widely known in this part of the county 
as public spirited and very patriotic. 

Mr. and Mrs. Getty were the parents of 
seven children: Maggie, married the Rev. 
J. W. Dill, of Clarinda, Iowa; Robert J., 
married Miss Ida Van Arnum, and has 
charge of the stock on the fourth floor at 
"Schramm's store ; Anna, married C. R. 
Dill, of Oakland, Cal. ; Sarah L., wife of Dr. 
S. M. McLain, lives in Cleveland, Ohio ; 
James N., deceased, whose widow occupies 
the home farm ; Hugh C, of this review : 
Mary, wife of A. O. Carson, resides in 
Kansas. 

Mr. Getty lived on the home farm till 
1898, when he had an attack of the West- 
ern fever. He first went to the Klondike, 
later to Seattle, Wash., and finally settled 
in Winchester, Kans., where he worked for 
a mercantile company for some years. He 
was the administrator of his brother's estate 
in Des ]\Ioines County, Iowa, and did some 
farming there, but returned to Winchester, 
Kans., where he has interests. 



He has always taken an active part in 
politics, and has given his hearty support 
and co-operation to the Republican party, 
serving in several of the minor offices of 
the township. He is enterprising and pub- 
lic-spirited, always ready to lend his aid 
toward movements which have for their 
end the welfare of the community; and 
should he contemplate moving West per- 
manently he will be greatly missed by his 
friends. 



FRANCIS CRANDALL THORNTON. 

FR,\Ncrs C. Thornton, one of the 
better-known of the rising young farm- 
ers of Huron township, belongs to the 
number of the bright and earnest young 
men who believe in doing things, and are 
always ready to help forward any worthy 
enterprise. He is one of the native sons 
of the township of whom the community 
may well be proud. He was born on the 
farm on which he now lives, July 28, 1874, 
the son of Abel Leonard Crandall Thorn- 
ton and Cecilia Aramantha (Fletcher) 
Thornton. 

The father was a native of Canada, be- 
ing born near Toront<T, Jan. 2, 1830, but 
coming with his parents to Illinois when 
very young. The mother was born in 
Green county, Ohio, Sept. 18, 1834, and 
came with her parents to Illinois in 1841. 
They were luiited in the holy bonds of 
matrimony and were the parents of seven 
sons and two daughters, of whom five 
sons are still living. The children were 
as follows: Clarence, born Oct. 19, 1856, 
died in infancy; Charles H., born Feb. 12, 
1858, died when twelve years old; Brooks 
F., born Nov. 29, 1859, now living in 



770 



BIOUKAI'HICAL RHIEW 



Iowa; Mortimer A., born Aug. 12, 1861, 
now living in Monmoutli, 111.; Lulu I., 
born July 4, 1865, died at the age of 
twenty-six years ; Alma K., born June 2, 
1868, died when eight years of age; Jo- 
seph .-\., born Feb. 4, 1871. residing at the 
present time near Scaton, Mercer county, 
111.; F"rancis C, born July 28, 1874, the 
subject of this review ; and John W'.. born 
June 21, 1876. 

Tlu- father and iiiotluT came to Des 
Moines county. Iowa, the same year that 
they were married, and bought a farm of 
eighty acres in Section 26, Huron town- 
ship, the same farm that is now ihe home 
farm on which our subject resides. This 
farm is well suited to stock-raising and 
general farming, and on it the parents 
lived and reared their family to fill hon- 
ored places in the world. Here the father 
died on the fifth of March, 1900, and he 
lies buried in Dolbey cemetery, in this 
township. The mother is still living, and 
makes her home in a comfortable little 
cottage on the farm, preferring this inde- 
pendent life to that of a life in the homes 
of any of her children. 

Francis C'randall Thornton was raised 
on this farm, receiving his education in 
the i)iil)lic schools of the township, and 
learning from early boyhood the practi- 
cal lessons of farm life. He was united in 
marriage on Feb. 22, 1899, to Miss Eliza- 
beth Morgan, daughter of Charles Frank- 
lin and P.arbara ( Deebold") Morgan. She 
was one of five children, as follows: 
Jerome 15., born Oct. 11, 1879, is a grad- 
uate of the Agricultural College at Fort 
Collins, Colo., and now makes his home 
in Colorado ; Elizabeth, is the wife of our 
subject ; Edward Elliott, lx)rn in August, 
1881. a graduate of Keokuk Medical (^ol- 



lege, and now engaged in practice at 
North Hender.son, 111.; Delia Parmelia, 
born Sept. ^22. 1883, and Frank Jacob, 
born .May 15, 1886, both now at home 
with their parents. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan 
have a fine farm of one hundred acres in 
Grove township, Mercer county, 111. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Thornton two daugh- 
ters have been born : Mabel Margaret, 
born Feb. 2, \<yo\, and Barbara Lucile, 
born Feb. 11, 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Thorn- 
ton are members of the Methodist Epis- 
co])al church, to which they give their 
loyal sup|)ort, assisting in its benevo- 
lences and |)romoting i.ts work in all ways 
])ossible. He is a member of the Modern 
Woodmen of .America. Kingston Camp, 
Xo. 5756, and has acted as adviser and 
escort for a number of years. His polit- 
ical allegiance is given to the Re|)ublican 
])arty. and he has ever been progressive 
and loyal in citizenship, desiring the 
greatest good for the greatest number. 
He and his estimable wife have a charm- 
ing home, where their o]>en hos])itality, 
and cordial, genial ways have always 
drawn around them warm-hearted friends, 
and in turn they are greatly attached to 
their friends and neighbors. All who 
know theni desire for them many years 
of ha])piness. filled with service to their 
family and the community, and crovvnetl 
by the greatest of success. 



JOS. VOELKEL. 

Jos. \'^oELKiiL, whose life history is an 
illustration of the opportunity that is af- 
forded to young men of enterprise and en- 
ergy in America, and who has worked his 
way upward from a humble financial posi- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



771 



tion to one of affluence, being now proprie- 
tor of a jewelry store in Burlington, was 
born in Winschbiirg. in Prussia. Germany, 
Nov. 23. 1854. He is a son of Carl and 
Hannah (Harcig) Y'oelkel. who were also 
natives of Prussia, and spent their entire 
lives in their native land. The father, who 
was born in 1814. died in 1895. but the 
mother is still living, at the ri]5e old age of 
eighty-five years. 

Jos. Voelkel pursued his education in the 
public schools and a business college of 
Prussia, and when thirteen \ears of age 
began learning the jeweler's trade, serving a 
regular apprenticeship of four years, at 
the end of which time he received a certifi- 
cate stating that he was a first-class work- 
man in every department of the trade. He 
then began working as a journeyman. 
.When twenty-nine years of age he obtained 
a position in Burlington. Iowa, entering the 
employ of T. H. \\'alden, a jeweler, with 
whom he remained for eleven years. The 
capital he acquired through his industry and 
economy was then used in the purchase of a 
stock of goods, and he began business on his 
own account on Jefferson Street, in the same 
block in which he has since conducted busi- 
ness. From the beginning he has prospered, 
and he now has a large and growing trade. 
He carries a full line of high-grade jewelry, 
and also does a general repair business, and 
his straightforward policy and earnest de- 
sire to please has secured him a very desir- 
able patronage. 

On the 15th of January, i8qi. Mr. Y'oel- 
kel was married to ^liss ^Nlarv Halbeg, a 
daughter of Lewis and Christiana (Scharf) 
Halbeg, both of whom have now passed away, 
the father having died in 1871. while the 
mother's death occurred in 1895. He was 
a government official of Germany, occupy- 



ing a life position in the courts of that 
country. He was at one time a soldier of 
the German army, and it was subsequent to 
this time that he was assigned to this court 
position. Mrs. Y'oelkel was born in Ger- 
many, in the same locality in which her 
husband's birth occurred, and in Burling- 
ton they were married. They are prominent 
socially among the German-American citi- 
zens of Burlington, and Mr. Voelkel is par- 
ticularly well known in musical circles. He 
belongs to the Turners' Singing Society, 
and for fifteen years has been its director. 
Fraternally, he is connected with the Ancient 
Order of United Workmen, and in former 
years he gave his political support to the 
Democracy. He now votes independently, 
however, and cast his last presidential ballot 
for Theodore Roosevelt. His has been an 
honorable and upright life, and his busi- 
ness success, his prominence in musical 
circles, and his popularity among his friends, 
entitle him to mention among the repre- 
sentative citizens of Burlington. 



DAVID WILLSON 

The whole career, both business and so- 
cial, of Mr. Willson serves as a model to 
the young and an inspiration to the aged. 
He sheds a brightness around everything 
with which he comes in contact. By his use- 
fulness and general benevol'^nce he creates 
a memory whose perpetuation does not de- 
pend upon brick or stone, but upon the free- 
will offering of a grateful and enlightened 
people. Much of the prosperity of Yellow 
Springs township is due to the good judg- 
ment of this worthy pioneer, who is now on 
the shadv side of life. 



772 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. \\ illson was born Nov. 16, 1825. in 
Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. His father 
was born in 1791 and his mother in 1798. 
They were blessed with a large family of 
eleven children, of which the subject of this 
review is the third. The children, and dates 
of birth, are as follows: Moses. Jan. 17, 
1820; Maria, 1822; David, 1825; Sarah, 
1827; James, 1829; Casandra, 1832; Re- 
becca, 1834: Sidney, 1840: John Knox, 
1842: Isaac, 1837; ail infant son, deceased. 

We doubt if the county can boast of an- 
other family record equal to this grand one. 
In .\pril, 1855, this worthy couple left Pitts- 
burg and brought their children to Iowa, 
coming direct to Burlington. They made 
the trip by boat, much to ihc delight of the 
young people, and were about two weeks in 
making the trip. They came to Mediapolis, 
where they tarried for a year, and then lo- 
cated in Yellow Springs township, where 
they bought a fine farm of two hundred 
acres. Having been a thrifty farmer in 
the East, he was well equal to the burdens 
of one in this part of the Hawkeye State. 
After living in the county for twenty years 
Mr. Willson was called to join the silent 
majority, and the noble woman who filled 
every position that falls to the lot of a wife 
and mother in a manner that reflected the 
highest credit on womanhood, passed to her 
final reward five years later, dying in 1880. 

David W'illson was reared upon the home 
farm, and received a fair common-school 
education. He has always been fond of 
reading, and thus has continually broad- 
ened his knowledge. He never looked upon 
the world from a narrow or contracted 
standpoint, hut was ever a gentleman of 
strong hunianitarian princii)lcs. of wide sym- 
pathy, and ujiright life. He continued to 
assist his father in the operation of the home 



farm till after he reached his majority, when 
he felt he had best make a direct start for 
himself. When his father passed away, 
the home farm was divided, and Mr. Will- 
son retained eighty acres of the old original 
place in Section 16. He has carried on 
agricidtural pursuits most successfully, and 
the stock which he raises yields a neat jirofit. 

Until the last three years he has cast his 
vote with the Republican party, but now 
supports the Democratic party. He has held 
the office of road supervisor for thirty-two 
years, and acted as secretary of the school 
board for thirty-five years, a longer term of 
office than has ever been held by one man in 
the county. 

On Dec. 13, 1850, Mr, Willson joined 
heart and hand with Miss Mary Jane Mc- 
Kinlcy, and for over fifty-five years they 
have traveled the rugged path of life to- 
gether. It is true that all of this time has 
not been one continuous round of sunshine, 
but they have lived each day by itself, and 
have met the trials and pleasures of married 
life with great Christian fortitude. It is 
rarely we find a couple who are permitted 
to bask in the sunshine of each other's love 
for more than fifty years, and the writer is 
almost at a loss to find words to express the 
beauty of character of this worthy couple, 
who are exerting such an influence for all 
that stands for truth, morality, and punty, 
and who seem to he growing in grace day 
by day. Surely, when they are called up 
yonder, it will only be a step from earth to 
heaven. Mr. and Mrs. Willson have had 
three children, two of whom still live : Ellen 
Bell, who Ix'came the wife of Henry Paul, 
and died in 1903, leaving two children. Roy 
M. and Frank M. ; George McKinley, re- 
sides in Morning Sun ; and David, engaged 
in the hardware business in Mediapolis. 



DES MOIXES COUXTV, lOlVA. 



773 



Many years ago they became members of 
the Presbyterian church, and here, too, they 
have made records of devotion surpassed 
by few. They have always hved under the 
conviction tliat material blessings were' most 
fittingly used when a generous portion was 
converted into spiritual wealth by investing 
it in the saving of the souls of men. 

One of the characteristics of this family 
on both sides is that in the married lives of 
their parents they never had a cross word ; 
and the fifty years of this couple's married 
life, like that of their parents before them, 
have been passed in a Christian manner, and 
never marred bv cross words. 



WILLIAM HENRY BAILEY. 

Of the more successful and better-known 
farmers of Des Aloines county, a worthy 
representative is William H. Bailey, now 
residing on his large and well-kept farm in 
Huron township. Mr. Bailey was born on 
March 24, 1858, in Orange county, Missouri, 
the son of John and Martha (Fausett) 
Bailey. When he was but three years old, 
his parents removed to Henderson county, 
Illinois. After living in that locality for 
two years the family made another change, 
this time to the vicinity of Keithsburg, 
III., where the father rented a farm on which 
the family remained for a period of seventeen 
years. At the expiration of this time the 
family moved to New Boston, which was 
the home for the ensuing twelve years. 

Mr. Bailey gained his early knowledge 
of books in the public schools of Mercer 
county. Illinois, receiving a good common- 
school education, and learning the prin- 
ci]3les and methods of agriculture on his 



father's farm in the meantime. Being thus 
brought up with a thorough knowledge of 
farming, he has always followed that vo- 
cation. He commenced farming for himself 
when he was twenty-one years of age, his 
first independent venture being when he 
rented four hundred eighty acres of land 
from Mrs. Thompson. That this venture 
was a success is proved by the fact that he 
remained on this place continuously from 
1879 till 1893. 

In the latter year his father came to Des 
Moines county and bought a farm of one 
hundred twenty acres in Section 26, and Mr. 
Bailey rented this farm and lived there for 
the following six years. He then bought 
land for himself, buying eighty acres in 
Huron township, from Charles Fowler, forty- 
acres of which are in Section 25, and forty 
in Section 30. This proved to be such a 
paying investment that at the end of three 
years he sold the eighty-acre farm, and was 
enabled to purchase one hundred forty acres 
in Section 26, where he now makes his 
home. This last tract he bought from 
Clarence and Clark Loper. It is rich, fertile 
land, well adapted to general farming and 
stock-raising. 

Mr. Bailey has, by the application of 
energy, perseverance, and sound judgment, 
greatly improved the place, introducing new 
methods and apparatus, and making it in 
many respects a model farm, whether con- 
sidered with regard to appearance, conve- 
nience, or producing power. In the stock- 
raising branch of his business he makes a 
specialty of Poland China hogs, raising 
about seventy head annually. 

During his residence in Mercer county, 
Illinois, Mr. Bailey was united in marriage 
to ]Miss Sarah Catherine Hinson, on Dec. 2, 
1886. he was the daughter of Garret and 



774 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl I/iir 



Eva (Bunton) Hiiisoii. ami was born in 
Ross county, Ohio, on Feb. 15, 1862. Her 
father, Garret Hinson, was also a native of 
Ross county, Ohio, being born there on 
March 21, 1821, but eventually making his 
home in Kingston, Benton township, in this 
county. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Bailey have been born 
four children, two of whom died in infancy. 
The two living are Hazel Leonora and 
Eva Marie. 

Mr. Bailey, as an extensive reader, care- 
ful thinker, and active business man, has 
manifested considerable interest in public 
affairs; and believing it the duty of every 
citizen to serve the community in which he 
lives in any way that he may be called upon 
for the public good, has acted as public- 
school director for three years. Fraternally, 
he is well known, being a member of the 
Modern Woodmen of America. He has 
always shown himself ready to accept any 
duty or to supjiort any movement calculated 
to advance the general welfare. He is a man 
of great force of character, is possessed of 
much business ability, has been very success- 
ful in the conduct of his affairs, and enjoys 
the universal respect of his friends and 
acquaintances throughout the townsliip in 
which he resides. 



ELISHA DOWNER. 

Elisha Downer, who has always 
been interested in farming, was burn in 
Stark county, Ohio. Jan. 27. 1850. his ])ar- 
ents being George Washington and Eliza 
(Goliday) Downer. In 1855 the father 
came with his famiU' to Dcs Moines 
county, locating one mile east of North- 



field on the property now owned by 
.\ugusl .\ndersun. He had there eighty 
acres of prairie land, and he also owned 
forty acres of timber land farther south. 
Lpon the farm he resided until i860, 
wluii he removed to Louisa county. Iowa, 
where he rented land for one year, and 
then purchased ninety-seven acres at 
Xorthfield. remaining thereon for seven 
)ears. He ne.xt removed to the vicinity 
of Newport, Louisa county, where he be- 
came owner of one hundred and si.xty 
acres of land, while two years later he 
bought four hundred acres on Iowa River, 
and lived upon the latter farm for six 
years. He then returned to Des Moines 
couiitx, where he bought one hundred 
and eighty-two acres, but made his home 
in Xorthfield, where his death occurred 
.Sei)t. 28, 1892, when he was seventy- 
eight years of age. 

He had long survived his wife, who 
died July 22, 1874, when si.\ty-t\vo years 
of age. His life had been charaeterizeil 
by industry and (.ntirprise. and by a 
strong determination which enabled him 
to overcome the difficulties and obstacles 
in his path, and work his way upward to 
success. In his family were eight chil- 
dren: Charles W., who died in infancy; 
Clinton H., who died in 18O0, at the age 
of nineteen years; Benson F., who follows 
farming in .Vebraska ; George W.. also a 
resident farmer of Nebraska : Elisha ; 
.\nna. the wife of E. Hutchcroft. of Medi- 
a])olis : Ahniia. also living in .Metliapolis ; 
and .\manda. llie wife of Jnhii IKTni.ui. 
of the same |)Iace. 

Elisha Downer was but five years of age 
when brought by his parents to Iowa. 
The following year he began his educa- 
tion in one <if the log schoolhouses com- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



775 



mon in pioneer districts, school being con- 
ducted on the subscription plan. Later 
he was a public-school student, and ac- 
quired a fair knowledge of the English 
branches of learning which qualify one 
for the transaction of business and for 
meeting the responsible duties of later 
life. He has always engaged in farming, 
remaining at home until twenty-six years 
of age, after which he was employed at 
farm labor in the neighborhood for sev- 
eral years. He was thirty-five years of 
age when he first became owner of prop- 
erty, purchasing a part of his father's 
farm. He also bought two hundred and 
twenty-six acres of land at Elrick Junc- 
tion, but afterward sold that property. 
He then bought one hundred and fifty- 
one acres adjoining Kossuth, which he 
later sold, removing at that time to Ne- 
braska, where he purchased a section of 
land ; but when two years had passed, he 
disposed of his property there, and re- 
turned to Des Moines county. He then 
purchased ten acres in Kossuth, and also 
a farm of seventy acres at Northfield, 
which he still owns. This, in brief, has 
been the extent of his business opera- 
tions, but it tells little of the earnest 
labor, indefatigable industry, and perse- 
verance which Mr. Downer has ever dis- 
played in conducting his business afifairs, 
and which have been the strong force in 
winning his success. 

Oct. 7, 1883, Mr. Downer was united in 
marriage to Miss Addie Ann Hannan, a 
daughter of Henry \\'. and Anna (Bow- 
en) Hannan. This union has been blessed 
with two daughters, Eliza Anna and Eva, 
the latter at home and the former the wife 
of Arthur Corn. 

In his political views Mr. Downer is an 



earnest Republican, and at one time was 
a member of the Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, joining the lodge at Morn- 
ing Sun. He is now living in Kossuth 
in practical retirement from labor, al- 
though he gives personal supervision to 
his farm. In his life record the value of 
industry and enterprise are proved, for 
his history shows what may be accom- 
plished by one who starting out in life 
without capital, makes the most of his 
opportunities, and thereby works his way 
upward to success. 



LOUIS F. KREKEL. 

Mr. Krekel, well known as a suc- 
cessful farmer, fruit grower and wine 
merchant, was born at the old family 
home in Burlington township .*->ept. 25, 
i860, a son of Jacob and ^^'ilhelmina (Fa- 
bian) Krekel, and for his early education 
is indebted to the district schools of his 
native place. Having lieen reared as a 
farmer, he has always followed that oc- 
cupation, and in addition he has for the 
last two years been engaged in business as 
a wine merchant in connection with farm- 
ing. The business is conducted at his 
farm, which is part of the land originall}' 
purchased b_v liis father from Mr. Otto. 
The tract comprises thirty-five acres, all 
x'cry productive, which he devotes to the 
culture of fruit, vegetables, and berries, 
and by good management, united with 
scientific methods, he secures each year a 
very handsome return for his labor and 
supervision. More and more the farmers 
of this section are coming to appreciate 
the importance of fruit growing, and in 



■76 



BIOGRAPHICAL RRVIPJV 



this movement Mr. Krekel has for a long 
time been one of the most conspicuous 
leaders, thus cloinp much to educate the 
public to the great resources of Des 
Moines county as a producing center of 
prime importance. 

Mr. Krekel has been twice married, 
first on .\pril 17, 1884, to Miss Christina 
Meek, daughter of Jacob. Meek, by whom 
he had lour children : Fabian, born Jan. 
15, 1885; .\ugust, born Jan. 29, 1888; 
Louis, born Dec. i, 1890; and Fred, born 
Aug. 17. i8<;i. The death of tlie mother 
of this family occurred -Vug. 20, i8<j2. On 
Sept. 7, 1893, our subject was united in 
marriage to Miss W'ilhelmina Glaser, 
ilaughter of Christian and Catherine 
(Sciuilenburg) Glaser. Mr. and Mrs. 
Krekel are the ])arents of six children, as 
follows: Bertha, born Dec. 4, 1895; Ed- 
ward, born Dec. 20, 1897; .\lbert, born 
March 17, i89<j; Walter, born April 20, 
1901 ; Charles, born Sept. 8, i<)03; and 
Edith, born Jan. 22, 1905. 

On his farm Mr. Krekel has made 
many improvements, devoting much 
time and money to the object of bringing 
it to its present perfection, and besides 
erecting a large new barn has made sub- 
stantial additions to the house, thus ren- 
dering it one of the most comfortable and 
homelike to be found in the township. 
All of the fruit trees, berry bushes, and 
vines are of his own jjlanting, and have 
amply rewarded him for the great and 
painstaking care bestowed upon the cul- 
tivation. 

Mr. Krekel's connection with public 
life is through the Democratic jiarty, of 
which he is a well-known member. In 
1894 he received appointment to the office 
of supervisor of highways, and on the ex- 



piration of his term was nominated and 
elected to the same position, and later re- 
elected, serving in all five years, during 
which time he performed much useful and 
highly necessary service, for no one re- 
alizes more thoroughly than does he the 
imjiortance of good roads in a farming 
community. Mis place in the esteem of 
all who know' him is an enviable one, for 
in addition to being eminently successful 
in a material way, his friends are many 
and loval. 



SAMUEL SENTI. 

In taking up the personal history of 
Sanuiel Senti, now living in Burlington, 
we ])rcscnt to our readers the life record of 
one of Switzerland's native sons, but whose 
residence in Iowa covers a long period. He 
was born in Switzerland, Nov. 21, 1828. 
His parents were Samuel and Louisa (An- 
horn) Senti, and were also of Swiss origin. 
Our subject was reared in Switzerland, and 
attended the public schools there, and later 
was a teacher in these schools for four years. 
Like many other active and aspiring young 
men. he was anxious to see something be- 
yond his home land, and in 1865 decided to 
cross the Atlantic. The ship known as the 
" Saxony " landed him in New York in 
about twelve days, when Mr. Senti at once 
l)rci)ared to come West, and reached Bur- 
lington in May, where he immediately 
bought sixty-five acres of land from Mr. 
Patterson. This farm joined that of Jacob 
Scholer, whose sketch also appears in this 
work, and also joined Crapo Park. This 
park is located at the south end of Main 
Street. At the time of this purchase farm 
land in that locality was in a very rough 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



condition, much of it being covered with 
brusli and old stumps, so that it required 
much time as well as money to prepare the 
ground for farm purposes. To-day this 
same farm lies in the city limits, and con- 
tains several orchards, but the greater por- 
tion of it is a beautiful vineyard, which Mr. 
Senti's son cares for, and from which he 
makes some eighty barrels of wine annually. 
This wine is the pure grape juice, being 
used by many families in tlie city as a bev- 
erage and for medical purposes. 

In October, 1855, Mr. Senti married Miss 
Anna Marie Johanna, daughter of An- 
drew and Ersie (Martha) Johanna. Unto 
Mr. and Mrs. Senti have been born three 
children : Samuel, a farmer in Union town- 
ship. His first wife was Miss Anna Paula, 
who left three children : Jacob, Bertha, and 
Emma. Andrew Senti died July 26, 1902, 
aged forty-two years and three months, 
leaving a widow, who was formerly Miss 
Emma Swartz, and four children : Anna, 
Helen, Oscar, and Samuel. Mary (Mrs. 
Charles Black) . Mrs. Black was first mar- 
ried to Adolph Kurlie, by whom she has 
three children : Nettie, aged ten years ; Wes- 
ley ; William Jacob ; and Meyer, aged six 
years. Mr. Black was also previously mar- 
ried to Miss Libbie Rose, daughter of Ben- 
jamin and Harriet (Gillespie) Rose, by 
whom he had two children : Virgie Vir- 
ginia, aged ten years; and Benjamin, aged 
seven years. 

. Mr. Senti, though now a man of nearly 
eighty years, is still active, and is enjoying 
the fruits of his hard labor. 

As a citizen, he is as true as when he fol- 
lowed the old flag in beautiful Switzerland, 
and throughout his entire record he has 
manifested many traits of character that are 
worthy of emulation. 



ANDREW SENTI. 

Andrew Senti resided in Burlington, 
from the age of five years till his death. 
Throughout his business career he operated 
a fine vineyard, making wine or selling 
grapes, his activity, energy, and persever- 
ance being the foundation upon which he 
builded his success. In all his dealings he 
was strictly honorable, never taking advan- 
tage of the necessities of his fellow-men, 
and left behind him an untarnished name. 

He was the son of Samuel and Anna 
Marie (Johanna) Senti, and was born in 
Switzerland, Feb. 7, i860. As he was very 
young when he came to America with his 
parents, his knowledge of his birthplace 
was very limited. He acquired the Eng- 
lish language in the public schools of Bur- 
lington, which he attended. His father, 
whose sketch appears in this , work, pur- 
chased a farm south of town, and Andrew 
lived with him, growing to manhood on the 
farm, and which he worked till his death. 
On Nov. 20, 1888, Mr. Senti married Miss 
Emma Schwartz, whose birth occurred in 
Burlington, Iowa. Her parents, David and 
Christina (Morlock) Schwartz, were among 
the early settlers of this city, coming in 1849. 

Mr. Schwartz was always a farmer and 
fruit-raiser. His life was comparatively 
short, being only thirty-eight years old at 
the time of his death, which occurred in 
1871. Mrs. Schwartz was born in 1836, 
and married Gotlieb Scheihing for her sec- 
ond husband, who died in 1886. She now 
lives at 2218 South Main Street. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Senti were born four 
children: Samuel J., born Oct. 9, 1889; 
Emma Christina, born May 27, 1891 ; Oscar 
A., born Dec. 20, 1893 ; and Helen Eliza- 
beth, bom Sept. 3, 1897. They all live with 



778 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'lFM' 



their widowcil inolhcr on South Main 
Street. Mr. Senti died July 26, 1902, aged 
forty-two years. He gave his political al- 
legiance to the Democratic iiarty. being al- 
ways interested in everything for the good 
of the city. He was a member of the Zion 
Evangelical church, and his life was in 
consistent harmony with his profession. He 
was a man of indu.strious habits, gifted with 
enterprise, and his labors brought him pros- 
perity. Being truly devoted to his family 
and friends, his loss was deeply regretted 
when he was called from this life. Mrs. 
Senti still conducts the business at the old 
homestead, and is thus enabled to support 
the family. 



THEODORE BINDER. 

The name of Theodore Binder is well 
known throughout Burlington, where he 
serves hundreds of people with good pure 
milk, and is also much respected in Flint 
River township, where he resides. He is 
a son of Joseph and ^Vugusta (R<M.'e) Bin- 
der, and was lx)rn in the city of Burlington, 
Iowa, June 4, 1869. His father is one of 
the highly respected and honored pioneers 
of Des Moines county, who always trans- 
acted his business with the greatest care and 
uprightness, and was never known to do 
any man an injury. .\ complete record of 
our subject's father may be found elsewhere 
in this book, as may also the record of his 
brother Joseph. 

Theodore Binder is the fourth son, hav- 
ing five brothers and one sister. They are 
as follows : Charles J., a butcher on Central 
Avenue, in Burlington; Edward J., a baker 
on North Sixth Street, in the same city ; 
Joseph G., the dairyman, on Mt. Pleasant 



road ; Mary, is the wife of William Warth, a 
gardener of South Summer Street, and lives 
in Burlington ; Herman, owns a farm near 
I^tty, Iowa ; August, is a machinist in the 
shops at West Burlington. 

After Theodore finished his education, 
which was acquired in the German Lutheran 
school of his native city, he learned to be a 
farmer and dairyman upon his father's 
place. When he became of age, he began 
to work and fami for himself, and at once 
started a dairy on his own responsibility. 
He now has over fifty cows, a number of 
good horses, and one of the largest list of 
customers of any of the dairymen of Bur- 
lington. His work is hard, and necessitates 
the closest of application and a generous 
supply of patience. He runs one wagon, 
and is able to do his own delivering, which 
is largely the secret of his success in 
business. 

The improvements on the farm are good 
and substantial, and everything pertaining 
to the dairy presents a clean and neat 
appearance, rolitically. .Mr. ]5inder votes 
independently, and in this, as well as in all 
()tiier maUers, exercises good judgment. 

June II, 1895, Mr. Binder married Miss 
Caroline Schoekopf, who is a daughter of 
Joseph and Caroline (Schuler) Schoekopf. 
She was l>orn in Wittenberg, Germany, 
C)ct. Ji. 1875. coming to America with her 
parents when she was five years old. Mr. 
and Mrs. Schoekopf first locate<l in Mont- 
rose, Iowa, and later moved to Donaldson, 
Iowa, where they now reside on a farm. 
They iiave one hundred and twenty acres of 
land in Lee county, and belong to the well- 
to-do and respected families of that section. 
Mrs. Binder received her education in the 
district schools in Donaldson. 

Two children have blessed the ha[)py 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



779 



union of Mr. and Mrs. Binder: Albert, born 
in 1896; and Harry, born June 18, 1904. 

Mr. Binder and his wife are earnest and 
devoted members of the German Lutheran 
church. Although Mr. Binder is yet a 
young man, still he possesses a strong in- 
dividuality, and is also a man of the strongest 
convictions. He has often won friends by 
standing out alone and single-handed in 
business matters in which he felt he was 
right. With all the sterling qualities of 
ability and worth which Mr. Binder pos- 
sesses, together with his open and frank 
manner, great success is bound to come in 
the future, as in the past, and his friends 
will keep on multiplying. 



JOSEPH EIBES. 

Joseph Eibes, who awns and oper- 
ates eighty-three acres of land on Sec- 
tion 35, Huron township, was born in 
Burlington, Iowa, Aug. 23, 1872, and is 
a son of Joseph and Barbara (Christ) 
Eibes. The father was born on the 
Rhine in Prussia, German)^ Dec. 10, 1825, 
and his parents were Nicholas and Cath- 
erine (Tison) Eibes. 

Joseph Eibes, Sr., accjuircd his educa- 
tion in the public schools of his native 
land, and there learned the blacksmith's 
trade, at which he served an apprentice- 
ship of three and a half years. His father 
was a farmer, and with the exception of 
the period spent at the forge he, too, 
always followed agricultural pursuits in 
his native land. 

He came to America in June, 1854, 
landing at New York, whence he made 
his way direct to Louisville, Ky., where 



he began working at day labor. He con- 
tinued in that city for seven months, and 
tliun made his way by river to St. Louis, 
Mo., from thence coming to Burlington. 
In the latter city he began working for 
Harvey Ray, of the firm of Ray & Par- 
kerson, plow manufacturers. He entered 
his service as a blacksmith, and worked 
in the shop for twenty-four years, after 
which he removed to Huron township 
and purchased a farm of one hundred and 
ninety-four acres on Sections 35 and 36 
He still resides upon that place, and for 
many years was actively engaged in gen- 
eral farming, but now largely leaves the 
labors of the fields to others. 

Joseph Eibes, Sr., was married i\Iay 4, 
1857, in Burlington, to Miss Barbara 
Christ, a daughter of John and Anna 
Mary (Mosher) Christ. She was born in 
Switzerland, Feb. 2, 1836, and by her mar- 
riage became the mother of six children : 
Katherine, born Oct. 17, 1859, was mar- 
ried Oct. 28, 1880, to Joseph Shier, and 
died Feb. i, 1904, her remains being in- 
terred in the Sacred Heart cemetery, in 
Burlington; Anna, born Oct. 17, 1861, is 
the wife of Elias Ebert, a resident of Bur- 
lington ; Mary Barbara, who was born 
Oct. 20, 1862, is the wife of Albert Ham- 
ilton, a resident of Huron township; Mary 
Louise, born Dec. 28, 1864, is the wife 
of Michael Hellenthal, of Huron town- 
ship: Joseph is the next of the family; 
Carl, born Jan. 22. 1877, is a brakeman 
on the Iowa Central Railroad, living in 
Oscaloosa, Iowa. The parents are mem- 
bers of the Catholic church, and in his 
political \'icws Mr. Eibes is a stanch Dem- 
ocrat. He and his wife belong to St. 
Mary's church in Benton township. 

Joseph Eibes, Jr., whose name intro- 



78o 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIiriEll' 



duces this- review, spent the first seven 
years of his lif<? in tlie city of liurlington, 
and then removed with his parents to 
tile farm in Huron township. He ac- 
([uired his education in Kingston. He 
was reared to agricultural pursuits, and 
has seen no reason to change his mode 
of life, finding that the care of his farm 
makes continuous demands upon his time 
and energies, and calls forth all of his 
business powers in its capable manage- 
ment. He purchased eighty-three acres 
of land on Section 35, Huron township. 

Mr. Eibes was married April 29, 1897, 
at St. Mary's church in Benton township, 
to Clementine Panther, who was born 
Feb. 22, 1876, in that township. Her par- 
ents were Ferdinand and .Vmclia (Troup') 
Panther, both natives of Baden, Germany, 
the mother born March 13, 1833, and the 
father April 15, 1832. .\bout 1853 they 
made arrangements to leave llu'ir native 
land, and sailed for New York, whence 
they went at once to Wilkesbarre, Pa., 
where they lived fur fifteen years. On 
the e-xpiration of that period they came 
to Burlington, Iowa, and soon afterward 
took u]) their abode on a farm near Mid- 
dletown. Several years later they settled 
at Sperry, Iowa, and after five years pur- 
chased one hundred and six acres of land 
in Benton township, Des Moines county, 
developing there a good farm. They 
were the parents of eleven children: 
Theodore, who died in infancy : Theo- 
dore (2d); Elizabeth; Ferdinand; Lena, 
who died at the age of fourteen years; 
Emma ; Henry : John ; Julia, who died at 
the age of seven years ; and Rose, who 
died at the age of five years. 

The home of Joseph and Clementine 
Eibes w;i>i Me-;seil with five children; 



Anulia Barbara, burn .\pril 18, i8<;8: 
Ferdinand Joseph, born June 15, i8<^j; 
Johnny, born Jan. 19, njoi, died Jan. 25, 
1905, his remains being interred in St. 
Mary's Catholic cemetery in Benton 
township; William John, born June 23, 
1903; and Ester .Marie, born .\pril 22, 
K/35. The ijarents are members of St. 
Mary's Catholic church, and in that faith 
are rearing their family. They have al- 
waj's resided in this county, and in his 
life Mr. Eibes displays the sterling char- 
acteristics of his ("ii-rnian ancestrv. 



CHRIST LUCAS. 

TiiEUE is no name in Flint River 
township which carries with it more of 
integrity, of uprightness, of earnest citi- 
zenship, or calls forth more universal ex- 
pressions of regard, than that of Christ 
Lucas, now one of the oldest male resi- 
dents of the valley. He was born in 
Prussia, Germany, Dec. 18, 1826. He re- 
mained in his father's home till he re- 
ceived his education in the ])ublic schools. 
In 186(^1 he came to .America, living in 
Burlington, Iowa, for two years, where 
he was employed on the construction of 
the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Rail- 
road bridge. He worked the next year 
for Jerome Boeck, whose farm then was 
a part of what is now Crapo'Park. In 
iSCjS lie bought one hundred and thirty 
acres in Section 11, where his son, Fred 
William, whose sketch appears elsewhere 
in this volume, resides. He also owns 
twenty-nine acres in Section 11, on which 
he makes his home. He has alwavs been 



o 

pa 
t— I 
•w 
H 

r 
c 
■n 
> 

> 
d 







DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



783 



a very active man in all the work of the 
place, but as he is now in his eightieth 
year, he has somewhat retired from the 
more laborious work, and is enjoying his 
well-spent time of the past. ^Vhen Mr. 
Lucas purchased this land it was all wild 
and unbroken, but to-day he has a large 
part of it under cultivation, and has 
placed modern and convenient buildings 
upon it, including a fine barn, thirty by 
fifty feet, which was built in 18S0. He 
has witnessed many changes in his neigh- 
borhood. In his early days there were no 
direct roads to the city, no bridges to 
speak of, — the streams and creeks having 
to be forded, — and no station near-by. 
To-day the roads are in good condition, 
strong bridges in evidence everywhere, 
railroads close at hand, and telephone 
connections to all parts of the valley and 
city, and pleasant neighbors within short 
distance. 

Oct. 6, 1851, Mr. Lucas was married, in 
Germany, to Miss Mary Scholtz, daughter 
of Henrick and Margaretta (Bauer) 
Scholtz. They are the parents of three 
children : Fred W. ; Henry, who went 
away from home in 1887, and has not 
been heard from since ; and Dora, the wife 
of Louis Kotlitz, of Chicago. Politically, 
our subject votes for the man he likes 
best. How truly it has been exemplified 
in his case that "God helps those wlio 
help themselves." \\'hatever of \-irtue in 
the character of Mr. Lucas, whatever 
of cjuality in his living, has been directly 
founded upon traits inherited from an 
ancestry rich in the virtues of ]iatriotisni, 
loyalty, steadfastness, and principle. One 
of the greatest pleasures he enjoys is 
visiting with the old-time friends, and 
quietly reviewing the events of forty 



years ago, most of the actors in which 
have nearly all ])receded this good old 
gentleman to the life beyond. 



JOSEPH BINDER. 

There is no one in Mint River town- 
ship better known, or more highly es- 
teemed and respected, than Joseph Bin- 
der. His life of over fifty years in the 
county has been quiet and retiring, yet 
his every act has been well and carefully 
directed, and his great success in business 
is entirely the result of his energy, am- 
bition, and a strong determination to live 
each day in a moral and upright way. 

Joseph Binder was born in \\"urtem- 
burg, Germany, Aug. 24, 1831, and is a son 
of John and Catherine (Heinzman) 
Binder. His mother died when Mr. 
Binder was but two years of age, leaving 
two sons to the tender mercies of the 
world, one of whom has since passed 
away. The father was born in Wur- 
temburg, Germany, in 1802, where he 
learned the trade of a stone-mason, 
which, together with farming, he car- 
ried on with signal success for many 
years. He lived to enjoy eighty-two 
years of life, and passed away in 1884. 

Our subject received his education in 
the common schools of Germany, after 
which he remained on his father's farm, 
taking a man's place in the regular work. 
Believing that he might have better busi- 
ness opportunities, and that the reward of 
labor was more sure in the New World, 
he made arrangements to leave the 
Fatherland, and in 1854, embarked for 
America on a sailing: vessel which was 



784 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



forty-two days in making tin- harbor of < )n Xov. 19. 1861, Mr. Binder was 
New York. His point of destination was united in niarriape with Miss Augusta 
Burlington. Iowa, and it took him nearly Rose, daughter of Carl and Caroline 
another month to reach it. as means of (Thache) Rose. Her parents were both 
travel in those times were not as well natives of (Germany, the father's birth oc- 
perfccted as at the ])resent. curring in 1S20. and the mother's in 1813. 
When Mr. Binder reached Burlington In the old country Mr. Rose was a black- 
he was in possession of just fifty cents, smith. He had three daughters, two of 
which he at once invested in an ax. and whom he brought to America in 1858, 
began to chop wood at seventy-five cents coming by way of New York. Augusta 
a cord. He was thus engaged in the is the wife of our subject. Ernestine first 
winter time, working for various farmers married to A. Slecter. who died: later she 
during the summer months, fur his first married .\. Hacker, the dairyman. Mrs. 
seven years in America. .\t the end of Hacker passed away in 1890, leaving four 
this period his labor had yielded him suf- Sleeter children, and five Hacker children, 
ficient means to buy a dairy, and renting .Amelia Rose married a Mr. Brachc. and 
the farm owned by .*-ihepherd LcfHer. he resides in ricrmany. Mr. Rose settled in 
formed a partiursbii) with John Boesch. the Walker settlement, where he farmed ; 
This firm continued for eleven years, with later he moved to Xauvoo, 111., where he 
increasing success. In 1872 they sold the lived retired, and died in 1807. 
dairy to Mr. .\. Hacker, wlun Mr. Binder As the time advanced, nine children 
came to town and built a substantial and were tislured into the home of Mr. and 
comfortable brick house on North lughlh Mrs. Binder, seven of whom arc now liv- 
Strcct. During his two-years' residence ing in or near Burlington, and all are a 
in the city he was engaged in teaming, great credit to their parents. Carl J. is a 
and then he went back to his first love. — butcher on Central .\venue; Edward ].. a 
the dairy business. — buying a great num- baker on North Sixth Street ; Joseph. Jr.. 
ber of cows from .Mr. Sw.ni. and renting on Mt. Pleasant road, and Theodore, lo- 
from him forty acres of land in Flint cated on .\gency St.. arc both dairymen ; 
River township. .\t the end of two years Mary, the only daughter, married Will- 
he bad all of his stock paid for, and was iaiu H. Warth, a gardener on Summer 
enabled to buy' this forty-acre piece of Street; Herman farms near I^itt\ : .\u- 
land, which he farmed, raising all of the gust is a machinist in the shops at West 
feed for his cows, at the same time rent- Burlington. The sketches of several of 
ing ])asture land from the railroad com- these children a])pear in this book, 
pany. As time advanced Mr. I'.inder Besides the above-named children, Mr. 
built u]) a large and nourishing dairy and Mrs. Binder have sixteen grand-chil- 
business, and continued to operate the dren to brighten their declining days, and 
same for twenty years. This made a take great pleasure in ha\ing one or more 
record for him of thirty-one years as a with them all the time, 
dairyman, the longest ])rol)al)ly of any .Mrs. Binder has long been a devoted 
one man in the county. member of the Evangelical church. After 



\, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



785 



selling their dairy and forty acres to their 
son Joseph, Mr. and Mrs. Binder pur- 
chased a pretty cottage with eleven acres 
on the Mt. Pleasant road, where they 
both enjoy raising their own vegetables. 
Here Mr. Binder lives retired, enjoying 
many comforts with his worthy wife. He 
has always been a Democrat, but forming 
great admiration for Abraham Lincoln, 
he cast his first presidential vote for the 
young statesman. It is seldom one suc- 
ceeds better than Mr. Binder, for in addi- 
tion to his cosy home he owns fifty acres 
of pasture land in Flint River township, 
and four good and substantial tenant 
houses in the city of Burlington. It is 
rare we find a happier or more contented 
couple. Their journey through life has 
not been one of continuous sunshine, but 
they have made the best alike of joys and 
sorrows, firmly believing that man is 
largely responsible for his good in life. 
They have performed well their part in 
life, and are far beyond all need of praise. 
Their lives surely must be a great stim- 
ulus not only to their children, Init to all 
of their hundreds of friends throughout 
the county. 



JOSEPH G. BINDER. 

It gives us great pleasure to present 
the life record of Joseph G. Binder, of 
Flint River township, who now resides 
on the farm where his parents resided for 
over twenty years, being engaged in the 
dairy business. Joseph G. is the third 
son of Joseph and Augusta (Rose) P>in- 
der, and was born in Burlington town- 
ship Aug. 18, 1867. His father belongs to 
that class of good old German stock 



which commands universal esteem and 
respect. His sketch wdl be found on 
another page in this volume, as will also 
the record of Theodore Binder, brother of 
our subject. 

Joseph received his education in the 
district schools in Flint River township, 
and in the German Lutheran school 
known as Klines School. He remained 
on his father's farm, assisting in the dairy 
work till he was about twenty-six years 
of age. He then purchased thirty acres 
of land in the same neighborhood, and 
started a dairy of his own. Later he 
bought thirtv acres of land across the 
road from his first purchase, and when his 
father retired from the dairy business, 
about 1892, Mr. Binder bought the old 
home, which consisted of forty acres of 
good land having a modern and comfort- 
able house, and a barn suitable for dairy 
work. 

Since then Air. Tiinder has added 
another large barn and a convenient 
granary. ' He has over eighty cows, 
twelve head of fine horses, and a good 
grade of hogs, raising all the necessary 
feed for his stock. He runs one milk 
wagon, and has one of the best routes in 
the city. Besides the beautiful home 
•above mentioned, Mr. Binder has a nice 
tenement house in the city of Burling- 
ton. 

June 22. 1882, the wedding of Joseph 
G. Binder and Miss Bertha Gantz was 
solemnized. Mrs. Binder is a daughter 
of Henry and Mary (Matlender) Gantz, 
and was born Sept. 11, 1874. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gantz are both nati\-es of Burling- 
ton, the former being born Aug. 18, 1853, 
and the latter May 16, 1863. They reside 
on a fruit farm of ten acres in Flint River 



786 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



township, on \'ogt Street, just otT of 
Sunnyside Avenue. Mr. Gantz is a Dem- 
ocrat, but not an active politician. He 
and Mrs. Gantz are faitlifnl nicnihers of 
the St. John's Catholic church. They 
have had seven children, as follows: 
Lydia, married Richard Krueger, of Bur- 
lington, and died in i8<>5; Edward is the 
husband of I-ottie Dankwardt, and lives 
in West liurlington. where Mr. Dank- 
wardt works in the shops ; Joseph is a col- 
lar-maker in Burlington, Iowa, and mar- 
ried Miss Anna Leichenberg; Oscar died 
when eighteen years of age ; Tracy mar- 
ried August Binder, brother of our sub- 
ject, who is a machinist in West Burling- 
ton ; George lives with his ])areiUs in the 
winter, and stays with his sister, Mrs. 
Joseph Binder, during the summer 
months. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Binder h.i\e been 
born four children: Walter, born June 
7, 1883; Harry, born Sept. 30, 1887, died 
in September, 1888; Arthur, born March 
31, 1901 ; Catherine, born .March 30, 1902. 
Mr. Binder is a stanch Democrat, and was 
for a time road supervisor of the town- 
shij): Ijut having so much business of his 
own to look after, he was compelled to 
give up this office. 

Great energy and activity have always 
characterized the life of .Mr. Binder. 
Promptness seems to have been jiart of 
his religion, and he has ever adhered to 
upright and honorable principles in all 
business transactions. He is justly jiroud 
to refate that he is a self-made man, and 
that all of his possessions are the result 
of tile honest labor of his willing hands. 
His friends throughout the county are 
legion, and hold Mr. Piinder in the high- 
est regard. 



WILLIAM BELT. 

The entire life of William Helt has 
been spent in .\ugusta township. As a 
farmer he has given the strength of his 
manhood and intelligence to the agricul- 
tural supremacy of this section of the 
State. He is numbered among the native 
sons, his birth having occurred in the 
house where he now lives, in Section 13. 
Sept. 15. 1876. He is a son of Nicholas 
and Margaret (Schulteis) Helt, who 
were both born in Germany, and came to 
-America in early pioneer times, locating 
on Section 13, .Augusta township. His 
parents are still living, and their sketch 
will be found elsewhere in this volume. 

Our subject was reared and educated 
in his native township, attending the dis- 
trict school in his vicinity, where by in- 
dustry and close application he acquired 
a substantial education. After leaving 
school he began the life of a farmer, re- 
maining on his father's place, where he 
received a thorough training in all the 
ways and means calculated to bring suc- 
cess and inde])endence to the industrious 
tiller of the soil. 

When our subject was twenty-six 
years of age he took unto himself a wife 
to share his joys and griefs. The wed- 
ding was celebrated in Union township, 
Dec. 31, 1902. The bride was in maiden- 
hood. Miss Bertha L. Miller, daughter of 
John W. and Anna (Gougler) Miller, and 
was born and raised in Union township. 
.\s the years have come and gone two 
children have been added to this house- 
hold, Milo Nicholas, and ICdgar J«jhn. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Helt attend and support 
the Methodist church. Politically, he is 
a Republican, and though of strong con- 



DES MOfXES COUXTY. IOWA. 



787 



victions, and a willing promoter of this 
party, yet he has never aspired io any 
office. He cast his first presidential vote 
for William McKinley, in 1900. Air. 
Halt is at present farming some two hun- 
dred and fifty acres of land, and also 
raises considerable fine stock, which 
yields him annually a neat sum. He takes 
a great deal of interest in all matters of 
value to the township, and is regarded as 
an enterprising citizen, and one who has 
fully performed his share in the material 
advancement of agricultural and indus- 
trial interests of the county. 



WILLIAM AUGUST GENG. 

WiLLi.VM AUGU.ST Geng, engaged in the 
saloon business in West Burlington, was 
born in this cit)-. Sept. 7, 1876, and is a 
son of John and Constantine (Miller) 
Geng. The father, a native of Germany, 
came to America soon after his marriage, 
making his way direct to Burlington, 
where he engaged in the brewing business, 
his time and attention being thus ix'cupied 
until about 1890, when he began the busi- 
ness of retailing wines and lif|Uors in con- 
nection with his son William. They have 
since conducted a saloon, and are now lo- 
cated at the corner of West Burlington 
;\ venue and Mount Pleasant Street, in West 
Burlington, and have a large patronage, 
which makes their business profitable. In 
his political views John Geng is independ- 
ent, nor has he ever sought or desired office. 
Unto him and his wife were born four chil- 
dren, namely: August William, Henry, 
Mary, and William A. 

William August Geng began his educa- 



tion, at the usual age. in the public schools, 
and continued his studies until fourteen 
years of age, when be put aside his text- 
books and joined his father in a partner- 
ship which has since been maintained with 
mutual pleasure and profit. They have con- 
ducted their saloon since 1891 at the place 
that they now occupy, and are well known 
to the business men of that .section of the 
city. ' 

William A. Geng was married Oct. 16, 
1904, to Miss Catharine Eichler, a daughter 
of John Eichler, a resident of West Bur- 
lington, where Mr. and Mrs. Geng now 
make their home. 



GUST FREEBURG. 

Amonc; those who have come from 
foreign lands to become jjrominent in 
business circles in Mediapolis is Gust 
Freeburg. who for twelve years has re- 
sided in this city, and is now one of the 
leading contractors of stone-work here. 
His enterprise and progressive spirit have 
made him a ty])ical .\merican in every 
sense of the word, and he therefore well 
deserves mention in this work. 

Mr. Freeburg was born in Ester Yet- 
land, .Sweden. .March 2J. 1844, and is a 
son of John and Inga (Johnson) Free- 
burg. He was reared on his father's 
farm, and obtained his education in the 
common schools of his birth])lace. Soon 
after his school work was finished, he be- 
came an apprentice of a prominent stone- 
mason near his home, with whom he 
served a number of years till he mastered 
the trade. 

When about twent\-four years old he 



788 



BIOGRAPHICAL Rlil lEW 



came to America, thinking there would 
be a broader field for his business and 
more chances of advancement. He came 
direct to the State of Iowa, and located 
in Huron township, where he farmed and 
worked at his trade for some twenty 
years. Iile\en years tjf the twenty were 
spent with William Harper, with whom 
Mr. Frecburg learned many of the ways 
and customs of his new home. 

In iJ-!w^ he gave uj) farming, and 
located in .\ledia])olis, buying the pretty 
home where he has lived ever since. He 
contracts for stone, concrete, and brick- 
work, being one of the most competent 
and experienced mechanics in this line in 
the village. Years ago he used to do 
nearly all of his work with stone, but 
to-day finds him as actively engaged in 
concrete, cement, and brick-U'ork. The 
handiwork of .Mr. I'reeburg is found 
everywhere in Mediapolis, — on the large 
business houses, private residences, and 
upon tlie numerous walks scattered 
llirinighoul the town. His work in all 
branches, is first class in every respect, 
and will stand the test of time. 

March 8, 1876, Mr. Freeburg was mar- 
ried to Miss Hannah Davis, who was a 
daughter of John Davis. The father of 
Mrs. Davis was a soldier in the Civil 
War. 

Mr. and Mrs. Freeburg were the ])ar- 
ents of one child, Tjemerick, who died 
when only three months old. Mrs. Free- 
burg i)assed away Oct. 23, i8</). and is 
buried in the Swedish cemetery east of 
Kossuth, beside her baby boy. Mr. Free- 
burg is a member of the Swedish Lu- 
theran church, of which he has been one 
of the trustees for a number of years. Po- 
liticallv. li<- is an .-irdent Rciiubliran and 



takes much pleasure in the jjromotion of 
his party, but in local matters votes in- 
dependently. In 1897 he was elected as 
city councilman, and served the people in 
this cajiacity with great satisfaction for 
one term. What .Mr. Freeburg is to-day is 
the result of iiis own efforts, for he began 
in the world with nothing but his own 
energy and willing hands to aid him ; and 
by constant e.xertion, associated with 
good judgment, he has raised himself to 
the creditable jjosition he now holds 
among the people of the community, where 
he commands the respect of all. 



JOHN JOHNSON CARNEGY. 

Joii.\ Joii.N.so.N' L.\RNiiOV, now de- 
ceased, was a leading farmer of Huron 
lowushi]) for many years. He was born 
in Kentucky, Jan. 5. 1825, and was a son 
of James Carnegy. Leaving his native 
State he came to Illinois, becoming a resi- 
dent of .Mercer count}, where for many 
years he followed farming. In 1881 he 
removed to Des Moines county, Iowa, 
where he purchased of J. H. Hedges, of 
-Mediapolis, a valuable farm of one hun- 
dred and eighty acres, to the further cul- 
tivation and improvement of which he 
directed his energies. He also engaged 
in the raising of cattle, hogs, and horses, 
keeping about ten head of horses upon 
his ])lace. and about forty head of hogs 
of the Poland China and Dnroc breeds. 
Whatever he undertook he carried for- 
ward to successful com])letion, and his 
business success was the direct result of 
his earnest and indefatigable labor. 

Mr. Carnegy was twice married. He 
first wedded .Miss Mary Haven, and they 



DES MOINES COUNTY, JOWA. 



789 



became the parents of nine children : 
Ross, James, Emerilla, John, Eldora. 
Julia Ester, Rebecca Ann, Hattic, and 
Garrett. On March 26, 1873, Mr. Car- 
negy was united in marriage to Miss 
Eliza Robinson, a daughter of William 
Robinson. She was born in Greene coun- 
ty, Pennsylvania, Jan. 16, 1852, and be- 
came a resident of Missouri when twenty- 
one years of age, in which State she was 
married. She accompanied her husband 
to Illinois, after which the)' remo\ed to 
Iowa. They became the parents of three 
children : Charles E., who was born in 
Illinois. June 30, 1877, married Ellen 
Ping; Nora Maria, born March 9, 1870, 
and Walter H., born Feb. i, 1886, are 
both at home. 

The death of Mr. Carnegy occurred 
Jan. (;, igoi, when he had reached the 
very venerable age of eighty years. He 
was a respected and worthy citizen of 
Iowa, and in his life record displayed 
many sterling traits of character that are 
worthy of emulation. Since the death of 
the husband and father the family have 
improved the property by building new 
barns and sheds, and by making an addi- 
tion to the house. They are well known 
in Huron township and enjoy the friendly 
regard of all with whom they have come 
in contact sociallv. 



GUSTAVUS V. SHEAGREN. 

Ix the ranks of Burlington's substantial 
business men are a large number of re- 
cruits from foreign lands, who are a worthy 
addition to the city's spirit of enterprise and 
progressive industry. A notable representa- 



tive of this class is Gustavus V. Sheagren, 
who was born Sept. 24, 1847, i" South 
Sweden, and there learned the trade in 
which he has since been successful, that of 
carriage-making, in his father's shop in the 
country, near Wexo, beginning work in the 
shop when but eleven years of age. Later, 
leaving the country, he conducted a small 
shop in Wexo for two years, but then de- 
cided to try his fortunes in the New World, 
and, taking passage to America, landed 
June 2, 1868. at New York, whence he came 
West directly to Chicago. His first employ- 
ment after landing was as a workman in 
the construction of a railway in Michigan, 
from Kalamazoo, from June to September. 
On Sept. 15, 1868, he came to Burling- 
ton, but went on to Afton to work for his 
Michigan employer, Mr. McKinzie, on the 
construction of the Burlington & Missouri 
Railway. Here he met with a misfortune 
which was of considerable magnitude for 
one just beginning life in a new land, whose 
language he could not speak, this being the 
loss of his wages, $128.00, for the two 
month's work, caused by the contractor's re- 
linquishing the work and leaving the men 
unpaid. Mr. Sheagren then found occu- 
pation on a farm, working the first three 
montiis for his board, and thereafter re- 
ceiving fifteen dollars a month, continuing 
at this work for seven months in all. On 
July 7, 1869, he returned to Burlington, 
finding temporary employment with Gen- 
eral Dodge, for whom he performed the 
work about the house for three- weeks, and 
then took a position with the old carriage 
manufacturing firm of Bennett & Franz. 
Here his early training counted to his ad- 
vantage, and he was made foreman of the 
blacksmith shop, holding that place for 
about fifteen years, or until 1893, when the 



70O 



RIOGRAPIIICAL Rlil Hill ' 



firm was placed in the hands of a receiver, 
at the refjuest of creihtors. In .March of the 
following year Mr. Sheagrcn and Mr. 
J'.ennett purchased tiie stock and plant, and 
for two years continued operations on the 
present site of the Durlington lUiggy Com- 
pany. They then organized a stock com- 
pany with a paid cash capital of two thou- 
sand dollars, J. liennett being president, 
and .Mr. Sheagren secretary and treasurer, 
this corporation existing for ahniu five 
years, at the end of which time Mr. Shea- 
gren purchased his jjartner's interest. On 
acquiring exclusive control, he removed to 
the building at 2io Columbia Street, which 
had been erected by the firm in i8(>5 at a 
cost of two thousand five hundred dollars, 
and at this excellent location he has since 
continued the business alone, with great 
success. .Mainifacturing. ])ainting. and re- 
pairing are carried on. and at one time 
eight men were em])l(iyed, although there 
;ire but five at present, these being engaged 
exclusively in buggy and carriage work. 
Mr. Sheagren's reputation in this line of 
manufacture is extensive and well estab- 
lished, and the factory yields him each 
year a handsome jirofit. 

Ai lUirlington on Sept. 30, 1872. Mr. Shea- 
gren was united in marriage to Miss Jose- 
phine T'etersen. who was l)orn in Sweden, 
where she learned dressmaking, and whence 
she came to Chicago and was employed at 
her art in that city at the time of the great 
Chicago fire, which she, of course, remem- 
bers with great distinctness. She now con- 
ducts a large dressmaking establishment in 
the Tama building, employing from twenty 
to thirty young women under her personal 
supervision and that of an assistant, while 
she visits Chicago about five times each year 
to studv fashions. 



To Mr. and .Mrs. Sheagren have been 
born the following children ; ( )scar Marry, 
who is in the railway mail service between 
Ilurlington and Council UlufFs and lives 
with his ])arents : Ivsther Josejihine. who is 
the wife of John Maher, of liurlington. a 
conductor on the line of Chicago, liurling- 
ton & Ouincy I^ailway, and has one son, 
John: I'.enjamin, a dining-car comluctor on 
the Chicago, liurlington & (Juincy kail- 
road, lives in Hurlington, and has two chil- 
dren, Martha and Walter: Kbba Lucretia, 
who is the wife of Cieorge Beikmann. of 
St. Louis, employed in b'erguson & McKin- 
iiey's dry -goods house. 

Mr. Sheagren's parents. John and (iusta 
Sheagren. came to .America in 1HS3. and the 
mother's deatli occurred at Burlington in 
September. 1885. she being buried in .-\spen 
Grove cemetery. The father returned the 
following sjjring to Sweden, where he is 
still living, in the eighty- f<nirlh year of his 
age. They were the parents oi the follow- 
ing children: Hannah, wife of Charles Bru- 
tus, of Daven])ort : Louise, of Burlington, 
widow of Charles Rapj) ; .Malilda. wife of 
John N'oungren, of Rockford, 111.: and 
1-ranz and Caroline, of Sweden, the latter 
being the wife of John Miller. 

Mr. Sheagren owns a pleasant home at 
821 North Fourth Street, and in addition 
to the residence property owns the building 
in which his factory is located, renting the 
ground on which it stands. He affiliates 
with the Re])ublican (larty. though he is not 
active in jwilitics. I'Vaternally. he is a mem- 
biT of i'linckhouse Camp. No. 33. W'oiKlmen 
of the World, of which camj) he has been 
manager, and he is also a member of the 
Cottage Lake Club, and the Business Men's 
Association of Burlington. (Originally a 
menilK'r of the Swedisli Methodist K])is- 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



791 



copal church, he was very active in its re- 
ligious work, being- from 1873 ^o 1894 
superintendent of the Sunday-school, a trus- 
tee of the church, and a member of the 
official board. He has since transferred his 
membership to the First Methodist Episco- 
pal church of Burlington. 

Possessing a fine and robust iihysique, 
Mr. Sheagren has never experienced any 
difficulty in making his own way in the 
world, and while tlie success he has attained 
has been won entirely by his personal efl^orts, 
he has always shunned any tendency to be 
over-aggressive, preferring to respect the 
rights of others and to live peaceably with 
all men. Unassuming, frank, and strictly 
honest in all matters of business as well as 
in his private life, he has won the respect of 
those who know him, and is well worthy 
of the position and standing which he en- 
joys in the community where he has labored 
well, and done a man's part in the world's 
work. 



LOUIE PIETZSCH. 

Louie Pietzsch, a gardener and farmer 
on Section 14, Flint River township, Des 
Moines county, Iowa, was born on the 
farm where he now lives, Jan. 14, 1873. 
He is a son of Herman and Elizabeth 
(Dewein) Pietzsch. His father, who was 
one of twelve children, was born March 3, 
1837, 3nd was a native of Saxony. Germany, 
coming with his parents and all of his broth- 
ers and sisters, with the exce]ition of one, to 
America in I-851, locating in Des ]\loines 
county, where in 1864 he purchased a farm 
of eighty-four acres on Sections 14 and 23, 
in Flint River township. He was mar- 
ried Dec. 12. 1868, to Elizabeth Dewein, 



who was born in Burlington, Iowa, Dec. 
24, 1848, and is a daughter of Jacob and 
Catherine (Meyers) Dewein, both natives 
of Hessen, Germany, coming to America 
in 1840. Air. Dewein's life work was that 
of a shoemaker. He had a partner, Her- 
man Bonertch, for about one year before 
lie died, which occurred in 1872. Mrs. 
Dewein was born in (815, and died July li, 
1903. at the home of her son-in-law, John 
Blaul, whose sketch will also be found in 
this work. They are both buried in Aspen 
Grove cemetery. L'nto Mr. and Mrs. 
Dewein were born nine children : Jacob, 
deceased ; George, a resident of Burlington ; 
Ricca. who married Herman Bonitz ; 
Catherine, the wife of Henry Herman ; 
Elizabeth, wife of Herman Pietzsch, and 
mother of our subject ; Louisa, married 
John Blaul : Louie, of Burlington ; and 
Louis, deceased. 

The parents of Louie Pietzsch were 
blessed with ten children, eight of whom are 
living, namely: Laura, born April I, 1871 ; 
Louis, born Jan. 14, 1873 ; Rosa, born May 
5, 1875; Catherine, born May 9, 1879; 
Emma B., born May 15, 188 1 ; John R., 
born Sept. 19, 1883; Martha, born Nov. 23, 
1885; Louise, born Nov. 7, 1887. Albert 
and Robert died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. 
Pietzsch gave each child a good education. 
Mr. Pietzsch died Aug. 19, 1901. He was 
a stanch Republican and a respected and 
worthy citizen. He was a member of the 
German Methodist church, as also is his 
widow, who lives on the farm with her 
son Louie, of this sketch. 

Our subject received his education in the 
district schools of Flint River township, and 
has been a farmer and gardener all his life. 
He has a number of cows and horses and 
the home farm, which is one of the best in 



'g2 



BIOGRAPHICA L RE VIEW 



the townsliip. and his f,^•l^(k•^ CDiitaiiis all 
kinds of small fruit. When his parents 
began their domestic life upon this farm, 
there was only a small frame building on 
the place: but in 1870 they were able to 
replace this little house by a handsome brick 
residence of nine rooms, antl in 1887 a fine 
barn, thirty by forty-two feet, with eighteen- 
foot posts, was built. The land was al.so like 
nuicli of the other land nf the valley, in a 
very wild and unbroken condition. To-day 
there are fifty acres under cultivation. Dur- 
ing the long and continued residence of Mr. 
Pietz.scli in the township he has become 
well and favorably known thi-oughout the 
county, and is considered one of the lead- 
ing and public-spirited citizens of the town- 
ship, where he possesses the respect and 
kind regards of all those with whom he 
has business or social relations. He is just 
in tlu- ]>rinie of life, and we predict for him 
a bright and prosperous future. 



JOHN HENRY KREKEL. 

Till Krckil family in .Anierica owes 
its foundation to Jacob Krekel. now de- 
ceased, who was a native of Nassau, Ger- 
many, where he was born Oct. 25, 1825, 
and whence he came to the" United States 
in 1844. arriving at the city of P.urlington 
on October 10th of that year. He at 
once bought the farm in liurlington 
townshi]) now occupied by his son, Jolin 
Henry, which now comprises forty-six acres. 
I'illed with a sentiment of loyalty to the 
land of his reci.nl adi>|)tion. lu' eiilisln! 
in the army ot the L'nited States in 1845, 
and for three years followed its fortunes 
in the .Mexican War, serving until the 



close of the conllict. On the teriuination 
of the war he received lionorable dis- 
charge at the city of Xew Orleans. See- 
ing an oi)])ortunity there to exercise his 
ability in business, he established himself 
in a grocery business, which he continued 
for several years with success, or until 
1858. At this time he returned to Iowa 
and to his farm in llurlington township, 
near Kem])er"s Station, where he opened 
a wine house for the accommotlation of 
the traveling public, and by his enter- 
])rise and instinctive good taste made his 
hostelry one of the plcasantest in the 
county, while at the same time his cour- 
tesy and admirable character won him 
friends and success. 

Ill- was well known in public affairs as 
one uf the ol<l school of Jacksonian De- 
mocracy, being elected as such to the of- 
fices of assessor and trustee of liurling- 
ton townshi]). in which jjositions he 
ser\ed with honor and ever without rc- 
l)roach. .\t Xew Orleans, on Dec. 28, 
1852, he married .Miss Wilhelmina Fa- 
bian, a native of .Annweiler. Rhine Prov- 
ince. P)avaria. and daughter of .\ugust 
anil Iknrietla I'abian. To them were 
born six children, these being .Vugust, 
who died in infancy; Augusta, now the 
wife of William Schafer, who is a clerk in 
the (juest piano store at llnrlington : 
Louis P., a farmer of ISurlington town- 
shi]); Fabian, who died in 1873 at the age 
of nine and one-Ji.iif year> : .Matilda, wife 
of (ieorge Knecht. of lUirlington ; ;ind 
John Henry, the subject of this sketch. 

John Henry Krekel was born in the 
house wliicji ho now <)ccu|)ies on Se])t. 6, 
iXrMj, and after receiving a gooil education 
in the pid)lic schools of his native town- 
shi]), began to relieve his father of much 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



793 



of the work of superintending' the farm. 
He also assisted from his early years in 
the conduct of the business, and at his 
fatlier's death on Nov. 13, 1902, he as- 
sumed sole charge. The Quiet Nook, 
fitl}- named and widely known as a place 
of rest and recreation, has been open to 
the public since pioneer days until the 
present time continuously, with the ex- 
ception of one brief interval. While it 
enjoyed great popularity during the life 
of the founder, the present proprietor has 
niade many new friends and built up a 
highly lucrative business, and here visit- 
ors are always accorded the most cour- 
teous treatment and thoughtful consider- 
ation. 

Following the paternal example, Mr. 
Krekel is a worker for the triumph of the 
Democratic party, and has on occasion 
served his fellow-citizens in the capacity 
of clerk of elections for his district. Fra- 
ternally, he is a member of the W^est 
Burlington Lodge of the Knights of 
Pythias, and of the Rathbone Sisters, the 
allied order, in both of which he has been 
called upon to do duty in the various offi- 
cial positions. He is genial, unpreten- 
tious, whole-souled, and loyal, and has a 
host of friends throughout Des Moines 
county. 



ALFRED THOMAS. 

Alfred Thomas is the owner of a ' 
valuable farm of two hundred and fifty 
acres in Yellow Springs township. He 
was born Aug. 3, 1845, his parents being 
Eli and Nancy (Archer) Thomas. His 
paternal grandfather, John Thomas, a 
native of England, was one of the hon- 



ored pioneers of the State of Ohio, and 
contributed in substantial measure to its 
early development and progress. His 
maternal grandfather, Hezekiah Archer, 
was a native of South Carolina, and went 
from that State to Illinois, becoming a 
resident of Bond county. In 1835 he 
came to Iowa, and entered many hundred 
acres of land in Des Moines county, and 
here laid out four different townships — 
Pleasant Grove, Yellow Springs, Frank- 
lin, and Washington. He built a log 
house where Samuel H. Wilson now re- 
sides, and later he made and burned 
brick, which he used in the construction 
of a modern brick residence, it being the 
first of the kind in this section of the 
country, and here he lived till his death. 
He gave his sons one hundred and sixty 
acres each, and the farm of Wm. Archer 
was later sold to a Mr. Orendorf, and 
later sold, and the present improvements 
were placed thereon through the efforts 
of William McClements, who was then 
its owner. This was left to a son, Robt. 
McClements, and after a time Mr. 
Thomas bought this farm, and in igo2 he 
sold it to the subject of this review. The 
grandfather did much for the county in 
the way of reclaiming the district for the 
purposes of civilization, and his early 
efforts as an agriculturist proved an im- 
portant element in laying the foundation 
for the present progress and prosperity 
of this section of the State. 

Eli Thomas, father- of our subject, 
spent much of his youth in the Middle 
West, living both in ( )hio and Iowa. He 
was for a long period a resident of Yel- 
low Springs township, where he followed 
the occupation of farming. His wife bore 
the maiden name of Nancy Archer. 



7«4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Alfred Thomas, reared iindir llu- par- 
ental roof, early became familiar with the 
duties and labors that fall to the lot of 
the agriculturist, as he assisted his 
father in the ojjeration of the home farm. 
He pursuecl his ]ireliiiiinary education in 
the ])ublic schools, and afterward at- 
tended the Mount Pleasant .\cademv, 
thus receiving am|)le instruction as a 
preparation for life's practical and re- 
si)<)nsil)le duties in later years. The f)ccu- 
])ation to which he was reared he has 
always followed. The first land which 
he ever owned was on Section H). \ ellow 
Springs township, an<l was a part of a 
claim that once belonged to a Revolu- 
tionary soldier. It was purchased by his 
father for one hundred and nineteen dol- 
lars, and later .Vlfrcd Thomas bought it 
for thirty dollars per acre. He continued 
its cultivation for a long piTiod. efiuip])ed 
it with moderTi accessories and conve- 
niences, and in icx52 sold it to W'm. and 
Luther Mehaffy, cousins, for si.xteen 
thousand dollars. The following year he 
purchased his present farm of his brother. 
This com|)rises two hundred and thirty 
acres of land, and constitutes tin- tract 
which was entered by his maternal grand- 
father. .Mr. Thomas now has altogether 
two hundred and fifty acres on .Section 31, 
Yellow Springs townshij). constituting 
one of the best-improved farms in this 
l)art of the county. He is (|uite exten- 
sively engaged in stock-raising, feeding 
about a car-load of cattle each year. He 
makes a specialty of breeding Polled 
.\iigus cattle, and handling registered stock, 
lie also raises about eighty head of 
I'olaiKl China hogs annually, and at the 
present time has one hundred head on his 
place. His stock-raising interests prove 



a gratifying source of income, and at the 
same time his fields are well tilled and 
yield him good harvests. 

I'eb. 23, 1X77, .Mr. Thomas was united 
in marriage to Miss Jennie May Dunlap, 
a daughter of James and Mary (Titter- 
ington) Dunlap. She was born in Rock 
Island county, Illinois, Jan. 22. 1851. and 
died Feb. 29, 1878, leaving one son, Fred, 
whose birth occurred Feb. 23, 1878. For 
his second wife .Mr. Thomas chose Miss 
Alice .May I'pton, who was born in \\ est 
llurlington. .Sept. 26, 18^12, and is "a 
daughter of John and Lydia (Ragle) Up- 
ton. There are nine children by this 
union: .Mabel. Kirkwood, Nancy Cirace. 
Helen 11.. I )on 1'.. ( lleiin. llernicc. Her- 
bert, an<l lulwin. 

In his religious faiih .Mr. Thomas is a 
Cumberland Presbyterian, and is inter- 
ested in the work of the church. His 
political allegiance is given to the Rei)ub- 
iican party, and he is a man who keeps 
well informed 011 all general topics of the 
day. His attention, however, is concen- 
trated on his business affairs, and through 
his well-directe<l efforts he has provided 
an e.xcellent home for his faniilv. Real- 
izing that labor is the chief element in a 
successful career, he has worked persist- 
ently and untiringly, and now a hand- 
some i)roperty is indicative of his well- 
s])ent and useful life. 



JOHN LAUBSCHER. 

John I.al'bsciier, who carries on gen- 
eral farming in ^'ellow Springs township, 
was born in Switzerland, Dec. 2(), 1847, 
his parents being Rudolph and Mary 




JOHN LAUBSCHER AND WIFE. 



DES .MOINES COUXTV, IOWA. 



T-n 



(Schonc) Laulischci". The first fourteen 
years of his hfe were spent in the country 
of his nativity, antl there he heg-un his 
eckication in the pulilic schools. In De- 
cemlier. 1868, howexer, the family bade 
adieu to the land of the Alps, and sailed 
for the New World. On reaching this 
country they made their way direct to- 
ward the Mississipjii \alley, and took up 
their aliode in r.urlint;ton, where they 
lived for two 3'ears. On the expiration of 
that period the}' removed to IMissouri, and 
in August, 1876, Mr. Laubscher, of this 
review, went to Carson City, Nev. He 
traveled around for a short time, and then 
came to Mediapolis. 

Mr. Laubscher learned the harness- 
maker's trade in Edina, Kno.x county, 
Mo., and started in the harness business 
for himself, in which he continued until 
the spring of 1900, when he sold his busi- 
ness to Carl J. .Vndcrson, and also dis- 
posed of other city property, in which he 
had invested. 

For several years he has lived upon the 
farm which he now owns and occupies. 
He has made all of the improvements 
here, except a few old buildings which 
were upon the ground at the time of his 
purchase. Here he has set out several 
hundred fruit trees. He now owns ninety- 
two acres of land, of which tweh-e acres 
lie within the city limits. On July i, 1886, 
he bought si.x acres from ^\'. H. Cart- 
wright, for which he paid one hundred 
dollars per acre, and also purchased an- 
other si.x acres adjoining, for which he 
gave a similar price, on June 21, 1888. 
This is the first land in Yellow Springs 
tliat has sold for .such a high price. 

Mr. Laubscher was married Oct. 2, 
1878, in Osawatomie, Ivans., to Miss Isa- 



belle Kowcroft, a daughter of Lsaac and 
Mary (Smith) Rowcroft. They have five 
children living, and have lost six. Those 
who still survixe are: John Henry, who 
was born .\ug. 0. 1871), and is now in the 
L'nited States navy: Nellie, born Dec. 25, 
1880, and now at home : William, who 
was born July 18, 1883, and is a farmer; 
Bessie ()livia, born Dec. 17, 1887: and 
Jesse, born July 20, 1891. Those who have 
passed away are : Minnie, who was l:)orn 
Afay 23, 1882, and died Oct. 10, 1882; 
Henr\-, who was born Aug. 6, 1884, and 
died September 12th of that year; Al\-a 
Roy, who was born July 2(), i8g6, and 
died on the 8th of the following May ; 
Hazel L., who was born June 23, 1808, 
and died Sept. i, 1899; and Minnie Belle, 
who was born .Sept. 12, 1885, and died 
May 17, 1905. 

The wife and mother was called to her 
final rest Feb. 25, 1900, and it was after 
this, in the spring of that year, that Mr. 
Laubscher sold his business, in order to 
gi-^-e his entire attention to his farm. He 
has a pretty home in the midst of a splen- 
did tract of ground, and is to-day one of 
the substantial agriculturists of his com- 
munity. All that he possesses has been 
acquired through his own eiiforts, and his 
life record demonstrates the force of en- 
erg}- anfl integrity as potent elements in 
lousiness life. 



JOHN O'FARRELL. 

Joii.x ( )'F.\RUF,[.r., deceased, was a pio- 
neer resident of Des Moines county. He 
was burn in Kilkenny, Ireland, in June 
1798, and was a son of Michael and Julia 
(O'Keefe) O'Farrell. In the year 1828 



7sj8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



lie came to the United States, being 
then a young man of thirty years. He 
fir.st settled at Newport. K. I., and for 
ten years was in the i-iiii)luy of the gov- 
ernment, being engaged on the construc- 
tion of forts. On the expiration of that 
decade he came to the West, settHng in 
Franklin township. Des Moines county, 
wIuTo his !)rothcr-in-law. Michael Xaddy. 
had taken uj) a claim of throe hundred 
and twenty acres from the government. 
It was this tract that Mr. O'Farrell pur- 
chased when he reached Iowa. It was 
all limber land except ahoiti twenty acres, 
but he at once began clearing it and jire- 
pariiig it for cultivation. His ]]ioneer 
home was a log cabin, but in i<S4i he 
erected a substantial frame residence, 
which is still standing. He put all of the 
improvements upon the |)lacc. and con- 
tinued to work the farm until a tract of 
ninety acres is now cleared and under a 
high state of cultivation. 

Before leaving his native country .Mr. 
O'Farrcll was married, in 1824, to Miss 
Julia Xaddy, a daughter of James and 
Margaret (Kyle) .\a<ldy. ICighl children 
were born of this union: .Michael, who 
died at the age of thirteen years; Julia, 
deceased; Margaret, upon the home 
place; Bridget, the wife of V. Guerin, of 
California; James, deceased; Mary, who 
is li\ing on the home ])Iace; and Michael 
and John, who ha\e ])assed away. 

riu- t'alluT was a l>i-mocrat in his polit- 
ical views, and a Catholic in his religious 
faith, being one of the original members 
of St. Paul's Catholic church at llurling- 
ton. His life was marked bv industry 
and perseverance, and he continued 
actively and successfully to cultivate his 
farm until his death, which occurred in 



September, i8(xd. His widow long sur- 
vived him, and in 1862, accompanied by 
three daughters and one son, went to 
California, making her way first to New 
York City, where they embarked on a 
boat for Panama, crossed the isthmus, 
and again sailed for San Francisco. They 
left home on December 16, and arrived at 
their tlestination on January 6, following. 
Mrs. O'Farrell remained with her chil- 
dren on the Pacific Coast for seven years, 
during that time her farm being rented 
to Mr. Lutz for five years, and to John 
Colerane for two years. In 1870 she re- 
turned to Des Moines county with her 
children, John and Mary, while Margaret 
remained with her brothers, James and 
Michael, on the Pacific Coast for twenty- 
six years. Again taking up her abode on 
the old home farm. Mrs. O'I'arrell con- 
tinued to reside there until her death, 
which occurred Dec. 14. 1888, when she 
was eighty-six years of age. Her 
daughters. Mary and Margaret, have 
since li\ed upon the old homestead, oc- 
cupying the dwelling which was erected 
by their father about sixty-four years ago, 
wliiJe the lan<l is rented. 



DAVID MEHAFFY. 

Among the worthy sons that Ireland 
has sent to the New World is David Me- 
haffy. He has never sought prestige of 
place or political power, but has directed 
his energies into business channels, 
wherein his diligence and effort have won 
him creditable success, an<l enabled him 
to provide a comfortable home for his 
family, in whose welfare his interest is 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



799 



centered. He was born in County Mona- 
han, Ireland, July 12, 1864, and there 
spent the first ■eight years of his life. His 
father, hearing- favorable reports concern- 
ing America and the advantages offered 
for business success, severed the ties 
which bound him to the Green Isle, and 
crossing the Atlantic, landed in New York 
City. Mr. Mehaflfy brought his family 
direct to Yellow Springs township, Des 
Moines county, where he bought one 
hundred antl twenty acres of land in 
Section 17. 

David embraced the educational priv- 
ileges offered by the district schools in the 
township which had become his new 
home. Leaxing school days behind him 
he began to work on his father's farm, 
where he remained for some years. 

March 6, 1889, Mr. Mehaffy was mar- 
ried to Miss Rosetta Thompson, daughter 
of William and Martha Ellen (Lee) 
Thomjison, who was born in Yellow 
Springs township May 15, 1 87 1. This 
home has been blessed with six children, 
all born in Des Moines county but David 
Winslow, who was born in Minnesota. 
They are: Martha Elizabeth Anna, born 
Jan. 25, iSqg; David Winslow, born July 
8, 1892; Elsie Esther, born Eeb. 17, 1894: 
Thyrza Independence, born July 4, i8i)S; 
Jennie Emma, born Jan. 16, 1901 ; Robert 
Branham, born Jan. 29, 1904. Mr. ^le- 
haff\' resided in Yellow Springs township, 
carrying on general farming with great 
success till 1904, when he moved to his 
present location, the McDonald farm, in 
Section 26, in order that his children 
might attend the schools of Mediapolis. 

As a dairyman he and his wife hold the 
record for making butter in this township, 
making one thousand five hundred and 



thirty-six pounds from twelve cows in a 
year. Some of this fine butter was on ex- 
hibition at the World's Fair at St. Louis 
in 1904. Mr. Mehaffy and his brothers 
are the largest farmers in Des Moines 
county, farming about six hundred acres 
of land, and are known throughout the 
county as the Mehaffy corn raisers. Mr. 
Mehaffy now divides his time, farming 
part of it and ditch contracting the other 
part of it. 

He and his estimable wife and children 
are members of the Methodist church, be- 
ing acti\'e in all of its movements. Polit- 
ically he is a Republican, but has never 
sought nor desired pulilic ofifice. He is a 
man of upright character, his Christianity 
being manifested in his daily life, and no 
shadow of wrong or evil has ever fallen 
over his life record. 



WM. H. THOMPSON. 

Wm. H. Thompson, a farmer and auc- 
tioneer, residing now in Mediapolis, Iowa, 
retired, is a native of Fayette county, Ind., 
born Sept. 8, 1834, and is a son of Thomas 
M. and Mary N. (Garrell) Thompson, 
the former a native of Indiana, and the 
latter of Allegheny county, Pa. The 
family is of Irish descent, the paternal 
grandfather, John Thompson, being a na- 
tive of Ireland. 

Thomas was reared upon a farm, and 
followed the occu])ation oi farming in his 
earlier years, but later became a minister 
in the IMethodist Evangelical church and 
continued to jjreach the gospel until his 
death, which occurred in December, 1855, 
at the age of forty-seven years. His wife, 



8oo 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFAV 



who was also a mcinljcr of the Methmlist 
Kvangclical church, died in 1884. aged 
sixty-four years. They reared a family 
of eleven children. ti\e of whom are liv- 
ing;: I'llizaheth. wife of W'm. Loper. of 
Huron township: Win. H.: Caroline, now 
Mrs. Warren T. I land: Miltf>n: and 
.'>arah. the wife of Thomas K. Cogswell. 

In 1SS4 .Mr. and Mrs. Thom]ison came 
to ! )es .Moines cniuiiy, Iowa, settlint,'^ near 
l)o(lj.je\ille. I'"ranklin township, where the 
father rented a farm for two years. Later, 
he ])urchased eijjhty acres of lantl in 
lliiniii township, hut in iS4<) removed to 
Keokuk county. Iowa, makinjj that their 
liome for the succeeding; two years, 
'{"heir next place of residence was in Jef- 
ferson coimtv. Iowa, where the father 
died at the afje of forty-seven years. 

W'm. H. Thompson first came to Dcs 
Moines county in 1S44. and here resided 
for five years, at the end of which time he 
removed with his parents: hut in 1852 he 
returned. enp;ag;injj as a farm hand imtil 
Autj. 10, i8')i. wluii lie enlisted in Com- 
|)any K. I-'ourteenth Iowa Infantry. He 
served three years and forty-one days as 
corporal, and participated in the following 
battles: Fort Donelson. Tu])elo, the Red 
River expedition, Pleasant Hill. Old 
( )aks. and Tupelo Bayou. The regiment 
next went to \ icksliuri:;. where they par- 
ticipated in the ."second Jackson cam- 
paign. .Mr. Thompson t<iok part in and 
was taken prisoner at the battle of Shiloh 
(or I'ittsburg Landing), and confined at 
Mobile, Ala., l.itei- ai Montgomery, then 
at Macon. ( la., and in the Libby Prison, 
at Richniiind. \a.. where he was paroled. 
When exchanged, he again entered active 
service. He was nnistered out in Xovem- 
l)er. t864. at Davenjiort. Iowa. 



Returning to Des Moines county, Iowa, 
.Mr. Thom]>son again engaged as a farm 
hancl for one year. Jan. 3, i8<i", he was 
united in marriage to Delanah .\. Miller, 
a native of I)es Moines county, Iowa, and 
by that union two ciiililren were born, 
( )live and I-'ranklin, both of whom died in 
childhood. The death of the mother oc- 
curred .\ug. 15. 1870. at the age of thirty- 
nine years. 

Mr. 'fhompson was again married. June 
2<), 1871, to Martha I".. Lee, a native of 
this county, and a daughter of Robert R. 
Lee. who was t>ne of the first settlers in 
this section. I'>y this marriage there are 
also two children, Talitha R. and Minnie 
A. .Mr. Thompson purchased a farm in 
Section 2f). ^'ellow .Springs t<iwnship. 
where he lived until his retirement, when 
he moved to .Media])olis. For six years 
he held the office of constable of his lown- 
shi]), is a incmlx-r of the (jrand Army of 
the Republic, and politically is a Democrat. 
.Mr. Thonipson was also known far and 
wide as an abii- auctioneer, following this 
business for about nine vears. 



MAX BRUHL. 



M.\.\ Hufiir., who. as jiroprietor of a 
grocery store in Unrlington. is regarded as 
one of the representative business men of 
the city, was born in .\ustria, Oct. 12, 1859, 
and is a son of .M.ulin ;in<l Mary (Meyer) 
llruhl. He was but eight years of age 
when his ])arents came to .\merica, locating 
in Jackson, Mo., where he remained luUil 
thirteen years of age. wlun he came with 
the family to Unrlington. and for a time 
attended a night school, lie is a self-made 



DES MO/NES COUNTY. IOWA. 



8oi 



man, for at the age of eight years he began 
earning his own HveHhood, working for his 
board and clothing. He did odd chores, 
and in fact performed any honest labor that 
he could secure. At different times he was 
I employed in a lumBer factory, in a cigar 
and tobacco factory, and in a grocery store, 
while later he engaged in teaming. Thus 
he embraced every opportunity which 
])roniised him success and advancement 
and at length, through his own industry 
and economy, he acquired the capital which 
enabled him to embark in the grocery busi- 
ness on his own account on West Hill, one 
block from -where he is now located, at 425 
Leebrick Street. Since 1892 he has given 
his undivided attention to his grocery stor£, 
in which he now carries a large and care- 
fully selected stock of goods, so neatly and 
tastefully arranged that it proves very at- 
tractive to his many customers. His busi- 
ness is constantly increasing, and he is now- 
conducting a profitable trade, his annual 
sales netting him a good return upon his 
investment. 

On Oct. 12, 1880, Mr. Bruhl was united 
in marriage to Miss iMary C. Plock, a 
daughter of Henry and Dorothy Elizabeth 
(Drothring) Plock. Her parents came to 
America in April, 1865, locating in Burling- 
ton, where they spent their remaining days, 
the father being employed in Gilbert's lum- 
ber yard until his death, which occurred in 
August, 1895. His wife died July 5, 1897. 
They had five children: August and ?\lary, 
who are in this country, and three who died 
in Germany. Mrs. Bruhl was born in Ber- 
lin, Germany, Feb. 25, 1861, and was there- 
fore only four years of age when Ijrought 
by her parents to the United States. By 
her marriage she has become the mother 
of seven children: Mary, Augusta. Clara 



Dora, Elizabeth, Arthur Ferdinand, Maxi- 
milian Mathias, Vesta Lavina, and Margaret 
Judith. The family circle yet remains un- 
broken by the hand of death, and all of the 
children are at home. Mr. Bruhl is a mem- 
ber of the Modern Woodmen Camp at Bur- 
lington, and politically is a Republican where 
national questions are involved, but at local 
elections he votes independently of party 
ties. While there have been no exciting 
chapters in his life history, it is still -worthy 
of commendation, showing that force of 
character, strong purpose, and honorable 
methods form a safe and sure foundation 
upon which to build success. 



JOHN G. DEHN. 

Ix the life record of John George Dehn 
are contained many valuable lessons, show- 
ing what can be accomplished b_\- the young 
man of this free country, even though he 
has no capital with which to start out on 
life's journey. "With a laudable ambition 
to achieve success, Mr. Dehn placed his 
dependence upon the substantial qualities 
of energy and close application, and on this 
foundation he has reached his prosperity. 

Mr. Dehn, a son of Henry and JNIargaret 
(Petrea) Dehn. was born in Darmstadt, 
Germany, .\ug. 3. 1846. Though his edu- 
cation was received in his native place, yet 
his school privileges were very limited, but 
-reading and general observation in later 
years have made him a well-informed man. 
He learned the butcher trade early in life, 
and after coming to America spent one 
year in this work in Alton. 111. Com- 
ing to Burlington, Iowa, in 1869, he was 
employed at the butcher shop of Mr. George 



8o2 



BIOC.RAPIIU Al. Rf-rir.iv 



Boeck for tliree years. With this exjx^ri- 
cnce our subject decided to go into business 
for himself, and in 1872 a favorable oppor- 
tunity presented itself. The well-known 
firm of Steinbrechcr. Dchn & Lau was 
established, havinj:; a well-ecjuipped meat 
market located at the northeast corner of 
Third and Washinfjton Streets. Here Mr. 
Dchn met with gratifying success, number- 
ing hundreds of the good people of the city 
among his daily customers. This popular 
firm continued in business till if^97. when 
Mr. Steinbrechcr died, and the firm under- 
went a change, Mr. Lau retaining the old 
stand, and Mr. Dehn seeking a new location, 
and opening up a meat market at 805 
Osborn Street, .\fter conducting this shop 
for some fourteen months, he sold out 
to Mr. Frank Ostertag, who died soon 
after, leaving his meat market in the care 
of his wife. On Jan. i, 1899, a broader 
field of work presented itself, and Mr. Dehn 
opened a store at 803 Osborn Street, where 
he does a good business dealing in hides, 
tallow, and grease. He has also twenty- 
five acres of land in the city limits, and 
is cmi)loyed in gardening, having planted 
some nine hundred or one tliousanil fruit 
trees, which in time will add greatly to his 
in.come. 

On May 5, 1870, Mr. Dehn became the 
husband of Miss Catherine Roth, daughter 
of Lawrence and Mary ( Wnnderlich) 
Roth. Her parents were higiily res]3ected 
Germans, who came to America at an early 
date. I'nto Mr. Dchn and his wife were 
l)orn seven children : George ; Frank ; 
Emma (Mrs. Herman Ortel) : Clara (Mrs. 
Otto Thomas), who died very suddenly 
Aug. 6, 1903, aged twenty-two years ; 
Fred; Lydia (Mrs. Robert Duncan); and 
Walter Henrv. 



The children all attended the South Hill 
School, making good use of their time, and 
where they were very i)o])ular with their 
playmates. The sons all have good positions 
in their native city. 

Politically. Mr. Dehn has always been a 
stanch Democrat, and though never seek- 
ing or aspiring to any public office, yet 
always ready and willing to ser\'e his party 
in any capacity that would promote its 
success. Mr. and Mrs. Dehn are both ear- 
nest and devoted mcmlx^rs of the German 
Lutheran church, being regular attendants 
and actively engaged in the religious and 
social welfare of the same. Their pleasant 
home is located at 218 South Fourth Street. 
» .\s a citizen Mr. Dehn has proved him- 
self public-spirited and progressive, pa- 
triotic and loyal to the principles of our 
government, his personal success being the 
result of untiring energy and application. 
He is a valued member of the community, 
held in the highest esteem for the sterling 
traits of character which have brought 
about his success. 



HERMAN GERBELING. 

Among the thrifty class of Germans who 
were born in West Phalen, Germany, and 
•who have formed a settlement in Flint River 
township, is Herman Gerbeling, who is a 
son of Henry John and Catherine (Baker) 
Gerbeling, and who was bom Nov. 27, 1857. 
Receiving something less than two years' 
schooling in his native place, he came to 
America with his parents when only eight 
years old, and though it is now forty years 
ago, yet many of the incidents and cxperi- 



DBS MOfNES COUNTY, IOWA. 



803 



ences of the trip are still fresh in his mind. 
His parents were born in the good old 
Fatherland, his father, Nov. 27, 1820, and 
his mother, Jan. 13, 1834. Soon after com- 
ing to this free country, his father bought 
the farm in Flint River township where our 
.subject makes his home. He was most suc- 
cessful in all his undertakings for some 
twenty-five years, and had become well and 
favorably known throughout the commu- 
nity. His death occurred Aug. 24, 1901. 

Mr. and JMrs. Gcrbeling were the parents 
of eleven children — six sons and five daugh- 
ters — of whom eight are now living : Her- 
man, of this review ; Henry and William, 
both of Nebraska : Peter, of Burlington ; 
Carrie, at home ; Hannah, married Henry 
Wiedeman, of Nebraska; August, of Bur- 
lington ; Edward, who is on the old home 
place ; Mary, Anna, and an unnamed infant, 
died. 

Politically, Mr. Gerbeling was a strong 
Democrat, but not an aspirant for party 
recognition. He and his wife were regu- 
lar attendants of the German Evangelical 
church, where they had both long been 
devoted members. Our subject lives with 
his aged mother, and i.s the superintendent 
of the old home place. He also has seventy- 
two acres of land in Section 4, in the same 
township where he lives. He does farming, 
gardening, and raises considerable stock, 
which he ships to the local markets. 

Though Mr. Gerbeling has always been a 
Democrat, yet he votes for the man who he 
thinks is best qualified to serve the people. 
In 1894 he was elected road supervisor, and 
served with great satisfaction to the town- 
ship for seven years. He joined the Odd 
Fellows in Sperry. Iowa, in 1885, and held 
all the offices of this order, and was past 
grand one term during the '90's. Mr. Ger- 



beling is a man who is very fond of reading, 
and is well posted on all subjects. He is a 
man of much strength of character and 
intellect, and stands high in the opinion of 
his fellow-men. He is unmarried. 



LOUIS F. TIMMERMAN. 

I.oui.s F. TiMMERM.\N, who now makes 
his home on Sections 10 and 1 1 in 
Benton township, Des Moines county, is 
a native of Prussia, where he was born 
Feb. 10, 1849, a son of Christopher and 
\'erste Timmerman. He received his 
education in Germany, making a spe- 
cialty of the languages, of which he is 
master. 

When he was eighteen years of age he 
came to the United States and located in 
Iowa, where he was engaged at various 
things for many years. He finally turned 
his attention to farming, and in 1899 
bought a farm of one hundred acres, 
where he has resided for the last three 
years. He is engaged in all kinds of 
farming, and also feeds a number of 
cattle. 

Sept. 19, 1872, Mr. Timmerman be- 
came the husband of Miss Augusta Kahn, 
who was also born in Prussia, in the city 
of Magdel:)urg. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Tim- 
merman were born si.x children who are 
living: Lizzie, Henry, Carrie, Edward, 
John, and Maggie. After being a faith- 
ful and devoted wife for some twenty 
years, Mrs. Timmerman entered into her 
eternal rest Alay 2^. i8<;2, and relatives, 
friends, and neighbors all lost one who 
had been to them most faithful and true, 



«04 



lilOGKAPHICAL Klil J Jill' 



and wlio liail ever exerted an influence 
which was for good. 

Uec. 31. 1895. Mr. iimmernian married 
Mrs. Williehnina Kinnia Hauser. who 
was born in llurlinjjton. Iowa. Jan. 26. 
1 857. and is a daughter of .\ugust and 
Henrietta (Si)enke) Moabeus who were 
native-born (ierinans. Ily her inarriaije 
with Henry P. Hauser, Mrs. Hauser had 
three chihiren: Sarali ICllen. Florence 
Matilda, and Susan Mchitabel. Sarah 
Kllen married I'aul .Sander, and lives in 
Chicago: l'"ioreiice .Matilda is the wife of 
Victor E. lien.son, who travels for the 
Dexter Folding Machine Company, of 
Chicago. They have one child, Howard, 
who is live years of age. Susan Mehitabel 
married George A. Benson, who is a 
printer, and also resides in Chicago. 

Mr. Timmerman is a Democrat, but 
generally casts his vote for the men he 
tliinks best (|ualitied In serve the people. 
He and his estimable family are members 
of the Zion church, where tliey take 
much pleasure in a<lvancing e\ ery under- 
taking. 

Though Mr. Tinimernian is a man of 
a very retiring nature, still he is one U> 
be greatly admired an<l respected. His 
life has beeh one of integrity and u]>- 
rightness, which has not only won many 
friends for jiini, but has uuide his busi- 
ness career verv successful. 



MAXIMILIAN BUSER. 

M.\xi.MiLi.\.\ ilLSKK, who is conducting 
a blacksmithing business in Hurlington, 
was born in I'asel, Switzerland, .March 12, 
1848, his jKirents being Henry and .^nna 



(Schafer) Buser. The father was a black- 
smith by trade, and about iStnp came with 
iiis family to America, making his way di- 
rect to Burlington, where for about three 
years he was in the employ of Rurk & I-"unk. 
He then embarked in business on Jiis own 
account by opening a shop of his own on 
West Hill. There he conducted business for 
some time. He died in 1894, while his wife 
passed away in 1890. They were the par- 
ents of twelve children, of whoni nine are 
yet living: Henrietta, llie widow of (.ieorge 
Kratz. who was drowned, her home being 
on Garden Street, on North Hill ; Anna, the 
■wife of Dietrich Langenberg, who is janitor 
for the Smuiyside School, and lives on High- 
land .\veuue : .Maximilian: Mary, the wife 
of Josejjh Miller, a carpenter, who for thirty 
years worked for Mr. Winters, and resides 
on Highland Avenue: Selnia, who became 
tlie wife of Fred Doemland, and died in 
18S7: John, who is living in Quincy, 111.; 
Charles, a frescoer by trade; Frederick, a 
slup])ing clerk : Albert, who is a cutter for 
the Mercantile Cominmy : Lydia, the wife 
of .August .Schultz, a machinist of West 
r.urlington : Henry, who died in .August, 
1904, at the age of thirty-six years; and 
Otto, who died in Germany at the age of 
three years. 

Maximilian I'.user pursued his eilucation 
in the schools of his na^tive country, and 
after jjutting aside his text-books learned the 
black.'^mith's trade with his father. When 
twenty-one years of age he came with the 
family to the I'nited States, and has since 
been a resident of Burlington. He was first 
employed as a blacksmith by the firm of 
Burk & l-'unk, and later obtained employ- 
ment in the Burk W'agon Works, where he 
remained for twelve years. Subsequently 
he was with the Murrav Iron \^'orks for 



DES MO/XES COUNTY. IOWA. 



805 



seven years, and following a period spent 
in the service of the Orchard City Works, 
he began business on his own account in 
1893, opening a shop next to his pleasant 
home, at 2616 Sunnyside Avenue, where 
he does all kinds of blacksmithing with the 
exception of horseshoeing. He makes 
plows, wagons, and all kinds of tools, and 
does all kinds of repair •work, having a good 
patronage, which makes his business profit- 
able. 

On the 5th of November, 1874, Mr. Buser 
was married to Miss Fredericka Doemland, 
a daughter of Christian Doemland, and they 
have five children : Lydia, Maria Selma, 
Arthur Wesley, Maude Ellen, and Ruth 
Anna. !Mr. Buser attends the German 
Methodist^ Episcopal church, in the faith 
of which he was reared. In politics he is a 
Democrat, where party principles are in- 
volved, but at local election votes regard- 
less of party ties. Long a representative of 
industrial interests here, he has ever been 
regarded as a good workman, and his labors 
have not been without the success which is 
the goal of all business endeavor. 



FRED MEHMKEN. 

Fred Mehmken, a son of Gerhard and 
Fredericka (Schreiter) Mehmken, was born 
in Oldenburg, Germany, July 10, 1869. He 
there pursued his education in the public 
schools and in a business college, and being 
thus well equipped for the duties that come 
when one enters business life, he turned his 
attention to the task of acquiring a compe- 
tence. He was first employed in a whole- 
sale dry-goods store in Bremen, and later, in 
accordance with the laws of his native land. 



he spent three years in the German army, 
acting as both corporal and bookkeeper. 
Following his military service he worked for 
seven months in a dry-goods store ; and then, 
ambitious to enjoy the better business privi- 
leges of the New World, he.came to America 
in the spring of 1894, landing at Baltimore. 
From that city he made his way to Des 
Moines county, Iowa, where he was em- 
ploved on a farm for about one year : after 
which he spent three years in Henry county, 
this State, working by the month. 

In 1901, through his industry and frugal- 
ity, he had accumulated a capital sufficient 
to enable him to purchase a farm of his 
own, and he bought one hundred and sixty 
acres of Samuel B. Tucker, on Section 28, 
Yellow Springs township. In the meantime, 
however, he had followed farming on his 
own account for four years, as a renter. 

His present home is pleasantly and con- 
veniently located about two and one-half 
miles west of Mediapolis, where he is 
engaged in raising forty-five head of cattle, 
mostl}- of the Hereford breed, and about 
seventy-five head of Poland China hogs. He 
is a general farmer and stock-raiser, and 
while there has been nothing sensational or 
exciting in his career, it shows the force of 
consecutive endeavor and laudable ambition 
as active factors in business life. These 
(|ualities have brought him success. 

Jan. I, 1898, Mr. Alehmken was united 
in marriage to Lizzie \"ollmer Tackenberg, 
a daughter of Henry and Louisa (Kipp) 
\'ollmer. She was twice married, her first 
husband being Charles Tackenberg, who^ 
died April 15, 1896, at the age of twenty- 
nine years, leaving one son, Wesley, born 
Nov. 16, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. iMehmken 
now have two children : Henry, born April 
25, 1902: and Mark, born Jan. 21, 1904. 



8o6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Melimken hplds membership in the 
German Lutheran church, and in politics is 
a Republican where State and national issues 
arc involved, but at local elections, where the 
capability of a candidate is the essential 
factor, he votes independently. He has 
never had occasion to regret his determin- 
ation to seek a home in America, for here he 
has found the business opportunities he 
sought, which, by the way, are always open 
to ambitious, resolute young men. Through 
his unfaltering labor he has made for him- 
self a creditable place in agricultural cir- 
cles in Yellow Springs township. 



FRED C. WUNNENBERG. 

Oxii of the most progressive farmers 
and influential citizens of Benton town- 
ship is Fred C. Wunnenbcrg, who is a 
representative of a well-known pioneer 
family. Mr. Wunnenberg himself is a 
native of the townshi]}, but lie is one of 
the many citizens of Des ;\Ioines county 
whose native thrift and sterling integritj' 
bear indisputable testimony to the fact 
that ftiey are of German descent, his father 
and mother both having come from that 
country. Mr. Wuimcnberg is the son 
of Henry and .\melia (Raefeld) Wun- 
nenberg. 

The father, Henry Wunnenberg, was 
born in Berlin, and followed the occupa- 
tion of a miller in the Fatherland. He 
and his wife came to .America in 1832, 
and located in Benton township, where 
he made his home till the time of his 
death. Immediately upon his arrival in 
I'cnton township he bought a forty-acre 
farm located in the eastern part of the 



township. He was so successful, from a 
financial standpoint, in his cultivation of 
this place, that after a number of years 
he was able to sell this farm and buy an- 
other one consisting of one hundred and 
thirty-five acres, situated across the road 
west from the one on which our subject 
lives. Here he made his home, and 
carried on a stock-raising business in ad- 
dition to his work of general farming. 
The farm was brought to a high state of 
cuilixation and underwent many im- 
provements under the ownership of Mr. 
Wunnenberg. Here he died at the ripe 
age of seventy-nine years, and was in- 
terred in the cemetery south of the vil- 
lage of Latty. He was always very much 
interested in the political questions of the 
day, and rendered valuable aid to the 
Democratic party, which seemed to him 
to best represent his ideas of what a pop- 
ular government should be. He was also 
an active and efficient worker in the 
Evangelical church, of which he was a 
faithful member. 

Mrs. Henry Wunnenberg, whose 
maiden name was Amelia Raefeld, died 
about four years before her husband, at 
the age of fifty-six years, and is buried at 
the same place as her husband. She was 
the mother of eleven children, of whom 
two died in infancy. Of the five boys 
and four girls remaining, one, Herman, 
is a teamster in Burlington. The rest 
have preferred the free life of farmers. 

Fred C. Wunnenberg, the subject of 
this review, was born on the old home- 
stead in Benton township, Feb. i", 1862. 
He was gi\cn a common-school educa- 
tion, beyond which very few young peo- 
ple went at that time, and remained at 
home until he reached the age of thirty 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



807 



years, sometimes working out on neigh- 
boring places besides helping to carry on 
the work of the home place. 

On Alarch 30, 1893. he was married to 
Miss Anna Riemann, daughter of Fred 
Riemann, of this township. Her father, 
who is now deceased, came of a family 
whose names have been well known in 
the community for many years, as they 
were among the earliest settlers of this 
part of Iowa. 

After his marriage Mr. Wunnenberg 
was so prospered that in four or five 
years he was able to buy his present farm 
of one hundred and twenty acres, in Sec- 
tion 18, and has since resided there. This 
farm consists of rich, fertile land, and is 
in a good state of cultivation, thoroughly 
developed, and well adapted to general 
farming as Air. Wunnenberg carries it 
on. Mr. \\'unnenberg has been blessed 
with seven children, who are : Vernon 
William, born July 2, 1894; Herbert Otto, 
born Sept. 16. 1895; Alice Adora, born 
Oct. 4, 1896: ;\Iinnie, born Oct. 14, 1898; 
Ralph H.. born Feb. 6, 1901 ; Pearl Em- 
ma, born Aug. 6, 1902 : and a daughter, 
born Feb. 5, 1905. 

Mr. W'unnenberg has taken much in- 
terest in political affairs since he was a 
young man, and has done much work in 
behalf of his friends. He has attended 
the county conventions as a delegate, rep- 
resenting his neighbors in the Demo- 
cratic party. In religious matters he is 
connected with the Evangelical church, 
and well maintains his father's faith. He 
is devoted to the cause of right and jus- 
tice in all its aspects, and has always been 
a believer in the duty of the citizen to 
assist with whatever ability he may pos- 
sess in the solution of questions affecting 



the public welfare. Accordingly he has 
at times acted as supervisor of highways 
for the township, and has also shown that 
he has the cause of public education at 
heart, by acting as school director for a 
number of years. He has a large circle 
of friends who respect him for his energy, 
loyalty, and uprightness, and admire him 
for his stanch character. 



PETER BOUQUET. 

Peter Bouquet, a resident of Burling- 
ton since 1858, and regarded as one of the 
reliable and representative business men of 
the city, was born in Rhinepfalz, Germany, 
on the 15th of 'Ws.y, 1834, his parents being 
Jacob and Catharine (Gordon) Bouquet. 
In his native land he acquired his education 
by attending the common schools, and at 
the age of nineteen years he sailed for 
America, having heard favorable reports 
concerning its business opportunities. He 
therefore resolved to try his fortune in this 
land, and he has never regretted this deter- 
mination. He sailed in January, 1853, land- 
ing at New Orleans, whence he made his 
way direct to Louisville. Kv., where he 
learned the cooper's trade under John 
Fisher, in whose employ he remained for 
eighteen months. He then went to St. 
Louis, Mo., where he was employed as a 
journeyman for about three years, after 
which he spent three months in Louisiana, 
Mo. 

The fall of 1858 witnessed the arrival of 
Mr. Bouquet in Burlington, and since that 
time he has been a representative of the 
industrial interests of this city. Here he 
worked for Casper Heil for about one year. 



8o8 



BIOGRAI'IIU.U. K/:l n:ii' 



and at the end of that time entered into part- 
nership with his employer. After a brief 
period, iiowever, he purchased liis interest 
in the business, wliidi he has since con- 
ducted under his own name. He docs all 
kinds of cooper work, and his thorough 
understanding of the trade and ])ractical 
workmanship liave secured to him a liberal 
patronage that renders his business jjrofit- 
ablc. He is now located at 615 and 617 
I'ront Street, where he furnishes employ- 
ment to a number of workmen. 

On the i-th of October. 1858. Mr. llou- 
quet was united in marriage to Miss I^niisa 
Ceisenheim, a daughter of Theodore and 
Catharine Ceisenheim. They have become 
the parents of nine children, as follows: Ma- 
tilda, the wife of Hamilton Drake, of iiur- 
lington ; George. wlii> is in California : 
Nannie, the wife of (leorge Savior, of lUir- 
lington : Katie, the wife of Dowe Hobeck, 
of California ; Theodore, also living in Cal- 
ifornia ; Emma, now al home, and owns 
a millinery store on I-"ourth Street; Ham- 
mond, a resident of Lkirlington ; Clara, wife 
of Joseph Bouquet, of San Francisco ; and 
Edwin, also living in California. 

Mr. Bouquet is a member of the Lutluraii 
church. In politics he is independent, and 
has never sought or desired office, prefer- 
ring to give his undivided attention to his 
business affairs, and it has been his per- 
sistency of purpose, supplemented by ex- 
cellent workmanship and straightforward 
dealing, that has brought to him prosperity. 
For forty-seven years a resident of this city, 
his career has been such as commands re- 
spect and confidence, and it also proves 
conclusively the force and value of energy 
and determination in business circles in a 
land where opportunity and effort are not 
hampered by caste. 



GEORGE M. BOSCH. 

George Mki.ciiiok Mostii, retail dealer 
in wines and liquors in Burlington, was 
born in (iussenstadt. tiermany, July 2, 1857, 
and is a son of Martin and Walburga 
( I'rintzcing) Boscli. At the usual age he 
Ix-gan his education in the common schools 
of his native country, and afterward at- 
tended the gymnasium at .Stuttgart until 
f<nirteen years of age, when he began learn- 
ing the brewer's trade, serving a three years' 
ajjprentice.shi]). .\fter the completion of 
his term of indenture, he worked as a 
brewer in Ciermany until 1876. when he 
came to Xcw Vork where he was employed 
in a brewery for two months. 

Mr. Bosch then came to Burlington, ar- 
riving in this city on the tliirtoentli of Oc- 
tober, 1876. Here he was employed in the 
Western Brewery for four months, after 
which he spent three years as brewer in the 
other brewing establishments of this city. 
He was afterward for three years and two 
months in the employ of Casper Heil, and 
subsequently worked for two years in the 
brewery owned by Mr. Metzger. This he 
])urchased in 1888, in connection with .An- 
drew Cianz, their partnership continuing for 
two years, wlu-n they dissolved their busi- 
ness connection, and withdrew from the 
trade. Mr. Bosch then went to Nebraska, 
where he worked in a brewery for four 
months, and in September, 1889, he re- 
turned to Burlington, where he embarked 
in the sahnMi business. He is now located 
at 1606 Division Street. 

Mr. Bosch is a member of the Lutheran 
church, and in his political views he is a 
Democrat,, where questions of State and na- 
tional importance are involved, but at hxral 
elections he votes independently. 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



809 



Mr. Bosch was married to Miss Anna 
Messmer, a daughter of Anton and Mary 
(Klutz) Messmer. She was born in Gros- 
selfingen, Germany, April 13, i860, and 
with her sister Lena came to America when 
seventeen years of age. This sister died 
June 26, 1889. She also had four brothers 
who came to America, but one returned to 
the Fatherland. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bosch 
liave been born two children, but the 
daughter, Mary, died in infancy. The 
elder, George Carl, born Jan. 19, 1882, is 
now serving with the crew of the " Dol- 
phin " as a member of the American navy. 
]Mr. Bosch has prospered in his business 
career here, and has therefore had no oc- 
casion to regret his determination to make 
his home in America. 



CHARLES HENRY WICHHART. 

Charles Henry Wichhart^ of the 
firm of Vannice & W'ichhart, is among 
the enterprising business men of Medi- 
apolis, who, prompted b}' laudable ambi- 
tion and strong determination, has made 
for himself an honorable place in indus- 
trial circles, and gained gratifying suc- 
cess. He is engaged in carriage- and 
wagon-making, which he conducts in con- 
nection with his blacksmith shop, and is 
now enjoying a very liberal patronage of 
the people from the surrounding country. 
He is a son of John Christopher and Eliz- 
abeth (Landgrabe) Wichhart, and a na- 
tive of Baltimore, Md., being born Nov. 
22, 1857. At the age of seven years he 
came to Burlington. Iowa, with his par- 
ents, where he obtained a substantial edu- 
cation in the public schools. When quite 



}oung he learned the blacksmith's trade, 
which took him two years. After this he 
was fortunate in being able to travel ex- 
tensively for some little time. 

In the spring of 1878 he engaged in 
general farming in Benton township, 
where he remained with success till about 
1 891, when he located in the village of 
Mediapolis, and engaged in various 
things until he formed the partnership 
with his present partner, Mr. V'annice. 
They make and repair wagons and bug- 
gies and shoe horses as well as any firm 
in the county. They are young men of 
push and energy, and have always con- 
ducted their business in a manner that 
was satisfactory to all their patrons, and 
their business adds much to the growth 
and prosperit}' of the town. A sketch of 
Mr. Vannice will be found in this book. 

Feb. 2;^. 1886, Mr. Wichhart was mar- 
ried to Miss Clarinda Walker, a daughter 
of Jesse and Mary (lUish) ^Valker. This 
union has been blessed with two bright 
children: Esco Walker, and Arthur 
Morris, both students in the village 
schools. Mr. Wichhart is a member of 
the secret order of Independent Order of 
Odd Fellows, where he has held all of 
the offices. In politics he has given his 
support to the Republican party, believ- 
ing the platform of this party to be the 
one best calculated to promote the gen- 
eral welfare of the State and nation. Mr. 
and Mrs. Wichhart are both consistent 
members of the Baptist church, where 
they attend regularly and where Mr. 
Wichhart is one of the trustees. They 
have man\' friends in the village, and are 
always ready to assist in any way that 
will be conducive to the best interests of 
their little city. 



»IO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEIV 



JOHN ALBERT JACKSON. 

JOHX Albert Jackson, who is occupy- 
ing the jmsitioii of trustee in Huron town- 
shi]), and is a citizen held in high esteem 
by his fellow-townsuu-n. was born in 
Union township, Dcs Moines county. 
Nov. 30. 1872, his parents being Isaac and 
Christina Jackson, who had come to this 
county in 1S68, from Sweden. In 1873 
the father jjurchased forty acres of land 
in Section 15, Huron township, and later 
added another tract of forty acres, while 
still later lu- ])urchased eight}^ acres on 
Section 10 of the same township. Then, 
as his financial resources grew, he added 
to his farm, which liy reason of the care 
and cultivation he bestowed upon the 
fields became a \aluable and attractive 
property. 

It was upon the old homestead that Mr. 
Jackson was reared, and in the public 
schools of Huron- township he pursued 
his education, his parents having removed 
from Union to Huron township during 
his infancy. He was reared to farm life, 
early becoming familiar with all the du- 
ties and labors that devoKe upon the agri- 
culturist. .About i8f;5 he purchased 
twenty acres of land on Section 16, 
Huron township, from J. E. Anderson; 
and in i«po he bought forty acres more, 
on Section 16, from Mrs. Peter Johnson. 
He lives, however, in a liouse erected on 
the eighty-acre tract of land belonging to 
his father, on Section 10, Huron town- 
ship, there being no buildings upon his 
own forty-acre tract. He carries on gen- 
eral farming, his fields being well tilled, 
and to the further cultivation and de- 
velopment of his property he devotes his 
energies year by year, imlil he has now 



accumulated a comfortable competence 
and is classed with the substantial young 
agriculturists of his community. He has 
good stock upon his place, now raising 
about ten head of cattle and forty head 
of hogs each year, and he also raises some 
horses. 

On Oct. 19, 1897, occurred the marriage 
of Mr. Jackson and Miss Ellen Jackson, 
a daughter of Alfred and Christina Jack- 
son. She was born in Huron township, 
and they now have two children : Plum- 
mie, born Sept, 24, 1899; and Mildred, 
born Dec. 12, 1900. 

Mr. Jackson is recognized as one of the 
leading representatives of the Republican 
parly in his locality. In lf)02 he was 
elected constable in his township, but 
would not serve. The following year, 
however, he was elected trustee, and is 
now filling that office, discharging his 
duties with prom])tness and fidelity. He 
is always true to every trust reposed in 
him, and is known among his friends and 
neighbors as an honorable, upright man. 
Both he and his wife are members of the 
Sw^cdish Lutheran church, and are loyal 
to its faith and teachings. 



JACOB P. MAILANDT. 

J.ACOB P. Mailandt is a man whose 
career illustrates the value of sound prin- 
ciples applied to every calling. Born in 
Holstein, Germany, in the year 1867, he 
accompanied his parents to the United 
States wdien only three years of age, in 
1870, the family first making its home in 
the State of New Jersey for a period of 
two vears. Thcv then decided to cast 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



8ii 



their fortunes with the great West, and 
came to Iowa, and located temporarily at 
Pleasant Grove, Des Moines county, 
•where they spent a further two years. 
Here the father worked at his trade of 
blacksmithing, which he had acquired in 
Germany in accordance with the highly 
sensible custom of the Fatherland, which 
vouchsafes to every citizen the mastery 
of a trade as a preparation for active life. 
The mother of Mr. Mailandt died in 1900, 
and since that time the father has resided 
with his son in Burlington, being engaged 
since his removal to this city in the shops 
at West Burlington as a blacksmith. Our 
subject is the eldest of a family of four, of 
whom three survive, the others being 
Mrs. J. W. Brem, of Santiago, Cal., and 
Mrs. Lena Swanders, of Burlington. 

Mr. Mailandt secured his education in 
the public schools of this city, for it was 
here that his youth was passed and that 
he attained to manhood's estate, his par- 
ents having removed to Burlington after 
two years spent in Pleasant Grove. On 
leaving school he entered the printing es- 
tablishment of Acres, Blackmar & Com- 
pany, remaining in that employ for two 
years, and during that time he became 
expert in the work. During the boom in 
Kansas City he went to that place, and by 
his skill as a printer was able to command 
unusually generous wages ; but he did not 
take kindly to the trade, and on returning 
to Burlington abandoned it permanently 
for other and more congenial pursuits. 
Here he engaged with the Conner Mer- 
cantile Company, with whom he contin- 
ued for the long period of twelve years, 
first as stock-keeper, and during the last 
seven years as traveling salesman, having 
for his territory the State of Illinois and 



part of the State of Iowa. In this occu- 
pation he was uniformly successful, and 
in 1898 he was possessor of sufficient cap- 
ital to enable him to launch an independ- 
ent enterprise, which he did in association 
with his brother-in-law, Mr. J. W. Brem, 
they establishing a clothing store at 518 
Jefferson Street, using the style of Brem 
& Mailandt, as Mr. Brem acted as man- 
ager of the business during the first year, 
Mr. Mailandt not severing his connection 
with the Conner Mercantile Company 
until the end of that time. One year later 
the store was moved across the street to 
509-11 Jefferson Street, and in 1901 Mr. 
Mailandt became sole proprietor. The 
store is large, having a double front; and 
enjoys excellent lighting facilities, the 
first floor being devoted to haberdashery, 
clothing, furnishings, etc., while the sec- 
ond floor is entirely given over to Mr. 
Mailandt's extensive tailoring establish- 
ment, employing five workmen. 

In November, 1892, Mr. Mailandt was 
united in marriage to Miss Amelia Min- 
nie Niemeyer, who was born in Burling- 
ton, a! daughter of Mr. H. H. Niemeyer, 
proprietor of a grocery store on South 
Hill, this city. They occupy a pleasant 
home at 1434 West Avenue, and to them 
have been born two children, Ethel and 
Eylo. 

Our subject is a consistent member of 
Grace Methodist Episcopal church, to 
whose various departments of work he is 
a frequent contributor. He is promi- 
nently connected in a fraternal way, hav- 
ing recently been made a member of 
Malta Lodge, No. 318, Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons ; and is also a member 
of Burlington Camp No. 6088, Modern 
W'oodmen of America, which he has 



8l2 



BIOGRAPHICAL RErJEir 



served as camj) banker and in other 
offices. His popularity is large, and his 
business success up to the present time 
seems to prophesy for him a still more 
brilliant career in tin- future. 



CHARLES E. DAVEY. 

Cii.\RLK.s E. D.WEY, now deceased, was 
for many years an integral factor in the 
business development and upbuilding of 
Henry county. His name was an honored 
one on commercial paper, and he was widely 
esteeme(l because of his integrity and trust- 
worthiness in all business transactions. A 
native of Iowa, he was born in Canaan town- 
shi]), Henry county. 1\1). i8. 1S33. his birth- 
place being his father's farm, whereon lie 
was also reared, early becoming familiar 
with the labors incident to the cultivation of 
the fields. He remained ui)on the home 
farm in Canaan townshi]) till he was twenty- 
one years old, and in his youth attended the 
(iistricl schools of the neighborhood. 

Soon after attaining iiis majority Mr. 
Davey began general farming and stock- 
raising in Henry county, in which he was 
very successful for a number of years till 
his death, which occurred in 1 lenry county. 
\ov. 10. 1887. The death of .Mr. Uavey 
was the first to invade the circle of his par- 
ents' family of ten children. The others 
are all still living. Dec. 16, 1880. Mr. Davey 
was married to .Miss Mary Stuck, daughter 
of Peter and Augusta (Courts) .Stuck, of 
Henry county. The father and mother of 
Mrs. Davey were both born in (lermany, and 
came to America at an early day, locating in 
Burlington for .some time, and then moved 
to Canaan township. Thiiry county, where 



lie farmed for many years. .\t one time he 
was a large propertv owner, but met with 
misfortune, and lost a large part of his prop- 
erty. He <lied when about si.xty years old, 
his widow surviving him only one year. She 
was fifty-nine years of age when she passed 
away. .Mr. and Mrs. Stuck were the parents 
of four children, three of whom are now 
living: Henry, resitles in IJurlington, Iowa; 
Clara, wife of John Davey, of Henry 
county ; .Mary, widow of our subject ; Dora, 
died at the age of two and a half years. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Davey two children 
were born: Homer L., born .Aug. 8, 1881, 
in Henr\ county, resides in Washington 
townshi]), Des Moines coimty, and farms 
the ninety acres of land belonging to his 
mother; Laura May, born Feb. 19, 1884, in 
Henry county, is at home with her mother. 

The death of Mr. Davey seemed untimely, 
as he was a young man of oidy thirty-two 
years of age, and just at a time when his 
family and the comnnniity needed him most. 
He was a ])rosperous man of his day, had 
accumulated considerable money, and was 
just about to purcha.se a farm when he was 
summoned to his home above, and thus we 
see that, tridy. ' .Man proposes, but God 
disposes." .\lthough Mr. Davey was always 
a strong Democrat, and ever willing to ren- 
der faithful service to his party, he never 
cared to hold public office. .Several years 
after the death of Mrs. Davey s husband, 
she took u|) the business thread where it was 
broken off by his death and purcha.sed a 
farm of ninety acres in \\ ashington town- 
shi]), Des Moines coutUy, on Section 5, 
where she has resided for the ]jast ten years. 

.She has 'made many im])rovements on the 
])lace, and now has a nice house, good barn, 
ami lier \\lii>li' idace is one to be admired. 
.\t the time of the de.'ith of our subject he 



> 

r 

w 

in 



> 
o 

> 



r 




DES MOINES COUNTY, J Oil' A. 



815 



was a devoted member of the Methodist 
church, where his widow still holds member- 
ship, and where his family regularly attend. 
Besides leaving his family sufificient means 
of this world's treasures, Mr. Davey be- 
queathed to them a clean life record, an un- 
tarnished name, and a well-rounded out 
character. From the time of his birth he 
had made his home in Henry county, and 
his cordial manner, his genial disposition, 
and deference to the opinions of others, ren- 
dered him a popular citizen, whose numer- 
ous friends still cherish his memory witli 
love and respect. 

Sept. 13, 1905, Homer L. Davey married 
Miss Myrtle Lee, daughter of Allen and 
Malissa (Linder) Lee, of Washington town- 
ship, Des Moines county. Homer is now 
farming the home place, and Mrs. Davey, 
his mother, is shortly to move to !Mt. Union, 
Henry county, where she will make her 
home. 



JOHN McMULLIN. 

Among the first white children born in 
Burlington was John McMullin, who first 
saw the light in this city more than three- 
score years ago, on Sept. 16, 1840. He is a 
son of Robert ]\Ic]Mullin, who came to 
America with his parents from County 
Down, Ireland, in the \ear 181 1, and Ann 
(McClure) McMullin, a native of Ken- 
tucky, and of Scotch ancestry. The vessel 
on which Mr. McMullin sailed for the land 
of the free was run down by the British ship 
" Belvidere," and all the able-bodied men 
were removed and pressed into the military 
service. 

John McMullin is one of a family of 
ten, of whom only three are now living: 



William, of Rapid City, S. Dak. ; James, 
who is at the .Soldiers' Home at Marshall- 
town, Iowa ; and John, the subject of this, 
review. Air. McMullin was reared on his 
father's farm in Huron township, the post- 
office being Northfield, and there he received 
his early training in useful industry in the 
hard toil of agriculture as it was carried on 
at that time. 

On Sept. 19, 1865, he wedded Miss Eliza- 
beth Lydia Wallace, who like himself is a 
native of Burlington, where she was born 
March 10, 1847. Her parents were farm- 
ers, and died at Mediapolis ; but of their 
children seven still survive, as follows : 
Helen Mar, of Burlington ; Nancy Ellen 
Graves, of Des Moines county ; May Matilda 
Loper, of Stanton, Mich. : and Josephine 
Loper, Frances Bailey, and James I'. Wal- 
lace, of Des Moines county. The father 
and mother of this family were natives of 
Ohio, and were of Scotch-Irish descent. 

After his marriage Mr. McMullin oper- 
ated his father's farm for a few years, and 
in 1874 removed to Burlington, taking a 
position in this city as a wood-worker in a 
shop devoted to the production of agricul- 
tural implements. For the long period of 
twenty-three years he was in the employ of 
the Orchard City Wagon Company, for- 
merly Funk & Hertzley ; for a year and a 
half in the wagon shop of Wehman & Ebert, 
and later with the Iowa Soap Company as 
a carpenter, but at present he is retired from 
active pursuits, enjoying a well-earned rest. 

To Mr. and Mrs. McMullin have been 
born six children, of whom one son and two 
daughters survive : Newton Lincoln, a resi- 
dent of Burlington, where he is engaged in 
business as a job printer, and is well known ; 
Mary Evelena, the wife of I. H. Carruthers, 
of Des Moines, a stockholder and member 



8i6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEIV 



of the faculty of Capital City Commer- 
cial College ; Helen Josephine, at home, has 
received an excellent education in the public 
schools, and has many friends. Both the 
father and mother of our subject are now 
deceased, they having died on the home farm 
in Huron township, both attaining to the 
age of seventy-three years. 

Mr. iMc.Mullin has always shown himself 
commendably interested in the public wel- 
fare, and at the time of the Civil War offered 
his services to the national government as 
a soldier. An attack of typhoid fever inter- 
fered with his plans, however, and caused 
his rejection by the recruiting officer. The 
family home is at 920 Jefferson Street, where 
numerous friends and acquaintances enjoy 
a generous but quiet hospitality. 



CHRISTIAN KUNTZ. 

In the career of many a humble emi- 
grant from the Old World who has 
braved the ocean voyage ami the perils 
of a transfer to an alien peo])le and a 
strange land, there is material for more 
tender and touching stories and studies 
of the heart and life of man than ever have 
been penned. For the sake of a home 
and career the timid have become bold 
and the weak strong. Prosaic enough 
the outer life, and matter-of-fact enough 
the daily career, but the heart glows with 
its own riches, and the inner life has its 
own illumination. To leave the home 
land and go among strangers is an act of 
courage, and may rival the bravery of 
the soldier on the field of battle. It re- 
quires enterprise to contemplate such an 
adventure, and the men who remove to 



the Xew World are largely men of char- 
acter and nerve. They come because 
they crave a larger field, and they are 
bound to thrive. Of such is the man 
whose name introduces this article. He 
is of an energetic, pushing disposition, 
and has won a good measure of pros- 
perity. 

Christian Kimtz was born at Licrne. 
-Switzerland, June 13, 1849, the son of 
John Kuntz and Mary (Luginbuhl) 
Kuntz. He received his education in the 
district schools of his native community, 
attending them for ten years. Although 
he was born on a farm, his early tastes 
did not turn toward farm work ; and when 
his schooling was finished, after the solid 
manner of his countrymen he learned a 
trade, becoming a shoemaker. He fol- 
lowed this occupation for three years, at 
the end of which time he came to 
America. 

Coming to .America by way of Boston, 
he came direct to Morton, 111., where he 
began his life in the new country by 
working as a farm hand. After two 
months he changed to Forest, 111., where 
he worked for three years, and then went 
to Eureka, 111., where he rented a farm, 
and began working for himself. In 1878 
he moved to Gridley, 111., where for six 
years he rented a large tract of land 
known as the Mike Belsley estate, after 
which he rented land of Joseph Belsley, 
on which place he made his home for 
several years. 

A year after undertaking this last en- 
terprise, on F'eb. 2, 1879, 'ic was married 
to Miss Emilie Schmid, daughter of 
David and Barbara (Mathir) Schmid. 
Mrs. Kuntz has been a close and con- 
genial companion to her husband, and 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



8i7 



to her earnest efforts is due a large por- 
tion of the material prosperity that has 
come to him since the time of his mar- 
riage. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Kuntz have been born 
seven sons and six daughters, as follows : 
John B., born Feb. 29, 1880; Joseph and 
Samuel, born April 10, 1881, and both 
now married, Samuel being married June 
2, 1902, to Mary Berger, and Joseph be- 
ing married Feb. 9, 1903, to Emma Ber- 
ger; Mary, born Aug. 2, 1882, and mar- 
ried Jan. 27, 1902, to August Zippe ; 
Jacob, born Oct. 26, 1884; David, born 
Feb. 13, 1886; Daniel, born Aug. 3, 1887; 
Elizabeth, born Aug. 24, 1888; Anna, 
born Sept. 4, 1889, and died at the age of 
thirteen months; Lena, born Nov. 14, 
1890; Emma, born Dec. 15, 1892; Chris- 
tian, born Nov. 19, 1895; and Emilia, 
born Nov. 16, 1896. 

In 1903, Mr. Kuntz brought his family 
from Illinois to Iowa, coming to Huron 
township, Des IMoines county, where he 
bought the large tract of fine land on 
which he now lives. He bought the land 
from George Ditto, buying one hundred 
and eighty-seven acres in Section 5, and 
seventeen acres in Section 4. He has im- 
proved the land greatly since he came 
into possession of it ; not only cultivating 
it in such a manner as to keep up its 
natural fertility instead of exhausting the 
soil, but also building a very desirable 
house and a fine barn. 

Mr. and Mrs. Kuntz are faithful mem- 
bers of the Christian Apostolic church, 
doing much to advance the cause of re- 
ligion in their community, and in their 
own family showing an example of hum- 
ble Christian piety, faith, and charity. In 
their beautiful home life, and by their 



cordial hospitality, they have merited the 
respect and admiration of all, and of them 
it may be said that few or none in this 
section are doing more to keep up a 
wholesome family life and sturdy integ- 
rity of citizenship that make the solid 
foundations of our nation. 



PETER AUGUST MUNSON. 

Among the thousands who are flock- 
ing to our land from beyond the sea, year 
after year, we are always glad to welcome 
those who claim the Scandinavian coun- 
tries as their natal lands ; for long expe- 
rience has taught that they bring in those 
qualities of strength, pertinacity, and en- 
durance that have been of such value in 
opening up new lands to civilization, and 
in keeping up the standards in older 
lands. Of this class Peter A. Munson is 
a representative, who from a humble po- 
sition has by his own resources and de- 
termination of character advanced to a 
prominent place in agricultural circles in 
Des Moines county. 

Mr. Munson was born in Ostergothland, 
Kesa, Sweden, on Nov. 3. 1835, the son 
of Mangus and Magdalena (Peterson) 
Abrahamson. The circumstances of 
the home life were such that Mr. 
Munson had very limited opportunities 
for acquiring an education. The most 
of the book learning that he received was 
from the instruction of his mother, who 
taught him to read, and gave him such 
instruction as she could in the midst of 
her busy life. He learned to write from 
a man whom his father, together with 
some neighbors, employed for a few 



8i8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REllEW 



months as a tutor, expressly to teach 
their children the art of ijeiiinanshi]). The 
father was a farmer, and brought his son 
up with a thorough knowledge of the 
practical side of agriculture, so that he 
jias always chosen to follow this occupa- 
tion. 

.Mr. Mnnson came to America in iRf^R, 
located for a few weeks in Illinois, and 
then came to Iowa. His industry and 
thrift were of such an advantage to him 
that from the very beginning success 
crowned his efforts, so that by i8"o, on 
his removal to Huron township, he was 
able to buy a small farm of twenty acres. 
Year by year, through his careful man- 
agement and practical business knowl- 
edge, adilt-d prospirity has come to him, 
until now he has one hundred and twenty 
acres of fertile farm land in Section i6. 
He has ]>iil all the improvements on this 
jdace. including a dug well, a welI-l)iiiU 
comfortable six-room house, a commodi- 
ous horse-barn, one large cond)ination 
hay-barn and cattle-shed, as well as other 
smaller buildings. Although he devotes 
most of his time to general farming, he 
raises some cat lie. keeinng st(jck of high 
breed, lie has about thirty head of cat- 
tle, of Hereford and Polled .\ngus breeds, 
and about fort}-tive head of hogs, Poland 
China and Duroc Jersey breeds mixed. 

Mr. Mnnson was united in marriage 
on Nov. lo, 1868, to Miss Charlotte Carl- 
son, daughter of johamia and Charles 
Anderson, she being also a native of 
Sweden. To them have been born nine 
children, one of whom, .\iina, died at the 
age of eighteen months. The living chil- 
dren are: Charles .August, whose home 
is in Nebraska: Hetsey .\melia, wife of 
Fmil Oakland: I'eter .Mbert, of Chicago, 



111.: Frank Oscar, of Nebraska: Anna 
Matilda, of I'urlington : and l-'red, John 
Etlward, and Mary, at home. 

In his political affiliations, Mr. Munson 
was formerly a Democrat, but of later 
years, after long, careful study and con- 
sideration of the underlying principles 01 
the leading i)arties. he has decided that 
the platform of the Republican jjarty 
more thoroughly expresses his ideas of 
the best form of jjopular government, 
Mr. and Mrs. Mun.son have won a high 
place in the regartl of their neighbors by 
their cordial hospitality and genial ways. 
.Starting empty-handed in life, Mr. Mun- 
son has won his way to his present posi- 
tion in the world by his own ability, en- 
ergy, and merit. To him alone belongs 
the credit for wh.tl be has achieved. 



JOHN A. LOFQUIST. 

John a. Lofquist, of the Burlington 
firm of Salter & Lofquist, merchant tailors, 
was born July 8, 1861, at Upsala, Sweden, 
the eldest of a family of four sons and one 
daughter, of whom, besides himself, the 
father, mother, and daughter still survive, 
and the [larents reside on a farm four and 
one-half American miles from Upsala, the 
father being seventy-three years of age, and 
the mother in her seventy-first year. Al- 
though he himself has never engaged in 
agriculture, he is descended from a long line 
of ancestors who were all farmers, and is 
I)resumptivc heir to a landed estate in 
Sweden which was granted to his maternal 
great-grandfather for distinguished serv- 
ice to the state. The estate, which the gov- 
ernment exempts from all taxes, has de- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



8lQ 



scended from generation to generation, and 
in the event of the demise of the present 
proprietor, will descend to our subject. 

Mr. Lofquist received a good education in 
the common schools of his native country, 
but at the age of ten began learning the 
trade which he has since followed, taking 
employment at Upsala with Ryden Frolund, 
the leading firm of that city. He served an 
apprenticeship of three years, and then en- 
tered the employ of another firm, with which 
he continued for four years. In 1880, wish- 
ing to benefit by the superior opportunities 
of the New World, he came to America, 
locating in the city of New York, where he 
worked for a period of sixteen years. At 
the expiration of this time he invested his 
savings in a business at Newark, N. J., con- 
tinuing there for four years with fair suc- 
cess ; but having a desire to test the busi- 
ness possibilities of the West, he removed, 
first to Quincy, 111., and in 1898 to this city, 
where he worked for the firm of Salter & 
Phillips during the first year. The present 
firm was formed when he purchased the 
interest of Mr. Phillips in 1899, and has 
been successful in the highest degree, being 
one of the two leading merchant-tailoring 
houses of Burlington and of eastern Iowa, 
and enjoying an immense volume of pat- 
ronage, which is ever increasing at a very 
satisfactory rate. 

In 1883 Mr. Lofquist was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Emma Carlson, a native of 
Sweden, who came to America in 1876 at 
the age of twelve years, and to ihcm have 
been born one son and two daughters, 
these being Emanuel, Esther, and Ruth. 
Mr. and Mrs. Lofquist are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, in whose work 
they bear an active and helpful part, and 
Mr. Lofquist has desirable fraternal con- 



nections, being a member of Washington 
Lodge, No. I, Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows, and of the local organization of 
the Modern Woodmen of America. By his 
business ability he has achieved a very con- 
siderable success — one of which any man 
might be proud, and attained high rank in 
the business circles of Burlington ; while his 
frankness and unfailing courtesy have won 
for him the general respect and many 
friends. 

Since the above was written Mr. Lofquist 
has severed his connection with the firm, and 
has removed to Stronghurst, 111. 



ANDREW PETER ANDERSON. 

Among the many citizens of Swedish 
birth, to wliose \'irile strength, endur- 
ance, and ability to oN'ercome all hard- 
ships of nature Des Moines county owes 
so much of her present-day prosperity, 
the name of Andrew P. .\nderson stands 
out prominently as a worthy example of 
what a man can accomplish by his own 
unaided effort, when he is gifted by na- 
ture with pluck and determination to suc- 
ceed. From the most lowly of begin- 
nings, Mr. Anderson has fought his way 
up the ladder of success, round by round, 
till now he occupies a position that manv 
a man. not handicapped in the beginning 
as Mr. Anderson was, may well envy. 

Andrew Peter Anderson, son of An- 
drew Samuelson and Eva E. (Ericks- 
daughter) Anderson, was born Jan. 30, 
1845, ''1 Erstardtland, Sweden. He was 
brought up as a farmer, w^orking like a 
slave. He came to America in 1880, and 
worked on a farm bv the month until he 



820 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



could accumulate cmnigli iiii>ucy to bring 
his wife and fauiily to America, who 
came in 1881. After the coming of liis 
family, lie rented farms in Des Moines 
county for a number of years. He has 
made his home in Iowa for twenty-five 
years. 

His excellent management, constant in- 
dustry, and careful economy made his 
success certain from the start, and bv 
1892 he had accumulated enough money 
to purchase from John Swanson a large 
farm of one hundred and twenty acres in 
Section 27, which he now owns. His 
prosperity has never left him, but has in- 
creased from year to year, as is evidenced 
by the many improvements that he has 
made on the place since it came into his 
possession. He has built a large and 
comfortable dwelling-house, now barns, 
and other farm buildings: lias jiurchased 
the old parsonage and moved it onto the 
farm ; and so tended the land as to in- 
crease rather than diminish its fertility; 
as well as making many other improve- 
ments. 

Besides carrying on a very successful 
general farming business, he has begun 
to take an interest in stock-raising, hav- 
ing twenty-seven head of Shorthorn cat- 
tle, and twenty-eight head of Poland 
China hogs. 

Mr. .Anderson was united in marriage 
Feb. 28, 1871, to Miss Caroline Anderson, 
who was Ixirn in Sweden, May 2, 1847, 
the daughter of .\ntlrew John and .Anna 
(Johnson) .\nderson. To them have been 
born five sons and three daughters, all 
living, as follows: August Oscar, born 
July 8, 1873; llulda Caroline, born Ajiril 
23, 1875, now the wife of A. P, Youngberg, 
of Fort Madison, Iowa; Albert Gottard, 



born May 5, 1876, married to Miss Clara 
Judd, and has his home in Burlington; 
.\lma Sophia, born Oct. i, i87<). is now 
the wife of Oscar Patrick, also of Fort 
Madison : Ernest Emil, born Nov. 26, 
1884: Charles Joseph, born Nov. 6, 1886; 
Eva Mary, born \ov. 15, 1888; and Fred- 
erick Otto, born May 24, 1892. 

Mr. and .Mrs. .\ndcrson are devoted 
members of the Swedish Lutheran 
church, and have carefully trained their 
family up in that faith. Considering it 
the duty of every citizen to exercise his 
political ])ri\ ileges according to his best 
understanding of his own needs and those 
of the county. State and nation, 'Mr. 
.\nderson, after becoming a citizen by 
naturalization, united with the Repub- 
lican party, in wliich he has ever since 
been a worker, .\lthough he has not as- 
l)ired to the holding of ]niblic office, he 
has served his community as supervisor 
of highways for two years to the satisfaction 
of his constituents. 

Mr. Anderson is possessed of a genial 
disijosition, which, together with the rep- 
utation he enjoys for strict uprightness 
and integrity in all his dealings, has won 
for him the friendship of many, and the 
respect of all who know him. The record 
of his life achievements, showing how by 
constant effort and rigid determination a 
man may overcome obstacles of poverty 
and misfortune that seem almost insur- 
mountable, may well serve as a lesson of 
encouragement to the young of this and 
s\icceeding generations. 

Mr. .Anderson has never had any 
trouble in any way, never allowing any- 
thing to be brought into coiut. He be- 
lieves that honesty is the best policy, and 
to avoid trouble saves monev. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



821 



HENRY J. TAEGER. 

Henry J. Taeger has resided in Bur- 
lington since 1854. Thus more than half a 
century has come and gone since his arrival, 
and throughout this long period he has 
been an interested witness of the develop- 
ment and progress of the city, sharing in 
the improvement and endorsing all measures 
for the public good. As a pioneer resident, 
whose life has been active, useful, and hon- 
orable, he well deserves mention in this vol- 
ume. He was born in Prussia, Germany, 
Nov. 9, 1826, and came to America in 1854. 
The old-time sailing vessel in which he took 
passage came by way of Quebec, Canada, 
and was eight weeks on the water. As this 
country was new in those days, there were 
very few bridges, and railroad facilities 
being limited, nearly all streams had to be 
crossed with skiffs, but at Davenport our 
subject was able to take a boat down the 
Mississippi River to Burlington, where he 
settled and established a home. 

Soon after this he secured the position of 
watchman at the First National Bank, and 
night after night for nearly thirty-eight long 
years Mr. Taeger could be seen carrying 
his lunch to his place of duty, where he 
rendered such valuable service to his em- 
plo^'ers while the major part of the city's 
good people were resting from their daily 
labor. Mr. Taeger was married to Miss 
Mary Poggeman in 1855. Her birth oc- 
curred in May, 1823. This union was 
blessed with four children : Mary Bertha 
married Herman Suesens, who was born in 
Oldenburg, Germany. Mr. Suesens received 
a fair education in the common schools, and 
when quite a boy began to learn the trade 
of a blacksmith, but did not finish till after 
he came to America. In 1872 he located in 



Burlington, and became an employee of 
Funk & Hertzler's wagon shop, where he 
remained till he had completed his trade. 
After this he worked seven years in the 
blacksmith department of the Murray Iron 
Works, and two years at the C. B. & O. 
R. R. shop. On account of poor health, Mr. 
Suesens was compelled to give up his trade, 
and opened a grocery store on the corner 
of Locust and Ninth Streets; but change 
of busin(?ss did not improve his health 
much, nor for very long, for after conduct- 
ing this grocery two years he died of heart 
trouble April 14, 1892. He was an honored 
member of the Ancient Order of United 
Workmen, Lincoln Lodge. He was also 
an active member of the St. Lucas church 
on Fourteenth Street, being the treasurer 
of the Sunday-school at the time of his 
death. Politically, he was a Democrat, but 
his close attention to business, together with 
poor health, barred him from ever aspiring 
to office. Besides his widow, Mr. Suesens 
left the following children : Alfred H., sec- 
retary for the superintendent of the C. B. & 
O. R. R. ; Josephine ; Benjamin, aged eight- 
een, who occupies a position with the Bur- 
lington Fuel Company ; Mary, a student in 
the high school ; and John, who attends 
the South Hill school. Henry and Fred 
Taeger, sons of our subject, were twins, 
and died when very young ; Charles, the 
youngest son, is a liquor dealer on Third 
Street. Mrs. Taeger died Jan. 20, 1894, 
aged seventy years. -Since then Mr. Taeger 
has made his home with his daughter, Mrs. 
Suesens, at 713 South Ninth Street. 

He is a member of the South Hill Lu- 
theran church, which he assisted to organ- 
ize, and of which he has been deacOn ever 
since its organization. Politically, he is a 
Democrat, but prefers to vote for the best 



822 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



man qualified for oftiec. lie has seen Bur- 
lington grow from three or four thousand 
to a city of nearly thirty thousand, and has 
always been deoiilv interested in the l>riig- 
ress, development, and inii)rovenient of the 
county. Noting the main features in his 
career, the reader can not do otherwise than 
render him respect and admiration, and 
those who have been actively associated 
with him give him their warm regard, con- 
fidence, and friendship. 



FRED W. STEFFENER. 

().\i-: of the leading farmers of Benton 
township, and one known throughout the 
county for his ability, social c|ua!ities, and 
sterling character, is Fred W. Steffener, 
the subject of this sketch. He was born 
in .\dams county. Illinois. July J<^ 18^)4. 
the son of I'Ved William and Anna 
(Hust) Steffener. 

I'iie l.illur was born in (icrnians' in 
iSi ^, tlu' mother being born at the same 
place on .\pril J5. 1814. They were mar- 
ried in Germany. Recognizing the su- 
])erior resources of tlic Xew World, and 
wisliing to |)r()fit by the opi)ortnnities 
that it offered, they came to .America in 
1854, locating in .\dams county, Illinois, 
at the city of Quincy. Here the father 
pursued the calling of stone-mason, 
which was his trade throughout his en- 
tire life, lie lived only ten years after 
coming to the Xew World, dying at his 
home in Quincy in 1864. The mother is 
still living, and makes her home in (Jiiin- 
cy. now being the wife of W'illiam 
I'inger. 

Mr. Steffener has one brother, William 



11., a single man, living at Newark, Ohio, 
where he has a lucrative position as fore- 
man in a ()acking liouse. 

()\\v subject received his education in 
the pid)lie schools of Quincy, 111. I'.eing 
impelled ])artially by the fact of his 
father's early death, but still more by the 
prc)m|)tings of his own native ambition, 
he began to work for himself when only 
a boy. His first ])osition was in a tobacco 
factory, where he began work as a strip- 
per, his wages being three dollars a week. 
When he grew a little older, he obtained 
work in a ])laning mill. ( )n attaining to 
years of ntaluriiy, he was attracted to the 
free and i)eaceful life of the farm. .Ac- 
cordingly he came to Iowa, locating on 
Section 17, Benton township, on the farm 
where he still resides. .\t first he leased 
the i)lace, taking it for a term of seven- 
teen years. Two years ago he. with his 
wife. b(night out the interest of the other 
heirs to the place, ])nrchasing it from the 
estate of II. H. Miller. This is a large 
tract of one hundred and forty-eight acres 
of the excellent arable farm land for 
which Iowa is so noted; and in addition 
to this large farm, at the same time he 
l)urchased another tract of about eighty 
acres in Section 18. Since first coming 
upon this land, he has brought it to a 
high degree of cultivation, and has made 
many improvements that have not only 
helped this one farm but have tended to 
the bettering of conditions for the entire 
community. 

Mr. Steffener was married on March 
1. 1S86. to Miss Johanna Miller, daughter 
of II. li. and Anna M. (Keker) Miller. 
Mrs. Steflfener's parents are both de- 
ceased, and are buried in Loper ceme- 
tery. Mr. Miller was well known, be- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



823 



ing one of the earliest settlers in the 
township, and was very prominent in 
local affairs. He came to this neighbor- 
hood in 1846, and first settled for three 
years on South Hill, when Burlington 
was only a tiny hamlet of a few houses. 
He then l)OUght land and made his home 
in Benton township. Mr. Miller lived to 
' see astonishing changes in Des Moines 
county, and did not a small part of the 
work that brought about the many im- 
provements. He was a member of the 
Lutheran church, and very active in car- 
rying forward the aggressive work of the 
church. He was a conscientious, law- 
abiding citizen, always allied with the 
cause of right, and always ready to do 
his duty at the polls, although he never 
cared to become a candidate for office in 
any capacity. 

Mr. and \lrs. Steftener are the parents 
of six children, as follows : Anna, born 
March 8, 1887, and married to Otto Wun- 
nenberg June 14, 1905; William, born 
Aug. 2, 1889; Roy, born Oct. 8, 1892; 
Frances, born Aug. 25, 1897; Frieda, 
born April 5, 1899; and Mary, born Feb. 
14, 1902. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Steffener were 
raised in the communion of the Lutheran 
church, and are themselves devoted mem- 
bers, as are the older of their children. 
They are excellent people, hig-hly es- 
teemed in the community in which they 
make their home, and generally respected 
for their many virtues. They are giving 
their children good educations in the pub- 
lic schools of the county, and are teach- 
ing them both by precept and example 
the lessons of the noblest, most patriotic 
citizenship. 

In politics, Mr. Steffener allied himself 



in early manhood with the Republican 
party, and has been a leader in the work 
of that party in Benton township. He 
has been chosen as delegate to the county 
convention two times, and served the 
best interests of the township by acting 
as road supervisor for four years, render- 
ing most efficient service. By virtue of 
these facts, and in view of the public 
spirit he has manifested in many ways, 
Mr. Steffener is justly known as one of 
the most progressive and enterprising cit- 
izens of Benton township. He has many 
friends, who delight to do him honor, and 
who expect to see his sphere of useful- 
ness grow larger and larger as the years 
pass by. 



RUDOLPH WEINGART. 

The life record of Rudolph Weingart is 
an indication that success may be achieved 
by strong determination and energy. He 
started out upon his business career empty- 
handed, but possessed strong purpose and 
firm determination, and as the years have 
passed he has utilized his time and oppor- 
tunity to the beet advantage. 

Mr. Weingart, a son of Joseph and Eva 
(Eggolf) Weingart, was born in Buldnin- 
stein, Hesse-Nassau, Germany, May 14, 
1849. He interspersed his home duties 
with an attendance at the common schools, 
wherein he acquired a fair education. Lay- 
ing aside his school work at the age of 
fourteen, he engaged to work in the noted 
slate mines of his native place for six years. 
The next two years he spent in camp duty 
in the German army. Going home he soon 
made preparations to come to America, and 
sailed Marcii 9. 1873, landing in New 



824 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIilIFJ[' 



York, where he visited relatives for awliile. 
then came direct to liurHiigtoii, arriving 
the latter part of April. His brother-in- 
law. William Bock, lived here, and em- 
ployed Mr. Wcinijart for the fir.st summer, 
when our subject inherited some property, 
and also Ixnight .Mr. 1 Jock's place of eight 
acres, now in the citv. which he added to 
his own eight acres, and thus had some 
sixteen acres, whereon he farmed till Crapo 
I'ark was purchased and opened up in 
1897, when he sold the city ten acres for 
park purposes. 

He now raises small fruits and grapes, 
having one-fourth acre in berries and 
one-half acre in grapes. He also runs a 
confectionery stand and sunnner garden, 
both located on his jjroperty adjoining 
Crapo Park. The large coliseum just out- 
side tlie limits of tlie park stands u]) on Mr. 
W'eingart's iirojierty. the renters having 
about one acre for this use. ( )ur subject 
has no reason to regret investing in this 
propertv when it was \n such a rough con- 
ilition. for he found it good farm land, and 
now it has increased in value to such an 
extent that in a coni])arative!y short time 
.Mr. W'eingart will l>e able in retire from 
active business. 

In 1874 he was accidentally shot, and had 
to lay by for a long time for his woimds to 
heal, r.efon- he was fully restored to 
lu-alth he conchuled it would be a good time 
to visit the land of his birth ; and it was 
during this visit to ( "lermany that Mr. 
W'eingart became the husband of Miss 
Catherine Krouss, daughter of b>hn and 
Gertrude (I.udwig) Krouss on Jan. 12, 
1875. Mrs. W'eingart was born in N'eidcr- 
landstein. (lermany. May \2. 1854. Mr. 
W'eingart brought Iii< bride to I'urlington 
in I'lliruarv, 1873. where their two sons 



were born. Rudolph, whose birth dates 
back to I'\'b. 21, 1876, married Miss Cath- 
erine Galager, and is a switchman for the 
Chicago, Burlington & (Juincy Railroad in 
Burlington. John, who first saw the light 
of day on .\ug. 15. 1880, married Miss 
Lena Cramer, and is a fireman on the 
-Alton Railroad. 

Both these sons were educated in the 
Catholic and public schools of their birth- 
l)lace, I'olitically. .Mr. W'eingart is an in- 
de])en(lent. and as every true .\merican citi- 
zen should do, keeps well jmsted on the 
questions and issues of the day, but he has 
never aspired to ])ublic office. He and his 
wife are members of St. John's German 
Catholic church of Burlington, and he gives 
liis aiil and co-operation not only to the 
church, but also to other movements of his 
fellow-men and for the progress of town 
ahd county in which he has lived so long, 
and of which he commands the confidence 
and respect. 



HENRY W. STADTLANDER. 

Till-: business enterprises of Burlingtini, 
Iowa, occupy a commanding |)osition in 
eastern Iowa and contiguous territory, and 
one of the most influential among their 
number is the H. W'. .Stadtlander Hard- 
ware Company at 902 .\orlh ( )ak .Street, 
organized Jan. 10, 1903, by H. W. Stadt- 
landcr and Joseph Schneider, and handling 
a general line of builders" hardware. A 
linshop is conducted in connection with the 
store, doing all kinds of sheet-metal work, 
as well as a large amount of furnace work. 
Mr. .Stadtlander is the son of Willian> 
Stadt lander, now residing near .Vurora, 
111,. aii<l .Sophia (W'oepking) .Stadtlander. 



DES MOJXES COUA'TV. I Oil' A. 



825 



who is now deceaserl, her demise having 
occurred in 1880. A native of Burlington, 
Mr. Stadtlander was born Nov. 3, 1872, 
and began his echtcation in the pubHc 
schools of this city, also attending the 
parochial scliool for a time, while he later 
entered Elliott's Business College. 

During the time in which he was attend- 
ing school. Mr. Stadtlander devoted his 
spare moments to work in the tinshop of 
his uncle, William Woepking, with whom 
he made his home, and thus he learned the 
valuable trade which has since formed the 
basis of his highly successful business. He 
continued his work with Mr. Woepking 
until the death of the latter in 1 90 1, and 
then entered the employ of his brother, 
Theodore Woepking, who still conducts a 
shop, and was in his emjiloy until he 
founded the independent business which 
now claims his attention. On .\pril 20, 
i8g3, he weddeil Miss Marie J. Sieben, 
daughter nf Henry and Marie ( Luebbe ) 
Sieben, and they have three children: 
lidna, aged eleven years ; Le Roy. aged 
nine years; and ^Mildred, aged six years. 
In his fraternal connection, Mr. Stadtlander 
has been a member of the Burlington or- 
ganization of the Modern Woodmen of 
America, Camp No. 98, for the past nine 
years, is one of the present managers of 
the local camp, and for a number of years 
held the office of special auditor. He is 
also an active and influential member of the 
Royal Neighbors. I'oliticall\- a Republican, 
he has ever been a most firm believer in 
the principles of that great party, and has 
manifested unswerving loyaltx- to its chosen 
leaders. A man of jiractical ability, he has 
been a veryuseful worker in the ranks, and 
has attained to a position of influence in 
party affairs. In November. 1904. he was 



aiijiointed by Mayor Caster to the vacanqy 
caused by the death of T. B. Swigert as 
councilman for the First Ward, and al- 
though his tenure of the office is yet short, 
he has already demonstrated the posses- 
sion of those rare c|ualitics which lead to 
success in public life. While he is still a 
young man, Mr. Stadtlander has a wide ac- 
quaintance throughout the city, enjoys a 
gratifying degree of popularity, and is 
genuinely esteemed for his solid qualities 
and upright, unfailing integrity. 



WILLIAM JAMES REID. 

Wir.i.iAM Jamks Ricru, one of the lead- 
ing farmers of Flint River township, has 
had the honor of serving as constable of 
the township for si.x consecutive years. 
He is a son of John and Alartha ( Her- 
rill ) Reid, and was born on the farm where 
he now lives Aug. 25, 1848. His father 
came from Kentucky to Iowa in 1836, 
and settled in Flint River township. His 
mother was born in Tennessee, Nov. i, 
1825. and came with her parents to this 
township wlien but ten years old. When 
her father Coleman C. Herrill. settled in 
the above-named township Indians were 
camped everywhere, and wild game of all 
kinds abounded in great nund)ers. Mr 
Reid"s parents were married in Flint 
River township, and were the parents of 
eight children : Emma, died aged four- 
teen ; ^\'illiam J.; Isaac, on the old home 
farm ; Eli, a foreman for the Texas Rail- 
road in Texas: John, died July 5. ujoo, at 
the age of forty-four years : George, died 
when seventeen years of age : Lizzie 
fane, married Frank Griffith, and resides 



826 



BIOGRAPHIC .\ I REVIEW 



ill \\'ayne county, Ncbr. : iieiiry C. and 
Edward A., both car|)enurs. and live with 
their aged niothir on the old homestead. 
The latter married Laura Pietzsch, a 
sketch of whose family appears on 
another paj^je in this hook. They have 
five children: Esther .\.; Edward .\.: 
Mable E. ; John, and .Martha. Mr. Keid's 
father was a life-long I5a])tist, as is also 
his aged mother. 

Our subject received a substantial edu- 
cation in the Prairie drove school of his 
township, was reared under the paternal 
roof, and learned to be a competent 
farmer with his father. He now has sev- 
enty-five acres of good farm land in Sec- 
tion 24. the most of which is under culti- 
vation, lie is engaged in general farm- 
ing and the raising of stock, and has al- 
ways been very successful, and the whole 
place is one of method and neatness. Mr. 
Reid is an active and conscientious mem- 
ber of the Congregational church in \\'est 
itnrlington, where he has been deacon, 
tru.stee, Sunday-school superintendent, 
and in fact has held all of the offices of the 
church except that of pastor. He has 
always been very active in politics, and 
has given his hearty sujjporl and votes 
to the Republican party, only missing 
one vote since he was eligible as a voter. 
.After serving as constable for six years, — 
from i8<j7 to 1903, — he declined to serve 
any longer. Mr. Reid has the esteem and 
confidence of all who know him. 



CHARLES JOHN ADOLPHSON. 

Charles John Adolphson is one of the 
industrious and highly rcspectecj foreigners 
who left their native land and came to Amer- 



ica, arriving here nearly forty years ago. 
His parents were natives of Sweden, in 
which kingdom Mr. Adolphson was born 
June 14, 1841. He is a son of .\dolph and 
Louisa (Berkland) -Adolphson, who were 
well-to-do farmers, and were thus able to 
give their son a substantial education in tlie 
district schools of his birthplace. Charles 
John decided to follow in the footsteps of 
his father, and accordingly chose the life of 
a farmer as a means of maintaining himself. 
For many years after he finished school he 
remained on the home farm. About 1869 
there were a great many of his countrymen 
coming to the United States, and hearing of 
the rich farm lands in Iowa and Illinois, Mr. 
.\dol])lison decided to lieconie an .American. 
He first locatetl in Henderson county, Illi- 
nois, where he remained for some time. In 
1894 he came to Des Moines county, and 
at once bought one hundred and ninety acres 
in Yellow Springs township, all in Section 
29 except forty acres in Section 28. 

Mr. .Adolphson has yet to regret coming to 
Iowa,, as he has been very prosperous, and 
is gradually accumulating something of this 
world's goods for a rainy day. which all men 
expect sometime during life's journey. He 
now has a comfortable home on a well-im- 
proved farm, and is acknowledged as a very 
thrifty tiller of the soil. He is also a breeder 
of fine thoroughbred stock, and feeds about 
sixty head of Polled Angus cattle and fifty 
head of hogs annually, besides raising nearly 
all the necessary provisions for his large 
family. 

Mr. .Adolphson was married to Miss Jo- 
hanna Armanda Johnson, daughter of John 
and Sarah (Jones) Johnson. Mrs. Adolph- 
son was born in Sweden, May 21, 1850, 
coming to America when nineteen years old, 
and located in Oquawka, 111., in which vil- 



n 
> 
r 

w 



> 
d 
O 

r 
ix 

in 

O 

> 
> 

r 




DES MOIXnS COUNTY, IOWA. 



829 



lage her marriage took place. This union 
has been blessed with eight children, all 
except one of whom are living : Elmer Alex- 
ander, born Dec. 22, 1870, married Miss 
Anna Lindhl, has two children, Harold Ray- 
inond and Carl Lindhl, and is a farmer liv- 
ing near Morning Sun, Louisa county ; Anna 
Mary, born Dec. 19, 1872, is at home ; Jennie 
Emily, born May 23, 1874, is Mrs. John Lee, 
of ^^'ashington township, and has two chil- 
dren, Edna Mvene and Everett \'irgil ; Ida 
Cecilia, born July 25, 1877, 's the wife of 
George Piper, resides in Yellow Springs 
township, and has two children, Lela Gen- 
eva and Daisy Arnena ; Amanda Amelia, 
born Alay 8, 1880, married Theodore Davis, 
of Huron township, and has one child, Fern 
Alvera ; Bessie Arnena, bom June 29, 1883, 
and died May 16, 1884 ; Harry Arnold, bom 
Nov. I, 1885, is at home ; Dulcie Viola, born 
Sept. 8, 1893, also at home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Adolphson are devoted at- 
tendants of the Swedish Lutheran church. 
In politics he has ever been a strong Re- 
publican, but has never cared to hold office : 
yet he has felt it a duty to do all in his power 
to promote the best interests of his chosen 
party. Ever since Mr. Adolphson located 
in Des Moines county his friends have been 
pleased to note his prosperity in business, 
and are also cognizant of the fact that each 
day he is adding a golden link to the chain 
of his character that will bring to himself 
and those most dear to him joys bevond 
description. 



JOHN MALCHOW. 

John ;\[.\lciiow, a highly respected and 
honored citizen of Huron township, came 
to America over fifty years ago, and by 



his honest, industrious labor has accumu- 
lated some of the material things that 
tend to add ease and comfort in his old 
age. 

He is a son of Joseph and Dora (Fra- 
zee) Malchow, and was born in Mecklen- 
burg, Germany, April 26, 1826. After 
attending the common schools in his na- 
tive home, he spent his early boyhood on 
his father's farm. In 1853 he came to 
America by way of New York, and set- 
tled in Laporte, Laporte county, Ind. 
Here he commenced his work in his 
adopted home as a laborer on a farm, 
which continued for a year and eight 
months. About this time he moved to 
the city of Laporte, and embarked in the 
railroad business, first acting as brake- 
man on the Lake Shore & Xorthcrn In- 
diana Railroad. Four years thus em- 
ployed convinced him of the fact that he 
preferred the life of a farmer, and he ac- 
cordingly purchased forty acres of farm 
land in Laporte county, Indiana, where he 
farmed for some four years, until the war 
broke out in 1861, when he moved again 
to the city, and hired a substitute to take 
his place. After remaining in the city for 
four years, he went back to his first love, 
— his farm in the country, — where he 
stayed two years, and then sold it. 

After a year's residence on another 
place, he decided he would try his for- 
tune in the West, and at once moved to 
Burlington, Iowa, where he began to 
work as a laborer for the Foote Woolen 
Mills. At the end of two yea#S he once 
more realized the fact that he was cut 
out for a farmer, and took up his abode 
a mile south of Dodgeville, and was so 
successful in his farming operations as 
to be able to purchase eighty acres of 



830 



H10UR.IPHIC.il RlillEH- 



good farm land in llcnton township. 
This he cleared and greatly improved, 
and called home for fifteen years, each 
vear adding niDre to it. till he had one 
hmulred and eighty acres. He enlarged 
his possessions by buying three hundred 
and forty acres of land in the following 
townships: Two hundred and forty 
acres in Section 3*), in Huron township, 
and fifty-six acres in I'.enton and Jackson 
townshij)s, on which he built a large ten- 
room house, one barn thirty by forty feet, 
and another forty by twenty-six feet, also 
corn-cribs and cattle-sheds, thus improv- 
ing his place in gLiurai. and giving it an 
enlirel}- dilTerent ai)i)earance from thai 
which it ])resenled when he bought it. 
Mr. Malchow kept about fifty head of 
cattle, seventy-five head of hogs, and 
raised a few Clyde horses, besides carry- 
ing on general farming. 

During these jirospcrous years in 
America .Mr. Malchow lias been assisted 
by a faithful and devoted wife, since Jan. 
12. 1854, until March i,^, 11J04. when death 
ciaiiiud her. and Kfl a xoid in the home. 
Mrs. Malchow's maiden name was Mary 
E. P.uhle, and was a daughter of Henry 
and Elizabeth lluhle. both natives of (jer- 
many, where both lived and died. Unto 
Mr. and Mrs. Malchow three children 
were born: John Henry, born March 
26, 1855, died at the age of fourteen years, 
and is buried in Aspen drove cemetery 
in llurlington, Iowa; Charles, born 
March, 1857, and passed away when two 
years of a^e ; Eouis IKnr\-, born Jan. 30. 
18^)4, married Miss .Mary V.. W'unnenljerg, 
daughter of Henry and Emily W'unnen- 
berg, born in I'.enton townshii). .May 25, 
1864, and they are parents of three chil- 
dren : Viola Leanor \'ena, born Jan. 29. 



i8y6: John I'iermont, born June 20, i8y8: 
and Louis Ivan, born July 25, igoi. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Malchow live at the home 
))lace with his father. They are members 
of the (ierman Lutheran church. l'>y the 
upright course in life which .Mr. .Malchow 
has ever chosen, he has made many 
friends, and is held in the highest esteem 
in the countv. 



DANIEL W. McLANE. 

D.\N-iEL W. McL.vNi:, now widely and 
favorably known in the business circles of 
Burlington, has attained to his present 
enviable position through a steady rise. 
His worth and capability winning ready 
recognition, he has found in each promo- 
tion o])portunity for further development 
and for the acquisition of broader knowl- 
edge concerning business methods. To-day 
he is an extensive manufacturer and jobber 
of fountain pens, blank books, office sup- 
plies, si^ecialties, etc., and his enterprise, 
capable management, and industry are the 
potent factors in the development of a 
business which has already brought him 
gratifying success. 

He was born in Kankakee, 111., July 15. 
1852, a son of Rev. Xoah and Mary .\. 
(Hertz) McLane, the father having been 
a native of Ohio and by jVrofession a 
minister of the Cicrman Methodist church. 
I )nring his latter ye:irs he led a relire<l life, 
having relin(|uished the work of the 
ministry on account of ill health, his throat 
being affected. His death occurred m 
Kankakee in iSfX). The mother, who was 
Ixirn at Reading, I'a., survived him, and 
now resides at Caberv, III., near Kankakee. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



831 



To them were born three sons and three 
daughters, as follows : Mary J. McLane, 
deceased ; Mrs. R. C. Breneisa, of Cabery, 
111. ; D. W., the subject of this review ; 
John W., of Kankakee. 111. ; Milton N., a 
resident of Burlington, and a conductor on 
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy railroad ; 
and Ida E., who died at the age of twenty- 
seven. 

It was in the public schools of his native 
city that D. W. McLane received his formal 
education, anl while still a pupil in the 
schools he displayed that spirit of enter- 
prise which has marked his whole career, by 
securing employment in a planing mill, thus 
adding materially to the family income and 
at the same time learning the lessons of 
industry and faithful application to which 
he owes his right to the somewhat trite but 
still expressive title of self-made man. In 
1875, with the object of improving his con- 
dition and attaining to a broader range of 
opportunity, he came to Burlington and 
entered the employ of R. T. Root, book 
publisher, with whom he remained for eight 
years as a member of the office force, after 
which he acted as shipping clerk for the 
Gilbert Hedge Lumber Company for a short 
time. He then began traveling as a sales 
agent for Dodge & Dodge, attorneys and 
collecting agents, of Burlington, and when 
the firm was afterward changed to Catlett 
& Pilling he still continued in its employ for 
a number of years, having charge of a terri- 
tory comprising the whole of Illinois and 
part of Iowa, and building up a very satis- 
factory business. 

But believing that still greater rewards 
awaited him in other fields of endeavor, 
about the vcar 18(^3 he began selling office 
sundries and all kinds of blank books, 
especially those requiring special ruling. 



lieginning on a comparatively small scale, 
he kept constantly adding to his line of 
sundries until it included almost the entire 
range of office conveniences and sup])lies, 
and meanwhile the business increased so 
rapidly in volume under his fostering super- 
vision that in a few years he was compelled 
to relinquish his work as traveling salesman 
and to remain in the office and occupy him- 
self exclusively with the care of detail and 
management. He now has several travel- 
ing salesmen and also salesladies regularly 
employed, besides a number of others who 
carr}- his stock as a side line. It was in 
iQOo that he abandoned the work of the 
road for that of the office, and since that 
time he has given his attention principally to 
supervising the work of agents and to train- 
ing salesmen for the duties of their position. 
He has a reputation for exemplary treat- 
ment of his subordinates, and it is a fact 
that speaks volumes for his fairness and 
liberality that some of the salesmen in his 
employ have been traveling in his interest 
for as long a period as eighteen years — 
almost two decades of continuous service. 
At Burlington, in 1882, Mr. McLane was 
united in marriage to Miss Eleanor C. 
\\'oollcy, who was born in England, the 
daughter of Moses and Charlotte Woolley. 
The father is now deceased, his death hav- 
ing occurred in England, but Mrs. Woolley 
still survives, and is a resident of Mount 
Pleasant, while Mrs. McLane has also one 
brother on this side the .Atlantic — Fred 
W. Woolley, of Summerside, British North 
America. To Mr. and Mrs. McLane have 
been born one daughter and two sons : 
Grace E., who is a student in the South Hill 
School ; .Arthur D., also a student : and 
Charles F., who is attending public school. 
The family occupies a pleasant home at 



832 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



312 South Seventh Street, where Mr. 
McLane also has his office, and where their 
many friends enjoy a cultured hospitality. 
In addition to his other business connec- 
tions, Mr. McLanc is a stockholder and 
director of the J. M. Scott Hardware Com- 
pany, one of the notable institutions of Bur- 
lington. In his political affiliation a member 
of the Republican ])arty, he has never cared 
to assume the responsibilities of office in 
his own person, and although he has a 
number of times been solicited to become 
the representative of his party in the contest 
for representation in the city council, he 
has constantly refused. Nevertheless, the 
higher interests of mankind have always 
appealed strongly to his humanitarian prin- 
ciples, and he is a member and active worker 
in the First Methodist Episcopal church, 
contributing generously to its support, and 
lending his encouragement to the various 
phases of its work. As to material accom- 
plishment, he has t<i his credit a record of 
which the most able might well be proud, 
and he stands as a representative of that 
class of American citizens who find in 
necessity, competition, and intricate busi- 
ness conditions the spur of ambition and the 
stinuilus of effort that lead to large suc- 
cesses. 



WILLIAM H. CARTWRIGHT. 

\Vm. H. Cakiwright, a well-known cit- 
izen of Mediapolis, Des Moines county, 
Iowa, comes from a family whose name 
has been a household word throughout 
the West for almost three-fourths of a 
century. He can trace his ancestry back 
for many generations. W'm. Cartwright, 
of Normandy, was father of a son also 



named William, born in Wales. He had 
a son Edward, born in Ireland, who was 
the father of liryant. born in Martha's 
\ineyard. The latter also had a son Bry- 
ant, born in the same ])lace, who was the 
father of James, the grandfather of the 
subject of this sketch. 

James Cartwright was a native of 
Rhode Island, born July 10, 1772, four 
years before the commencement of the 
Revolutionary W ar. His first impression 
was doubtless in connection with that 
war, and the stirring events which fol- 
lowed, resulting in the formation of the 
American I'nion. An afdent patriot, a 
lover of liberty, he left the impress of his 
character upon all his children, some of 
whom have since become distinguished 
in church and state. Reared upon a farm, 
and breathing the pure air of heaven, he 
became strong of limb and strong of 
mind. In early life he made a confession 
of faith, and united with the Baptist 
church. Having a love for the cause of 
his Master, he entered the ministry, and, 
as f)])portunity afforded him, i)reache(l the 
Word. 

In I7y3 he was united in marriage with 
Miss Catharine Tryon, who bore him 
eleven children, all of whom grew to be 
adults: Clarissa, born April, 1794, died 
unmarried: Anna, born Dec. 6, 1802, 
uianieil I )r. Doran. of Chenango county, 
Xew York, and died in 1865; Wm. Tryt)n, 
l)orn May, 1804; James H., born Feb. 27, 
1808, died at Omaha, Ncbr.. in 1878; Bar- 
ton H., born March 9, 1810, who for 
many years has been known as a ])ioneer 
Methodist Episcopal preacher in Oregon, 
111.: Silas D., born March 30, 1812, died 
at Agency City, Iowa, in 1856; Darius 
B., born Jan. 8. 1814, died at Drain, Ore., 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



833 



in 1865; Catharine, born Sept. 9, 1818, May 6, 1829, and became the wife of I. 
married W. Collins, and died in New J. Crowder; Hiram M.. born Nov. 10, 
York; Almira, born Dec. 21, 1820, mar- 1831; Daniel C, born June 29, 1834; 
ried Isaiah Messenger, and died in New Catharine, born Oct. 9, 1837, now Mrs. 
York." The mother of these children was Washington Johnson; Nelson K., born 
born March 26, 1775, died May 6, 1852, July 22, 1840; P. Jane, born April 10, 
and was buried in Kossuth cemetery, in 1843, became the wife of A. W. Job. 
Yellow Springs township, Des Moines At the age of thirty-five Daniel united 
county, Iowa. with the Methodist Episcopal church, and 
In 1822 James Cartwright exchanged soon developed a talent for public speak- 
some property in the State of New York, ing. Believing the West afforded a 
where he was then residing, for land in greater opportunity for the exercise of 
the military tract of Illinois, comprising his talents, and a better field for gather- 
about two sections, and at once came ing souls into the kingdom of Christ, he 
West to look after his purchase. While determined to move, and in 1835 came 
here he was taken sick, and with a friend with his family to Warren county, Illi- 
went in a canoe down Spoon River to nois, where he remained until the foUow- 
the Illinois River, and down that stream ing year, when he came to Des Moines 
to the present site of Griggsville, Pike county, Iowa, which afterward continued 
county, 111., where he died, after an ill- to be his home. He first located in 
ness of eight days, being unable to se- Union township, where he purchased a 
cure the services of a physician. His re- partially improved farm, on which the 
mains were interred on a blufif, four miles family lived until 1845, when he sold out 
below Griggsville, at a place known as and bought two hundred and forty acres 
Edward's Ferry. In the fall of 1887 Wm. in Yellow Springs township, which he 
H. Cartwright, a grandson, whose name brought to a high state of cultivation, 
heads this sketch, had his remains re- Here, the family lived until 1857, when 
moved, and on the 22d day of November they moved near Kossuth. In 1S66, the 
they were interred beside those of his be- family having scattered, the old folks 



loved wife, in the cemetery at Kossuth, 
Iowa. 

Daniel G., the second child and first 
son of James and Catharine Cartwright, 
was born in Sempronius, N. Y., March 



broke up housekeeping and made their 
home with their son, \Vm. H. 

On coming W^est ]Mr. C. united with 
the Methodist Episcopal church, and in 
the spring of 1836 was assigned to the 



27, 1796, and grew to manhood on his Iowa circuit, which embraced all the in- 

father's farm, receiving a limited educa- habited parts of Iowa, then a portion of 

tion in the public schools of his native Wisconsin Territory. As the Territory 

State. In 1820 he married Melinda Mes- increased in population new circuits and 

senger, also a native of New York, born new stations were formed, and he was 

July 10, 1804. Eight children were born assigned a circuit embracing all of Iowa 

to them: W^m. PL, our subject; James north of the Iowa River. The hardships 

R., born Oct. 20, 1826: Clarissa H., born endured while a circuit rider, traveling on 



834 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIAJI-lf 



liorsi-hack hundrcfls of miles, his regular 
appoiiUinents being scores of miles ai)art, 
and the houses of worship the rude cabin 
of the pioneers, can scarcely be described, 
while it would be impossible for the read- 
er to realize them. The toils and priva- 
tions were counted as naught by him. the 
good of his fcllow-men being liis sole ile- 
sire. " Christ and him crucified," was his 
theme, and it was a ])leasure to him to 
break- the bread of life to lumgry souls. 
After being fully tried, and found "a 
workman that necdeth not to be ashamed, 
rightly dividing the word of truth." lie 
was, on Sept. 14, 1839, ordained a deacon 
in the Methodist Episco])al church by 
l!isho[) Thomas .\. .Morris, of Illinois. 
As a deacon in the cluirch. his ojjportuni- 
ties for usefulness were greatly enlarged. 
and no duty did he ever shirk. With a 
strong voice, cultivated and strengthened 
by much iintili)nr si)eaking, with a zeal 
born of lo\c to ( lod and his fellow-men, 
every talent that he possessed was de- 
voted to the cause of his Saviour, 

The church in that early day was poor 
as respects this world's goods, though 
rich in the faith, and those laboring for 
the .Maslir were compeli<.-(l, like those in 
apostolic times, almost to labor without 
money and without price. That his fam- 
ily might ii\e. and that lluy might be 
provided with some of the comforts of 
life, he was com])elled to carry on farm- 
ing with the aid of his good wife and 
their elder sons. In fact, the farm work 
was left almost exclusively ti> llu- chil- 
dren, who did their part well. 

Living in a day when the sknery (|ues- 
tion was. outside the (iosjiel. the most 
imi)ortant one to engage the minds of the 
people, he toi)k strong grounds again>it 



the institution, especially against its in- 
troduction into free territory. Helieving 
it a great wrong, he ditl not hesitate to 
e.\])ress his views in regard to it ; and in 
the division of the church occasioned by 
the slavery (piestion, he took his stand 
with those that believed that "all men 
were created with certain inalienable 
rights," among which were "life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness." ( )n the 
temi)erance (piestion he was no less out- 
sjjoken. urging ujjon the people the neces- 
sity of abstaining from the use of alco- 
holic drinks, declaring, with the apostle, 
that "no drunkard can inlurit the king- 
dom of heaven." 

.\fter living a truly Christian life for 
alnmst half a century, engaging the 
greater jjart of the time in the self-sacri- 
ficing life of a pioneer minister of the 
gos])el. this good man jiassed to his 
heavenly rew.ard at the house of his son 
William. Jan. 14, 1873, in the seventy- 
seventh year of his age. Uf him it can 
i)e truly said, in the words of the .Scri])- 
tures. " niessed are the dead which die 
in the Lord from henceforth : that they 
ma\- rest from their labors ; and their 
works do lollow them. llis wife sur- 
\ived him eleven years, dying Nov. 24. 
1884. .\ noble Christian woman, she was 
truly a liel|imeet for the one she loved, 
and bore without a niurmer llie sacrifices 
required of one who was the wife of a 
pioneer preacher. 

\\ ni. 11.. eldest son of I )aiiiel ( i. .iiid 
.Melinda Cartwright. was born in Che- 
nango county. New York, .Aug. 20, 1823. 
W hen twelve years of age he came \\"est 
willi his parents to Warren county. Illi- 
nois, and tlu'ii in the spring of 183') to 
Ile-i Mi)iiu-- couiit\, Iowa, which has 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



83: 



since been his home. Being the eldest 
of the family, and his father usually from 
home engaged in the ministerial work, 
from the time he was thirteen years of 
age the management of the farm devolved 
upon him. With the help of his younger 
brothers, he improved his father's farm 
in L'nion township, where the family 
first settled, and where they remained 
until 1845, moving thence to Yellow 
Springs township. In his work he was 
guided by the wise counsel of his mother, 
a woman of strong mind and hopeful 
courage, and whose Christian example 
was felt by every member of the house- 
hold. 

.\s manager of his father's farm he 
continued until the fall of 184(1. when, in 
conii)any with his brother-in-law, J. J. 
Crowder, he opened a general merchan- 
dise store in Kossuth, the first store 
opened in that village. \\ ith a few in- 
terruptions, he continued in business in 
that place for a period of twenty years. 
Aliout the time he commenced business 
in Kossuth, the country became greatly 
excited over the discovery of gold in Cali- 
fornia, and the " California fever " spread 
with lightning-like r4|)idit_\' throughout 
the land. Mr. C. was not exempt, and in 
the spring of 1850, with an ox-team, ac- 
companietl by others, he crossed the 
plains, leaving his home on the 7th of 
March, and arriving at his destination 
July 4 of the same year, being about four 
months on the road. 

He remained in this new Eldorado 
about nine months, engaged in mining, 
and then returned home by way of the 
Isthmus of I'anama and the Mississippi 
River, to Burlington. Cioing to Kossuth 
he again resumed the merchandise busi- 



yness, in which he continued with success 
for many years. 

.March 14. 1852, he was united in mar- 
riage with .Miriam Fullenwider, a native 
of Kentucky, born April 8, 1828, and 
daughter of Rev. Samuel Fullenwider. 
She has borne him eight children: H. 
Beecher, a merchant of Santa Fe, N. 
Mex. ; C. Ellen, born Oct. 25, 1853; Nar- 
cissa J., born Xov. 10, 1854, now Mrs. 
S. D. Fulmer; William H., born June 10, 
1857, died in California in 1873: Miriam, 
born Oct. 28. 1859, now Mrs. C. H. Bar- 
rett; Clarissa M.. born Xov. 4. 1861, now 
Mrs. V. L. Huston ; Anna M., born Nov. 
30, 1865. now Mrs. Geo. E. Townsend ; 
Samuel G., born June 11, 1869, also a 
resident of Santa Fe, N. Hex., being 
associated in business there with his 
brother, H. Beecher. ^Irs. C. died Dec. 
21, 1870, a devoted member of the Pres- 
byterian church. She did well her life 
work, and is now at rest. 

Jan. 9, 1872, Air. C. was again united 
in marriage, lieing wedded to Miss Mar- 
tha Bruce, daughter of Hon. James 
Bruce. Edna liruce is their only child. 

In 1869 Mr. C. purchased eighty acres 
of land, the present site of Mediapolis, 
on the line of the P.urlington, Cedar Rap- 
ids & Northern Railroad, and platted the 
town. The store which he operated at 
Kossuth was removed to this place, and 
for some years he was actively engaged 
in trade. The first store he carried on 
until some time in 1870, when he sold out 
to Brown & Roberts. In 1872 he erected 
the building now occupied by John An- 
derson, and again engage<l in the mer- 
cantile trade, in which he continued un- 
til 1881. He then sold out. and opened 
a coal mine in (ireen countv. Iowa, in 



836 



BIOGRAPHIC. -iL REllEW 



1884. which he operated for one year and 
then leased it, since which time he has 
lived retired. Previous to this, in 1870, 
he had laid out the town of Rippey, 
Green connty, Iowa. 

Religiously. Mr. C. adheres to the faith 
of his father, and for many years has 
been a member of the Methodist Episco- 
pal church, and active in the work of the 
congregation. His wife is also a mem- 
ber of that body, and takes an active in- 
terest in all church matters. A temper- 
ance man from ])rinciple, he freely ex- 
presses himself on that <|uestion, and 
does not fear to let the world know it. 

Politically, since the organization of 
the party, he has been a stanch Repub- 
lican. Never an office seeker, and pre- 
ferring the quiet of home life to the tur- 
moil of politics, he has yet been honored 
by his fellow-citizens with such local 
offices as he would accept. For four 
years he was a member of the county 
board of supervisors, and also served as 
mayor of Mcdiapolis, as well as being 
president of the school board. Often has 
he represented his township and county 
in the conventions of his party. 

As a citizen he discharges every duty 
devolving u|)on him in a faithful man- 
ner, and has ever been found ready to 
devote his time and means to the ad- 
vancement of the town and county. As 
director in the Narrow Gauge Railroad, 
he worked zealously for its interests. In 
fact there is no work undertaken by him 
l)ut enlists all his energies. Beginning 
life poor, by industry and strict integrity 
he has accumulated through life, while 
his upright character and trustworthi- 
ness have secured him the respect of his 
fellow-men. 



JOHN STODT. 

John Stodt, who has lived in Flint River 
township since 1897. is a son of John and 
Hannah Stodt, and was born in Kleinheilen- 
dorf. Germany, Dec. 23, 1839. He was 
reared by a very good family, and at an 
early age learned the weaver's trade, which 
he followed, and was most successful till 
he came to America, May 13, 1891. Here 
he turned his attention to farming, pur- 
chasing his i)resent farm, known as " Snake 
Hollow," in 1897. This ))lace received its 
name from the fact that probably there are 
more snakes on it than on any other farm 
in the township. During the short time 
that Mr. Stodt has lived on his place, the 
family have seen and killed a great number 
of black snakes, some of them measuring 
six feet long. Our subject built all the 
various buildings on his farm except the 
house, and now has the greater part of his 
land well under cultivation. He is well 
pleased with America, and thinks there is 
no life so independent as that of a happy 
farmer. 

In July. 18^)4. Mr. Stodt became the hus- 
band of Miss Mary Xuz, daughter of Frank 
and Magdalena Nuz, by whom he has had 
nine children : Joseph ; Mary, married Joseph 
Luteneggcr: Miimic. wife of .\dolph Luten- 
cgger ; .Vmelia, married Joseph Kaubish ; 
John, Frank, Mollie, died in 18(^5; Agatha, 
works for Dr. Holiday; and Richard, at 
home. 

Mr. and Mrs. Stodt were reared accord- 
ing to the Catholic faith, and are devout 
members of St. Mary's church, of West 
llurlington. Mr. Stodt has never held any 
office, yet he has always given his political 
allegiance to the Democratic party. 

.Although our subject has been in Des 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



837 



Moines county only a little over ten years, 
yet his farm life has been very pleasant, and 
he has made many friends among the neigh- 
bors and town folk, who all hold Mr. Stodt 
in the highest regard. He is of a very active 
and industrious nature, and much of his 
success is due largely to his own efforts 
along these lines, and in all his dealings 
with men he has ever shown a disposition 
to be fair and just. 



CHARLES JOHNSON. 

Charles Johnson, who has figured in 
business circles in Des Moines county as 
a stone-mason contractor, and also in 
connection with general agricultural pur- 
suits, now resides in Yellow Springs 
township, having since 1882 made his 
home on a farm on Section 31. He was 
born in Sweden, Oct. 16, 1839, his par- 
ents being John and Anna (Olson) John- 
son, who were also natives of that 
country. 

Our subject pursued his education in 
the public schools of Sweden, and after 
putting aside his text-books learned the 
stone-mason's trade, which he has since 
followed. He worked there for a number 
of }'ears, but thinking there was little op- 
portunity for business advancement or 
the acquirement of a competence, he de- 
termined to try his fortune in America, 
and in 1869 sailed for the New World. 

He made his way at once to Burling- 
ton, Iowa, and continued to reside in that 
city until 1882, when he bought a farm 
of thirty acres in Section 31, Yellow 
Springs township, from John L. Thomas. 
He has since made his home on this place, 



but much of his attention has been given 
to contracting as a stone-mason. He has 
done considerable work of this character 
in Des Moines county, and is considered 
a good mechanic. He has also followed 
general farming since locating at his 
present home, and has put all of the im- 
provements upon his place, where he now 
has an attractive residence. His unfalter- 
ing industry and unabating energy are 
well-known characteristics of his business 
career, and have been the basis of all the 
success he has enjoyed. 

On April 21, 1867, Mr. Johnson was 
united in marriage to Miss Eva Anderson, 
a daughter of Andrus Olson and Sarah 
Anderson. Mrs. Johnson was also born 
in Sweden, and came to America with her 
husband. They crossed the Atlantic to 
New York City, and made their way west- 
ward by rail to Chicago, and from that 
place continued their journey to Burling- 
ton. They have since lived in Des Moines 
count}", and have now a wide and favor- 
able acquaintance within its borders. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson has 
been blessed with seven children : Aman- 
da, born Sept. 8, 1868, is now the widow 
of Oxel Lawson, of Burlington; Ellen, 
born June, i, 1871, is now engaged in 
dressmaking in California ; Sophia, born 
April 8, 1784, is the wife of Geest Nelson 
of IMediapolis; Minnie, born Nov. 8, 1877, 
is the wife of Charles Linn ; Susie, born 
Nov. 20, 1883, is the wife of Fred Mester, 
of Burlington ; Charles, born Jan. 25, 
1881, and Emma, born Jan. 5, 1886, are at 
home. 

Mr. Johnson gives his political support 
to the Republican party, for his study of 
the questions and issues of the day has 
led him to the belief that its platform 



838 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



contains ihc l)i-st cIimikmUs of {^cwxl gov- 
crniiK-nt. He has never had occasion to 
rcprct liis determination to seek a home 
in America, for here he has found good 
business opportunities and has worked 
his way steadily upward, enjoying now a 
comfortable competence which is the 
merited reward of his labor. 



ELI THOMAS. 



TiiF. Thomas faniilv has long figured 
prominently in connection with agricultural 
interests in Dcs Moines county, representa- 
tives of the name coming here in pioneer 
days and taking an active ])art in laying 
broad and dee]) the foimdation for the pres- 
ent ])rogress, prosperity, and development 
of this section of the State. Eli Thomas, 
who was a native of Ross county, Ohio. 
came to Des Moines county about 18-12. 
locating in the .soiuhwest portion of Yellow 
Springs township, ilis farm was on the 
edge of the timber, and comprised one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of land, which was 
obtained from his father-in-law. Hezekiali 
Archer. This be developed, and brought 
under a higii state of cultivation. He 
turned the first furrows, harrowed the 
fields, planted the seed, and in due course 
of time gathered good harvests, and con- 
tinued the work of cultivating his farm 
throughout liis active business career. 

Eli Thomas is a son of John and Ellen 
(Titterington) Thomas, and is" of English 
descent, his parents having ct)me from Eng- 
land to .-\merica about 1S17. They located 
in Greene towiislii|). Ross county, Ohio, 
where they spent their remaining days, and 
both are interred in that l<x-alitv. The 



mother's death occurred wiien her son Eli 
was only about two years old, and the 
father, long surviving her, passed away at 
the advanced age of eighty-two years. Eli 
Thomas was born in Ross county, Ohio, 
Jan. I, 1819. and there spent the days of 
his boyhood and youth, his education being 
acfpiired in the connnon sch(K>ls such as 
were usual at that day. He continued his 
residence in the land of his nativity until 
about twenty-four years of age, when he 
came to Des .Moines county, Iowa, and se- 
cured a cp'.arter section of land from Heze- 
kiali .Archer in ^\•llnw Springs township. 
.\11 the imjjrovements upon this property 
were i)laced there by Mr. Thomas, who 
transformed the lands into rich and pro- 
ductive fields. He erected a substantial 
and conuuodious residence, large l)arns. and 
other buildings necessary for the shelter 
of grain and stock. He also tiled his land, 
thus promoting its ])roductiveness, and 
everything about his place was in keejiing 
with the S])irit of modern ])rogress and im- 
])rovement. Later, when his labors had 
brought to him sufficient financial resources, 
he added to his ])roperty by the purchase 
of sixty acres from William .\rcher on 
the north. He also bought other land, 
having at one time about six hundred, 
acres, now in possession of the family. 
He lived a very busy, useful, and active 
life for luany years, but in 1S85 re- 
tired from business, having accumulated a 
competence sufficient to sui)])ly him in the 
evening of his days with all the comforts 
and many of the luxuries which go to 
make life worth living. In I(>D4 he removed 
to Mcdiapolis with his son Hezekiah, and 
made his home here uiuii his death, which 
occurred Jidy 2. i«>i5. 

It was about 1844 that l-'li Thomas, was 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



839 



united in marriage to Aliss Nancy Archer, 
a daughter of Hezekiah and Ellen Archer. 
They became the parents of three children : 
Alfred, who was born Aug. 3, 1845, ^^^d is 
living in Yellow Springs township : Heze- 
kiah, who was born Sept. 20, 1847; and 
Shepard. who was born Feb. 11, 1850. 
They also lost two children, who died in 
infancy, and the wife and mother departed 
this life June 4, 1893, when in the seventy- 
second year of her age, her birth having oc- 
curred in Illinois, in December^ 1821. She 
belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian 
church, of which Mr. Thomas was also a 
member, and their entire lives have been in 
harmony with tlieir professions. 

\'iewed from a financial standpoint. Air. 
Thomas's career can certainly be claimed 
to be a success, for he started out with 
little capital and up to the time of his death 
was the owner of valuable farming lands, 
most of which lie in Des Moines county. 
He was, moreover, one of the honored 
pioneer settlers of this part of the State, 
having for, more than sixty years been a 
witness of the many changes that have oc- 
curred here. He saw the county when 
much of its land was wild and unimproved, 
when the city of lUirlington was a small 
town, and when many of the now thriving 
villages had not yet sprung into existence. 
He felt a just pride in what was accom- 
plished, and was interested in the progres- 
sive development of this portion of the 
State. He 4ived a quiet, unassuming life, 
yet displaced many sterling traits of char- 
acter that commanded for him that venera- 
tion and respect which should ever be ac- 
corded to those who advance far on life's 
journey, and Mr. Thomas has now passed 
the eighty-sixth milestone. 

Hezekiah Thomas, son of Eli Thomas, 



and now a well-known resident of Mediap- 
olis. has spent his entire life in Des Moines 
county, having been reared upon his 
father's farm, while in the public schools 
he acquired his education. Oct. 19, 1899, 
he was united in marriage to Miss Aldoola 
S. See, a daughter of Michael and Jane 
E. (Tompkins) See. Her father was a 
pioneer minister and circuit rider on the 
Yellow Springs circuit. His first charge 
was located here, and he remained for five 
vears in active work in the ministry in this 
community. He had previously resided on 
a farm in Louisa county, Iowa. His birth 
occurred in Kanawha. W. \'a.. Feb. 22, 
181 7, and he came to Iowa when about 
eighteen years of age. He lived for some 
time in Louisa county, where he carried 
on general agricultural pursuits, and his 
death occurred in Des ?\Iojnes county, Nov. 
16, i8g8. Mrs. Thomas was born in Blue 
Grass, Iowa, July 26, 1871. 

Unto Hezekiah and Aldoola Thomas 
were born two children, but Paul See, who 
was born .\pril 18, IQOI, died on the 30th 
of the same month. The living son is Par- 
rel, who was born July 26, 1903. The 
Thomas family is so well known in this 
count V that no history of the community 
would be com]5lete without their record, 
and in successive generations the repre- 
sentatives of the name have borne an active 
and hel])ful ])art in many works of ini- 
]jrovement along many lines of substantial 
progress. 



HERMAN TSCHENISCH. 

Hf.r.m.\n T.SCHENI.SCH. who is engaged 
in the manufacture of violins and in the re- 
nairiner of musical instruments of all kinds. 



8+0 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



was born in Schlesien, Germany, Marcli 20, 
1847. He acquired a public-school educa- 
tion, after which he learned the trade of 
makinp violins, which he has followed 
through life. He came to America in 1889, 
landing on the 4th of July of that year, and 
making his way direct t<> Ijurlington. where 
he embarked in business for himself. After 
four years, however, he removed to Terre 
Haute, Ind., where he remained for three 
years. He later returned to Burlington, 
where he has since made his home, being 
now located at 722 Jefferson Street. 

He has made from f(^rty to fifty new 
violins, repairs all kinds of musical instru- 
ments, and is much devoted to his trade. 
He made for Mr. Fisher, who conducts the 
leading orchestra of Burlington,' a verv val- 
uable violin, which he uses in his orchestra 
all of the time. It is considered a very fine 
instrument, and in fact all that he has made ■ 
are of superior grade. Mr. Tschenisch is 
himself a musician of superior ability, play- 
ing almost any instrument, and is the leader 
and teacher of the West Burlington Band. 

In 1872 Mr. Tschenisch was united in 
marriage to Miss Anna Schwinkowski, and 
they have become the parents of two chil- 
dren : Seliua, the wife of John Kupisch, a 
tailor of Burlington ; and Clara, the wife of 
Frank Grothe, a railroad man living in 
Cedar Rapids. 



JOHN H. STROTHMAN. 

Among, the prominent and enterpris- 
'"? agriculturists of Washington town- 
shi]), an<l one who has done his full share 
toward making the county what it is to- 
day, — one of the richest farming districts 
in the State, — is John H. Strothman. 



He was born in Pleasant (jrove township, 
Sept. 20, 1859. He is a son of Peter F. 
and Louisa Strothman, of which further 
mention will be made in the sketch of 
Charles A. Strothman. which appears 
elsewhere in this volume. 

Mr. Strothman was reared on his 
father's farm, where he grew to maturity, 
receiving a fair education in the district 
schools of the townshi|). 

When twenty-six years old he went to 
\\ ashington township and rented a farm, 
which he carried on for one season, the 
next year renting another place for the 
same length of time. The two years fol- 
lowing he was on a third rented farm, 
where he was very successful. He was 
able to get a little ahead, and decided to 
purchase a good farm of his own. He 
moved to the south of Washington town- 
ship, and was fortunate to get an im- 
l)roved farm of eighty acres in Section 
31. where he carried on general farming 
and stock-raising with the best of results, 
lill three years ago, when he ])urchased 
the adjoining eighty acres in the same 
section, and moved onto it. He has a 
beautiful country residence, a modern 
and conuuodious barn, and all other nec- 
essary buildings for general farming pur- 
I)oses. The whole one hundred and sixty 
acres of land are now iindir full cultiva- 
tion, and this farm is one of the model 
ones in the county. Mr. Strothiuan's 
cattle are all thoroughbred, and his horses 
are of the best. 

April 12. 1888, Mr. Strothman became 
the husband of Miss Anna Kleine, 
daughter of John II. Kleine, of Pleasant 
Grove townshij), who is a native of Ger- 
many, and came to America about 
twenty-one years ago, settling in this 




J. H. STROTHMAN AND WIFE. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



8+3 



township, where he purchased an im- 
proved farm of one hundred and forty- 
seven acres, which is now nearly all under 
cultivation. The mother of Mrs. Stroth- 
man, who is still living, was in maiden- 
hood Miss Mary Menke, and was also 
born in Germany, where she was married, 
and where all of her children were born. 
]\Irs. Strothman was educated in the com- 
mon schools of Germany, and was but 
fifteen years old when she came to this 
country. To Mr. and Mrs. Strothman 
have been born four children, all of whom 
were born in \Vashington township, Des 
Moines county : Henry B., sixteen years 
old; Charles A., eleven years of age; Will- 
iam F., seven years old ; and John H. E., 
a baby of six months. 

Politically, Mr. Strothman has always 
given his vote and support to the Demo- 
cratic party, believing their platform to 
be for the best for both State and county. 
He has been school director, and is at 
present the efficient treasurer of the town- 
ship. His family attend the Lutheran 
church, of which his wife is a devoted 
member. Of the six children born to the 
parents of our subject, only four remain; 
William F., died at the age of forty-seven 
years, in ^^'ashington township ; Henry, 
died on the ocean while coming to this 
country with his parents ; Serena, mar- 
ried John Rush, a butcher of Burlington ; 
Caroline, wife of William Hannie, a 
groceryman, also of Burlington; John H., 
of this review ; and Charles A., whose 
sketch will be found on another page. 

Though Mr. Strothman is not very old, 
yet he has witnessed many changes in the 
count}' during the last quarter of a cen- 
tury. He is a courteous, genial gentle- 
man, possessing those sterling qualities 



of uprightness and integrity which, to- 
gether with his great activity along lines 
which would tend to improve the town- 
ship, have placed him in the list of the 
citizens of the county whom it is a pleas- 
ure to count as a friend, and of which the 
communit}' is justly proud. 



REV. MICHAEL SEE. 

Rev. Mich.ael See, who for forty years 
traveled over a circuit in the interest of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, now resides 
on Section 30, Elm Grove township, Louisa 
county, Iowa. The family is of Virginian 
descent. The great-grandfather, Frederick 
See, removed from the south branch of the 
Potomac River in Virginia, in an early day, 
to Greenbrier county, W. Va., there lo- 
cating by a stream called Muddy Creek, 
near which the Indians lived in vast num- 
bers. While residing there the family 
were taken prisoners by the savages, and 
confined at a place called Oldtown, in Ross 
county, Ohio; but within a year all had 
made their escape, with the exception of 
Elizabeth, one of the daughters, who re- 
mained in captivity nine years, and John 
See, the grandfather of our subject, who 
was held for two years. He was reared 
by his uncle, Adam See, and after he grew 
to manhood enlisted in the regular army 
during the Revolutionary War, serving five 
years. He participated in three of the most 
important engagements of the war, — the 
battle of Germantown, which was fought 
near Philadelphia; Monmouth, N. J., 
where the Indians massacred hundreds of 
the inhabitants ; and the storming of Stony 
Point. Returning from the war, he was 



844 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



united in marriage with Margaret Jarred, 
after which he settled in Circcnhrier county, 
W. \"a.. but later removed to Kanawha 
county. He subsequentlx became a resi- 
dent of Indiana, and thence went to Macon 
county. 111., where he died at the age of 
eighty- four years. 

On the maternal side nur subject is also 
descended from an old family of N'irginia. 
The grandfather, David Milburn, was born 
and reared in Hamiishire county, now in 
West \'irginia. and tUiring the time of the 
Revolutionary War was traveling through 
the unsettled State of Tennessee in com- 
pany with some lawyers. They encamped 
one night, and the following morning were 
awakened at daybreak by gunshots fired 
by i1h- iiiili.ins. Mr. Milburn was badly 
wounded, the ball striking him in the right 
breast and coming out at the shoulder. He 
at length recovered from his injuries, and 
lived to the age of eighty-four years. 

In Kanawha county, \'a.. he was united 
in marriage with .a lady whose maiden 
name was Susanna Pryer. though she was 
a widow when she married Mr. Milburn. 
Bv her first husband, who was killed by the 
Indians, she had one child. John Harmon. 

Charles F. See, the father of our subject, 
was born in Greenbrier county, W. \'a., in 
1790. Removing to Kanawha county, he 
there became acquainted with and wedded 
Miss Sarah .Milburn, who was born in that 
county in 1794. They were the iiareiils of 
twelve children, four sons and eight daugh- 
ters, eight of whom are now living : Charles 
F., who was a member of the Twenty-fifth 
Iowa regiment, was wounded during the 
service, and is now a ])ensioner, living in 
Nebraska: John W., of the Forty-fifth 
Iowa Infantry, is engaged in farming in 
Dakota: Stisamia. widow of Asa Elison, 



is living in this State : Margaret, also a 
widow, resides in Iowa ; Lois, makes her 
liome in Dakota ; .\merica, is living in 
Iowa : .\Idoolah, also located in Dakota ; 
May, died in this State: L'rbain, is the wife 
of Rev. J. W. Anderson, a member of the 
Des Moines Conference, and traveled with 
her husband over his circuit for twenty 
years : Sarah, died in childhood. The 
father of this family died in Missouri at 
the age of seventy-nine, and the mother in 
Iowa, when si.xty-four years of age. They 
were earnest Christian people, teaching 
tluir children, both by ])recept and exam- 
l)le. the true way of life. 

Michael See was born I'eb. 27, 181 7, in 
Kanawha county, Va., and when four years 
of age removed with his parents to In- 
diana, locating in Henry county, which was 
then an almost uninhabited wilderness. His 
education was there received in the sub- 
scription schools. In 1835 the father sold 
bis farm, and the following spring removed 
with his family to what is known as the 
lUack I lawk Purchase, purchasing a claim 
in Henry county, west of Purlington. Pre- 
vious to the fall of 1836 the country was 
entirely surveyed, but at tha,t lime a line 
was laid, which divides Des Moines and 
Henry counties, and was called the Merid- 
ian line. 

In ilu- fall of 1839 our subject entered 
land ;it tlio first land .sale ever held in the 
Slate, it taking |)lace at P>urlington. The 
farm which he then secured was situated 
in Des Moines county, and at the sale of 
1840 his father also entered land. The 
country was then new. times were hard, and 
difficulties surrounded them on all sides; 
hut the hr.ue ])ioneers toiled 011 with the 
hojje that one day they might rest from 
their labors. 



DES MOfXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



845 



In Des Moines county, Iowa, in Novem- 
ber, 1838, Mr. See was united in marriag^e 
with Elizabeth Miller, who was born in 
Kentucky, in 1819, and moved with her 
parents to Illinois, and thence to the Black 
Hawk Purchase in 1836. By their union 
eig;ht children were born, six of whom 
are yet living: Lucretia, now Mrs. Turk- 
ington, who resides on a farm in Washing- 
ton county, Iowa ; Lois, now ]\Irs. Will- 
iams, who is living on a^ farm in Union 
county. Iowa : Rebecca, now Mrs. Latta, 
living on a farm in Muscatine county : 
Mary, now Mrs. Thompson, who resides 
on a farm in Henry county ; Anna, now 
Airs. Wilkins, of A\'ashington county; and 
John W., who married Arta Greary, and 
is living in Louisa county. The mother 
of these children died in Grand \'iew, 
Louisa county, Aug. 24, 1865. She had 
traveled with Mr. See over different cir- 
cuits for twenty years, was a faithful Chris- 
tian woman, and her faith in the promises 
of the Bible never faltered. Her parents, 
William and Xancy ( Hanks) Miller, died 
in Des Moines county, Iowa. Her mother 
was a relative of Abraham Lincoln. 

In 1866 Mr. See was again married, in 
Wapello, Louisa county, Iowa, becoming 
the husband of Jane E. Tompkins, who 
was born in Essex county, N. J., Jan. 3, 
1 83 1, and is a daughter of Isaac and Xancy 
(Candad) Tompkins, who died in Xew 
Jersey. Two children have been born of 
their union, — Aldoolah and Adah. 

In 1842 Mr. See united with the Meth- 
odist Episcopal church, in Henry county, 
Iowa, soon afterward was licensed to 
preach, and joined the Iowa Conference in 
1845, with which he has since been con- 
nected. Forty years of his life he has 
spent in traveling over circuits, preaching 



the gospel of Christ, and during his min- 
istry has received about two thousand per- 
sons into the church of Christ. Although 
meeting with difficulties and trials, his faith 
in the teachings and promises of the Bible 
has never forsaken him. He has now re- 
tired from active life, and is living upon 
a small farm' of fifty-eight acres in Louisa 
countv. 



LOUIS CHARLES GIESEKER. 

Louis Ch.\rles Gieseker, who can claim 
Burlington as his home for fifty years, is 
the oldest of eleven children, and belongs 
to one of the oldest German families who 
came here in earl\- pioneer times. He is 
a son of Charles and Louisa (Miller) Giese- 
ker, and was born in Burlington township 
Dec. 25, 1854. His father, whose sketch 
appears in this work, came to America, set- 
tling in Ohio, in 1837, and to Burlington, 
Iowa, in 1842, where he at once bought a 
large farm, which is now a part of Crapo 
Park. Mr. Gieseker having such a large 
family, was obliged to have his older chil- 
dren assist him on the farm as soon as possi- 
ble ; so under these circumstances our sub- 
ject's education was necessarily very limited, 
though he has obtained much knowledge by 
reading and in the general schools of experi- 
ence. Louis lived and worked on his fath- 
er's place till he was about thirty years old, 
when he began farming on his own respon- 
sibility, and continued at it for twelve years. 
Desiring at this time to try city life he gave 
up farming, and was engaged in sawmills, 
railroad shops, and other occupations till 
1887, when he returned to his first love and 
bought sixteen acres of land south of town 



846 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl 'lEW 



near liis father, wIktc he was again a pros- 
perous farmer till 1898. 

About this tiuie the city opened up a park 
adjoining Mr. Giesekcr's place and he was 
obliged to part with eleven and one-half 
acres for nnich less than he felt it was worth. 
He devoted his time to the raising of the 
small fruits thereon. Two acres in grapes, 
from which, according to the crops, he 
makes from twenty-six to one hundred and 
fifty gallons of nice grape brandy annually, 
ami frnin Iwenty-fivc to forty barrels of 
wine of the pure grajie juice. Two acres 
were devoted tcj strawberries. Besides hav- 
ing had one acre in raspberries and the same 
in blackberries, Mr. Gieseker has wisely 
planted about seventy-five fruit trees. 

He has converted his suburban residence, 
which joins the park on the north, into a 
very nice quiet family cafe or outing resort, 
and caters- especially for the trade of the 
best and most refined people, who certainly 
appreciate such a convenience anil pleasure 
while spending a day in the l)eautiful ])ark. 
In summing up his review, we find that the 
prosperity Mr. Gieseker has nbtained is 
the result of his own personal efforts. 



CARL LOUIS GIESEKER. 

When Carl Louis Gieseker passed away 
Burlington lost one of its ])ioneer settlers, 
a man whose identification with this sec- 
tion of the State dated from a very early 
|»Ti()(l in the (levelo|)nK'nt nf l<iwa. .M(^re- 
over, he had through a long business career 
displayed the conimenilable trails of char- 
acter which not only win success, but also 
gain the respect, confidence and good-will 
of his fel)ow-nien. 



He was bom in West I'halen, Germany, 
March 5, 1817. His education was very 
meager : but what little he did receive was in 
the public schools of I'halen. His father 
was a fanner, and our subject remained on 
the home place till after he reached his ma- 
jority, when in 1840 he came to .\merica 
by way of New York and went direct to 
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained for 
two years at farm work. Wanting to see 
something of the country west of Cincin- 
nati, he started for Iowa, reaching Burling- 
ton in 1842, where he remained for a time, 
earning his living by chopping wood on 
one of the islands near by. Soon after this 
an opportunity presented itself whereby 
Mr. Gieseker could obtain employment in 
the city, and in 1843 he began to clerk in 
the grocery store of Mr. Pepper, whose 
|)lace of business was on the levee. Mr. 
l'ei)per dying in 1844, our subject ven- 
tured to buy the business, and conducted 
the grocery himself for a long time. 

Having still more faith in the possibili- 
ties of his adopted State, he invested in 
more real estate, this time erecting a neat 
business block where the Western L'nion 
Telegraph Office is now located, and car- 
ried on business in Burlington till the 
cholera broke out in 1851, when he sold 
out and returned to his native land. He 
visited in the old country for two years, and 
after returning located on the farm he had 
previously purchased, and which is now 
the best part of the Burlington City Park. 
Here he had a long-continued residence 
of forty-two years, always taking great 
pleasure in improving his farm ; aiid as he 
was well trained for farming in his younger 
days, he was very successful, and at the 
time he gave up the farm his land had more 
than doubled itself in value. He had lived 



DES JIIOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



847 



to see the city extended to such an extent 
that his farm was in the city Hmits. In 
189s Air. Gieseker sold his farm, or the 
most of it, to the city for park purposes, 
and as he was nearly eighty years old he 
decided to retire from farming, and moved 
to 1505 Central Avenue, where he was 
permitted to rest from liis laBors for only 
about two years, passing to his great reward 
March 11, 1897, at the age of eighty years. 
Feb. 22, 1854, Mr. Gieseker was married 
to Miss Alarie Louisa Moeller, daughter 
of Frederick and Elizabeth (Buhrmaster) 
Moeller, who was born in Germany, Feb. 5, 
1836. Her parents both died in Germany, 
and .she came to yVmerica on the return trip 
of Mr. Gieseker in 1853. They became 
the parents of eleven children : Louis Carl ; 
l\Iary (Mrs. John Meilahn), who lives on 
Barrett Street, in Burlington, Iowa; Louisa 
C. (Mrs. Fred Meilahn), of 1104 South 
Seventh Street, of the same city ; John, with 
Louis Charles ; Charles, a farmer, and resi- 
dent of Terre Haute, 111. ; Edward August, 
of 1219 Tenth Street, Burlington; Eliza- 
beth, died in infancy ; Henry, who has 
lived in Alaska for the last four years ; 
WilHam F., a butcher by trade, and a resi- 
dent of Helena, Mont.; Emma (unmarried) 
resides at Morris, Minn. ; Fred W., who 
keeps books for a club in Chicago. The 
parents gave these children a fair educa- 
tion in the public schools, and thus fitted 
them for useful men and women. Mr. and 
Mrs. Gieseker were leading and influential 
members of the First German Evangelical 
church, of Sixth and Columbia Streets, 
and at the time of Mr. Gieseker's death he 
was one of the oldest members. Politically, 
he was ever a strong Democrat, but did 
not carry his politics beyond the limits of 
his private life. 



It was always a great pleasure for friends 
and neighbors to visit and chat with this 
kind old gentleman, as he was always well 
posted on all the political issues of the day, 
in both his native and his adopted country. 
He was well known in Burlington and sur- 
roiuiding country. L'pright in thought 
and deed, he lived at peace with his fellow- 
men as a true Christian, and one whose in-. 
fluencc was ever on the side of truth. Long 
a resident of Des Moines county, his loss 
was deeply felt, while one more name was 
added to the list of the country's dead. 



JAMES F. BARR. 

In a history of the men of strong pur- 
pose, energy, and well-directed business 
capacity, who have aided in shaping the 
material development and progress of Bur- 
lington and Des Moines counties, James F. 
Barr, deceased, should be numbered. He 
was born at Pleasant Grove, Iowa, March 
II, 1864, his parents being James and Mary 
J. (Ferrier) Barr. The father was born 
in Londonderry, Ireland, May 12, 1816, and 
having crossed the Atlantic to the New 
World, in early life spent a brief period in 
this country. He then returned to his na- 
tive land, but in 1848, when thirty-two years 
of age, again made the voyage to the United 
States, settling in Philadelphia, Penn. He 
wedded JMary Jane Ferrier on the twenty- 
sixth of April, 1849, and afterward re- 
moved to Iowa, spending ten years in this 
State. He then returned to Philadelphia, but 
when he had again been a resident of that 
city for a year he made preparations to es 
tablish a permanent home in Des Moines 
county, Iowa. He therefore located on a 



8+8 



BIOGRAPHICAL Rlini-AV 



farm near I'kasaiit drove, and was long 
a respected and valued resident of Wash- 
ington townsliip. there residing until the 
first of March. 1893. when he removed to 
Mediapolis. living in retirement from fur- 
ther business cares until his demise, which 
occurred i"el). 5. i8»/). His wife still sur- 
vives him. lie united with the Presbyterian 
church of Ireland, when twenty years of 
age. and became a member of the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian ihnrrli of Pleasant Grove, 
about i8f')2. I'pon their removal to Medi- 
apolis, Mr. and Mrs. liarr became members 
of the Presbyterian church of that place. 
Mrs. Rarr's birth also occurred in Lon- 
donderry. Ireland, and they were married in 
Philadcli)hia. They had two children: Kd- 
wanl W. and James F. .Mrs. I'.arr still re- 
sides at Mediapolis. and is in comfortable 
financial circumstances, for Mr. Harr in his 
business career met with gratifying pros- 
perity. He became the owner of a large 
tract of land, was extensively engaged in 
stock-raising, and his well-managed busi- 
ness affairs made him one of the |)rosperous 
citizens of his conmuniity. 

James !•". I'.arr was reared to mailhood 
ii|)on his father's farm, there remaining until 
fourteen years of age, win 11 lu- attended 
I-llliott's liusiness College, at LJurlington. 
He afterward entered the employ of Brown 
& liarhydt. wholesale shoe dealers of Des 
Moines as bookkeeper. Following his mar- 
riage he removed to the home farm in 
Washington township, upon which he con- 
tinued to reside for five years, tlure having 
charge of the cultivation ami improvement 
of nine hundred and sixty acres of land. He 
was alsf.i engaged in stock-raising, and was 
accounted one of the leading stock men of 
the county. At length removing from the 
farm he established his liome in P.urlington. 



and became the secretary and treasurer of 
the Iowa Soap Company, with whicii he 
was connected throughout his remaining 
days, assisting in building up a very large 
and prosperous business. He also super- 
vised his agricultural interests throughout 
this period, and his varied business affairs 
broiight him splendid success. The line of 
his achievement was always farming, and 
in his business affairs his course was char- 
acterized by honor, for in all his transac- 
tions he was strictly fair, straightforward, 
anti reliable, never taking advantage of the 
necessities of his fellow-men in any business 
dealing. 

On the 29th of XovemlKT. 1888. Mr. 
Uarr was married to Miss limma Beck, at 
Morning Sun, Iowa, a daughter of Conrad 
and Flizabeth (Grote) Beck, who are repre- 
sented on another page of this work. Mr. 
and Mrs. Barr became the parents of two 
children: Mark Chester, who was born at 
Roscoe, Iowa. Jan. 19. 1893; and Mar- 
guerite, born at Burlington. .\ug. 11, 1896. 

.\lr. Barr gave his political allegiance to 
the Democracy, but never sought or desired 
|)olitical i)rcfernunt. He held membership 
ill the .Methodist i'.piscopal church, and 
served on its official board, taking an 
active and hel])ful interest in its work. 
His wife is also a member of that church. 
I'or eight years prior to his demise he 
was in ill health, and although all that 
medical science could do was done for 
him, it was unavailing. He ranked with 
the leading business men of Burlington, 
having the marked enterprise and keen 
foresight which are indispensable attri- 
butes of success. He was also known as 
a good citizen, ])rogressive in all matters 
relating to the ])ublic welfare, while in his 
home and in social circles he was a devoted 



DES MOIiXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



84Q 



friend and a kind and loving husband and 
father. In 1888 he built a fine residence 
upon his farm and in 1898 erected one of 
the beautiful homes in Burlington, at 8og 
North Seventh Street. He passed away 
Sept. 30, 1904, and his death was deeply de- 
plored in social and business circles, for he 
was a man whom to know was to respect 
and honor, and who through his sterling 
traits of character had gained warm and 
enduring friendships. 



CONRAD BECK. 

Conrad Beck, deceased, was a promi- 
nent farmer and stock-raiser of Pleasant 
Grove townshiij, Des Moines county, and 
achieved a success which was an indication 
of superior business ability, executive force, 
and unfaltering determination. He was 
born Dec. 23, 1808, in Hesse-Darmstadt, 
Germany, near Frankfort-on-the-Rhine. 
When nineteen years of age he left home, 
his father giving him his blessing, a prayer 
book and the equivalent of a dollar in .Ameri- 
can money. Years afterward he repaid the 
money by sending his father three hundred 
dollars. After visiting France, Spain, and 
I'ortugal, Mr. Beck decided to locate near 
London, England, and for five years was in 
the employ of Lord Mangester as a gar- 
dener. On the expiration of that period he 
sailed for New York, believing that he would 
have better business advantages in the New 
World. He occupied a similiar position 
with General Luce in Dutchess county. New 
York, and in 1833 came to Iowa, settling 
at Rome, near Fairfield, where he pur- 
chased one hundred and sixty acres of land. 
On his way to that place he stopped for a 



brief period at Burlington, and dug the first 
cellar in that city, for which labor he was 
paid ten dollars. Mr. Beck did not remain 
long in the vicinity of Fairfield, but removed 
to Pleasant Grove township, Des Moines 
county, where he entered land from the gov- 
ernment, to which he added from time to 
time in later years. His first house was 
built of logs and clapboards, and had a single 
piece of glass for a window. He figured 
that the house cost him in money a dollar 
and twenty cents. In true pioneer style he 
began life in this county, putting forth stren- 
uous effort to overcome the difficulties and 
obstacles under which all frontier settlers 
labor, and as the years passed his work was 
crowned with success. In 1849, however, 
he was filled with the desire to go to the 
famous newly discovered gold fields of Cali- 
fornia, and in connection with Hon. Justice 
Clark, each outfitted a big wagon with four 
yoke of oxen. Mr. Beck took with him 
sugar and other articles to trade with the 
Indians for pelts, and also commodities that 
he might sell to advantage. They proceeded 
westward to Council Bluffs, up the Platte- 
River, and across the Rockies to San Fran- 
cisco, where Mr. Beck sold his outfit. Mr. 
Clark's oxen had all died on the way, but 
Mr. Beck was more careful with his teams 
and lost none. 

After a sojourn of a year in the far 
West, Mr. Beck returned by way of the 
isthmus route. After leaving the California 
port the vessel in which he sailed encoun- 
tered a severe storm and was in great peril. 
The food supply also became largely ex- 
hausted, and they were on short rations 
for fourteen days before reaching the 
isthmus. Knowing that the ship's offi- 
cers were responsible for the want of 
provisions, the j^assengers decided that 



850 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA'IEIV 



if cannibalism became necessary, as they 
were afraid it might, they would eat the 
officers first. Mr. lieck finally reached Iowa 
by way of the Mississippi River, returning 
home with fourteen hundred dollars in 
gold. He then resumed farming and stock- 
raising, and became one of the most pros- 
perous men in his township, because of his 
progressive methods, his untiring activity, 
and his keen business discernment. He had 
three thousand acres of land, and built 
a stone residence in Pleasant Grove that was 
one of the finest homes in the county. He 
made his first purchases of land at govern- 
ment prices or a little more, and for some 
of his later investments he paid as high as 
thirty-five dollars per acre. \\ith the 
growth ami settlement of the county the 
land greatly increased in value, and he be- 
came one of the prosperous agriculturists 
of this part of the State. 

In 1842, in the town of Burlington, Mr. 
Beck was married to Miss Elizabeth Grote. 
of Dodgeville, Iowa, who was bom at 
Krois Minden, Germany, Dec. 21, 1821, 
and died June 19, 1895, at Morning Sun, 
Iowa. Her ])arcnts were John D. and Anna 
Grote. Her father was born. Aug. 19, 1790, 
and his wife's birth occurred in 1788, while 
her death occurred Sept 13, 1855. They 
came to America in 1840, settling in Iowa, 
where Mr. Grote carried on agricultural 
pursuits until his death, which occurred 
May 17, 1868. The children of Mr. and 
Mrs. Beck are nine in number: Mary, died 
August, 1904, the widow of David Schenck, 
of Memphis, Mo. ; Sarah ; William, who 
married Ella Berryhill, and lives in Morn- 
ing Sun, Iowa : Caroline, the wife of Hon. 
F. N. Smith, of Burlington ; Henry H., who 
married Fanny Vcle, of Breckenridge, 
Texas ; Cassie A., the wife of Hon. E. L. 



McClurkcn, of Morning Sun, Iowa ; Senna, 
the wife of Joseph F. Swallow, of Burling- 
ton ; Elizabeth, the wife of O. B. Jamison, 
of Newport, Iowa ; and Emma Louise, who 
married J. F. Barr, of Burlington. 

In his political views Mr. Beck was a 
Democrat, and in religious faith was con- 
nected with the German Metho<list church 
at Pleasant Grove. In 1875, he retired from 
the farm and took up his home at Morning 
Sun, where his death occurred Oct. 13, 
1895. -f^c ^^'3s a strictly temperate man, 
never using intoxicants of any kind, nor 
tobacco. He was noted for his industry 
and frugality, his honest dealing and his 
reliability. Indolence and idleness were 
utterly abhorent to his nature, and he put 
forth earnest effort to provide for his fam- 
ily and secure a com]x>tcncy. He stood four 
square to every wind that blew, was a man 
of honest convictions, and never faltered in 
support of a course which he believed to be 
right. During the last sixteen years of his 
life he was blind. His wife jj.-^ssed away a 
few months before his demise, and it was 
his fondly exi)ressed desire that he, too, 
might go and thus join her. As a frontier 
settler of Eastern Iowa, he took an active 
and helpful i)art in its early development 
and progress, and is now numbered among 
the honored pioneers of the State. 



TOPHEL FISCHER. 

One of the most progressive farmers and 
substantial citizens of Huron township, 
where he is following his occupation with 
nuich success, is Tophel Fischer, who is one 
of the later comers to the county. Mr. 
I'"ischer was Ixim at Roanoke, 111., in April, 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



851 



1868, and is the son of August and Lena 
(Storts) Fischer. 

Tophel Fischer secured his education in 
the public schools of his township, and as a 
boy and young man was thoroughly trained 
in the principles and practice of agriculture, 
acquiring knowledge and proficiency by per- 
sonal experience, working as a farm hand 
from the time he left school until the time of 
his marriage. Nov. 6, 1899, he was united 
in marriage, at Peoria, 111., to Miss Bertha 
Miller, daughter of Fred and Mary (Spring- 
er) Miller. He then rented a farm near 
Roanoke, successfullj' cultivating it for a 
period of nine years, at the end of which time 
he came to Iowa and purchased his present 
farm, and has since resided here. It was in 
1902 that he made this move to Huron town- 
ship, and the farm consists of eighty acres 
of rich farm land in Section 6, and sixty-six 
acres of timber land in Section 3. It is in a 
high state of cultivation and thoroughly de- 
veloped, having undergone many improve- 
ments since passing to the ownership of Mr. 
Fischer. The house, which is commodious, 
has been remodeled and an addition built, a 
new barn has been erected to accommodate 
the products of the fertile soil, six thousand 
tile have been put in, and the farm improved 
in general, so that the equipment is modern. 

i\Irs. Fischer, whose maiden name was 
Bertha Miller, was born in Berne, Switzer- 
land. Her natal day was March 7, 1879. 
Her mother died when she was only two 
years old. When she was nine years old, 
she came to America with her two sisters. 
Her sister Mary Eliza married Henry Islie, 
and now lives in [Monroe, Wis. Her sister 
Lena makes her home in Peoria, 111. 

To "Sir. and Airs. Fischer have been born 
two children: Ida, born April 14, 1901 ; and 
Gustie. born March 13, 1903. 



In religious faith ]\Ir. and Mrs. Fischer are 
members of the Christian Apostolic church, 
and their deeds have brought no blush to their 
profession. 

Although Mr. Fischer has been for so 
short a time a resident of Huron township, 
he has always manifested a willingness to 
perform the duties which devolve on him as 
a citizen, and he and his wife have won many 
friends by their helpfulness and neighborly 
kindness. It may be said of Mr. Fischer 
that in every relation of life in which he has 
been called to take a part he has proved him- 
self equal to the occasion. The history of 
his private relations with men is one of un- 
failing honor, uprightness, and strictest rec- 
titude, a mode of life which has made him 
rich in the respect of all. 



CHARLES KOESTNER. 

Charles Koestner is a notable repre- 
sentative of an old German family, and has 
manifested in the course of an active and 
interesting career many of the most inter- 
esting traits of his race and blood — those 
traits that have made the German-American 
citizens of this country so highly honored 
as an ac-quisition to the nation. He has been 
industrious to a marked degree, and has 
never shown any disposition to shirk hard 
work or avoid his full share of the labor to 
be done. He has kept his word, and his 
pledge has been like a bond. Kind to the 
poor, and with an ear ahvays open to the 
cry of the needy, he has ever been a good 
neighbor, a generous friend, and an upright 
citizen. He has been a kind husband and a 
loving father, giving his children the best 
of advantages in starting them in life for 



852 



HIOGRAI'HKAL RPAlIiir 



themselves, as well as giving them that best 
of heritages, a home training that made 
strict integrity and upright morals the 
things of greatest value in their estimation. 
These are the virtues that belong to the 
German blood, and these characterize the 
career of the man whose life deeds and 
aciiievements are the subject of this bio- 
graphical history. 

Charles Koestner was born in Bavaria, 
Germany. June J4. iS^;, the son of John 
ancl Kuniiij,'iin<la (i'arniggel) Knestiier. 
The father was also burn in IJavaria. tiie date 
of his birth being Uec. 18, 1803. He was 
reared on a farm, and was educated in the 
public schools of the community. He was 
married in 1832. and came to America in 
1855, bringing witii liini his wife and seven 
children. They landed at New Orleans, and 
came up the Mississip])i to Burlington, and 
settled in liurlington townshij), where he 
rented a farm. He carried mi a general 
farming business for ten years, then re- 
tired from active life. He died in May of 
187 1, and his •wife survived him until .April 
of 188 1. The family were devoted mem- 
bers of St. John's Catholic church, being 
faithful followers of its teachings, and gen- 
erous supporters of it at all times. The 
father was in sympathy w-ith the Demo- 
cratic party, in his political views. 

Charles Koestner received his education 
partly in the public schools of Germany, 
partly in those of Burlington township, as 
he was fourteen years of age when his par- 
ents came to this country. He grew to 
manhood on the farm in Burlington town- 
ship, learning the practical lessons of agri- 
culture, and working for his father till he 
was twenty-four years of age. From 1865 
till 1869 he left agricultural pursuits, and 
clerked in a store, working for J. W. 



Rhodes, of Burlington, who conducted a 
general store. These four years of experi- 
ence in the mercantile world have been of 
the greatest value to him, and have contrib- 
uted in no small measure to his success, 
through the ])ractical lessons of business 
life that he then acquired. 

In i8^9 Mr. Koestner returnetl to the 
<|uieler but surer life of the farmer, rent- 
ing the old Mason farm of three hundred 
acres. He continued to rent this land till 
i8(j2. alwa\s paying a cash rental, which in 
the time that he occupied the land amounted 
to $23,000. Here he conducted a general 
farming and cattle-feeding business, at the 
same time renting and buyiiig other land, at 
times working some four htmdred and fifty 
acres. in iSi^j he left the .Mason farm, 
buying and moving onto his ])resent beauti- 
ful place of ninety-si.x acres, which joins 
the city limits. Here he started a general 
fruit-growing business, in addition to his 
general farming, planting at first about 
thirty-one acres in all kinds of fruits. He 
has other tracts nf lanil in the county, ag- 
gregating about five hundred acres of the 
tinest farm lands in the county, and on each 
l)lace is a large orchard of trees selected 
from the finest varieties suited to this lat- 
itude. Mr. Kcx'stner improved the home 
place since it came into his possession, by 
repairing all the buildings, and setting out 
uov fruit trees, and is at present personally 
sui)erinten<ling the work on one hundred 
and thirty acres. 

On .\ug. 26, 1866, Mr. Koestner was 
united in marriage to l\Iiss Philomena Geb- 
hart, daughter of John and Louise 
(W'ellem) Cjcbhart. To this union six chil- 
dren were liurn, live sons and one daughter: 
Henry C, who married Sophia Brune; 
George J., married Mary Vorwerk ; Frank 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



853 



J., married Mary Kuntz ; Andrew J., mar- 
ried Minnie Muensenmeier ; and Carl E. and 
Annie L., who live at home. Mr. Koest- 
ner has also raised to womanhood two 
adopted children, the children of his 
brother, their father and mother both dying 
while they were very young. These chil- 
dren are JMinnie, wife of Henry Wagner, 
and Caroline, wife of Joseph Abris. All 
of Mr. Koestner's children are nicely started 
in life, and are settled near him, all living 
in Des Moines county, and all prosperous. 
He has a family of which he has every rea- 
son to be proud. 

Mr. Koestner's first wife died Nov. 2, 
1885, and on March 2, 1887, he married 
Miss Elizabeth Hoelscher. They have 
many warm friends, both in the city of Bur- 
lington and among their nearer neighbors, 
and as they are both of a cordial social na- 
ture, their beautiful home has been the 
scene of many happy gatherings, and they 
are famed throughout the county for their 
whole-souled hospitality. Mr. Koestner 
was for many years director of the public 
schools, an office in which he was able to 
render valuable assistance to the cause of 
education, in -which he is a firm believer, 
and to which he has ever given all the en- 
couragement in his power, realizing that the 
public-school system is the foundation stone 
•of our national liberties, and that a wise 
oversight of the training of youth is the 
price of our continued greatness as a people. 
He has also played an important part in the 
political life of Des Moines county, taking 
part in public activities as a member of the 
Democratic party, for whose success he has 
consistently labored throughout his career, 
and in whose councils his voice has carried 
weight and authority. He was once the 
nominee of his party for State senator. 



Mr. Koestner's life has been one of con- 
stant usefulness and success, and in all his 
dealings with his fellow-men he has striven 
to be strictly honest and impartial, always 
seeking to guard against doing any man an 
injustice, jireserving at all times an up- 
right, honorable, and absolutely unwavering 
course of integrity — a mode of life which 
has brought its own reward in the esteem 
of all who know him as he is. His quali- 
ties of foresight and ready appreciation of 
an opportunity, added to an unfailing per- 
severance in all circumstances, have brought 
him worldly wealth, and enabled him of 
late years to enjoy in ease the fruits of a 
life well spent. 



GEORGE HENRY ARCHER. 

Yellow Springs township counts 
among its enterprising and prosperous 
citizens many young men of much ability 
who are a great credit to the county. 
Among these is George Henry Archer, 
who is a lifelong resident of the above- 
named township where he was born Nov. 
6, 1853. He is the son of Edward -Gillan 
and Nancy Elizabeth (Talbott) Archer. 
See sketch and portrait elsewhere. 

Our subject has always been engaged 
in farming, and has made stock-raising a 
specialty, in which he has obtained the 
best results. He is now superintending 
his father's estate, consisting of some 
three hundred and seventy-seven acres, of 
which three hundred and twenty are in 
Section 32, and fifty-eight in Section 29. 
This place is well improved, with sub- 
stantial buildings, and the land is very 
productive, yielding a very gratifying 



85+ 



BIOCR.lPllKAL REVIF.W 



crop each season. Mr. Arclier raises some 
fine Kentucky tlu>roughbred horses, hav- 
ing at the present writing about twenty 
head. He also raises about one hundred 
head of hogs annually, having some fifty 
head now, and cares for sixty head of 
blooded cattle each year. 

In jjolitics he has given his support and 
co-o])erati(jn to the Republican jiarty but 
for local matters votes for the man. He 
has never aspired to public office, prefer- 
ring to give his time and attention to his 
own immediate business. He is a man 
well posted on all the current events of 
the times, is pleasant and congenial, his 
principles and actions are of the higliest 
character and his record in business is a 
great source of pride to his many relatives 
and friends throughout tlu' county. 

Mr. Archer was married l*"cb. 27, 1879, 
to Mary Ellen Jones, daughter of John R. 
Jones, who was also born in Yellow 
Springs townshi]). They have one child, 
Julia Ellen, born July 7, 1881. Mrs. 
Archer died Oct. 22. 1883. aged twenty- 
six years. (Sec also Jones' history.) 



MILTON P. CALDWELL. 

Milton P. Caldwell, an early settler 
of Des Moines county, and a highly re- 
spected citizen of Washington township, 
residing on his farm of one hundred and 
sixty acres on Section 1 1 , was born in 
Muskingum county, Ohio, Feb. 19, 1834, 
and liveil in that State till 1854. He was 
educated in the common schools of Mus- 
kingmn county, at the Fox Creek school, 
an<l while going to school assisted with 
the work ui)on the home farm. 



He was the son of John M. and Jane 
(Jamison) Caldwell. The father was 
born in .Muskingum county, and remained 
there engaged in farming till 1834. Dur- 
ing that year, when our subject was 
about six weeks old. the family moved 
to a farm in Hardin county, Ohio, where 
they remained till after the death of the 
father, which occurred in 1841. Two 
years later Milton P. Caldwell and his 
mother went back to Muskingum county, 
and made that their hoiue until 1854, 
when they went to Illinois, locating on 
a farm in Mercer county. Here they re- 
mained till the spring of 1859, when ihey 
decided to go still farther west, and came 
to Des Moines county, Iowa. 

Here Milton P. and his brother, Samuel 
L., purchased eighty acres of laml. ])art 
of tile farm where Mr. Caldwell now re- 
sides, lieginning with this wild, uncul- 
tivated land, that had never known the 
]dowshare nor the hand of man, they 
built up a home for themselves. Since 
that time wonderful changes have been 
made in the place. .\11 the improvements 
have been made ; a fine large frame dwell- 
ing-house has been erected, good barns 
and other buildings have been built, and 
everything has been done that could be 
done to make the place the modern, well- 
c(|uippe(l farm home that it now is. 
While Mr. Caldwell has made a great 
success as a general farmer, he has made 
a specialty of stock-raising, being well 
known in the country round about 
for the high-grade Clydesdale Norman 
horses and Hereford cattle that he has 
been breeding with great care for the 
last few years. 

Mr. Caldwell was one of a family of 
six children, of whom the <>nlv other one 









P^^?^%^ 


1 


■ 




















^'\" V^^Br 


^^^^^^^H 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 






6,- 


1^ ^If'^^W ^mfi 




1 








1 'rfri^^ 




^W 






H^R 


'.;i^ 


n 


m^H 


^^Br^ 


■ 


■ 




■ 


H 



MILTON P. CALDWELL. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



857 



who is still living is the brother Samuel 
who was at first a joint owner with Mr. 
Caldwell of the farm in Washington 
township. The mother died July 17, 1875, 
at the home place, eighty-one years of 
age. 

Samuel Caldwell, the brother, is now 
living at Lennox, Iowa, where he is re- 
tired, and where he is the president of 
the Citizens' State Bank of Lennox. 

Milton P. Caldwell purchased his 
brother's interest in the home farm, and 
has added to it until he now has two hun- 
dred and forty acres, all under cultiva- 
tion. It is one of the best-kept farms in 
the county, whether from the standpoint 
of utility or comfort. 

Mr. Caldwell was united in marriage 
on Jan. 13, 1866, to Miss Martha Ellen 
Williams, a native of Adams county, 
Ohio. Mrs. Caldwell came from Ohio to 
Iowa with a cousin, in 1853, when she 
was young, her parents having died in 
Ohio. She remained with her cousin un- 
til her marriage. To them six children 
have been born, three sons and three 
daughters, of whom five are still living. 
The children are: Elmer, a farmer, re- 
siding in Yellow Springs township, 
where he and his brother John own and 
operate a fine farm of two hundred and 
forty acres; Ella, who lives with her 
brothers John and Elmer, keeping the 
home for them ; John J., residing in Yel- 
low Springs township, and in partner- 
ship with his brother Elmer; AVilbur W., 
who resides on the home place, which he 
farms; Ina, wife of George Delzell, a 
farmer of Louisa county, Iowa ; and Lily, 
who died at the age of two years. 

When the Civil War broke out, and 
the president sent out the call for troops. 



Mr. Caldwell became convinced that his 
country needed him and so he enlisted, 
in 1862, in Company G, of the Thirty- 
ninth Iowa Infantry, and served to the 
end of the war. He was corporal, and 
took part in some important battles and 
a number of skirmishes. He was on 
the famous march to the sea; but was 
never sick enough to go to hospital. 
He was mustered out at Clinton, Iowa, 
at the end of the war, and received hon- 
orable discharge there. He has kept up 
his recollections and associations of army 
days by becoming a member of the 
Grand Army of the Republic, belonging 
to Blake Post at Morning Sun, Iowa. In 
his political views Mr. Caldwell has al- 
ways been a Republican. He cast his 
first presidential ballot for John C. Fre- 
mont, and has taken an active and help- 
ful interest in political and other public 
aiYairs in his township, although he has 
never cared for holding public office. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Caldwell are faithful 
adherents of the United Presbyterian 
church, holding membership with the or- 
ganization of Morning Sun, Iowa, sup- 
porting it in its benevolences, and spread- 
ing its influence. 

Mr. Caldwell has been a witness of 
many improvements in general condi- 
tions in Des Moines county; has viewed 
its rise, in fact, from an almost primitive 
state to the proudest position in the com- 
monwealth. Moreover, he has borne a 
worthy part in the general advancement, 
as his ability has enabled him to do. He 
is a man of strong character, and has won 
success by his own efforts, and this 
achievement has gained for him the 
respect of all, while his genial disposi- 
tion has made him manv friends. 



8s8 



BIOGRAPHICAL RLllEW 



FREDERICK JULIUS. 

Frederick Julius, who has succeeded in 
building up the largest transfer business in 
Burlington, was born in tliis city. Feb. i6, 
1875, his parents being William F. and 
Livonia (Short) Julius. The father came 
to America with his parents from Germany 
about 1861, being then ten or twelve years 
of age, and the family home was established 
in r.urlington. lli' became a butcher, and 
wiiile conducting a shop here met with an 
accident which terminated his life. His 
widow afterward married again, and is now 
Mrs. Reising, of .Aurora. 111. By the first 
marriage there were three children : Fred, 
Louis, and a daugiiter that died when a 
year old. 

Frederick Julius was educated in the 
parochial and i)ublic schools of Burlington, 
and when but nine years of age began work- 
ing for his board and clothes upon a farm. 
He was employed in that way for two years, 
after which he drove the " hill mule," a 
mule that was attached to the street car to 
pull it u]) Xortii I nil from Main Street, 
and from JelTerson Street to the top of West 
Hill. Later he carried messages for the 
Western Union Telegraph Company for a 
year, and subsecjuently sijcnt si.x months at 
the upholstering business, after which he 
became night ojierator for the Bell Tele- 
phone Company for a year. His connec- 
tion with the livery business began in two 
years' service in the Strickland livery barn, 
and for a year thereafter he was coachman 
for Frank Millard. Entering the employ of 
Nat Bruen, he took care of and drove his 
race horses as second man, after which he 
drove a bus for the Duncan Hotel for two 
years. On the expiration of that period he 
began the transfer business on his own 



account, having one express wagon, but 
since that time his patronage has steadily 
increased, and he now has seven wagons 
and nine teams, employing seven men, and 
having the largest patronage of any transfer 
business of the city. 

-Mr. Julius was married in 1893 to Miss 
Fnuna Giesen, a native of Switzerland, who 
was taken by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. 
Keiner Giesen, to Kentucky, whence they 
came to I-{urlington. .Mr. and Mrs. Julius 
have one child, Ruth. .Mr. Julius belongs 
to .\erie Lodge, No. 750. F. O. E., of which 
he is now serving as chaplain, and he is also 
a member of the Modern Woodmen Camp 
and the .Sand Lake Club, a hunting and fish- 
ing organization. .Starting out in life at 
a very early age, his business success has 
been won through persistent effort, and 
he is now enjoying the financial return 
which comes to him from a large patronage. 



CHARLES FREDERICK FISHER. 

To record the life story of one who has 
k)ng been intimately identified with the 
vital interests of the comnuuiity, is the duty 
and tilt Iiighest i)rivilege of the historian, 
and it is with confidence that the name 
which heads this revie^v is here inscribed 
u])()n the roll of Ues Moines county's dis- 
tinguished and useful citizens. Mr. Fisher 
is of German extraction, his parents having 
earlv removed from that country to Eng- 
land, and he was born at Rotherham, Eng- 
land, IMarch 26, 1865, the .son of Herman 
and Margaret (Brcuck) Fisher. In his 
native land he received a good conuuon- 
school education, and on leaving school he 
became associated witli his father in the 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



85Q 



meat business, his father having always fol- 
lowed the trade of butcher, and in this enter- 
prise he continued until his twenty-fourth 
year, when he decided to take advantage 
of the broader opportunities of the Western 
World, and emigrated to America on July 
4. 1886, locating near DeKalb, 111. 

There the first employment in which he 
engaged, as the preliminary to his new start 
in life, was that of the farm ; but finding 
that his health was sufifering from the cli- 
mate, he abandoned his position, and came to 
Iowa, where he changed his occupation, and 
became an employee in the wire department 
of the McCosh Iron & Steel Company, at 
Burlington, in which he remained for several 
years, or until the company instituted a 
nail business in connection with the other 
industries under their control, when Mr. 
Fisher, by reason of the executive ability 
and general efficiency he had displayed in 
his work, was made general foreman of the 
nail department. He discharged the duties 
of this responsible position for about nine 
months, when, finding that his physical con- 
stitution was being seriously undermined 
by the work in the dust-laden atmosphere of 
the factory, he resigned, in 1888, and be- 
came a machinist's helper for the Chicago, 
Burlington & Ouincy Railroad Company. 
and after serving four years in that capacity, 
was promoted to the work of the pumping 
plant, in which he continued for a further 
period of ten \ears, being again, at the 
end of that time, promoted to a clerkship 
in the offices. After an occupancy of the 
latter post lasting five years, he decided to 
embark in independent business, and in 
August, 1904, he became the proprietor of 
the news-stand in West Burlington, which 
he now conducts, dealing in periodicals, con- 
fectionery, tobaccoes, and cigars, and in 



connection operating a general job print- 
ing plant. In this venture he has been, from 
the first, very successful, securing a large 
patronage and enjoying to a highly gratify- 
ing degree the confidence of the public, with 
whom his lifelong reputation for strict up- 
rightness and unvarying integrity in all his 
dealings, is standing him in good stead. 

In April, 1888, Mr. Fisher was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary Knopp, and of this 
union have been born two sons and four 
daughters, these being Raymond Albert, 
Edgar William, Gertrude ( who died at the 
age of eighteen months), Edna Jennie, 
Hazel, and Ruth. 

A Democrat in political affiliation, Mr. 
Fisher has been very influential in the work 
of his party in this section, and as evidence 
of the confidence and esteem in which he 
is held by his fellow-citizens, has been the 
recipient of many public honors, having, 
been elected town treasurer for two years, 
served three years as a member of the com- 
mon council, received three consecutive 
elections as clerk of Flint River township, 
and being at the present time a member of 
the board of education. Perhaps no resident 
is more thoroughly in touch with all the 
affairs of the community, and as one who is 
peculiarly qualified for the work, he has for 
a time been acting as correspondent for the 
iUirlington Hcuck-Eyc. In his fraternal re- 
lations, he is member of the Knights of 
Pythias, in which he has passed through the 
chairs, and acted as representative to the 
grand lodge : a member of the Court of 
Honor, of which he was recorder for two 
terms ; and of the Modern Woodmen of 
America, which he also served as recorder 
for two years. 

As one who takes a broad view of human 
interests, he is loyal to the cause of religion. 



86o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



being a member of the Congregational 
church, to wliose support he is a generous 
contributor, and for which he acted as or- 
ganist for a period of two years. Pubhc 
spirited in every sense of the word, he is 
an advocate of all that tends to the benefit 
of his community, and by his loyalty to his 
friends and to the general welfare, has made 
many admirers and achieved a large and 
spontaneous popularity, so that while he is 
by no means inclined to vaunt his own 
merits, it may be said for him that his stand- 
ing among liis fellow-men is in all respects 
an honored and enviable one, — one of which 
any man might well be proud. 



CHARLES M. NELSON. 

Cii.vRLES Nelson belongs to that class 
of citizens who have won the admiration 
and respect of all by what they have 
accomplished through individual effort 
and along honorable lines. Mr. Nelson 
is entirely a self-made man, and all that 
he has enjoyed and possessed has been 
won through well-directed labor, guided 
by sound business judgment. He was 
born in Sweden, Jan. ii, i83«j. his birth- 
place being in Tisselsko, Sucken, Els- 
borgland. He was the son of Magnus 
and Mary (Pearson) Nelson. His mother 
died when he was about si.\ years of age, 
and his father afterward married Chris- 
teiia Larson. In his native country 
Charles Nelson actpiired his education by 
attending the public schools. He was 
brougiit up as a farmer, and has followed 
that occupation throughout his life. 

Nov. 15, 1868, Charles Nelson "was 
united in marriage to Miss Mertie Chris- 



tena Olson, daughter of Olaf and Bertha 
(Seltvall) Anderson. She was born Jan. 
9, 1848, in Omal. Sucken, Elsborgland, 
Sweden. The next year after his mar- 
riage, he determined to see what oppor- 
tunities awaited him in the New World, 
so came to America by way of New York, 
coming through Castle Garden, then di- 
rectly to Kingston, Iowa. Here he 
worked for the first month for his father, 
who had preceded him to this country by 
about six months. His parents spent the 
remainder of their lives in this country, 
the father dying in 1893, aged eighty-four 
years, and the mother dying in 1892, at 
the age of si.xty-scven years. Mrs. Nel- 
son's parents never came to this countrj', 
and both died in Sweden some years ago. 
.\fter Mr. Nelson had been In this coun- 
try a little over a month, he began work- 
ing in the timber for Mr. Latty, contin- 
uing at this work for a year and a half, 
liy that time he had become sufficiently 
familiar with the language and customs 
to feel tli;it lie was warranted in under- 
taking to work independently. Accord- 
ingly he then leased some land of John 
Murphy in Huron township, where he 
stayed for five and a half years. By this 
time his thrifty ways and skilful manage- 
ment had enabled him to save enough so 
ihat in November, 1875, he bought a farm 
of thirty acres from Robert Ping. This 
land had only a small piece for garden 
that had ever been broken by the plow, 
and had on it a two-room house, a well, 
and a stable. This he bought for twenty- 
five dollars an acre. In 1876 he moved 
his family to this place, and has made it 
his home ever since. He has brought the 
farm under cultivation, and practically 
improved it in many ways. Later he 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



86 1 



added to it seventeen acres which he 
bought from John Collar, and now he has 
thirty acres in Section 20, and twenty 
acres in Section 17, Yellow Springs town- 
ship. Besides his work of general farm- 
ing, he has made a very successful be- 
ginning at the specialized work of stock- 
raising. He usually raises about ten 
hogs, some cattle, and a few horses of 
draft breeds every year. 

i\Ir. and Mrs. Nelson are both faithful 
members of the Swedish Lutheran church 
of Mediapolis, and Air. Nelson has served 
that body as deacon for twelve years. 
His political support is given to the Re- 
publican party, for on becoming a natur- 
alized citizen he concluded that the plat- 
form of that party contained the best ele- 
ments of good government, though he 
has never been an aspirant for office. He 
has never yet had occasion to regret his 
determination to seek a home in the New 
World, for he found the business oppor- 
tunities which he sought, and has gradu- 
ally progressed toward the goal of suc- 
cess. He has also raised a fine large 
family, of which he has every reason to 
be proud. 

Mr. and Mrs. Nelson have been the par- 
ents of eleven children, as follows: .\xel. 
born Aug. 2, i86g, died Sept. 25. 1879: 
William C, born IMarch 13. 1871, lives in 
Washington township, Des Moines coun- 
ty, Iowa, where he has bought a farm of 
eighty acres ; Tilda, born Sept. 17, 1873, 
is the wife of Charles Walberg, a farmer 
of. Washington township; Oscar Carl, 
born Oct. r, 1875, is a farmer living in 
Yellow Springs township ; Anna Eliza- 
beth, born Nov. T2, 1878. died March 12, 
1905, in England; Laura Amelia, born 
Jan. 21, 1881 ; .\lbert Emmanuel, born 



Feb. 3, 1883; Victoria Marie, born March 
22, 1885, died Aug. 18, 1886; Victor Fred- 
erick, born Dec. 31, 1886; David Julius, 
born Feb. 26, 1889; and Amanda Olivia, 
born March 30, 1891. 

The daughter, Anna Elizabeth, was a 
gentle, quiet girl, a loving and dutiful 
daughter and helpful sister. Hers was a 
deeply religious nature, devoted to the 
work of the church in which she was con- 
firmed as a child. On her sensitive spirit 
was early impressed the need of the 
world for a fuller knowledge of the mes- 
sage brought by the Christ, and as she 
grew older the call came to her as a per- 
sonal mission, to go into the world and 
teach the way of life. She obeyed the 
call, and was sent as a missionary to 
China, that region of densest ignorance 
and most ignorant fanaticism, so full of 
danger to the Christian workers from 
other lands. 

She left America Nov. 20, 1901, going 
by way of San Francisco. She labored 
under the auspices of the American Scan- 
dinavian Free Christian Mission, Canton, 
South China, and served as a missionary 
there for three years, .working under all 
the trials and hardships peculiar to that 
country and those people, — trials that no 
one but those who have been in the field 
can have any realization of, — and en- 
dured all with an uncomplaining spirit, 
hoping only to be the means of bringing 
light into that benighted land. 

^^'hilc carr}'ing on this work she be- 
came acquainted with Percival J. Laird, 
a native of Windsor, Berkshire, England, 
who was also actively engaged in the 
same missionary work. This friendship 
ripened into a stronger feeling, and they 
l)ecame engaged to be married. Accord- 



862 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFllllW 



inglv Miss Xc-lsoii wt-iit in I-'ngland. She 
had not l)ccn fciliiifj will, and was taken 
worse on the trip. After her arrival at 
Mr. Laird's home in Deal, Kent; Enpland. 
she still continued to get worse, and sev- 
eral weeks later died there. Hers was a 
beautiful Christian character, and she 
leaves a ])lace that can never he filled, not 
only in the home, but also in the foreign 
field, where she did such efficient work 
in spreading the gospel that she loxed. 



BENJAMIN C. HESS. 

Bf.njamin C. Hess, who was long 
knc'wn ill ['.iiriington as a young man of 
iiigh personal character and exce])tional 
qualifications for a successful career in the 
line of commercial i)ursuits, to which he 
devoted the greater part of his life, was 
born March nj. iI^'h. at Wayland. Steuben 
countv, X. \ ., a son of I'lcnjamin and 
Keziah (Vates) Hess. He came to Tur- 
lington with his parents at the age of seven 
vears. and after attending the public schools 
here for some time, again removed with his 
parents to Agency Street. At that i)lace he 
completed a course in (lermania (irammar 
School, and then entered the high school, 
from which he was graduated in 1878, and 
the following year he taught a district 
sch(x>l south of lUirlington. In the spring 
of 1880 he entered the retail grocery busi- 
ness in partnership with his father, a con- 
nection which contimu-d for eight years, 
and in 1889 he iH'g.in business independ- 
entlv in a store <in ( )sborne Street, where 
he was later joine<l by his father. They 
then engaged in business together until 
the son's death, for there was alwavs a 



strong bond of affection between them, to 
an even greater degree, ])erhaps, than is 
usual. 

( )n May 6. i88(). .Mr. Hess was united in 
marriage to .Miss Xora lloger, daughter of 
Moses lloger. and to them were Ixirn three 
children, .Mary K.. Charles 1!., and Lillian 
!•!. He died March 2, 181)5, his own death 
being followed by that of his father in l8y8, 
while his mother's demise had occurred 
long previous to that time, or about 1875, 
Thus was he callc<l from active life in the 
full ])rime and strength of his young man- 
hood, in the midst of the tide of success, 
and from the bosom of a liappy and con- 
tented family, in whose service he found his 
greatest jileasures. and upon whom he lav- 
ished a wealth <>\ devoted atYection. True 
to the highest ideals of conduct, lie drew 
to himself the respect of all with whom he 
came in contact, and forceful in his jier- 
sonalit\ he made for himself a place in the 
community that was distinctively his own. so 
that his untimely end was a genuine loss to 
the citv. as well as an ineffaceable sorrow to 
those who mourn him as an ideal husband 
and kiving father. 

The lloger family, of which Mrs. Hess is 
a member, in an old colonial family, having 
emigrated to America from (iermany in the 
year 1730, and settled in Lebanon county, 
i'ennsylvania, where descendants of the early 
pioneers still li\e and ])reserve the name. 
The family of .Moses i Soger's mother, whose 
maiden name was Elizabeth Keller, settled 
in that neighborhood the same year, and 
(ieorge Keller was a soldier of the Revo- 
lutionary War. The liogers had conscien- 
tious scruples against engaging in war. as 
being in op))osition to the moral code incul- 
cated by their religious belief, and there- 
fore no member of the familv was a soldier. 



DES MO/XnS COUXTV. 10U\-1. 



86:; 



George Keller was twice drafted into the 
Continental service, and the first time sent 
a substitute, but on the second occasion 
responded personally to the call, and went 
to the front, being in General Washington's 
camp at \ 'alley Forge, and later acting as 
guard over the Hessian prisoners captured 
at the battle of Trenton, when they were 
taken to Lebanon for safe keeping. The 
original homestead of the ISoger family is 
still in possession of individuals of that 
name, descendants of the first settlers, and 
the farm is yet locally famous for a great 
spring which has been flowing in a large 
and constant volume since the earliest 
known times. 

JMoses Boger, boi-n July j6, 1S31, s])enl 
the greater part of his boyhood and youth 
on a farm until his seventeenth year, w'hen 
he began learning the trade of coach- 
making, and after becoming master of his 
trade, worked at it in Lebanon and other 
places in Pennsylvania for some time. In 
1869 he came to Burlington, and here he 
worked at coach-building for twenty \ears, 
or forty years in all. retiring in i8go to 
assist his son-in-law, Mr. Hess, in the work 
of the store, and since the latter's death 
has continued in the store with his widow. 
On April 16, 1853, he wedded Aliss Mary 
Wentling, of Lebanon, Pa., a member of 
an old family of that place, where she was 
born (Jet. 15, 1834. To them were born 
eight children : John ; William ; Emma, wife 
of Frank Dasher ; Xora, widow of Benja- 
min C. Hess : Cliarles ; .\da. wife of Will- 
iam Kratz : one ciiild. which died when 
three years of age; and ]''rank, who died 
at the age of twenty-one years. Mrs. Hess, 
widow of our subject, was educated in the 
public schools of Burlington, attending the 
South Hill School, and is a woman of 



decided practical talents and ability. Since 
the death of her husband she has herself 
continued the management of his business, 
and has conducted the store with great suc- 
cess and energy. She is a member and 
worker in the h'ree Methodist church, to 
whose support she is a liberal contributor, 
and under her care her children have re- 
ceived a model home training and excellent 
educational advantasres. 



ANDREW YAKLEY. 

Andrew Y.\ki.ev, the owner of an ex- 
cellent farm of one hundred and twenty 
acres on I^ection 7, Huron township, was 
born in Schabenhausen, German\-. Nov. 
ID, 1872, and is a son of John and Ursula 
( Brunnenkant ) Yakley, or Jaeckle, as the 
name is spelled in the h'atherland. He 
acquired his education in the ])ublic 
schools of his native country, and has al- 
wavs followed the life of a farmer. He 
remained in his native land until sixteen 
years of age, when he crossed the .\t- 
lantic to the Xew World and took up his 
abode in l-'airbury. 111., where he followed 
general agricultural pursuits until i8<)8. 
He then removed to Peoria, 111., where 
he .spent the succeeding four vears. He 
secured work at driving a team, and later 
became a coachman : but because of ill- 
health he was unable to do any work for 
four or five weeks. Later he engaged in 
dairying and blacksmithing. awd also 
worked in a fence factory and at boiler- 
making, leading a very industrious life. 

Leaving Peoria in i()02, Mr. Yakley 
went to ()akvillc, Iowa, and soon after- 
ward purchased mu- hundrecl and twentv 



864 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



acres of land on Section 7. Huron town- 
ship. Ues Moines county, where he took 
U]) his abode, and has since carried on 
general fanning- He has made many im- 
provements upon the property, includinj; 
the erection of a good house and barn. 
I le also built a hayrick, and has made 
other general improvements, which add 
to the convenience of the place and its 
attractive a])])earauce. His fields are well 
tilled, and annually yield good crops, for 
which he finds a ready sale in the city 
markets. 

On March 26, iSfjy, Mr. Yakley was 
married to Miss Matilda Thelka Gerst. a 
daughter of Henry and Katherine ((irau) 
Gerst. She was born in Gablenberg, Ger- 
many, Oct. 30, 1875, "i"*' was seventeen 
years of age when she came fo .\mcrica. 
their marriage being celebrated in Peoria. 
riu'V have four cliildnn ; IK'iiry ( )liver. 
born Feb. 25, 1900; Elmer Henry, born 
July I. igoi ; Ervvin Oscar, Aug. 18, 1903: 
and Roy Andrew, Nov. 30, 1904. 



CHRIST DOEMELAND. 

Pro.minent among the farmers of Flint 
River township is Christ Doemcland, who 
has been one of the leading agriculturists 
there since 1900. He is a native of Ger- 
many, being born in Prussia, Oct. 13. 1854. 
His ])arents, Fred and Mary ( Demland ) 
Doemcland, were also natives of Prussia. 
Our subject was reared on his father's 
farm, where he early became familiar with 
the duties which fall to the lot of the tiller 
of the ^soil. He attended the common 
schools of his l)iith])Iace, after which he 
was engaged as a farmer till 1883. when 
he came to America, making the trip bv 



way of New York, and coming directly to 
lUirlington. Iowa. Tiie first summer he 
was busily engaged in sawing stones, after 
which he was employed for some time by 
the Chicago, I'.urlington & Quincy Railroad, 
He then sc-cured a position as a shi])ping 
clerk with Thompson McCosh, who dealt 
in nails and all kinds of wire for fences, 
.Severing his connection with this liouse, 
he worked for the next four years for Tiie 
Rand Lumlier Company. 

Dec. 6, 1883. the same year he came to 
.\merica, Mr. Doemeland was united in 
marriage to Miss Fredericka Bcahne, daugh- 
ter of Christ and Dorothy (Winkelman) 
I'eahne. Unto this couple were born three 
children: Otto, born Oct. l8, 1884: P.er- 
tha. born March 19. 1886: and Earl, born 
Dec. 27, 1903. The two elder children arc 
attending school. In 1893 our subject 
bought one hundred and seven and a half 
acres of land on Sections 5 and 8, in Flint 
River township, and in i<KX5 he bought his 
|)resent |)lacc of one hundred acres on Sec- 
tion 15. in the same township, where he 
inoved in 1904, and where he has built a 
modern residence. Although Mr. Doeme- 
lan<l is not a strong and robust man. having 
had tyjihoid fever when a boy, which set- 
tled in one of his legs, thus cripjiling this 
member of his body for life, still he is able 
to carry on general farming and the raising 
of stock with gratifying success. 

I\)litically, he is a Democrat, but gener- 
ally studies as to which is the best man for 
the office to which he aspires. Mr. and 
.Mrs. Doemeland arc tlevoted members of 
the German Lutheran churcli of West 
llurlingtoii. Though they have only been 
residents of the township a little over ten 
years, yet it has been sufficiently long for 
the communitv, both social and business, 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



865 



to discover the sterling qualities of Mr. 
Doemeland. Honesty, integrity, enter- 
prise, and activity have always been his 
predominant characteristics, and to them 
and his own willing hands he owes his 
success in life and also that of his high 
social standing. 



JOHN HENRY SCHROEDER. 

Among the pioneers of Des Moines 
county, and one who claims good old Ger- 
many as his birthplace, is John Henry 
Schroeder. Energy, ambition, willing hands, 
together with the best of principles, are the 
means by which he achieved his success 
in life ; and to-day his family and friends 
point with pride to the record he has made. 

He is the son of Frederick and Catherine 
Schroeder, his birth occurring June 12. 1817, 
in Prussia, Germany. His father spent 
eighteen years in the German army, fight- 
ing against Napoleon during his great and 
noted campaigns. His mother died in 1831. 
What education Mr. Schroeder received was 
in the public schools in his native place. 

As his father was a farmer he needed the 
son's lielp. and it was only for short inter- 
vals at a time that he could spare the boy 
to attend school. Together with his farm 
work our subject also learned the trade of 
a millwright, and when twenty-one years old 
he entered the German army, where he 
served for three years. 

In 1844. with the experience of a farmer, 
millwright, and soldier, he decided to come 
to .\merica. He was sixteen weeks making 
the trip to New Orleans, where he took a 
boat up the Mississippi River, reaching 



lUirlington, Iowa, March 25, 1845. Here 
he was unable to secure work at his trade, 
so he rented a small farm two miles west of 
iiurlington, on Sunnyside Avenue, for a 
year. The next move he made was to rent 
a farm in Flint River township ; but as 
time passed he wanted more land, and was 
enabled, in 1850, to purchase eighty acres of 
farm land, and a little later forty acres of 
timber. Mr. Schroeder was a good man- 
ager, and having no rent to pay and exercis- 
ing great industry and rigid economy, he 
was enabled each year to add a piece of 
modern machinery with which to facilitate 
his work. 

While a resident of Mint River township 
Mr. Schroefler was road su])ervisor for a 
number of years, in which capacity he 
served to the satisfaction of all. In 1870, 
deciding to give up farming on such a large 
scale, he sold his farm and moved to 
Pjurlington, where he purchased ten acres of 
land at 1005 Starr Avenue. Since then he 
has improved his land very much, and now 
has the greater part of it planted in fruit 
trees and grape vines, having also a fine 
garden. He takes nuich pleasure in the 
care of it, and though he is eighty-eight 
years old, he is still able to supply the fam- 
ily table with all kinds of fresh vegetables 
from his own garden. 

Just before Mr. Schroeder left Germany, 
he was married to Miss Elizabeth Stolman, 
the hapjiv event occurring Alay 4, 1844. 
Mrs. Schroeder was a daughter of Henrv 
and Elizabeth Stolman. They have Jiad nine 
children, of whom only three are living: 
The first child died in infancy. Henry, born 
June 14, 1846, married .\nna Schroeder, 
who lives at Harpers' Mills, 111., and died 
aged forty-eight \ears. Alary (Mrs. Fred 
Quelle), (lied in 181JO, aged f(>rtv-four 



866 



RIOGRAPIIICAL RIlllEir 



years. William I"., wliosc sketch appears 
in this book. Elaney, died at the age of 
eight years. Margaret, died aged seven 
years. Catherine, married John August 
Dnstnian, ( )ct. 31. 1878. Mr. nustman is 
the youngest brother of J. li. Dustman, tile 
grocer, whose sketch appears in this work. 
Mr. and Mrs. Dustman have two children: 
Artliur. born Aug. 25, 1879, married Maud 
Rush: Ruth, born May 25, 1894, is a stu- 
(k'lit in the schools of I'.urlington. Eliza- 
beth, born Oct. 31, 1862, married Chris 
Swenker, and lives on Starr Avenue, ne.xt 
door to her parents. Carl, died in infancy. 

Mrs. .'^chnn-der died Oct. 31, 1884. .^Iic 
was born in ( iermany, l-"eb. u>. 1829. Her 
father was a farmer, and had three daugh- 
ters, all decea.sed. 

Mr. Schroeder cast liis first presidential 
vote for James I'uchanan. in 1856. but when 
Abraham Lincoln was elected he clianged 
friHU a Democrat to a Republican, which 
ticket he has supported ever since. Mr. and 
Mrs. Schroeder have long been devoted 
members of the Methodist churcli. where the 
former lias served as deacon .several times, 
and is now serving a long term as trustee. 
In fact he has filled every office in the church 
but that of preacher. 

In .Mr. .Sclimoder liis friends and ac- 
(|uaintances have found one who |)ossesses 
all those sterling qualities that, united, make 
a true man and an in mi )red citizen. His 
life, so full of activity and strong determin- 
ation of ])ur]K)se, is well worthy of emula- 
tion. Tlie struggles and many sacrifices he 
was com])elled to make in the early pioneer 
times were a great school of experience to 
him, and having a retentive memory he 
thus proves a very pleasing and instructive 
companion to his nianx friends and neigh- 
bors. 



WILLIAM F. SCHROEDER. 

\\ ii.i.iA.M I". SciiRoiiDER is an honorable 
and upright citizen, and belongs to one of 
the ])ioneer families of the countv. He is 
a son of John 11. and Mlizabeth (.Stolman) 
Schroeder, and was bom in l-lint River 
township. Des Moines county, April 22, 
1850. The sketch of his parents appears 
elsewhere in this book. Mr. Schmeder 
attended the district schools in his native 
township, and later sjient one year in Howe's 
.\cademy, in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. After his 
school da\'s were over, he worke<l two 
years for T. W. Ilarhydt. and then spent the 
next three years as clerk in the dry-goods 
store of Hutchinson & Schramm, .\bout 
this time he entered into ])artnership with 
his brother in the grocery business on 
.\gency Street, and after two years bought 
out his brother, and ran the grocery alone 
for a year. Selling his grocery, he engaged 
in the insurance business. 

His next step was to move to his father's 
home, where he remained for one year 
looking after his father's interest on the 
place, .\fter this he was engaged in the 
express business for some eleven years, 
when his father becoming feeble. Mr. 
Schroeder again moved to the parental 
home, and now cares for the fruit on the 
place. 

Oct. 17. 1879. .Mr. Schroeder married 
Miss Mary A. Conrad, a daughter of Will- 
iam and Marie (Miller) Conrad, who was 
born in Hesse-Darmstadt. Germany, June i, 
1855. Mil- )i.iri'nls came to lUirlington, 
Iowa, from I'hiladelphia in 1856 and .settled 
at 818 Summer Street. Mr. Conrad clerked 
for many years in the grocery store of 
John Darling on South Hill. Mrs. Conrad 
died in 1 881. and Mr. Conrad in 1876. 



DES MOIXRS COUXrV, IOWA. 



867 



Mr. and Mrs. Conrad were the parents of 
five children, four sons and one daughter, 
and all the sons but the youngest were 
soldiers in the Civil \\'ar : Peter, died in 
1879; George Philip, lives in JNIonmouth, 
111.; John, dierl in 1881 ; William, resides 
in Wapello: and Mary, the wife of Mr. 
Schroeder of this review. Mrs. Schroeder 
obtained her education in the (jerman and 
public schools in IJurlington. 

Unto Mr. and Airs. Schroeder three chil- 
dren have be»n born : John, a teamster, 
married Dora Jensen, has one child, Ken- 
neth, and lives in Burlington : (jeorge W., 
shipping clerk at the P.uriington Paper Com- 
pany; and Mable Carrie, a valued employee 
at the Keehn-Hafner book bindery. 

Mr. Schroeder has always been a Re- 
]:>ublican, but not an office aspirant. Mrs. 
Schroeder is a devoted member of the Trin- 
ity Lutheran church, is a woman of many 
virtues, and possesses a kind and loving dis- 
position. Mr. Schroeder has ever been active 
and industrious, and has made his way in the 
world a step at a time. He is genial and 
cordial, and is well and favorabh- known 
throughout the community. 



JOSEPH A. BRUN. 

Joseph A. Brun, now residing on his 
large farm, known as Walnut Lawn, situ- 
ated on Sections 2 and 11, Augusta town- 
ship, was born in Alsace, France, Feb. 20. 
1842, a son of John B. and Frances AL 
(Frantz) Brun. Both parents were also 
natives of Alsace, where the father's birth 
occurred in January. 1820, he being of 
French lineage, and the mother of Swiss 
parentage. In 1852, when our subject was 



but ten years of age, the family emigrated to 
.\merica, landing at New York after a 
voyage lasting thirty-two days, and from 
that port proceeded westward to Ohio to 
take up a temporary location in the vicinity 
of Richmond. 

.\ school-teacher in his native land, the 
father began farming on his arrival in 
America, but soon became a contractor, and 
did some railroad contracting while in Ohio. 
Subsequently he removed with his family to 
N'andalia, 111. There he did a considerable 
amount of contracting for the Illinois Cen- 
tral Railroad Company, remaining at that 
place until tlie year 1855, when he again re- 
moved, this time to Iowa. He purchased a 
farm of forty acres in Augusta township, 
Des Moines county, one-half mile from the 
village of Augusta. He was always enter- 
prising and successful, so that his little farm 
in time grew to one hundred and fifty-six 
acres. He resided there until the time of 
his death, which occurred in 1873. while his 
widow survived him until a few years ago, 
when her demise occurred in the seventy- 
sixth year of her age. Both were members 
of the Catholic church, of which they were 
ever faithful supporters. They were the 
parents of seven children, four of whom sur- 
vive, and one son, Emil, still resides on the 
old home farm in .\ugusta township. 

As a boy Mr. Brun received the advan- 
tages of an education in the local schools, 
meantime becoming familiar, by actual prac- 
tice, with all the manifold details of farm 
management. He remained at the parental 
home until he was nineteen years of age, 
when he decided to devote the energies of 
his young manhood to the welfare of his 
adopted country, and in 1863 enlisted in 
Company C of the I'irst Iowa Cavalry. 
With liis resriment he went to the front, and 



868 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



participated in a number of hotly contested 
battles, Ijcsides much other duty, both in 
camp and field, which was probably even 
more arduous than actual combat. The 
greater jjortion of three years he spent amid 
the dangers and dei>rivations of war, in the 
insalubrious climate of the South, being 
mustered out of the military service in Feb- 
ruary, 1866, at the city of Austin, Texas. 

After receiving honorable discharge from 
the army, Mr. I'.riin returned to his Iowa 
home, and engaged in the conduct of a 
tannery business in iiartnership with his 
brother, John Brun, at .\ugusta, continuing 
in this iiUiTi)rise for six years. The firm, 
which used the style of Brun & Bnm, was 
quite successful ; but desiring to return to 
farming, and seeing the great possibilities of 
that pursuit in Iowa, Mr. Brun purchased 
eighty acres of land in Monroe county, 
where he established a home, and continued 
to reside for eight years. At the expiration 
of that period he disposed of the farm, and 
returned to Des Moines county in 1881, lo- 
cating in .\iigusta townshi]) on what still 
remains a |)art <if his |)rescnt farm. His 
original purchase consisted of one hundred 
and fifty-si.x acres, which has been prac- 
tically doubled in size by subsequent addi- 
tions, so that he now holds three hundred 
acres, comprising a great deal of highly pro- 
ductive land under cultivation and a goodly 
amount of grazing land. .Ml the many im- 
provements of which the great farm may 
boast are of his own planning and instal- 
lation, and he has also thoroughly remodeled 
tiu' himse, making it nioilern in every re- 
spect. This is a large and handsome stone 
structure, and is one of the oldest dwellings 
in the county, having Ix^en erected in 1843. 
.'\ large and commodious new barn stands 
upon the farm grounds, and the family resi- 



dence is surrounded by a beautiful and well- 
kept lawn, ornamented with numerous 
graceful shade trees, while everywhere is 
visible the tasteful care and attention to 
the details and comforts of life which m^ke 
the country home ideal. 

In November, 1868, Mr. Bran wedded 
Miss Frederica Untcrkircher a daughter 
of Adam L'nterkircher. Mr. Untcrkircher, 
who died at his farm home at an advanced 
age, was numbered among the early settlers 
of Des Moines county. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Brun have been born 
eight children, as follows : Joseph, who died 
in infancy, at the age of eight months; 
.\nna : Bertha : Mary, who is the wife of 
Frank Mitchell, now engaged in fanning 
near Yarmouth, and has one child, Odetta ; 
John, now residing on one of his father's 
farms, where he has a fine home ; Fred, who 
is a member of the parental household ; and 
William and .Sophie, also at home. Of this 
family the five last named were born in 
.Monroe county. 

In his jjolitical allegiance a life-long sup- 
[lorter of the Republican party, Mr. Brun 
has frequently been the recipient of public 
honors at the hands of his fellow-citizens. 
In the year 1883 he was elected to the office 
of trustee of .'\ugusta township, while he 
has been supervisor of highways for a long 
term of years, a position in which he has 
been able to accomplish much useful and 
necessary work ; for few realize more fully 
than docs he the importance of good roads 
in ;i farming community, where the means 
of transportation and communication mean 
even more than in the great cities and cen- 
ters of population. In 1902 he was again 
elected to the office of township trustee, 
which he now holds. His public service has 
been long, faithful, and always distinguished 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



869 



by practical business ability of a high order. 
In his fraternal relations Mr. Brun is 
identified with Bonny Post of the Grand 
Army of the Republic, at Denmark, having 
held most of the offices of the post, and 
thus keeps up in some degree his associa- 
tion with his former comrades in arms. His 
career and present position are such as any 
man might contemplate with genuine satis- 
faction, for while by the exercise of his 
natural talents, by diligence and wise man- 
agement, he has achieved great material 
success, his high personal character and his 
justice and fairness to others have won 
him the esteem of all. 



JAMES A. ANDERSON. 

The most important task of the his- 
torian is to trace the facts and institu- 
tions of modern life to their distant ori- 
gins in the remote past, to show their 
ever-increasing influence on advancing 
civilization, to note their inner signifi- 
cance in the light of research and study, 
and to draw therefrom valuable lessons 
for the guidance of mankind at the pres- 
ent time and in future generations. Thus 
it is in works like the present volume that 
it is especially desirable to treat fully of 
the founding and establishment of com- 
munities; and certainly no enterprise 
could be worthy of more careful and con- 
scientious execution than that which has 
for its object to record the lives and deeds 
of the noble band of pioneers who budded 
broad and deep the foundations of the 
great commonwealth of Iowa — to treat of 
their early struggles and difficulties, their 
hopes, fears, and discouragements, their 



eft'orts and their triumphs, and their final 
glorious victory over the opposing and 
hostile forces of nature, with the result 
which to-day clothes the land as a gar- 
ment woven of peace, prosperity, and 
civilization. The one and only way to 
accomjjlish this purpose is to tell, simply 
and in detail, the life stories of individ- 
uals, and the name which stands at the 
head of this review is that of one highly 
deserving to be considered a representa- 
tive of the class to which he belongs. 

Mr. Anderson, who now resides on his 
productive farm of sixty-three and one- 
half acres in Section 30, Burlington town- 
ship, is a native of Kentucky, having been 
born in Carrollton in that State on Nov. 
I, 1834, the son of Seth and Emily M. 
(Goddard) Anderson. The father, who 
was also a native of Kentucky, was there 
engaged in farming, and on coming to 
Iowa entered from the government a half 
section of land, of v^hich he later sold all 
but eighty acres, this including the farm 
on which our subject still resides. Here 
he erected a good and substantial log 
cabin and made other necessary improve- 
ments, cutting some of the timber: and 
here he continued to reside until his 
death, which occurred about four vears 
after his removal to Iowa, his widow sur- 
\iving him many years, her demise oc- 
curing in the seventy-fifth year of her age. 
She was born in Maryland and removed 
to Kentucky in childhood. Thev were 
the parents of three children, as follows: 
James A., the subject of this sketch : John 
F., who is now a resident of Oregon ; and 
Matilda, who died at the age of eleven 
years, in L'nion townshi]), this county. 
The mntlier afterward remarried, her sec- 
ond husband being Comfort Peck, who 



870 



BIOGRAPHKAL Rlil'Ilill' 



was in early life a plasterer and stone- 
mason by trade, but later a fanner in 
Arkansas. He is now deceased. To this 
union were born one son and one dau};;h- 
ter, Klizabetli and Herbert. 

When Mr. .\nilcrson was but sixteen 
months old his j)arents decided to remove 
to the great West, and he accompanied 
them on the trip, which was made by 
boat, they first descending the Ohio River 
to its confluence with the Mississippi, and 
thence ascending the latter stream to 
Burlington, landing at the "cascade," o])- 
posite the site of the present Crapo Park. 
The family then sctlk-<l in lUirlington 
township, as stated, near IJurlington. and 
it was there our subject passcil the days 
of his boyhood and youth engaged in the 
arduous labors of a pioneer's life, and en- 
joying few of the advantages which arc 
now free to all. If it could be our privi- 
lege to look back upon those (lavs ex- 
actly as they were, and to behold for a 
day the actual routine of the boy's life, 
we should see him arising from his hum- 
l)le bed long before tiic first ray of day- 
break, hurrying out to do the numerous 
"chores" which fell to his care, and then, 
after a hasty breakfast at peep of day, 
hard at work sawing logs for cordwood. 
This was continued until almost the last 
moment before time for the session of 
school to begin, wlun he would ilr(i|i his 
work am! nm with .-ill spet-d lo tin- log 
structure in which classes were held. 
there to seat himself upon a l)ench which 
consisted of one-half of a split log sup- 
])orted by four stakes, and begin working 
on his lessons at a desk that was mereh' 
a slab resting on stakes <^riven into the 
logs that formed the schoolhouse wall. 
Thus he ac(|uiri<l tlu' meager learning of 



the time in the district schools: and in- 
stead of the eight, nine, and ten months 
now customary, school was held for only 
four months in the year — a limitation 
which greatly increased the difficulty of 
securing a gt)od education, .After his day 
at school the boy returned home in the 
evening to more hard work, but he con- 
tinued it courageously ftir many years; 
and in fact, all his life since coming to 
Iowa has been ])assed u]>on the home 
farm, with the exce])tion of two years 
during which he was engaged in farming 
in .\rkansas. 

.Mr. Anderson was united in the holy 
bonds of matrimony to .Miss .Mary V.. \'ertz. 
a native of lndian;i county. Pennsylvania, 
where she was born April jd. 1839, the 
daughter of Cieorge and Mary (Wheel- 
ing) Vcrtz, also of Pennsylvania birth, 
who early removed to Iowa and settled 
in Ilurlington townshi]). Des Moines 
county. They afterward removed to 
Warren county, where the father, who 
was a farmer, dieil at the age of sixty- 
four years, while the demise of the 
mother occurred in Polk c<mnty in her 
seventy-sixth year. I'.oth were faithful 
members of the Methodist K])iscopal 
church, and were highly esteemed for the 
Christian \irtues which forined their 
lives. 

To Mr. anil Mrs. Aiidersoii ha\e been 
born four children, as follows: X'irginia, 
born .\ug. iT), 1861, became the wife of 
.\lbert Harvey, late of Scranton, Pa., 
where he died seven years ago, survived 
by his widow and two children, .Mice and 
.Mbert j.: Frank 11., born in iS().v resid- 
ing on his father's farm, where he con- 
ducts his father's fruit and vegetable 
farming, was married first to Miss Rachel 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



Middleman, by whom he had two chil- 
dren, Herbert and May, and has since 
been remarried, his second wife being 
Miss Addie Colbert; Horace C, born 
Feb. 14. 1865, was killed at the ajj^e of 
twenty-three years, eleven months, and 
fourteen days by the explosion of a boiler 
while engaged at work in a silk factory 
at Scranton, Pa., survived by his widow, 
now residing in Cincinnati, who was Miss 
Nellie Vance, and by whom he had one 
child that died in infancy; and Lillian E., 
born March 7, 1870, and died July i, 1894, 
was the wife of Lewis Wedertz, and was 
the mother of two children, Hazel, now- 
deceased, and Harry. 

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson arc both mem- 
bers of the Methodist E])iscopal church, 
to whose support they have always been 
very liberal contributors, and in whose 
work they have always taken a deep and 
active interest, Mr. Anderson having for 
a long term of years been one of its most 
prominent workers, and acting for manv 
3'ears as class-leader and as superintend- 
ent of the Sunday-school — a work to 
whose pefformance he took much ability 
and great earnestness of purpose, accom- 
plishing a vast amount of good, and very 
matcrialh' advancing the cause of relig- 
ion in the community in which he has 
passed his useful career. 

Fraternally, he is a member of the 
United Workmen and of the Iowa Legion 
of Honor, while in matters of politics he 
has been a consistent member of the Re- 
publican party; and although he has ne\er 
cared to hold public office, he has for a 
number of years acted as director of the 
public schools to the general satisfaction. 
His princii)al business is the growing of 
fruit and ve<retahles on his farm, and in 



this he has been conspicuously successful, 
achieving very satisfactory rewards in a 
pecuniary way and establishing a wide 
reputation for high-class products in 
these lines. 

For almost three and one-half score 
years he has been an interested witness 
of the development of the .State in which 
his lot is cast, and in every juncture of 
affairs he has done his full share in the 
work to be ])erformed toward worthy 
ends. He has, withal, achie\ed a true 
and lasting success, both material and 
s[)iritual, and that in face of difficulties 
whose magnitude the young men of to- 
day would find it hard to realize, so that 
while he enjoys the high esteem of many 
friends, the best heritage which he will 
leave to his descendants is the priceless 
legacy of a spotless name, linked with the 
record of a character which has ever been 
marked by resolute and consecrated 
strength and by absolute uprightness and 
integrity in every relation of life. 



HERMAN THIE. 

Hek.man Thie came to America nearly 
forty years ago, and has resided in Des 
.Moines county all the time, during 
which ])eriod he has seen many changes 
and valuable improvements. He was 
born in Westphalia, Germany, Nov. 18, 
1845, where he attended school and re- 
mained till he was nearly twenty-one 
years of age. On May i, 1866, he started 
to cross the ocean, and after arriving in 
the New World he continued his journey 
westward, lea\ing Xcw York and all 
other Eastern cities behind him. He 



872 



BIOGRAPHICAL REI'IEIV 



came direct to Ilurlinpton, Iowa, where 
lie found himself nearly ten dollars in 
debt and without knowledge of the lan- 
guage. Mere he remained for some five 
and one-half years as a teamster, and 
then, having saved his earnings, turned 
his attention to farming. He felt quite 
])r«)ud to be able at this time to purchase 
a small place of forty acres in Section 31. 
P»enton township, to which, a few years 
afterward, he added twenty acres more; 
and by economy and good judgment has 
embraced o])portunitics till to-day he 
owns and operates one hundred and thir- 
ty-nine and one-half acres of rich and fer- 
tile land, where he carries on general 
farming and stock-raising. Although 
this farm was ])artially improved when 
.Mr. Thie first obtained it. still he has 
made many changes, erecting a large and 
modern barn, substantial outbuildings, 
and is now erecting a beautiful new 
dwelling, wbicli, wlun coin])kte(l will 
add much to the appearance of his farm. 

Dec. 23. 1871. Mr. Thie and Miss Eliza 
Kampmier were married. Mrs. Thie is 
a daughter of l-".rnest and Carrie (Koch) 
Kampmier. and was born in St. Louis, 
Mo. Iler jjarents came to Iowa at a very 
early day. and in i<^53. when Mrs. Thie 
was about nine years old, they settled in 
P>enton township, where he owned prop- 
erty adjoining the farm of Mr. Thie, and 
where he resided till some eighteen years 
ago. when he retired, and is now living in 
a pleasant home on Sunnyside .\venue, 
in I'lurlington. and although in the 
eighty-eighth year of his age is still hale 
and hearty. -Mr. and Mrs. Kani|)mier 
have had five children, all of whom are 
living. 

Of the six children that have blessed 



the home of Mr. and Mrs. Thie, four are 
living: Herman, married .Miss Mary 
lUunnn. daughter of William Mlumm, of 
.\ugusta township, resides one and one- 
half miles south of Mediapolis, and has 
two boys. .Arnold and .\lbert ; William, a 
rural mail carrier on Latty Route No. i, 
and resides at home: Carrie, aged fifteen 
years; and Amelia, aged eleven years, 
both at home; Julia and Lewis, both died 
in infancy. .Mr. and Mrs. Thie are ear- 
nest members of the Evangelical church, 
in Iknton township. He is a Republican, 
and has been the honored and efficient 
treasurer of the school district for the 
past twenty yeacs. He is truly a self- 
made man; coming to the township with 
but little of material things, day by day 
he has labored and toiled with a firm will 
and the greatest of activity, until to-day 
he has many comforts which this life af- 
fords. His record is one of many that 
proves that honest methods and moral 
living will bring ])ros])erity to the jjoorest 
of men, as well as making friends among 
all. 



JACOB WILLIAMS. 

The name which introduces this review 
is one familiar to the people of eastern 
Iowa, and it is one which suggests to the 
honest man a feeling of confidence. Jacob 
Williams, sheriff of Des Moines county, 
Iowa, was born in the year 1857, in .\dams 
county, Illinois, the son of Jacob and Mar- 
garet (Schaefer) Williams, both natives of 
(a^rmany. The father came to America 
when about thirteen years of age. growing 
to manhood's estate in Quincy. 111., where 
his death occurred in i8(p, followed by 




JACOB WILLIAMS. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



that of his wife in 1892, and both are there 
buried. To them were born twelve children, 
seven of whom still survive, as follows : 
Kate, widow of William Smith, resides in 
Milwaukee; Jacob, our subject; Maggie, 
wife of John Strauss, of Quincy, 111. ; Lizzie, 
wife of Barney Brink, of Kansas City ; 
Nettie, wife of George Humphreys, of Mil- 
waukee ; Anna, wife of Eric Anderson, of 
St. Louis ; and Emma, wife of Ed. Struby, 
also of St. Louis. 

Passing his early years in the city of 
Quincy, Mr. Williams obtained his education 
in the public schools of that place, and on 
the completion of his studies, looking about 
for an occupation in which to engage as a 
means of making his own way in the world. 
he decided to learn the trade of cigar-mak- 
ing. He accordingly entered himself as an 
apprentice, and after serving the regulation 
period of three years, became a journeyman. 
Ambitious to secure further advantages, he 
came to Burlington in 1877, being for a time 
employed at his trade by Mr. Dehner, and 
also by ]\Ir. Dempsey, large manufacturers. 
For eight or ten years he engaged in the 
saloon business on North Main Street, but 
sold the business, and bought of Mr. George 
Smith a cigar store at Corse and Osborn 
Streets, which he continued to conduct very 
successfully for about five years. At the 
expiration of the latter period he acted for 
a time as manager of the Turner Hall, and 
in 1892 he was elected sheriff of Des Moines 
county, to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff' 
Muenzenmeyer, deceased. In this position 
he served for one year, and in 1903 he was 
re-elected for a term of two years. 

At Burlington, in 1882, Mr. Williams 
wedded Miss Josephine Florang, who was 
born and reared in SAvitzerland, and to them 
have been born three sons : Andrew, who 



married ]\Iiss Edna Smith, resides in Gales- 
burg, 111., where he is at the present time 
employed in the freight department of the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad ; 
Jacob H., who is still a member of his fa- 
ther's household, is a cigar-maker by trade, 
and is employed in the Dehner factory ; 
Clarence B., also at home, is a pupil in the 
public schools. The family occupies a 
pleasant home at Grace and Highland Ave- 
nues, erected by Mr. Williams in 1893. 

Our subject is a member of the Catholic 
church, to whose support he is a generous 
contributor, and in his fraternal relations he 
occupies a leading position, having member- 
sliip in Aerie No. 750, Fraternal Order of 
Eagles, of Burlington, of ■which he is a 
charter member : in Cigar-makers' Union 
No. 72 : in the Sterbekasseverein, a German 
beneficiary order of Des Moines county: 
and in the Burlington Turnverein. He has 
always been an active worker in the ranks 
of the Democratic party, in whose prin- 
ciples he is a believer, and has for many 
years past occupied a very influential posi- 
tion in the counsels , of his party, having 
been for two years chairman of the city 
central committee of Burlington, and for 
four years committeeman for the first ward. 
He is a man of unusual ability, a fact which 
he has amply demonstrated since entering 
upon the duties of his office as sheriff, and 
it is scarcely necessary to say that he is 
endowed with a strong individuality, and 
manifests the most intrepid bravery when 
in the face of desperate situations, and a 
remarkable coolness and presence of mind 
under all circumstances. As a man among 
men, he holds the confidence and esteem 
of all who know him intimately, and the 
strength and loyalty of his character have 
made him manv friends. 



876 BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 

MICHAEL WARREN. 



•Mie'iiAKL \\ AKRK.N, ikccasctl, was a pi- 
oneer of Des Moines county of i84y. His 
birth occurred in County Meatli, Ireland. 
Dec. 3, 1830. liis parents being Richard 
and .-\nn (Murray) \N'arren. He spent 
the days of his Iniyhood and youth on tiie 
Emerald Isle, and was educated in Llic 
public schools there. When a young 
man of nineteen years he became imbued 
with tile desire to seek a home in .\merica, 
and liidding adieu to friends and native 
country he crossed the .Atlantic in i84(^ 
making his way at once to Ues Moines 
county, where his remaining days were 
passed, lie was early employed here in a 
lumber yard for two years, and after his 
marriage began farming on his own account. 

It was in the year 1853 that .Mr. Warren 
was united in marriage to Miss Esther 
darzan. who also came to the L'nited States 
in i84<;. .She too was a native of Ireland, 
and made iier way to .\ew ( )rleans on a 
.sailing vessel, and thence up the .Mississippi 
River to ilnriington. The year after his 
marriage, lie and his wife took u|) their 
abode upon a farm of eighty acres, which 
Mrs. Warren had jjurchased, and there they 
lived until his death in i8f>4. He gave his 
attention in undivided manner to the cul- 
tivation of the fields, and as the years 
])as,sed. harvested good crops, his farm 
work being successfully conducted. The 
mother cnntimK-(l to reside iiimii the nld 
family homestead until Jmie f), 11P4. when 
she was called to her final rest." 

rill' children of liiis marriage are: 
Anna, wlm resides upi mi the home farm; 
.Mary, a .Sister of Charity in Chicago: and 
.Marguerite and Julia, both decea.sed. Mary 
went to Dubucpie, Iowa, where she attended 



the institute of St. Joseph, anil is now in 
Chicago. The religious faith of the family 
is that of the Catholic church, of which both 
.Mr. and .Mrs. Warren were conununicants, 
and his political su|)port was given to the 
Democracy. He lived a busy life, his in- 
dustry being one of the strong elements in 
his character. Uoth he and his wife were 
held in high regard by those who knew 
them. 



WILLIAM HENRY KRIEGER. 

\\ ii.i-i.\.\i llic.NKV KuiKGKK was a native 
son of Des Moines county who throughout 
his entire life was identified with agricul- 
tural pursuits in I'lint River township. He 
was burn <pn the old farm homestead on Sec- 
tion 3, this townshi]), June 2. 1858, his par- 
ents being Christian and Mary (Brandt) 
Krieger. both of whom were natives of Ger- 
man). In their family were eight children, 
of wiiiini lie was the fourth in order of birth. 
His mother died in i8</), and was survived 
for a number of years by the father, who 
ileparted this life in .March. 1904. 

William II. Krieger was reared under 
the i)arenlal ronf. and mastered the branches 
of learning taught in the connnon schtnils, 
while in the |)eriods of vacation he became 
e(|nally familiar with the duties that fall to 
the lot of the agriculturist. He continued 
with his |)arents u|) to the time of his inar- 
riai.;i', wlun lie Innk up his abode upmi a 
rented farm in h'lint River bottom, where 
he lived for six years. He then returned 
1(1 the old homestead to take care of his ])ar- 
enls in their <leclining years. an<l remained 
with them until they were called to their 
final rest. In i8<p he ])urcha.seil the home 
farm, which com])ri.ses one hundred and 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



forty acres of rich and arable land, and re- 
turns good crops as a reward for the care 
and labor bestowed upon the fields. 

March 26, 1885. Mr. Krieger was united 
in marriage to Miss Mary Temple, who was 
born in Lee county, Iowa, and is a daughter 
of Adam and Barbara (Werle) Temple, 
both of whom were natives of Germany. 
Thev were married, however, in Burlington, 
and they became the parents of seven chil- 
dren, of whom Mrs. Krieger was the fifth 
in order of birth. She lost her mother 
when eleven years of age, and afterward 
spent much of her girlhood in Burlington. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Krieger were born 
four children: Anna, born Nov. 19, 1887; 
Walter, Aug. 21, 1889: Caroline. Dec. 9, 
1891 ; and Esther, July 26, 1898. The par- 
ents were Lutherans in religious faith, and 
Mr. Krieger was a Democrat, interested 
and active in the work of his party. He 
served as constable, as road supervisor, and 
as school director, and has been prompt and 
faithful in the discharge of his duties in 
these various offices. He was also agent of 
the German .Mutual Fire Insurance Com- 
pany, of Des ^Moines county. He died, Dec. 
22, 1903, at the home place. 



FREDERICK KRIEGER. 

Frewekick Kiueger is the owner of a 
farm in Franklin township which presents 
an excellent appearance, being supplied with 
all modern equipments and accessories that 
are in keeping with a model farm of the 
twentieth century. Mr. Krieger was born 
in Mint River township, Aug. 22, 1853, his 
parents being Christian and Mary ( Brand) 
Krieger, both of whom were natives of 
German v. 



Coming to America on a sailing vessel, 
they landed at New Orleans after a voyage 
of fourteen weeks. This was in the year 
1 85 1, and they made their way from the 
Crescent City up the ^Mississippi River to 
St. Louis, where they spent about a month. 
They then resumed their journey to Des 
Moines count)', and Mr. Krieger purchased 
a farm of one hundred and twenty acres in 
the northwestern corner of Flint River 
township. He was an energetic and enter- 
prising agriculturist, and in the development 
of his land displayed excellent business 
ability. 

He resided upon the old homestead until 
his death, which occurred in April, 1904, 
when he had attained a ripe old age, while 
his wife passed away in April, 1895. They 
were classed with the pioneer settlers of the 
community, and in a long life displayed 
many excellent traits of heart and mind, 
and thus gained the friendshi]) of those with 
whom they were associated. Their son 
Frederick was the fourth in order of birth 
in a family of seven children, five sons and 
two daughters. The others now living are 
Henrv and Charles, the three brothers being: 
among the respected residents of Des Moines 
county. 

Frederick Krieger made his home with his 
parents until twenty-three years of age, his 
youth being passed in the usual manner of 
farm lads of the period who belonged to 
families in the middle station in life. He 
worked in the fields through the summer 
months until he had gained intimate knowl- 
edge of the best methods of farming, and 
when crops were harvested in the autumn 
he entered the iniblic schools, and therein 
mastered the common branches of Eng- 
lish learning. When twenty-three years of 
age he was married to Miss Fredericka 



878 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Schaele, who was born in l-'lint River town- 
ship, and is a daughter of Henrj^ and Anna 
(Richter) Schaele. The children born of 
this nnion arc: Olcnda M.. the wife of John 
Schulzc. a resident farmer of Flint River 
township; John, who is living in Mount 
Union, and follows farming; and Herbert, 
who is attending school at Clinton, Iowa. 

Subsequent to his marriage Mr. Krieger 
purchased seventy acres of land in Flint 
River township, whereon he resided for six 
years. He then sold that property, and 
operated a rented farm for five years, at 
the end of which time he bought seventy- 
three acres in Section 2. Franklin township. 
This was in i8yi, and he has since erected 
numerous buildings there, and has one of 
the finest farms of the township. He has 
enclosed the place with a wire fence, has 
ditched and tiled the fields, and has con- 
tinued the work of cultivation in keeping 
with modern ideas of agricultural progress, 
until the property is a splendidly developed 
farm on which there is not a foot of waste 
l;ui(l. He annually harvests good crops, and 
the sales of his products bring him a gratify- 
ing financial return. 

In politics he is a Democrat, but has no 
time nor inclination for office, preferring to 
give his undivided attention to his business 
affairs, in which he is meeting with signal 
success. He belongs to the German Lu- 
theran church, and at all times his honor- 
able business career is in keeping with his 
profession. 



FREDERICK WILLIAM BUSSE. 

l-RKDKKicK Wiu.iAM liu.s.sii, one of the 
jirogressive farmers and younger residents 
of Flint River township, was born in 



I'russia. Germany, .\pril 3, 1H44. He spent 
the early part of his life in his parents' 
home, and during that time acquired a fair 
education in the public schools. He was 
engaged in farming till he was twenty-seven 
years old. when he came to America, com- 
ing by way of New York and Qiicago 
direct to IJurlington. The first winter he 
was in the new country he was employed as 
a Wfiod-chopper. After this he rented a 
farm of eighty acres in Burlington town- 
sliij) till iSjf). when he bought seventy acres 
of land in .\ugusta township; and as his 
business prospered from time to time, he 
was enabled to add to his farm till he had 
one hundred and seventy-five acres. In 1900 
he ])urchased fifty acres in Flint River 
township, when a little later he added 
thirty-tliree acres more to it. so that now his 
place com])rises eighty-three acres of good 
farm land. He sold all his Augusta prop- 
erty in 1901. He carries on general farm- 
ing, and takes much pains in the raising of 
fine stock, being fully satisfied that the fine 
stock is the best. Some years he ships a 
whole car-load of nice fat steers to the East- 
ern markets, and has raised about seventy- 
five Poland hogs annually. Mr. Husse has 
a comfortable house, substantial barns, and 
other outbuildings necessary for the pro- 
tection of grain and stock. His political 
affiliations arc entirely independent, and he 
has never been an active politician or ever 
aspired to any office. 

In February. 1886, Mr. Busse was mar- 
ried to Miss Sophia Zimmer, daughter of 
\\'illiam and Dorothy Zinuner. L'nto them 
were born nine children : F. W. ; Hcnrv ; 
Edith, who is the wife of George Downs ; 
Minnie, who married H. Jarv4s ; Bertha, the 
wife of Garry Brouken ; Lena and Emma, at 
home ; Christiana, with Christ Mohr, and 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



879 



Ernst, at home. Mrs. Busse died June 5, 
1887. 

]\Ir. Busse is a member of the German 
Lutheran church, and at one time was the 
honored president of the board of trustees. 
His life has been characterized by untiring 
industry. He has ever realized there is no 
royal road to wealth, and as the result of 
his perseverance, close application, and dil- 
igence he has gained a valuable property. 
His genial manner and cordial disposition 
have made him popular with a large circle 
of friends. 



FRED WILLIAM LUCAS. 

Fred Willi.\m Lucas, who follows 
general farming in Flint River township, 
where he has resided since he was two 
years old down to the present time, is a 
son of Christ and Mary (Scholtz) Lucas. 
Our subject was born in Saxony, Ger- 
many, July 4, 1865. As stated above he 
was only two years old when his parents 
brought him to America. From New 
York they came direct to Burlington, 
where his father in 1869 purchased a farm 
in the above-named township. A sketch 
of his father appears on another page in 
this review. Fred William Lucas at- 
tended the district schools in his adopted 
country, and obtained a good education, 
remaining with his parents till long after 
he had reached manhood, assisting in all 
of the farm work and the raising of the 
stock. He owns thirty-five acres o? land 
on Section 11 in the township where he 
lives. Mr. Lucas has never been engaged 
in anything but farming, and his own 
character has developed in harmony with 
nature and her laws, and with constantlv 



growing appreciation for her beauties he 
has lived a life that has brought him "near 
to nature's heart." The whole appear- 
ance of his farm is typical of an Ameri- 
can farmer. 

May 14, 1896, he was married to Miss 
Ida Luea, daughter of Hermany and 
Mary (Fazee) Luea, and they are the 
parents of four children : Clarence, Harry, 
Selma, and Esther, all at home. 

Politically, I\Ir. Lucas is a strong Demo- 
crat, and has filled the office of constable. 
He was elected road supervisor of his 
county in 1892, but resigned this office 
after serving for one year. Mr. and Mrs. 
Lucas are both members of the German 
Evangelical church. During his active 
business life he has acquired an extensive 
acquaintance with the farmers all around, 
and has always taken great delight in the 
methods of farm work, in the improve- 
ment of the machinery, and in every pro- 
gressive effort that is made for the bene- 
fit of the agricultural class. All his strong 
traits of character are those that com- 
mend him to the confidence and good-will 
of the public, and he enjoys the warmest 
regard of all with whom he is associated. 



THEODORE HINGST. 

A CAREFUL and methodical farmer, a 
conscientious citizen, and a good neighbor 
and friend, Theodore Hingst has left behind 
him a record which will long keep his mem- 
ory green in the hearts of those who knew 
him best. From the midst of comfort and 
luxury in the beautiful home erected almost 
by his own hands some years previous to his 
death, he was called to the higher life April 



88o 



BIOGKAPHICAL REllIllV 



23, 1901, layinp down alike the res[)onsibili- 
tics and pleasures of living to render the 
account which all must give in time. His 
life has been well and worthily spent, a brief 
sketch Ix'ing herewith ^'ven among the rep- 
resentative men of the community. 

He is a son of John Hingst, and was born 
April 6, 1826, in Prussia, Germany. After 
receiving a practical education in the public 
schools of his native place he was appren- 
ticed to learn the trade of a stone-mason. 
Mastering his trade thoroughly and to the 
satisfaction of his em])loyers, he worked at 
it for himself till 1854, when he came to 
America, the country which has more oppor- 
tunities for c()m])ctcnt mechanics than some 
of the countries on the otiier side. He at 
once proceeded into the interior of the New 
World, locating at Sandusky, Ohio, where 
he remained three years. In 1857 he came 
to Burlington, Iowa, and at once secured 
employment with Mr. Florang, a reliable 
stone-mason of the same city. In the course 
of time he began to contract for himself, and 
met with gratifying results, being one of 
the leading stone-contractors of his adopted 
city for many years. Mr. Hingst did not 
seem to be .satisfied with city life, although 
he had been very prosperous. He bought 
twenty acres, and later added forty acres in 
1^'lint River township. In 1874 he built his 
beautiful residence, it being then one of the 
most substantial homes in the townshi]i. 
When he built this house, Mr. Hingst ex- 
hibited great mechanical ability, not only in 
his own line but also in many more, as he 
did all the work himself e.\cept the roof, 
upon which he had assistance. His farm 
always indicated great thrift and energy on 
the part of its owner. 

Ian. 15. i8f)r. .Mr. Hingst we(l<le(l Miss 
Nobz, a (laughter of John and Henrietta 



(Xanitz) Xobz, the Reverend Frederick 
I-'ousel performing the ceremony in the 
Lutheran church, of Burlington. Mrs. 
Hingst was bom Feb. 9, 1827, in Prussia, 
riermany, and came alone to this country 
when twenty-six years old. She owns a 
farm in Section 24, Flint River township, 
which she rents to Adolph Doemeland, whose 
brother has a sketch else^vhere in this work. 
Mr. and .Mrs. Hingst were blessed with 
seven children : John, of Burlington ; Will- 
iam, a farmer on the bottom road in Bur- 
lington township ; Charles, of Nebraska ; 
Henry, a farmer residing on the farm ad- 
joining his mother's ; Louisa, married John 
Miller, and resides near Danville, Iowa; 
Edward, of liurlington; Fred, who super- 
intends the home farm for his aged mother. 
The departed father and husband was al- 
ways a strong Republican, but never sought 
public recognition at the hands of his party. 
He was also a member of the German Lu- 
theran church, where his aged widow still 
holds membership and his family attends. 
The benevolent spirit of Mrs. Hingst has 
prompted her to many good deeds, and she 
is a woman loved and respected by all -who 
know her. 



HENRY QUELL. 

A.M(i.\(; those who have come from for- 
eign lands to become prominent in busi- 
ness circles in Burlington, is Henry Quell, 
who for the past forty-three years has re- 
sided in this city. His enterprise and pro- 
gressive spirit have made him a typical 
.American in every sense of the word. He is 

a son of .Andrew and (Buchman) 

Quell, and was born in Germany, Sept. 6, 
1840. .Ml the education he obtained was in 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



his native land. At the age of thirteen he 
came to America with his father, making' 
the journey in an old-time sailing vessel in 
a little over seven weeks, coming by way of 
New Orleans. As the river was very low 
then, they could only travel as far as Cairo 
by boat. From St. Louis they came by 
wagon, and reached here in the fall of 1854. 
About this time, or possibly a little later, 
there was a heavy snow-storm, the snow 
measuring from four to five feet on the 
level. This made a vivid impression on Mr. 
Quell, and it is very interesting to hear 
him relate incidents of this great blockade. 
He followed farming for some eight years, 
and then learned the cooper's trade. Looking 
ahead he saw better chances to accumulate 
in the marble trade, and for many years he 
carried on business on Corse Street, just at 
the entrance of Aspen Grove cemetery. 

March 30, 1864, he was married to Miss 
Elizabeth Rife, daughter of Francis and 
Christena (Cook) Rife. Seven children 
blessed this union : Lillie, married Henry 
Middleman, and resides in Burlington ; 
Catherine, at home ; George, Edward, 
Charles, and Frank, of Burlington ; and 
Lavina, at home. Mr. and Mrs. Quell are 
members of the Evangelical Lutheran 
church. Politically, Mr. Quell is a Demo- 
crat. In 1903 he practically retired from 
business, and no-w lives at his pleasant home 
at 409 Starr Avenue. Like his brother 
William, he began in the world with 
nothing but his own energy and will- 
ing hands to aid him. No one need but to 
stroll through our beautiful cemetery, men- 
tioned above, to see the numerous specimens 
of Mr. Quell's artistic handiwork. His life 
of re.st has been well earned, and to which 
he is justly entitled. He is a man whom to 
know is to respect. 



JAMES SUTCLIFFE. 

James Sutcliffe, who was identified 
with farming interests in Des Moines 
county in early pioneer times, was a na- 
tive of England, born near Halifax, and 
was married in that country to Miss Han- 
nah Fernley, a native of Yorkshire, Eng- 
land. In the year 1847 they bade adieu 
to friends and native country, and sailed 
for the United States, taking up their 
abode near Dodgeville, in Franklin town- 
ship, Des Moines county, Iowa. Mr. Sut- 
cliflfe purchased a farm there, and in the 
midst of pioneer surroundings began de- 
veloping his land and improving the 
property. He was successful in his agri- 
cultural pursuits, and the sale of his crops 
and stock brought him a good financial 
return, while his economical living and 
careful management enabled him to add 
to his possessions, eventually becoming 
the owner of six hundred acres, all in this 
township. As the years passed he also 
enjoyed more of the comforts and lux- 
uries of life, and he continued to ^remain 
upon his farm on Section 27 up to the 
time of his death, which occurred in 
.March, 1873. His wife long survived 
him. departing this life .A^ug. 7, IQOO 
They were worthy pioneer people, re- 
spected for their many excellent traits of 
character and genuine worth. Mr. Sut- 
cliffe was a man of enterprise and energy 
in business affairs, carefully directing his 
labors, and persistently carrying on his 
work initil he became ])ossessed of a very 
valuable property. 

This worthy couple were the parents 
of five children : Hannah, became the 
wife of Frank Elkins. of Henry county, 
Iowa, and died in 1888: Sidney, living in 



882 



BI0GR.irHIC.-1L REVIEW 



Franklin townshii). wlu-rc ho carries (in 
agricultural ])ursuits; Helen, wife of Al- 
fred Thomas ; James H., resides upon the 
home place; and Demas M., also lives 
upon the old home farm. Following the 
motlier's death the land was divided 
among the children. There are about 
three hundred and forty acres of tillable 
land in the old homestead, of which 
James 11. Sutcliffe now owns seventy 
acres, all i)rairie laud ; while Demas Sut- 
cliffe has two hundred and thirty acres, 
of which thirty acres have been cleared. 

James H. SutclifTe was born ui>(/n his 
father's original purchase, and has always 
made his home in Franklin township, be- 
ing reared to the occupation of farming, 
while in the ])ul)lic schools he acquired 
a practical education. He was married, 
Oct. 15, 1892, to Miss Virginia Augusta 
Miller, a native of Pennsylvania, and a 
daughter of Levi and .\nna (Robins) 
Miller. 

Demas Al. SulclilTe was born Oct. 7, 
1869, in Franklin township, and l'"eb. 21, 
1895, he was married to Miss Margaret 
Catherine Heitmeicr, who was born in 
Franklin township, a daughter of Henry 
and Hannah (Gesslin) Heitmeier, in 
whose family were three sons and five 
daughters, Mrs. Sutcliffe being the fifth 
in order of birth. Unto Demas M-. Sut- 
clifTe and his wife have been born six 
children: Henry. l\al|)h. Hannah. Ruth, 
Pearl, and Cecil. 

James H. and Demas M. Sutcliffe have 
been partners in business throughout 
their entire lives, and now carry on gen- 
eral farming, and also raise Shorthorn 
cattle and Poland thiua hogs. The sale 
of their crops, as well as their slock, 
brings them a good financial return, and 



thev are prosi)ering in their business un- 
dertakings. The brothers arc Republic- 
ans in jjolitical faith, are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and are 
known as re])resentative business men. 
wide awake and energetic, accomplishing 
whatever they undertake, and so direct- 
ing their labors as to become substantial 
farmers of their native countv. 



MICHAEL HELLENTHAL. 

Micii.\EL Hellknthal is one of the 
prominent and enterprising farmers of 
Huron township, where he has met with 
much success, and where he is well and 
favorably known. He is a son of John 
and Mary Walburga (Hornstein) Hellen- 
thal, and was born in Bavaria, Germany, 
l'\'b. 7. 1856. His parents came to Amer- 
ica when he was about nine years of age 
by waj- of New York, and located for a 
short time in I'.urlington, Iowa. Later, 
his fallu-r bought a farm of one hundred 
and seven acres in Benton township, 
where he farmed for many years. Mr. 
HcUenthal received his early education in 
the jiarish schools of Germany, and also 
attended the district, schools of Des 
Moines county for a short time. When 
fifteen years of age he commenced to 
work by the month, and turned his wages 
over to his father to apply on the home 
farm. He was thus employed till he was 
twenty-two years of age when he began 
working for himself by the month, at 
which he remained for two years. 

.\l)out this time he commenced farming 
on the Mississippi River bottom; but the 
high water coming up, overflowed his 
laud, and took everything he had. He 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



883 



gave up farming for a while, and came to until to-day, when we find him comfort- 
Burlington, where he was engaged as a ably settled, enjoying the esteem and 
teamster for two years for the Rand good-will of his many friends and neigh- 
Lumber Company. He seemed to prefer bors. 

farm life, and accordingly went back to 

it, renting a place in Benton township, 
where he lived for two or three years. 
He afterward rented in Huron township 
for four years, when he bought seventy- 
nine acres of land in Section 34, Huron 
township, from John Peterson, and set civilization of the world, finds proof upon 
about to improve and beautify the farm, the pages of history; and the Fatherland 
He erected a comfortable and substantial has sent many of its worthy sons to 
nine-room house, a modern barn, and a America, where they have aided in up- 
convenient granary, besides other neces- building the natural resources of the 
sary outbuildings. He carries on general country, and in promoting progress along 
farming and stock-raising very exten- substantial lines of improvement. To 



HENRY HEITMEIER. 

The statement that the Teutonic race 
has been a most important factor in the 



sively, and has all the modern farm ma- 
chinery. 

Oct. 10, 1887, Mr. Hellenthal was mar- 
ried to Miss Mary Louise Kibes, daugh- 
ter of Joseph and Barbara (Christ) Eibes, 
who was born in Burlington, Iowa, Dec. 



this class Henry Heitmeier belongs. He 
was born in Prussia, Germany, and came 
to the L'nited States when eighteen years 
of age, landing at New Orleans in 1857. 
He then made his way up the river to 
Burlington. The trip on the ocean had 



28, 1864, and was educated at St. John's consumed about nine weeks, and two 
Convent, of Burlington, Iowa. When she more weeks passed before he reached Des 
was about fourteen years of age, her par- Moines count}-. Here he located upon a 
ents moved to Huron township, and here farm in Franklin township, and was em- 
she has resided ever since. Mr. and Mrs. ployed by the month at farm labor for 
Hellenthal have four children : Mary sexeral years, when desiring that his ef- 
Louise, born Sept. 5, 1888; Antoinette forts should more directly benefit himself, 
Barbara, born Jan. 3, 1895; John Joseph, he rented a tract of land, which he culti- 
born June 26, 1898; Agnes Clementine, vated for some time. In 1867 he pur- 
born Feb. 21, 1902. chased his present farm, becoming the 
Mr. and Mrs. Hellenthal are devoted owner of one hundred and five acres of 
members of the Roman Catholic church, rich land in Section 7, Franklin township. 
In politics Mr. Hellenthal supports the Here he has since made his home, devot- 
Democratic party, and has served on the ing his time and energies to general farm- 
school board for two years. He began at ing and stock-raising with good success, 
the bottom round of the ladder in life. He has placed all the improvements upon 
but by activity and ambition, together the property, has brought the fields under 
with high moral business principles, he a high state of cultivation, and in fact has 
has gradually advanced, round by round, so directed his labors that his farm is now 



88+ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



one of the best ilevelojicd in the locality. 
In matters of citizenship Mr. Heitmcier 
has always been interested ; and while he 
has never sought to figure prominently in 
any public life, he has done his full share 
in a (|uict way in the work of develo])- 
ment lu-re. His ])olitical allegiance is 
given to the ke]jublican party, while his 
religious faith is evidenced by his mem- 
bership ill the tierman Evangelical 
church. 

Mr. Heitmeier was married to Miss 
Hannah Cioesling, who was born in Ger- 
man) . and came from that country to 
Iowa at an early age, remaining a resi- 
dent of Des Moines county until her 
death, which occurred about twenty-one 
years ago. I'.y her marriage she became 
the mother of ten children, of whom eight 
are living: Louisa, the wife of .\dam \'aii- 
demark, of Louisa county ; .\nnie, the 
wife of I'red Riepe, a resident farmer of 
Franklin townslii|): Rdward, resides near 
Columbus Junction; lliarles, makes his 
home near Morning .Sim, Iowa; Maggie. 
tile wife of Demas SutclifFe, of Franklin 
township; Kate, the wife of Edward 
Rie]K'. of I'Vaiikliii towiislii]); Frank, upon 
tlie lionu- farm; Laura, the wife of Her- 
man lierliii. a son of William ^L Berlin, 
a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in 
this volume. Two children have been 
born to Mr. and Mrs. Berlin: Wilfred, 
now li\iiig; and a st)ii. Marry, who died 
in infancy. 

Mrs. Ilerliii was horn upon llic old 
homestead farm, and pursued her edu- 
cation in tile township schools. She re- 
mained under the parental roof until her 
marriage. Mr. Berlin is a native of Des 
Moines county, his birth having occurred 
in F'lint River township, Dec. 2, 1875. 



He ac<|uire(l his education in the public 
schools of that locality, and also in the 
high school of West Burlington, and 
when not busy with his text-books, he 
performed such labor upon the home farm 
as his age and strength ijermitted. L'lti- 
mately he became familiar with all of the 
work incident to the cultivation of the 
fields and the care of the stock. He after- 
ward went to Burlington, where he se- 
cured employment in the shops oi the 
Chicago, Burlingto'n 6y: (Juincy Railroad 
Company, and subsecjueiuly was an em- 
ployee in the Murray Iron Works, where 
he remained until after the outbreak 
of the Spanish-.Americaii War, when, no 
longer content to work in the foundry, he 
offered his services to the government, 
becoming a member of Company B, Sixth 
Iowa .Artillery, with which he served for 
three months. During that i)eriod he was 
stationed at Camp McKinley at Des 
Moines. The regiment, however, was not 
called forth to active service, and at the 
end of the three months he was mustered 
out and honorably discharged. .After a 
short time, however, he re-enlisted in 
Coni])any E, Thirty-ninth Iowa Infantry, 
and took active part in the campaign 
through the ])rovinces of Laguna, Bat- 
tangas, and Tayabas in the Philippines 
from December, 1899, until Feb. 10, 1900, 
(hiring which time he was a participant 
in the skirniishes at San Cristobal River, 
Cahiiyae. .Santa Rosa, Santa Pedro, San- 
tiago iiill, and -San Paloc. He was hon- 
orably discharged May 6, 1901, after 
which he returned to the home plac^ and 
engaged in farming. Subsequent to his 
marriage he began working upon his 
father-in-law's farm. 

Both Mr. Berlin and .Mr. Heitmeier 



DES MOIKES COUNTY, IOWA. 



88 s 



are recognized as leading agriculturists of 
the community, and the younger man is 
largely relieving the older of the active 
work of the fields. He is ambitious and 
energetic, determined and progressive, 
and will undoubtedly win success in his 
business career. His political allegiance 
is given to the Republican party, and he 
is now numbered among the honored 
veterans of the Spanish-American War, 
who did more than any other one agency 
to establish the right of this country to 
rank with the great powers of the world. 



EMIL BRUN. 



Mr. Brun, who is well known as a 
farmer and stock-raiser, and at present re- 
sides on his farm of one hundred and forty- 
seven acres in Section 23, Augusta town- 
ship, in addition to which he owns another 
farm of ninety-five acres, is a native of 
Alsace, France. He was born Aug. 4, 
1848, a son of John and Frances Brun, and 
came with his parents to America when but 
three years of age. The father, who was a 
man of excellent education, was a teacher 
in the government schools in France, but 
on the fall of the republic, of which he was 
a supporter, and the re-establishment of the 
monarchy, he lost this position. He then 
removed to the United States with his 
family, which consisted of his wife and 
six children, while another child was born 
after their arrival in this country. For a 
time he resided in Cincinnati, supporting 
those dependent upon him by whatever 
employment he could procure : but subse- 
quently he removed to Illinois, where he 
obtained from the Illinois Central Railroad 



Company the contract for grading its tracks 
between St. Louis and Chicago. After a 
year and a half in that State, he decided to 
go to Des Moines, Iowa, and brought his 
household goods as far as the city of Bur- 
lington, where he was delayed for a time 
by the illness of his wife ; and being offered 
an opportunity to purchase land in Augusta 
township, he bought forty-five acres, where 
our subject now resides. 

Thus the family became established in its 
present location, and for some time the 
father made liis home here ; but a sense of 
loyalty to his adopted country caused him 
to enlist in the Union army at the time of 
the Civil War. He went to the front with 
his regiment, and while on his way home, 
at the close of his term of service, stopped 
at St. Louis, became ill, and died there. He 
is buried in that city. He was a man of 
ability and indomitable character, a true 
type of the marvelously gifted nation from 
which he sprang, and the loss which his 
family sustained in his death was beyond 
calculation. The seven children who sur- 
vived him are, in order of birth, as fol- 
lows : Louisa, who became the wife of 
William Fischer, a sketch of whom ap- 
pears elsewhere in this work ; Joseph A., to 
whom also a separate chapter is devoted ; 
Mary, now deceased, was the wife of 
Charles Witherspach, and is survived by 
two children ; John P., also deceased, mar- 
ried Miss Ida Hall, and left two children; 
Emil, subject of this memoir ; Emma, who 
married William Rlume, and resides in 
Augusta township : and Josephine, a resi- 
dent of Lee county, Iowa, married Xavier 
Blint, and has seven children. 

After the death of the husband and father, 
the mother of the family courageously took 
upon herself the task of conducting the farm 



886 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and rearing and educating the children. 
All her children received good education 
in the common schools, besides excellent 
home training, and she had the best of 
success in the management of the farm, 
increasing her holdings to a total of nine- 
five acres. 

Mr. Brun, alter attaining his majority, 
worked on the home farm for a time, in 
the employ of his mother, and on March 17, 
1879, was united in marriage at West Point, 
Lee county, Iowa, to Miss Marie Watz- 
nauer. Mrs. Brun was born in Reichenberg, 
Bohemian Austria, a daughter of Edward 
and Mary (Bcrgmann) Watznauer, and 
when twenty years of age came to America 
with her parents, they locating in Lee county, 
Iowa. Prior to his marriage Mr. Brun had 
purchased the old home farm, to which he 
now brought his bride, they taking up their 
residence in tlte house built by his mother 
in 1870-71, and which fetill forms their 
home, while his mother removed to the 
village of Augusta. Her death occurred in 
that village Oct. 18, 1898, and she is there 
buried. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Brun have been born 
nine children. They are: John, born Dec. 
I, 1879 ; Emil, born Sept. 23, 1881 ; Edward, 
born Aug. 23, 1883; May, born Aug. 11, 
1885, and died Sept. 2, 1885 ; Leopold, bom 
Aug. 3, 1886; Arnold, born May 15, 1890; 
William, born Nov. 11, 1892, and died 
Nov. 14, 1892; Anna, born Nov. 28, 1894; 
and Frank, born Dec. -2, 1899. Mr. and 
Mrs. r.ruii are members of the Roman Cath- 
olic church, and in this church five of their 
children have been confirmed. 

Our subject, in his political relations, is 
identified with the Republican party, but 
having devoted his talents to the manage- 
ment of his large farm, has never been an 



aspirant for public office. He has been 
the witness of great advances in Des Moines 
county's material prosperity, to which he 
has largely contributed, and in some meas- 
ure he has shared the hardships of pioneer 
life. On his farm still stands the original 
log cabin which was his home for years, 
and is supposed to have been built by Mr. 
MofTett, the first owner. He has been 
highly successful as a fanner, has won for 
himself a respected position in the com- 
munity, and owes his advancement almost 
exclusively to his own efforts and abilities. 



JOHN ROTH. 



.\ NATIVE son of Des Moines county, 
a representative of one of its old pioneer 
families, and one who has become widely 
known b}- reason of the energy and ability 
which have brought success to all the en- 
terprises in which he has engaged, is John 
Roth, now residing on liis farm of ninety- 
one acres in Sections 10 and 20, Burling- 
ton township. Mr. Roth was born Sept. 
12, 1859, in the home which he now occu- 
pies, the son of John and Magdalene 
(Adam) Roth, natives of France, who 
came with their parents to the United 
States about the year 1842, making the 
voyage in the same ship and celebrating 
their marriage soon after arriving in 
.\merica. Landing in Baltimore, they 
spent a few months in Pennsylvania, 
after which they decided to try their for- 
tunes in the new country, then known as 
the West, and came to Iowa, locating in 
Des Moines county, where the father of 
our subject entered the land on which his 
son now resides. Here he spent the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



greater part of his active life, making all 
the many improvements on his land, and 
after an active, industrious, and success- 
ful career, died here in the eighty-third 
year of his age. He was a faithful mem- 
ber of the Catholic church, to whose sup- 
port he was a constant contributor. In 
his political faith he was affiliated with 
the Democratic party. His own demise 
was preceded by about five years by that 
of his wife, in her seventy-third year. 
She, like himself, was a member of the 
Catholic church. They were the parents 
of a numerous family, having twelve chil- 
dren, our subject being the tenth in order 
of birth, and of these, seven still survive. 
Mr. Roth passed the years of his boy- 
hood and youth as his father's assistant 
in the work of the farm, meantime secur- 
ing a good education in the district 
schools of his township, which was later 
supplemented by a course of study in the 
Commercial College, of Burlington. 
Upon his return from school he became 
manager of the farm, and on attaining his 
twenty-third year he received full posses- 
sion of the farm, which has ever since 
that time continued to engage the chief 
part of his effort and attention. He en- 
gages largely in fruit-growing and in gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising, making 
specialties of Chester White hogs and 
Hereford cattle, having been largely in- 
strumental in popularizing these famous 
breeds in this locality. The farm is a 
veritable model of neatness and perfect 
organization in every respect, for the pro- 
prietor has here put into operation many 
new and modern ideas with conspicu- 
ously successful effect. In addition to 
this farm he also owns somewhat more 
than three hundred acres of fine timber 



land in Henderson county. Illinois, which 
at the present time he is having cleared, 
and is disposing of the timber by sale ; 
while just south of his home farm, in Sec- 
tion 21, Burlington township, he holds 
title to an eighty-acre tract of valuable 
farming land which is already partially 
improved. 

On November 24, 1880, Mr. Roth was 
united in marriage to Miss Augusta Bo- 
kenkamp, who was born in Burlington, 
Iowa, the daughter of Dietrich and Fred- 
ericka (Fortman) Bokenkamp, both par- 
ents being natives of Germany, who came 
to America in early youth. The father 
was by trade a carpenter, an occupation 
which he followed in Burlington until his 
death at the age of forty-two years, sur- 
vived by his widow, who still resides in 
Burlington. Mrs. Roth is one of a family 
of eight brothers and sisters, of whom 
six still survive. To MV. and Mrs. Roth, 
at their home in Burlington township, 
have been born two sons, the elder being 
Clarence A., born Jan. 10, 1882, who now 
resides at Little Rock, Ark., where he has 
for some time successfully engaged in the 
undertaking and embalming business. 
He is a young man of much ability, and 
was well educated, having received his 
training in the schools of Burlington and 
St. Louis. The younger son, Lyman H., 
born June 26, 1884, 's a student in a busi- 
ness college at Burlington. 

Mr. Roth has been careful to provide 
his sons with every advantage of training, 
being a firm believer in the value and de- 
sirability of education, and always earnest 
in urging its claims to attention. A man 
who has at heart the best interests of 
his communit}', he takes an intense inter- 
est also in affairs of politics, and has at- 



888 



inucN.u'iiic.tL REi j/:ir 



taiiicd to a position of j^rcat inthicnce in 
the counsels of the Democratic party, of 
which he is a valued member, and for 
whose triumphs he has long l)een a faith- 
ful worker. 

In recognition of his services he has 
received at the hands of his fellow-citi- 
zens many posts of trust and lionor, at 
the |)resent time holding the office of 
townshi() trustee, of whicli he lias been 
the incumbent for the last three years; 
and he is also treasurer of the school 
board of ISurlingtou townshii), in both of 
whicli offices he has displayed unusual 
fitness, and won the unreserved com- 
mendation of the general ])ul)lic which 
he serves.' He is a sui)])orter of the 
Catholic church, in which he was bap- 
tized, and lends his aid and encourage- 
ment to all worthy movements that come 
to his notice. Throughout life he has dis- 
played great busiftess ability, sound judg- 
ment, and accurate discrimination, alwavs 
quick to take advantage of an opportuni- 
ty, and ever evincing a steadfastness of 
purpose which has made him a marked 
man in the world of affairs, so that he 
has fairly won his great success: and at 
the same time the strict fairness and im- 
partiality which have characterized him 
in all his dealings have won him the gen- 
eral respect, and by reason of his loyalty 
and genial disposition lie enjoys tlie re- 
gard of a host of friiiids. 



JOHN WHITTEMORE. 

One of the prominent and highly re- 
spected farmers of Pleasant Grove township, 
and who has accomplished nuich for the 



community, as well as one who has served 
his country in time of war, is John W'hitte- 
niore. He is a son of John P. and Delilah 
(Miller) \V'hittemore, and was born in 
lirown county, Illinois, July 3. 1844. His 
father was born in Connecticut, and the 
mother in Wooster, Ohio. When the father 
was only nineteen years old he came to Illi- 
nois, and located near Springfield, where 
he remained for about eighteen months. In 
1834 he moved to I-ort Madison, Iowa, where 
he followed the trade of a millwright, and 
put up the old log jail — the first in that 
county, in 1844 he returned to Illinois, and 
took up his residence in Hrown county, 
during which time he was engaged at his 
trade. .After removing to Keokuk county. 
Iowa, where he lived for five years, he was 
elected justice of the [leace of that c<iunty, 
and had the honor of performing the first 
marriage ceremony in that place. In the 
year of 1S50 he again returned to Illinois, 
and located on the hfune ])lace. and there 
remained till his death, which occurred at 
the age of fifty-nine years. He is buried in 
lirown county. Illinois. He and his good 
wife were members of the .Methotlist church. 
Politically, he was a Democrat, and served 
his party well. He was a good man. and 
was honored by all for his many noble traits 
of character. The mother of our subject 
outlived her husband some nine years, dying 
in 1878 at the age of seventy-two years, and 
is laid by the side of her husband. She was 
a woman of great strength of character, and 
beloved by all. They were the ])arents of 
eleven children, of whom John, of this re- 
view, was the third yoimgest and the only 
remaining one living. 

Our subject was educated in Hrown 
county. Illinois. an<l assisted on the home 
place till 1862, when he enlisted in Com- 



DES MOIXIIS COUNTY, IOWA. 



88q 



pany F, One Hundred and Nineteenth Illi- 
nois \'olunteer Infantry, and served till the 
close of the war. He was in nine noted 
battles — Nashville ; Pleasant Hill, La. ; 
Yellow Bayou, La. ; at the capture of 
Fort De Rusa, La. ; Tapelow, Miss. ; and 
at the capture of the fort in ^lobile, Ala. 
After being honorably discharged in Mo- 
bile, he returned to his old home in Illinois. 
Remaining here but a short time, he came 
to Iowa and purchased a farm of seventy- 
five acres in Pleasant Grove township, Des 
Moines county, where he has resided ever 
since. Besides farming to a large extent, 
he raises some fine stock, and for a part of 
the time he is engaged in the erection of 
houses and barns, having learned the trade 
of a carpenter in his younger days. The 
house and other improvements on his farm 
are all his handiwork. During harvest time 
Mr. W'hittemore operates a threshing ma- 
chine in his neighborhood. He is a Re- 
publican, and has served as justice of the 
peace in Pleasant Grove township with 
great satisfaction to all. 

Nov. 5, 1865, Mr. Whittemore was mar- 
ried to Miss Mary E. Despain, daughter of 
John and Maria (Perkins) Despain, who 
came to Iowa in 1882, and located in Pleas- 
ant Grove township, where they resided till 
their deaths. Mr. Despain's farm consisted 
of twenty-four acres of land, and it was on 
this place that his death occurred -when he 
was seventy-two and a half years old. His 
widow lived to die age of eighty-three 
years, her death taking place about two years 
ago. They were the parents of five chil- 
dren, four of whom are living, of which 
Mrs. Whittemore is the second in age : Mil- 
ton resides on the old home place in Pleas- 
ant Grove township ; Belinda is the wife of 
Jacob Shepherd, of Pleasant Grove town- 



ship ; Silas resides in Henry county, Iowa ; 
and Newton lives in Pleasant Grove town- 
ship. Mr. Despain was an ardent Demo- 
crat, and a supporter of the Baptist church. 

L'nto Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore six chil- 
dren have been born, as follows: (i) Maria, 
the wife of William H. Wilkinson, and re- 
sides in Washington township. They have 
five children, Harrison, Maggie, Margaret, 
W'cslcv and Olive. (2) John M., married 
Miss Anna Perkins, a daughter of William 
J. Perkins, who died at the home place in 
Pleasant Grove township Jan. 11, 1905. 
aged fifty-six years, six months, and two 
days. He was born in Kentucky, and came 
to Iowa with his father when a very small 
child. Air. Perkins married Miss Sarah 
E. McNamee, July 10. 1869, who is still 
living on the home place in Pleasant Grove 
township, and whose birth occurred in Penn- 
sylvania. (3) Mary, married William L. 
Perkins, a brother of Anna Perkins, who 
married her brother, John Milton, has one 
child, Everett, and lives on a farm in Pleas- 
ant Grove township. (4) William N., died 
at the age of twenty-three years, soon after 
his marriage to Miss Stella Hale, daughter 
of George and Lena (McCune) Hale. (5) 
Miss Mary Whittemore, at home. (6) Died 
while small. 

I\Irs. Whittemore passed away Nov. 17, 
1 90 1, at the old home, and is buried in the 
cemetery in Pleasant Grove township. She 
was a devoted wife and a consistent Chris- 
tian lady, being a member of the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian church. Mr. Whittemore 
holds membership in the Methodist church. 
He has a record of which he may justly be 
proud — a man with a spotless name, a 
brave and gallant soldier, and one who has 
ever been active and progressive in all that 
would be of benefit to his communitv. 



8oo 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



HERMAN SCHWARTZ. 

Herman Schwartz, one of the native 
sons of Franklin township still residing 
within its borders, was born Feb. 25, 1859, 
and is of (lennan lineage. His father, 
Henry Schwartz, was a native of Prussia, 
and was there married to Miss Mary Wiett- 
nian, also a native of the same locality. In 
the year 1853 they crossed the Atlantic to 
America, taking passage on a sailing vessel, 
which, after twenty-three days, dropped an- 
chor in the harbor of Xew York. For five 
years they remained residents of the Empire 
State, living mo.st of the time at Lockport, 
where the father engaged in farm work. 
They then continued their journey west- 
ward until they arrived at Burlington, where 
they remained until Mr. Schwartz could se- 
cure a location. Soon, however, he took up 
his abode upon a small farm of twenty acres 
in Section 34, Franklin township. He made 
improvements thereon, and extended the 
boundaries of his farm by additional pur- 
chases until it comprised sixty acres of rich 
and productive land, to the further develop- 
ment and cultivation of which he devoted 
his energies up to the time of his death, 
which occurred Nov. 19, 1875. His wife 
still survives, with her one son, Herman, 
the fifth in order of birth in a family of two 
sons and five daughters. 

Herman Schwartz was born u]ion the 
farm where his father first located upon 
coming to Des Moines county, and has 
here made his home until the present time. 
He has purchased eighty-five acres of im- 
proved land, and carries on general farming 
and stock-raising, having now about fifteen 
head of white-faced cattle. He also raises 
about fifty head of hogs each year. He like- 
wise has a number of good horses upon his 



place, and he is unremitting in diligence, 
while his unabating energy and strong pur- 
pose are making him one of the successful 
agriculturists-of liis comnnmity. 

Nov. 19, 1883, Mr. Schwartz was married 
to Miss Minnie Wahage. who was bom in 
Franklin township, and is a daughter of 
Henry and Christiana (Meyer) Wahage. 
They traveled life's journey together for 
about ten years, and were then separated 
by death, Mrs. Schwartz passing away 
Jan. 3, 1895. her remains being interred in 
the Lutheran church cemetery in l-'ranklin 
township. 

Mr. Schwartz was educated in the Ger- 
man Lutheran school, and is a member of 
Salem Lutheran church, of which he served 
as trustee for two years. He votes with 
the Democratic ])arty, of wliich he has been 
an adherent since attaining his majority. 



ANDY JOHNSON. 

Sweden has furnished some very 
])r()minent. industrious citizens of Yellow 
.'■Springs township. As a rule they are of 
a very hard-working class of people who 
have mastered a good trade in the Father- 
land, and have come to America w'ith the 
hoi)e of better facilities before them, and 
in the main have not been disappointed. 
.\ndy Johnson is a son of John and Ellen 
(Esburn) Johnson, and w-as burn in 
Sweden, Aug. 6, 1836. He attended the 
common schools in his native home till 
he was old enough to be apprenticed to 
- a tailor, with whom he \vorked for sev- 
eral } ears, acquiring in the meantime a 
thorough knowledge of tailoring. 

He followed the tailor's trade with 



> 

o 
k; 

o 

12; 
w 
O 

> 

o 

> 







DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



803 



much success in Sweden till June 26, 
1869, when he came to the city of Bur- 
lington, where he remained for one year. 
He then took up his residence in Medi- 
apolis, and the following year bought 
ninety-three acres of land in Section 33 
of Mr. John Herman. Mr. Johnson paid 
sixty-five dollars an acre for his farm, 
and has from time to time added the 
necessary Ijuildings for a home and the 
protection of his grain and stock. His 
land is well drained with tile, and being 
furnished with all kinds of modern farm 
machinery, Air. Johnson obtains good re- 
sults for his labor. Besides farming all 
of his own place he rents one hundred 
and sixty acres from ]\Ir. Archer, thus 
making over two hundred and fifty acres 
to care for. He uses fifteen head of horses 
in working this large farm. 

April I, 1870, Mr. Johnson became the 
husband of Miss Sophia Swanson, who 
was born in Sweden, April 21, 1846, and 
is a daughter of Swain and Anna Lena 
(Magneson) Swanson. Unto Mr. and 
Mrs. Johnson have been born the follow- 
ing nine children: Charles Emil, lived in 
Oklahoma City, Ind., T., for seven years, 
working as a carpenter, then went to 
Okmulgee, Ind. T., and leased a farm for 
five years, and died Sept. i, 1905, aged 
thirty-five years, three months, and three 
days ; Emma Cecilia, married John Hart- 
man, and resides in Washington town- 
ship; Edward John, lives at home; Anna 
Marie, now Mrs. Harry George Arm- 
strong, lives in Griswold, Iowa ; Theo- 
dore Andy, at home; Ellen ;\Iatilda, the 
wife of August Emanuel, of Yellow 
Springs township ; Anna Amelia with her 
parents ; Francis V^ictor and Rosa Helena, 
both at home. 



Politically, Mr. Johnson has given his 
allegiance to the Republican party, vot- 
ing first for U. S. Grant, and has 
been a school director and the hon- 
ored president of the board for the past 
five years. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are 
devoted members of the Swedish Luther- 
an church, and are loyal to any eilfort 
that will promote the spread of Chris- 
tianity. He has taken much interest in 
the improvement of the township and 
county, and has ever rejoiced in the pros- 
perity of his friends. Mr. Johnson has the 
respect and admiration of all who know 
him. 



JOHN WARD SWAN. 

Pe.\ce of mind and a contented spirit 
belong to the farm. Close to the heart of 
nature may be found true wisdom, and in 
the tillage of the fields may be nurtured the 
noblest philosophy of life. Under the 
shadow of the great trees, and with the blue 
skies above and the waving grain before the 
eye, there is little room for envy and bitter- 
ness. Country life is good for the develop- 
ment of the mind, and helps men to culti- 
vate and strengthen the things that make 
for broad humanity and nobility of soul. 
More and more does it become evident that 
the men who keep close to the soil are wise. 
They escape the heart worry and the nerve 
exhaustion, the strenuous and utter aban- 
don to business cares and interests, that 
characterize so strongly the present life ; 
and while no less earnestly laboring in 
their appointed field of work, do so in that 
steadiness and patience that make men 
strong and mighty in their day. 



894 



KinCRAPHlCAL REllEW 



John Ward Swan, \\•llll^^.• name intro- 
duces this article, was a man whose career 
well illustrated the wisdom that lies in 
leading the simple and natural life, and 
was widely regarded as a good citizen and 
a man of unimpeachable character. Mr. 
Swan was born Feb. 14. 1833, in Marshall 
county, W. \'a., a son of Henry \'. and 
Esther R. (Ward) Swan. In 1838 the 
Swan family came to Iowa by the Ohio and 
Mississip])! river route, and located in Bal- 
timore township. Henry county, where the 
father and mother cfmtinued to reside dur- 
ing the remainder of their lives, and where 
they died. Our subject received his formal 
training in the public schools and in Iowa 
Wesleyan College at Mount Pleasant, thus 
securing an excellent education and the best 
of preparation for his subsequent life. In 
1850 he with his father crossed the great 
plains to the Pacific Coast, and although 
his father- returned at the expiration of a 
year, he remained for a year longer. At 
this time he was only seventeen years of 
age, but such was his practical ability that 
he made the venture profitable in a pe- 
cuniary way, while the vivid im]>ressi(>ns 
of the wild western life he then received 
made a lasting record u])on his youthful 
mind, and largely broadened his ideas of 
men and things. Traveling by way of 
the Isthmus of Panama and the city of 
New- York, he returned to the home of his 
parents, where he remained until March i, 
1S55, on which date he was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Caroline S. Honar, who was 
born Dec. 25. 1831. in Marshall countx. 
West \'irginia. a dnugiiter of James Craton 
and Sarah ( Reeves I I'.onar. 

As the Bonar family played an impor- 
tant part in the history of this region, brief 
mention mav be made of them as follows : 



James I'lonar was l)(>rn m .M;iryland. going 
to what is now West X'irginia when eight- 
een years of age, while his wife was a 
native of New Jersey, and when a small 
girl removed with her parents to Ohio, but 
at the time of her marriage was living with 
an imde in Marshall county. West X'ir- 
ginia. Husband .and wife, with their chil- 
dren, came to Iowa by the river route in 
1838, arriving at liurlington on April i, 
and located in Danville townshij). Des 
Moines county, where they entered a large 
farm in a single tract of 320 acres, im- 
proved the land, and built up a splendid 
home, in which they surrounded themselves 
in the course of years with many comforts, 
as well as many friends. It was there that 
the remaining ])ortion of their lives was 
passed, and thence they jiasscd to the higher 
life. One daughter. Malissa, was married 
before they left West X'irginia, and re- 
mained in that State, but they were accom- 
panied to the West by all the other mem- 
bers of their large family, they being the 
parents of eleven children, as follows : 
Malissa, married Benjamin (iregg, and both 
are now deceased ; X\'esley R., a notice of 
whom will be found elsewhere in this 
volume of liistory ; i'jiiily, at present re- 
siding in Burlington, married John M. 
Ciregg, now deceased : Clementine, married 
William Crawford Hamia. and Ixith are 
deceased; Miran<la. married John Fraley 
Rose, and they al.so are both deceased ; 
.Mary Jane, married Charles B. Tonkinson, 
and they reside in Danville township near 
the old Bonar hoiuestead ; Sarah Ann. who 
resides at Farrington. Iowa, married Miles 
Hanna. now deceased: Cieorge H. is de- 
ceased : Caroline Seville is the widow of our 
subject ; Phcebe Zane. widow of Joseph T. 
Xewell. resides in Topeka, Kans. ; and the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



805 



youngest, Harvey O., is deceased. Mr. 
Bonar was a stanch Democrat, but never 
aspired to public office, choosing rather to 
devote his talents to his private aflfairs and 
business, and in this he was very successful, 
and became comparatively wealthy. Mrs. 
Bonar was a life-long member of the 
Methodist church ; and while Mr. Bonar 
was not a member of any religious de- 
nomination, he was a highly charitable and 
humane man, and was always governed by 
a strict sense of honor in his transactions, 
making it a rule of his business never to 
owe any man a cent. He was born April 
I, 1788, and died in September, 1879, while 
the death of his wife occurred July 12, 1889, 
her age being ninety-eight years, eleven 
months, and three days. Both were laid 
to rest in Long Creek cemetery, the mother 
being buried on the anniversary of her 
wedding, which took place the 14th day of 
July, 1812. Her religious faith was an 
intimate and integral part of her daily life, 
for she was converted to the Christian 
faith through the ministrations of the 
Methodist Episcopal church at the early 
age of sixteen years, and ever continued 
faithful to its tenets and teachings. She 
died at the home of her daughter, ]\Irs. 
Swan, and the regret felt by the community 
for her loss was most sincere. She came 
of a family noted for strong character and 
for the longevity which results from sane 
and wholesome living. Her parents were 
Joseph and Lydia Reeves, who located in 
Ohio about the year 1797, settling in 
Guernsey county, and they underwent all 
the most difficult trials of pioneer life, be- 
ing twice compelled to escape the raids of 
Indians by flight. Joseph Reeves died at 
the age of ninety-one^years, and Lydia, his 
wife, at one hundred and three. 



Mr. Swan received from his father a 
farm in Henry county, near Salem, to 
which he took his bride upon their mar- 
riage, and there they made their home for 
a period of eight years, but sold the farm 
in 1863, and removed to Des Moines 
county, locating upon the present site of 
the village of West Burlington. They sub- 
sequently resided at various places until the 
year 1885, when they removed to the farm 
of one hundred acres which Mrs. Swan 
now occupies, located in the western edge 
of Burlington, the home standing at the 
end of Division Street. Here Mr. Swan 
installed many modern improvements and 
conveniences, and erected a large and 
well-arranged brick residence. To Mr. 
and Mrs. Swan were born nine children, 
two of whom died young, while seven 
survive, as follows : Phoebe Zane, now 
residing in Burlington, married Ora J. 
Gould, and has three children, Allen Swan, 
Helen Revelle, and Howard Kennedy ; 
Clarissa Belle, also residing in Burlington, 
married Thomas F. Rogers, and to them 
have been born five children, Grace Miriam, 
Winifred Caroline, Arthur John, Birdie 
Zane (who died in infancy), Mabel Flor- 
ence, and Ruth Alice ; James Henry, who 
is a resident of Kansas, married Miss Ger- 
trude Wheeler, and has four children, Irma, 
John Theodore, Jennie, and an infant ; 
Bertha Frances, now residing in Illinois, 
married Durward Frederick \^ogt and has 
had one child, Frances Caroline, who died 
at the age of one year and a half : Esther 
Reddick resides at the parental home ; 
Caroline Estelle, now of Danville township, 
Des Moines county, married George Mitch- 
ell Moore, and has one child, Esther Caro- 
line; and ^lary \'irginia resides with her 
mother. 



896 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Mr. Swan devoted his life to farming, 
making a specialty of dairy fanning, and 
was very successful ; so much so. in fact, 
that he early acquired a competence, and 
after coming to this city was able to lead 
a retired life, taking very little part in active 
business during his later years, beyond the 
supervision of his landed interests, but 
passed his days in ease and the enjoyment 
of intellectual pleasures, for he was a 
lover of reading and possessed of a vast 
general information on topics of current 
interest. lie also gave much thought and 
time to the advancement of the cause of 
education, which was very near to his heart 
at all times, and he often served the com- 
nuinities in which he resided as director 
of the schools, a capacity for which he was 
eminently fitted. He was a Republican in 
politics, but never cared for the honor of 
public office. He was a believer in the 
usefulness of fraternal societies, and was 
a member of the Masonic order, being 
identified with Danville Lodge. No. 48. and 
largely regulating his life by the high and 
pure morality of its teachings. He was 
a man of genuine business ability, but his 
life was guideil by the com]3ass of unswerv- 
ing justice and strict rectitude. As a hus- 
band, he embodied a nolijc ideal ; as a 
father, he was loving and indulgent always ; 
as a friend, loyal and true. He was chari- 
table, self-sacrificing, and considerate of the 
rights and feelings of others, one to whom 
it was well and fitting to ajjjily the grand 
old name of gentleman. To him was given 
the affection of many antl the respect and 
esteem of all. He died July 11. TO04. and 
was buried in .\s])en (irove cemetery in 
this city. 

Mrs. Swan is a lady of unusual ability, 
social graces, and conversational gifts, and 



has many friends in Burlington who cher- 
ish her for her admirable qualities. She 
and her daughters are members of the 
First Methodist Episcopal church of Bur- 
lington. 



NATHAN A. McCOLLOCH. 

Xatiian .\. McCoi.LOCH resides on a 
farm in Section 30, Jackson township, where 
he owns one hundred and twenty acres of 
land, and he also has eighty acres in Sections 
24 and 25, Benton township, nearly all of 
which is improved. He was born near 
Hamilton, 111., March 26, 1861, and acquired 
his education in Des Moines county, Iowa, 
to which place he removed with his parents 
when about eleven years of age. He is a 
son of Nathan and .Anna (Murphy) Mc- 
Colloch. Both were natives of Belmont 
county, Ohio, and were there reared and 
married. In early life they removed to 
Illinois, settling near Hamilton, where the 
father <'iigaged in farming for a number of 
years, but later he returned to Ohio, and 
again resided in Belmont county for four 
years. On the expiration of that period he 
once more located in Illinois, where he con- 
tinued until 1872, when he came to Iowa, 
settling a short distance northeast of Latty 
Station, in Benton township. There he pur- 
chased forty acres of land, and also rented 
a farm constituting a part of the Overton 
land in Jackson townsiiip, cultivating this 
for several years. He afterward took up his 
abode in the city of Burlington, where he 
spent his last days, passing away in the 
spring of 1881, at the age of fifty-five years. 

His political support was given to the 
Democracy, but he never sought or desired 
office, preferring to give his imdivided 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



attention to his business interests. His wife, 
long surviving him, died in 1896 at the age 
of sixty-two years. They were the parents 
of fourteen children, of whom ten are now 
living. 

Nathan A. McColloch, the sixth in order 
of birth, remained with his parents until the 
death of his father, and acquired his edu- 
cation in the public schools. He entered 
upon his business career as a farm hand, 
working by the month for some years. He 
was also employed for a time in the city of 
Burlington, and it was his industry and 
frugality that brought to him a capital suffi- 
cient to enable him to purchase a farm. 
In the year 1898 he bought eighty acres of 
land just south of his present farm, and car- 
ried on agricultural pursuits there for six 
years, after which he traded the place for his 
present property, constituting one hundred 
and twenty acres of land, that has become 
rich and arable because of the care and culti- 
vation bestowed upon it. Everything about 
the place is kept in excellent condition, and 
he uses the latest improved machinery in 
the care of his land and crops. Four years 
ago he added to his possessions by the 
purchase of eighty acres in Benton town- 
ship, and he is now successfully engaged 
in general farming and stock-raising. 

Mr. ]\IcColloch was married, March 15, 
1883, to Miss Ida May Eads, a daughter of 
Henry and Elizabeth (Mower) Eads. Her 
father was an early settler of Benton town- 
ship, where he engaged in farming and 
stock-raising, owning at the time of his 
death one hundred and sixty-one acres of 
good land. He was a Democrat in politics. 
He died in 1898 at the age of sixty-five 
years, and is still survived by his wife, who 
now resides in Burlington. Mrs. McCol- 
loch was born in Burlington township, and 



obtained her education in the public schools 
there. By her marriage she has become the 
mother of four children: Albert, Clarence, 
Pansy M., and Ray, and the family circle 
yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. 
All were born in Benton township with the 
exception of Pansy, whose birth occurred 
in Nebraska, during a two-years' residence 
there of her parents. 

J\lr. McColloch gives his political alle- 
giance to the Democratic party, and has 
served as trustee of Jackson township. He 
manifests an active and helpful interest in 
public affairs, and at the same time gives 
close attention to his business, which is now 
making him one of the prosperous citizens 
of Des Moines county. His life has been 
characterized by unremitting diligence, and 
from a humble position he has worked his 
way upward to one of independence. 



FREDERICK SCHRADER. 

Frederick Schrader is a native of 
Des Moines county, and was born near 
Flint River, Jan. i, 1878. He acquired 
his education in the common schools of his 
township while living upon his father's 
farm, his parents being Henry and Eliza- 
beth (Larkins) Schrader. The father 
was born in Germany, and in early life 
came to the United States. Taking up 
his abode in this county, he turned his 
attention to general agricultural pursuits 
in Flint River township, where he pur- 
chased fort}' acres of land, upon which he 
lived for a number of years. He then re- 
moved to Pleasant Grove township, 
where he again became owner of a tract 
of forty acres, upon which he yet makes 
his home, his attention being given to gen- 



^l)« 



BIOCKAPHICAL Rill IFAV 



i-ral farmiii}^. and to some extent to stock- 
raising. 

His political views are in accord witli 
Democratic jjrinciples. but he has pre- 
ferred to live the <|iiiet life of the farm 
rather than to seek preferment in office. 
His wife, who was born in lUirlington. 
died about sixteen years ago. They were 
the parents of five children, all of whom 
are yet living. 

I-rederick Schrader spent the days of 
his boyhood and youth with his parents, 
and when twenty years of age started out 
in life on his own account. He secured 
employment by the month as a farm hand 
and was thus engaged in Pleasant Grove 
townshii) for seven years. In the niean- 
tiiue his economy ancl iiulustry had 
brought hiiu some capital, and he wisely 
invested this in jjrojjcrty in ii/)3. purchas- 
ing Iiis present farm of ninety-seven acres 
of good land in iVanklin townshij). This 
is a well-imiir<ned tract, having ujjon it a 
comfortable residence and other buildings. 

On Jan. 7. ii)0-'. Mr. Schrader was mar- 
ried to .Miss Winifred Sleeter. who was 
born in I'ranklin township, and is a 
daughter of Charles C Sleeter, now de- 
ceased. Her father was born in I'.urling- 
ton. .May 25. 1S57, and died Feb. 15. 181^3, 
his ])arents being Henry and Catherine 
(Erb) Sleeter. He was educated in the 
flistrict schools, and in early life learned 
the carpenter's trade. On Feb. 20, iSjt), 
in r.uriingtnn. he wedded .Margaret 
O'Farrell, who was born at her i)resent 
home .\pril to, 1854, her parents being 
James and Winifred (Doyle) O'Farrell, 
natives of Ireland. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Sleeter were born six children: Winifred. 
the wife of the subject of this sketch, born 
Dec. 28. i8;(): Mark, born March 28. i88i. 



is a car])enter and natural mechanic; Nellie, 
born .\ug. 14, 1882. occupies a position in 
IJurlington: Cecelia, born Aug. 12, 1885, 
is working with her sister in Burlington ; 
Luke, born Sept. 12. 1890: and liarthol- 
omew. tx)rn July 19, 1892. 

The home of Mr. and Mrs. .Schrader 
has been blessed with two children, 
Charles and Theodore, both born on the 
l)resent farm. Mr. Schrader exercises his 
right of franchise in sujiport of the men 
and measures of the Democracy, and with 
his wife is a member of the C.ithnlic 
church of Dodgeville. 



THEOBALD LAUER. 

TiiKori.\LD Lauer, deceased, who for 
many years was an industrious and 
highly respected citizen of Des Moines 
county, was born in Crimea, Russia. July 
3, 1834. His jjarents, .Xnton and Johanna 
( llasler) Lauer. came to this country in 
1849, and first settled in Cleveland, ()hio, 
where they remained for about one year. 

In 1850. the year the cholera was rag- 
ing so in many of the Western States,, 
they came to ISurlington. and ])urchased 
a farm of one hundred and fifteen acres 
south of the city, in what is known as the 
liunt Settlement. Soon after this .Mrs. 
Lauer died, and Mr. Lauer sold his farm 
and bought another, this one consisting 
of iliree hundred ami twenty acres, in 
Davis county, where he was very success- 
ful for several years. He finally located 
in .\ugusta township, and died on his farm 
there May 22,. 1896. 

.Mr. Theobald Lauer, of this sketch, re- 
ceiveil his education in the schools of 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



899 



Russia, and coining to America with his 
parents, he remained with them on the 
home farm till he was twenty-four years 
of age. In 1856 he went overland with 
ox-teams to Oregon and Washington, and 
was engaged for several years in mining 
and farming, with varying success, in 
Montana and Idaho. 

In i860 he returned to Iowa, and mar- 
ried Catherine Lich, March 10, 1862. Mrs. 
Lauer was born in Augusta township, 
Des Moines county, Iowa, July 25, 1839, 
where she received her education. Her 
parents were Conrad and Elizabeth (Al- 
baclet) Lich, prosperous farmers of Des 
Moines county. 

Immediately after Mr. and Mrs. Lauer 
were married they moved to Burlington, 
where for the next two years Mr. Lauer 
was engaged in business for himself. He 
then purchased a farm in Davis county, 
where he resided till 1871, when he sold 
his farm and came to Des Moines county, 
where he rented a part of the Lich farm 
for some two years. Al)out this time he 
bought ninety-five acres of land in Au- 
gusta township, Des Moines county ; but 
this he sold in 1892, and purchased the 
farm of one hundred and forty-six acres, 
upon which his family now reside. 

He at once went to work to improve 
and beautify this place, building one of 
the nicest homes in the neighborhood, as 
well as good and substantial barns, and 
setting out the place in fruit trees. But 
.Mr. Lauer did not enjoy this beautiful 
home ver}' long, as lie was taken ill and 
died March 10, 1895. leaving six children 
in the care of his widow. 

The children are : Lizzie Amelia, de- 
ceased ; Mary Elizabeth married Chris 
Huebner March 22. 1905; Bertha Kath- 



erine became Mrs. John Larsen Nov. 15, 
1893; Julia Lucinda married Anton Miller 
June 18, 1901, and resides in Union town- 
ship ; William Frederick is at home; John 
Conrad resides in Washington ; Johanna 
Clara married George Machamer. They 
have two children, Mildred and Leona, 
and live with Mrs. Lauer on the home 
place. 

Mr. Lauer was a Democrat, but never 
ver)' active in politics. He and his worthy 
wife would occasionally attend the Ger- 
man Evangelical church, in Burlington. 
Since the death of iMr. Lauer his wife has 
looked after the farm herself, and the 
neat appearance of the whole place denotes 
her ability. 

Mr. Lauer was a man possessing many 
noble traits of heart and character. His 
business life was one long span of 
honesty and uprightness, which brought 
him great success, and friends who still 
cherish his memory with the kindest of 
feelings. 



WILLIAM AUGUSTUS YAGER. 

WiLLi.\M Augustus Y.\ger, a success- 
ful and leading stock-raiser of Yellow 
.S]jrings township, living on Section 6, is 
a natix'e son of I'lUrlington, his birth hav- 
ing occurred in that city, Aug. 15, 1845. 
His parents were Henry and Tillie (Corn) 
Yager. Xo event of special importance 
occurred to vary the routine of farm life 
for William A. Yager in his boyhood and 
\'outh. Through the winter nionths he 
attended the district schools, mastering 
the branches therein taught, and thus be- 
came well equipped for life's practical 
and responsible duties. In the summer 



lilOGRAFHlCAL REVIEW 



months hi- worked in tlic fields, anil 
gained a i)ractical ex|)crii-nce that quali- 
fied him for carrying on farm work wlu-n 
he had attained his majority. 

In 1892 he and his brother John pur- 
chased two hundred and eighty-five acres 
of rich land from John Braden and his 
wife. Of this about two hundred and 
thirty acres are situated in Section i, the 
remainder on Section 6, Yellow Springs 
township. They also own forty acres of 
timber land. They are now successfully 
engaged in general farming, and are also 
well known as stock-raisers, having about 
seventy head of cattle, making a specialty 
of the Shorthorn, Red Polled, Polled An- 
gus, and Hereford breeds. They always 
feed about one hundred head of hogs each 
year, and their sale of stock annually re- 
turns to them a gratifying income. They 
are practical in all of their business 
methods, and have made earnest, ])er- 
sistent labor the basis of all their success. 



CHARLES G. BOSCH. 

Charles G. Bosch, one of the promi- 
nent and leading plumbers of Burlington, 
is a son of Leonard and Katherine ( Boeck) 
Bosch, and was born in Burlington, Iowa, 
May 24, 1854. His parents were natives 
of Germany, and came to Burlington in 
1 85 1 or 1852, and o])ened a grocery store on 
West Washington Street. They had seven 
children, of whom but two remain. Charles, 
of this review, and his sister, Mrs. Joseph 
Spies, -whose husband is a railroad man. 
The father died some thirty years ago, and 
his widow later married John Dabb. who 
was a baker, and had a shop on Washing- 



ton Street, where their grocery formerly 
was. Mrs. Herman Wolfert. of West Bur- 
lington, is a step-sister of his. Mrs. Dabb 
passed away a short time ago, and she and 
her husbands are buried in Aspen Grove 
cemetery. Mr. Bosch was educated in the 
German subscription schools and public 
schools of Burlington, and at the age of 
eighteen went to work in the drug store of 
C. P. Squires. In 187 1 he secured employ- 
ment with the firm of Stewart & Hayden as 
a i)lumber. One of his first duties was to 
move the shop, which he accomplished in 
half a day, using a wheelbarrow. After this 
he worked for a while in Chicago and Den- 
ver. In 1880 he built the gas plant in Cres- 
ton, Iowa, and ran it for two years. Nov. i, 
1883, he opened his present store on Main 
Street, where he has been for twenty years. 
He first began in a very quiet and modest 
way, but in a short time his ability as a 
mechanic became known, and from that 
time to the present his business has by close 
application and fair dealing increased won- 
derfully. 

Oct. ID, 1882. Mr. Bosch married Miss 
Blanche Louisa Whitehead, daughter of 
Josiah Whitehead, of Crcston, Iowa. They 
reside at 717 North Third Street. Mr. 
Bosch also owns several lots in the city 
and the place at 1900 Orchard Street. He 
has been a Democrat all of his life, but has 
voted somewhat independently for the last 
few years. He is actively connected with 
the Modem W'oodmen of the World ; was 
secretary of the Business Men's Club for 
a while, and is still a member of the same, 
and also a member of the Commerical Club. 
He is a member and was a director in the 
Cottage Lake Club, of which he is a great 
worker. Mr. Bosch was raised in the Ger- 
man Lutheran church, and has given much 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



001 



to charities and churches in a quiet way. 
He is enterjirising and public-spirited, wish- 
ing at all times to see the city of his birth 
grow and prosper. As a merchant, citizen, 
and private individual he has made a record 
which is worthy of commendation and ap- 
proval. 



COL. FABIAN BRYDOLF. 

Col. Fabtan Erydolf, deceased, left a 
record of- which his family and friends may 
well be proud. The circumstances of his life 
rarely fall to the common lot of man. En- 
dowed with more than ordinary ability as 
an artist, he was enabled to maintain his 
family for some thirty years with the use of 
but one hand. His work consisted mostly of 
landscape painting, which was always of the 
highest order. He was also permitted to 
defend his adopted country in two great 
wars. 

IMr. Brydolf was a native of Sweden, hav- 
ing been born in Ostergothland, Nov. 28, 
18 19. and was a son of Rev. Anders G. and 
Petronella Brydolf. His father was a min- 
ister of great prominence in the Lutheran 
church. Early in life Mr. Brydolf developed 
great talent for art, and was instructed in 
landscape painting by the best teachers of 
his country, where his school work was a 
great credit to his teachers, parents, and to 
the lad himself. After finishing his studies 
in landscape painting, he pursued it as a 
profession until 1841. when he emigrated to 
America, locating first at Cleveland, Ohio ; 
but finding no demand there in those early 
days for what the people considered a lux- 
ury, for such they looked upon landscape 
painting, he engaged in the more practical 
work of house and sign painting. 



Remaining but a short time in Cleveland, 
he traveled westward, working at his trade 
as a journeyman in various cities till 1846, 
when he reached Burlington, Iowa. He 
came to this State as an interpreter for a 
party of his countrymen who, having just 
arrived in this country, were entirely ignor- 
ant of the English language. Mr. Brydolf 
assisted the party to secure land in the vicin- 
ity of Des Moines, and was about to return 
east when, arriving at Burlington, he found 
navigation closed and no conveyance avail- 
able except stages, so he decided to remain 
here and work at house and sign painting. 

In 1847, our subject was seized with a 
desire to become a soldier, and enlisted for 
the ^lexican War in the Fifteenth Regi- 
ment, Regulars, LT. S. Army, under Captain 
Guthrie, and was in active service in Mex- 
ico, participating in the battles of Contreras, 
Churubusco, Molina del Rev, Chapultepec, 
and many minor engagements, through 
which he passed without an injury, and re- 
turned to Burlington in 1848. 

Sept. 2. 1850, Colonel Brydolf was united 
in marriage to Miss Fannie West, daughter 
of a ]\Iethodist minister of Monmouth, 111. 
^Irs. Brydolf was born Feb. 14, 1830. 

L^nto Colonel and Mrs. Brydolf were born 
seven children, of whom only three remain : 
Adriana, who married Oscar M. Parsons, 
died leaving one daughter, Edith ; George 
F., died in infancy ; one infant died un- 
named ; Nannie, died in Burlington, Iowa, 
leaving hundreds of true friends to mourn 
her death. Her life was most beautiful, 
exemplifying each day the strong Christian 
character she professed, and though it has 
been several years since this noble girl 
passed to her reward, her memory is still 
bright and green in the hearts of her fam- 
ily and companions. Oscar ; Robert ; and 



U02 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIlllEU- 



Nellie, the youngest daughter, a prominent 
teacher in the l'ros|)ect Hill schcwl. of IJur- 
lington. Iowa, lives at the old home. 903 
Suninier Street, an<l her niece, Kdith 1 'ar- 
sons, lives with her. 

At the breaking out of the Civil War, 
Colonel P.rvflolf raised a company for the 
Sixtli Iowa Infantry, — Company I. of 
which he was ciMnmissioned captain July 17 
following. His regiment participated in the 
battles of Shiloh, and there he lost his right 
arm, it being taken off near the shoulder, 
April 6, 1 8^2, while leading his company in 
action. Mr. lirydolf was cared for in the 
ho.spital. Ill 1X62 he was promoted lieu- 
tenant-colonel of the Twenty-fifth Iowa 
Infantry, joining that regiment in the Sep- 
tember following. He was in active service 
with tlieni til! tlie cajitiire of Vicksburg, 
when he resigneil, and on Xov. i, iW'3. was 
commissioned by 1 'resident Lincoln as lieu- 
tenant-colonel of the Second Regiment of 
the \'eteran Reserve Corps, serving in that 
capacity until July 1. 1866, when he was 
honorably discharged. 

After his return from the war the colonel 
was engaged with Mr. llolcomb for a while 
in the grain business, and later was foreman 
for Nairn & (lillis in the blind and sash de- 
partment. .\l one tiiiH- lie ciinlr.icted to 
build a certain number of niiles of road for 
the Chicago, lUirlington & Quincy Railroad. 
This he did to the full satisfaction of the 
coni|)any. The latter part of his life was 
spent in landsca|)e jiainting. winning high 
prai.se froiu tlie best art critics for the ele- 
gant pictures he jiroduced. 

After sharing the joys and sorrows of 
Colonel Rrydolfs life for nearly thirty-five 
years, Mrs. Brydolf passed away Nov. 19, 
1884, aged fifty-four years. She was a very 
modest, retiring lady, one whom it was a 



])leasure to meet, and whose kind and lov- 
able ways endearetl her to all. 

Colonel I'rydolf died Jan. 25, 1897, aged 
seventy-eight years. He was a brave and 
gallant officer, alwaxs ready to lead where 
he expected his men to go. His empty 
sleeve, as well as his honorable record as a 
soldier, bore full testimony of his bravery 
aixl fidelity to duty. His success as an 
artist in the latter years of his life was really 
remarkable when we consider his age, and 
how late in life the left hand was educated 
in this art. His eye was keen, his taste per- 
fect, and his skill with the brush was won- 
derful. 

Mrs. Hrydolf was a devoted member of 
the Congregational church of Hurlington, 
and though her husband was not a member, 
yet he attended (|uite regularly. Politically, 
Mr. I'.rydolf was a stanch Republican, and 
though he did not aspire to office, still he 
was ever ready to assist his patty to the best 
of his abilitv. 



JACOB RAPP. 

J.\C()B R.M'i'. who. now living retired, was 
for many years connected with the indus- 
trial interests of P.urlington as i)ro|)rietor 
of a locksmith business, was born Se])t. i. 
182 1, in Wittenberg, Germany, a son of 
Michael Rapp. In his youth he learned the 
locksmith's trade, which he followed until 
he came to .-Vmerica, in March. 1855, 
crossing the .Atlantic in an old sailing vessel 
which weighed anchor at Havre, France, 
and ultimately reached New York harbor. 
Mr. Rapp spent one year in the shops of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, at Allegheny City, 
Pa., finishing the metal work for the lo- 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



903 



•comotives. The following year he came to 
Burlington, where he entered the service of 
the Chicago, Burlington & Onincy Rail- 
road Company, working for Charles Henry 
for two years. He then started in the lock- 
smith's business on his own account, and 
continued in that line until 1899, when he 
put aside further business cares, and is now 
living a retired life. Such is a brief out- 
line of his business career, but it tells noth- 
ing of his years of close application, unfal- 
tering diligence, unabating energy and per- 
severance, and yet all those qualities have 
been salient features in his business career. 
He worked hard to build up a good trade, 
giving excellent service and charging mod- 
erate prices, anfl as the years passed by, his 
labors were rewarded by a large patronage, 
which in time brought to him a capital sufifi- 
cient to enable him to lay aside further busi- 
ness cares in the line of his trade. In 1888 
he purchased a lot and built his present 
home of eight rooms at 419 Maple Street, 
and here he is enjoying a well-earned 
rest. 

Mr. Rapp was married in April, 1855, the 
lady of his choice being Miss Mary King. 
a daughter of Adam and Barbara King, 
of St. Louis. ]Mrs. Rapp was born in 
Bavaria, Germany, Nov. 16, 1831, and 
came to America in 1854, locating first in 
Pittsburg, Pa., and a year later going by 
boat to St. Louis, Mo., where she was 
married. She came to this country with a 
sister and a brother-in-law. She attends 
and supports different churches, but is not 
a member. I'nto Mr. and Mrs. Rapp were 
born three children, but Pauline died at the 
age of eighteen nionths, and ^^'illianl died in 
St. Louis, in January, 1895, leaving a wife 
and two children. The surviving son, Ed- 
ward, is living with his parents in Burling- 



ton. Mr. Rapp was formerly a stanch Re- 
])ublican in politics, but now votes inde- 
pendently. He has now passed the eighty- 
third milestone on life's journey, and in a 
review of his history there are found many 
elements and incidents worthy of commenda- 
tion. The "courageous spirit that led him 
to seek a home in America, the determination 
that enabled him to face competition and 
difficulties in his business career, the integ- 
rity and straightforward dealing that 
gained him public confidence, — all com- 
bined to make him a prosperous and re- 
spected citizen of Burlington, where he 
now has many friends, who esteem and 
honor him for his sterling worth. 



■WILLIAM COL'WELL SMITH. 

William Colwell Smith, living on 
Section 5, Yellow Springs township, where 
he is engaged in general agriculture, was 
born in the city of Philadelphia, Pa., Jtme 
21. 1846, his parents being Samuel and 
Jane (Smith) Smith. Both parents were 
natives of Ireland, in which country they 
were reared and married. In 1845 they 
crossed the Atlantic to the New World, 
and established their home in Philadelphia, 
where for a time the father occupied the 
]5osition of watchman in the John T. Lewis 
Chemical and Lead Works. Later he was 
promoted to a position in the chemical de- 
partment. In the year 1862 he brought his 
family to the Middle West, settling in Ben- 
ton township, Des Moines county, Iowa, 
where he purchased one hundred and twenty 
three acres of land from E. D. Rand in 
Sections 7 and 8. Here he built a barn 
and improved the house, adding a kitchen 



004 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and renovating tlie interior. He lived a 
quiet, unassuming life, but worked earnestly 
and persistently, and the traits of honorable 
manhood were daily manifest in his career. 
He continued to engage in farming upon this 
place until his death, which occurred June 
28, 1870, when he was sixty-three years 
of age. His wife survived him until Nov. 
23, 1871, and died at the age of fifty-two 
years. They were the parents of two chil- 
dren, of whom the daughter, Mary, died in 
Piiiladelphia at the age of three years. 

William C. Smith, the only surviving 
member of the family, is indebted to the 
public schools of his native city for the edu- 
cational privileges he enjoyed in his youth. 
He w-as about seventeen years of age 
when willi his parents he came to Des 
Moines county in 1862, and he remained 
with them on the old home farm until they 
were called to their final rest. He inherited 
the property, which he sold in 1900; and in 
the same year he bought property near Kos- 
suth, becoming owner of thirty-one acres, 
which he purchased for his wife. He makes 
his home nn Section 5, Yellow Springs 
township, where he has a well-improved 
farm comprising ninety and a half acres. 
It is supplied with all modern conveniences 
and accessories, and in addition to this he 
has village property in Morning Sun, Louisa 
county, where he also has alxiut twenty-one 
acres. Everything about his place is kept 
in excellent repair, and his labors are at- 
tended with a gratifying measure of success. 

^lav 5, 1875, Mr. Smith was united in 
marriage to Miss Mary G. McMillan, a 
daughter of \\'illiam and Margaret (Jack- 
son) McMillan. She was born in Mays- 
ville, Ky., May 16, 1856, and in 1858 her 
parents came to Des Moines county, locating 
in Franklin township, where her father rent- 



ed land for several years. He then removed 
with his family to Yellow Springs township, 
where he purchased a farm, continuing its 
cultivation up to the time of his death. He 
passed away in September, 1887, at the age 
of seventy-five years, while his wife, who 
long survived him, died Jan. 13, 1903, at 
the age of eighty years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Smith have become the 
parents of four children : Jennie N., born 
May 15, 1878, now a teacher five miles west 
of Morning Sun; Lila X., born April 17, 
1880, now a teacher in the Washington 
township district schools ; Mabel B., bom 
Aug. 17, 1883, is a teacher in the Rock- 
bottom school in Yellow Springs township; 
and Lena J., bom April 14, 1888, is at 
home. 

The parents hold membership in the Re- 
formed Presbyterian church, and are well 
known in the community, the hospitality 
of many of the best homes being extended to 
them. Mr. Smith has prospered in his busi- 
ness undertakings, jiaving so directed his 
efforts as to accomplish results, and in his 
career he has found that prosperity and an 
honorable name ma_\- be won simultaneously. 



GUSTAV ADOLPH HUEHOLT. 

.V SUCCESSFUL farmer of Pleasant Grove 
township, and one who has been actively 
identified with the development of the com- 
numity, is to be named in the person of 
Gustav Adolph Hueholt. He is the son of 
John and Sophia (Tapkcn) Hueholt, and 
was born in Oldenburg, Germany, Dec. 11, 
1866. His parents were both born in Gross- 
herzogtum, Oldenburg, Germany, where 
they still live, having never come to Amer- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



905 



ica. Mr. Hueholt is a shoemaker by trade 
and also engages in farming. He was in 
the German army, but never in active serv- 
ice. He and his wife are both members of 
the Lutheran church. They have had nine 
children, of whom seven are living, three 
coming to America. Jerry is a farmer in 
Missouri ; Henry, a farmer, lived in Pleasant 
Grove township for some time and now 
makes his home in Oklahoma. After com- 
plying with the laws and regulations in 
regard to education in his native place, our 
subject remained for a few years with his 
father, and in 1884, when about eighteen 
years of age, came to America by way of 
New York. He located at once in Bur- 
lington, where he remained for about 
two months, then going to Pleasant Grove 
township, where he worked on different 
farms for about three years. After his 
marriage he rented a farm in Flint River 
township for five years. By this time he 
had by his untiring efforts and great energy 
saved enough money so that he could buy a 
nice place in Pleasant Grove township, upon 
which he has since resided as a general 
farmer and stock-raiser. 

In 1889 Mr. Hueholt married Mrs. 
Sophia Holman, widow of Henry Hol- 
man, who died in Flint River township, 
leaving the following five children : Charles, 
a locksmith, and who lives in Davenport, 
Iowa; Amelia, wife of Diedrich Snupper, 
of Pleasant Grove township ; Sophia, mar- 
ried Fred Snupper, of Danville township ; 
Louisa, the wife of Alfred Shroeder, who 
also lives in Danville township ; Lena, now 
Mrs. John Schroeder, of Pleasant Grove 
township. Mrs. Hueholt is a daughter of 
Diedrich Witmerhaus, a prosperous farmer 
and raiser of a high grade of stock, who 
resided in Pleasant Grove township till about 



two years ago, when he died. He passed 
away on his farm of six hundred acres after 
an illness of three months, at the ripe old age 
of eighty-two years. His wife had preceded 
him to the better land about one year. They 
were the parents of two daughters : Mary, 
deceased, and Mrs. Hueholt. Mr. and Mrs. 
Witmerhaus were both members of the 
Lutheran church, and are both buried in the 
Union church graveyard of Flint River 
township. They were both of much value 
in the community, and their loss was felt by 
all. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hueholt four chil- 
dren have been born : Ida, died aged two 
years ; an infant unnamed ; Lyda and Ray- 
mond, now living. 

Mr. Hueholt attends the Lutheran church. 
In politics he is a strong Democrat, but does 
not solicit party distinction, believing he can 
serve his party better as a private citizen. 
During the twenty years he has resided in 
America he has seen many changes for the 
better take place in Des Moines county. 
Each year new improvements have been 
made, and each year finds the average suc- 
cessful farmer better equipped with all mod- 
ern implements, which tends to greatly 
lessen his duties. Mr. Hueholt is a man of 
much ability, of a strong and earnest person- 
ality, qualities which have won for him 
the esteem and confidence of all with whom 
he has come in contact. He is still a young 
man, and though he has won a success, 
there is still a career of exceptional promise 
before him. 



JOSEPH A. McINTIRE. 

Joseph A. McIntike, one of the early 
settlers of Des Moines county, living on 
a farm of two hundred and twenty acres 



oo6 



HIOURAl'iUCAL REIIEW 



in Flint River township, was born in 
Miami county. Ohio, Aug. 21, 1840. He 
was named in honor of liis i)atcrnal grand- 
father, Josoi)h A. Mciiitirc. wlio was a 
native of Pennsylvania, and was the first 
white settler in Ohio west of I'iqua, es- 
tablishing his home on what was called 
Swift's Run. He settled there among the 
Indians, secured a tract of land, and de- 
veloi)ed a farm, upon which he spent his 
remaining days. His death occurred 
when he was about seventy-five years of 
age. 

His son, Thomas Mclntire, was a native 
of IVnnsylvania, and was married in Ohio 
to the lad) of his choice, Susanna Adams, 
also a native of the Keystone State. At 
an early day they had removed to Ohio, 
locating in .Miami county, where the 
father engaged in farming until 1856, 
when he brought his family to Iowa, set- 
tling in Jefferson county. He was one of 
the pioneers of that locality, and there 
made his home until 1865, when he re- 
moved to Des Moines county and pur- 
chased the farm on which his son, Joseph 
.\. Mclntire. now resides, the place then 
comprising two Ininilred and five acres of 
land, wliicli was then l)ul partially im- 
proved. To its further development and 
cultivation he (lev(3teil his energies 
throughout the remainder of his active 
business career, and there his last days 
were past in rest from labor. He died at 
the age of eighty-seven years, wdiile his 
wife's death occurred when she was sev- 
enty-five years of age. They were peo])le 
of the highest respectability, holding mem- 
bership with the Presbyterian church, 
and exemplifying in their daily lives 
their Christian faith. Mr. Mclntire was 
a Whig ill politics in early life, and on 



the dissolution of that party he joined 
the ranks of the Republican party, up- 
holding its banners in stalwart manner. 
L'nto him and his wife were born five 
children, of whom four are still living; 
l)ut l-'phriam .A., a soldier of the Civil 
War. died in the hospital at Keokuk, 
Iowa. 

Joseph .\. Mclntire spent the first si.\- 
teen years of his life in the county of his 
nativity and acc|uired much of his educa- 
tion there, but also continued his studies 
in the schools of Jefferson county, subse- 
(juently to the removal of the family to 
Iowa. He has always remained upon the 
home farm, coming with his ])arents to 
Des Moines county, settling with them in 
Flint River township, and caring for them 
in their declining days. His life has been 
devoted to general farming, and he has 
also followed st(X-k-raising to some ex- 
tern, raising a high grade of stock. 
Everything about his place is kept in ex- 
cellent condition, in keeping with the 
modern ideas of agricultural progress, 
aTid neatness and thrift characterize the 
entire farm. Mr. Mclntire has made atl- 
(litions and improvements to his house 
until he now has a fine two-story frame 
residence. 

His farm labors ha\e only been inter- 
rui)ted once, and th;it was when he served 
his country in the (.'ivil \\ ar. In .\ugust, 
1862, he enlisted as a member of Com- 
])anv E, Thirtieth Iowa Infantry, and was 
with his regiment for about a year and a 
half, when he was honorably discharged 
at Keokuk, on account of illness. 

( )n the 27lh of November. 1884. Mr. 
Mclntire was married to Miss Ella Beans, 
a daughter of Elijah and Eliza J. (Sipe) 
lieans. the former a native of Ohio and 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



907 



the latter of Pennsylvania. They re- 
moved to Iowa in 1863, settling in Des 
Moines county, and the father engaged 
in farming in Danville township. He 
removed to Middletown in the spring of 
1866, and wherever he lived was ac- 
counted one of the valued residents of his 
community. His fellow-citizens, recog- 
nizing his worth and ability, called him 
to public office, and he served for four 
3'ears as justice of the peace, while for a 
simifar period he acted as postmaster of 
IMiddletown, under appointment of Presi- 
dent Benjamin Harrison. His last three 
years were spent in the home of Mr. Mc- 
Intire, and he died Sept. 24, 1899, while 
visiting in Ohio. He was then about 
eighty years of age, his birth having oc- 
cured March 19, 1819. His wife, who was 
born Oct. 26, 1825, died Sept. 5, 1882. 
They were members of the Baptist church, 
and in their family were ten children, of 
whom six are yet living. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mclntire have become 
the parents of six children and the family 
circle yet remains unbroken by the hand 
of death. These are : John Clifford, 
born Nov. 25, 1885, now a student at 
Mount Pleasant, Iowa : Cecil May, born 
May 4, 1887; Fanny Jane, born Sept. 4, 
188S; Bion Joseph, born July 11, 1891 ; 
Emmons Renshaw, born Dec. 39, 1895 ! 
and Gail Bell, born Aug. 25, 1899. All 
were born upon the homestead farm. 
The parents are members of the Presby- 
terian church. In his ])olitical views Mr. 
Mclntire is a Re]niblican, having given 
imfaltering support to the party since 
attaining his majority. His life has been 
quietly passed, his attention devoted to 
agricultural pursuits, and yet his career 
is commendable in that it is a type of 



good citizenship, of reliability in busi- 
ness, and of duty well performed. 



OTTO WUNNENBERG. 

Otto Wunnenberg, interested in gen- 
eral farming, was born in Benton township, 
this county, Feb. 28, i860, his parents being 
Henry and Amelia (Rayfield) Wunnenberg. 
The father was a native of Germany, and on 
coming to America made his way to the in- 
terior of the country, settling in Benton 
township, soon after his marriage. He first 
purchased forty acres of land, and with 
resolute will and laudable ambition began 
the development of his farm, to which he 
added, as his financial condition made it 
])ossible, until he was the owner of two 
hundred and sixty-five acres of rich and 
productive land, being recognized as one of 
the most successful farmers of his com- 
munity. He was ; respected by all for what 
he accomplished, and for the manner of 
his business dealings. He passed away in 
April, 1898, at the age of seventy-nine years, 
his death being regretted by many friends. 
His wife departed this life in April, 1888, 
at the age of fifty-eight years. 

Otto Wunnenberg acquired hisi education 
in the schools of Franklin township, al- 
though his home was in Benton township. 
He was reared to the occupation of farm- 
ing, which he has always followed, and after 
his marriage he rented a tract of land in 
l<"ranklin township. In 1895 he ])urchased 
seventy acres of land in Sections 2 and 11, 
Franklin township, and he also has ten acres 
of timber land which was a part of the old 
homestead. He carries on general agricul- 
tural pursuits, and also raises hogs, mostly 



oo8 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFAIllW 



of the Polanil China breed, and lias a good 
herd of cattle on his farm. His place is a 
well-improved property, the thrifty appear- 
ance of which is indicative of the careful 
supervisiiMi of a ])ainstaking and progressive 
owner. 

Mr. Wunncnberg was united in marriage, 
Sept. 2y, 1886, to Miss Anna Sielernian, 
a daughter of Frederick and Sophia (Dirk- 
mcyer) Sielerman, whose history appears 
on another page. Mrs. Wunnenberg was 
born in Benton township, Oct. 5, i86r, and 
there grew up, attending the same school 
with her husband, and also the German 
parochial school. Unto our subject and his 
wife have been born four children : Clar- 
ence, Villars, Mary, and Grace. 

While not an aspirant for office, he votes 
with the Democratic party. While they 
were reared in the Lutheran church, Mr. 
Wunncnberg now attends the Presbyterian 
church. 



MAYOR J. A. BRIDGES. 

M.woK J. -\. l'>uii)(;iis. tracing his an- 
cestry back to New England, finds that 
Benjamin Bridges, a native of Maine, was 
a strong Wesleyan Methodist, and it is 
supposed that earlier generations of the 
family were Huguenots and fled to Amer- 
ica because of religious persecution in 
the Old World, desiring to have freedom 
to worshij) according to the dictates of 
their own consciences. They later set- 
tled in Maine, where they became large 
land-owners and prominent people. 

Benjamin B)ridges, after reaching years 
of maturity, became one of the pioneers 
of the West, for at that time the entire 
district bi-vcind the Alleghanies was con- 



sidered "The West." . He located in 
Washington county, Ohio, soon after his 
marriage to .\bigail Ellenwood, and the 
unimproved condition of the country is 
indicatefl l)y the fact that it was necessary 
for the settlers to build a strong stockade 
ill which to seek refuge from Indian at- 
tacks, so numerous were the red men in 
the neighborhood, and such hostility did 
they display toward the settlers who were 
attempting to reclaim the wild region for 
the purposes of civilization. These peo- 
])le were among the first white settlers of 
Ohio, and the Ellenwood family was es- 
tablished in .Athens county, while the 
Bridges family maintained their residence 
in Washington county. Both families 
were of considerable means, and were 
held in high esteem and honor. 

Benjamin Bridges, following the occu- 
pation of farming, entered large tracts of 
timber land, and labored assiduously and 
untiringly to clear and develop his farms. 
Me at length reduced the wild region to a 
stall' 111 cultivation, and continued the 
work of improvement until both his farms 
were unsurpassed in all that goes to make 
productive land and valuable farming 
property. He and his wife remained 
residents of Washington count\- through- 
out their remaining days. 

Their son, David Morris Bridges, the 
sixth in order of birth in a family of 
seven children, his natal day being Feb. 
5, 1813, spent the days of his boyhood and 
youth ui)on the old family homestead in 
Washington county, where he acfjuired 
the rudiments of an education in the early 
subscription schools. His training at 
farm labor, however, was not meager, for 
he bore an active and helpful part in the 
task of cutting down the trees, clearing 




JAMES A. BRIDGES. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



911 



away the brush, ancl grubbing up the 
stumps, in order that the land might be 
cultivated. The hunter had much oppor- 
tunity to display his skill in the midst of 
the green woods, and David M. Bridges 
gained considerable reputation in that 
direction ; in fact he was so expert with 
the rifle that at a long distance he could 
shoot the eyes out of a squirrel. 

He maintained his residence in ^^'ash- 
ington county until 1 841, when he emi- 
grated to Iowa, settling on a farm in Yel- 
low Springs township, upon a part of 
which the \illage of Mediapolis now 
stands. Here he was actively associated 
with agricultural pursuits throughout his 
remaining days, his death occurring April 
15, 1870, when he was jifty-seven years of 
age. He had been married, in Ohio, to 
Miss Clarissa Haight, and they had a 
daughter, Abigail, who was born in Ohio, 
and became the wife of her cousin, Silas 
Bridges, but is now deceased. Following 
the removal of the parents to Iowa, two 
other children were added to the family : 
James Arthur, of this review; and John 
D., wdio is represented elsewhere in this 
work. 

James A. Bridges was born in Yellow 
Springs township, Feb. 7, 1844, and ac- 
quired his education in the early district 
and in subscription schools, greatly 
broadening his knowledge, however, 
through experience, observation, and 
reading. He possesses a retentive mem- 
ory, and keeps in touch with all the cur- 
rent, topics of the times, being greatly 
interested in the progress and prosperity 
of the nation. His birth occurred upon 
the farm of Ws maternal grandfather, at 
Kossuth, just opposite the assembly 
grounds, and during his early life he 



knew little else than hard work incident 
to the cultivation of the soil and the care 
of crops. 

There came an important change in his 
life, however, when he was seventeen 
years of age, for at that time, Oct. 10, 
i86i, he enlisted as a member of Com- 
pany K, Fourteenth Iowa Infantry, being 
enrolled at Kossuth, while at Davenport 
he was mustered into the United States 
service. The company was commanded 
by Capt. William J. Campbell, and the 
regiment by Col. William T. Shaw, and 
was organized at Davenport, where the 
men were drilled until December, and 
then sent to Benton Barracks, St. Louis, 
remaining there until the latter part of 
January. By transports they proceeded 
southward to Fort Henry, Tenn., where 
they engaged in battle, capturing about 
seven thousand prisoners. After the cap- 
ture of Fort Henry, the army rested for 
two weeks, and then started in pursuit of 
the Confederate troops which had fled 
from that locality. They followed them 
to Fort Donelson, where a three-days' 
engagement followed, occurring about 
two weeks after the fight at Fort Henry. 
Fort Donelson was captured, and there 
Mr. Bridges became ill. He had, like 
others, been forced to lie out in the rain 
and snow all night, and it was so cold 
that the hair and clothing of the men 
froze to the ground. His terrible expos- 
ure led to much illness, and Mr. Bridges 
and others were sent to the army hos- 
pital : but as Mr. Bridges was able to 
walk, he was retained at the temporary 
hospital, while others who were worse 
off were taken to tlie permanent hospital. 
The main army went froni Donelson to 
Pittsburir Landinsf. After ten davs the 



gl2 



BIOGRAPHICAL REIIEW 



sick OIK'S were taken to Mound City and 
I)laceil in the general hospital. 

In tin- followinji; March Mr. llridges 
was jfranted a furlough, and it was while 
he was hoiiie on sick leave that the battle 
of Shiloh occurred on April 6 and 7. The 
rebels made several attempts to rout his 
regiment, but failed, and received such a 
hot receipt ion that the regiment and brig- 
a<le became known as the "hornet's nest." 
Tlu'v were finally surrounded, however, 
and the brigade cajitured, and all able 
men imprisoned: so that when Mr. 
I'ridges was well eiioiigli to rcluiii in the 
front, he had no command to join, and 
was finally discharged because of general 
disability, in February. 1863. 

In May, 1864, however, he re-enlisted 
for one hunilred days' service as a mem- 
ber of C'om])any (i. I'orty-fifth Iowa In- 
fantry, the cominaiirl being organized at 
Keokuk under Col. William I)erryman, 
of .Mount I'leasant, and Cajit. Thomas 
Crowder. of C'omi)any ( i. The troojis 
were niiislere(l in ;it Keokuk, in May. 
1864, and sent down the river on trans- 
ports to Memphis. Tenn., where they 
went into camp, while later they were 
transferred to Moscow, on Wolf River, 
in Tennessee, where they had the ])r()tec- 
tion of a little fort. They were sent to 
guard both the railroad and wagon 
bridges, preventing the enemy from de- 
stroying them. There the Forty-fifth 
Iowa remained until autumn, and on the 
expiration of their term of service the men 
were returned to Keokuk, and there dis- 
charged in ( )ctol)er, i8r)4. In this com- 
pany Mr. llridges luld tlu' rank of cor- 
poral. 

When again imisietcd out he returned 
home, where he followed farming. Xot 



long afterward he was marrie<l. having 
on ]-"eb. 14, i8<)'), in Washington county, 
< )hio, wedded Miss Klizabeth X'inceiit. 
who was born in Washington county. 
Ohio, in 1833. Her father, John N'incent. 
was born in that county in i8o<>, and in 
1832 married Kli/abeth Diistin, whose 
birth occurred in ( )neida county. New 
\'ork. whence she removed with her i)ar- 
ents to t )hio when nine years of age. 

.Mr.and Mrs. X'incent had two daughters 
and a son : .Mary, the wife of Levi Jones; 
Ivlizabeth, now .Mrs. liridges; and J. C. 
X'incent. who niarrie<l Rose liartlett, and 
resides on the old homestead in Ohio. He 
learnvd the gunsmith's trade of his father, 
and has made a success in that depart- 
ment of labor. The father. John X'incent. 
died in 1882. He was a son of X\ illiam 
X'inceht, who was born in Providence, 
R. I.. aTid while here residing in earl\ man- 
hood he was emi)loyed in a paper mill. 
He married ICIi/.abeth Karl, whose broth- 
ers were sea cajjtains, and became dis- 
linguished men of tlu-ir day. .^he was 
liorn in 17')^, and died at the age of 
eighty-seven years. This worthy couple 
were the grand|)arents of Flizabeth Vin- 
cent, who ga\e her hand in'marriage to J, 
.X. Iiridges. as before stated. They be- 
came the parents of twin sons. Henry 
( aleb ;iii(l ilar\i-\ 1).. who were born 
I'el). 5. i8(>7. Henry was drowned in 
18S5. but llar\ey is now living in Fair- 
field. Iowa. 

In the f;ill of iW)8 .Mayor I'.ridges. with 
his wife and two babes, started on a 
])rairie schooner for Kansas, and about a 
milceast of Girard he secured a claim r.nd 
beg.ni farming. I'or fi\e years he re- 
m;iineil there: but as he could not secure 
a clear title he was forced from his place. 



DES MO/XES COUNTY. IOWA. 



9ii 



and returned to Alcdiapolis. During the 
residence of the family in Kansas two 
daughters were added to the hotisehohl : 
Nettie, who was born in February, i86y, 
and is now the wife of Frank Hart, of 
Sac county, Iowa. 1iy whom slie h.'is two 
sons, Dwight and Leo; and Clara, who 
was born in .\pril, 1872, and married 
Robert Hart, by whom she also has two 
sons, Orville Dennis and Lyle James. 
Harvey Bridges is likewise married, hav- 
ing wedded Alabel Warwick. l)y whom he 
has a daughter, Margaret. 

When Mr. I'ridges returned to Medi- 
apolis, it was only with the intention of 
making a visit to his mother, who was 
then well advanced in years. His father 
had died in the spring of 1872. (In reach- 
ing his old home he found that his mother 
was aging rapidly, and needed his care 
and attention, and he decided to remain. 
He was engaged in general teaming and 
draying. which pursuit he followerl until 
the succecfling year. He Iniilt a house, 
and sent to Kansas for his goods, which 
arrived in due course of time, and he has 
since made his home at Mediapolis. .\fter 
a time he traded his original house and 
lot for a livery barn, and later he sold a 
half interest in this building to William 
Bradley, who was ])rnprietnr of the 
Mediapolis Hotel. 

Mr. Bridges, however, conducted the 
li\ery and teaming business alone for 
about a 3'ear. at the end of which time he 
sold his interest in the lixer}- barn to a 
new hotel ]iroprietor. and built a new 
stable, which he conducted from the 
spring until fall. He then entered into 
.partnership with the firm of McDonald & 
\^an Osdol, who were engaged in grain 
dealing and stock shi]i])ing. the livery firm 



name then becoming J. A. Bridges & Co. 
This relation was maintained for about 
nine months, at the end of which time 
Mr. Bridges purchased his partner's inter- 
est, and continued alone for about six 
months. He then sold a half interest to 
1. H. I'urcell. with whom he was asso- 
ciated until the spring of 1877, when he 
disposed of his interest to his partner. 
He was then engaged for some time in 
buying and selling stock and doing other 
trading, and later he gave his attention to 
the Imtchering business, conducting a 
market for about a year. He then traded 
his property interests for a hotel called 
tlie Mediapolis House, which he con- 
ducted f<jr four years, in the meantime 
taking a contract for carrying the mail 
from Mediapolis to Kossuth, Xorthfield, 
lluron, and Kingston. For six years he 
remained in the government service, 
within which time he purchased a resi- 
dence in Kossuth, and there took up his 
abode, making his home at that place 
until iSqi, Then he returned to Medi- 
ajjoiis. and soon afterward purchased his 
present home, which has since been his 
|)lace of residence. 

Following his return to this village 
Mr. Bridges engaged in hauling milk ta 
the Alcdiapolis creamery from many dif- 
ferent farms in this part of the county. 
In the spring of 1893 he was appointed 
postmaster under President Cleveland, 
and on July i entered upon the discharge 
of his duties for a four-years' term. In 
the spring of 1807 he joined a number of 
other ])rominent and substantial business 
men in organizing a stock company for 
the purpose of establishing a Democratic 
paper, under the title of the Mediapolis 
Xcivs. and was elected one of the direct- 



914 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ors of llic new company, since which time 
he has served as secretary of the board, 
while at llie jircsent writing he is also 
general manager. This paper has a cir- 
culation of aljout nine hundred, and is 
published weekly, being one of the enter- 
prising institutions of the village. A job 
printing department is also conducted, 
and is likewise proving profitable. At 
the time of the organization of the com- 
pany Mr. Bridges knew practically noth- 
ing about printing, but he entered upon 
his new duties with strong determination 
ami linn jiiirpose; and possessing a recep- 
tive mind and retentive memory, he soon 
mastered the w-ork of the office, and has 
since successfully managed the publica- 
tion and the daily work connected there- 
with. While the paper has never paid a 
dividend to its stockholders, the equip- 
ment of the plant has been considerably 
increased and the credit of the company 
is gilt-edged. 

For many years Mr. Bridges has figured 
prominently in local political circles, 
wielding a wide influence, and laboring 
effectively for the welfare of his party. 
He has also been called to a number of 
important positions in his community. 
In 1874 he was elected assessor of the 
township, and was one of the men who, 
on July 17, 1875, were instrumental in 
incorporating Mediapolis into a village. 
Judge A. H. Stuttsman giving an order 
from the district court for S. S. King, 
S. B. Cartwright, Joseph Goudic, J. .\. 
Bridges, and E. D. Sill to act as commis- 
sioners to hold the first election to ascer- 
tain the will of the people concerning in- 
corporation. At the election held June 
15, 1873, there were sixty-nine votes cast, 
forty-four for incorporation and twenty- 



five against it. The first mayor was 
Charles P. King, while the members of 
the council were Jacob Harper, Daniel 
Kelly, J. A. Bridges, L. Talbott, A. H. 
Cioodnow, J. W. McDonough, and Joseph 
Goudie, who was clerk. 

In 1877 Mr. Bridges was elected as 
assessor, and in 1883 was chosen mayor, 
at which time he served for one term. In 
i8y8 was again elected, and in 1899 was 
re-elected, this time for two years, the 
term of office having been increased. 

July I, 1902, he was appointed to fill a 
vacancy in the mayoralty, and the fol- 
lowing year was elected to fill out the 
remainder of the unexpired term ; while 
in 1904 he was once more re-elected, and 
will continue as the incumbent until April 
I, 1906. His administration of the high- 
est office within the gift of his fellow- 
townsmen has been marked by a careful 
consideration of the public interests, de- 
votion to the general welfare, by business- 
like methods, and by support of every 
measure that he deems will prove of prac- 
tical benefit. 

In January, 1904, he was appointed by 
the board of county supervisors as a mem- 
ber of the county soldiers' relief commis- 
sion, to fill a vacancy for one year; and in 
I'ebruary, 1905, was appointed for a like 
term of three years by the same board, 
and is now chairman of the commission, 
which consists of three members. 

At the meeting of the general assembly 
of Iowa, ill i()02, Mr. Bridges received his 
])artv vote for first assistant clerk of the 
lower house. His party being in the 
minority, naturally they had to give way 
to the majority. 

Mayor Bridges is not unknown in 
fraternal circles, and in fact is an active 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



915 



and valued member of several societies. 
In 1875 he was made a Mason, joining 
Progress Lodge, No. 226, and he served 
for more than fifteen years as secretary ; 
but his growing deafness caused him to 
decline further service. He is now acting 
for a second term as trustee of the lodge, 
and in 1904 the organization erected an 
elegant big business block and hall, cost- 
ing about fourteen thousand dollars. Mr. 
Bridges is a member of Sheppard Post, No. 
157, Grand Army of the Republic, of Medi- 
apolis, has several times served as its adju- 
tant, was commander in 1894, and again in 
1903, and has held other offices therein. 
\Miile a resident of Kansas he belonged 
to the Grange, and was there also an office 
holder. 

There is no resident of Mediapolis who 
takes a more active interest in public 
aiTairs than Mr. Bridges, and for many 
years his history has been closely inter- 
woven with the annals of the village. His 
labors have contributed in substantial 
measure to its upbuilding, and he has 
wielded a wide influence in behalf of gen- 
eral progress and improvement. He has 
al^o held other minor offices, including con- 
stable, assessor, city marshal, etc. 

Viewed in a personal light, he is a 
strong man, strong in his honor and good 
name, and over his official record there 
falls no shadow of wrong, for his public 
duties have ever been discharged with 
conscientious fidelity to the trust reposed 
in him. 



FRANK G. BURKHOLDER. 

Frank G. Burkholder, whose name is 
familiar to the old residents of Des Moines 
county, is a native of the county, and was 



reared in the comunity in which he was born. 
He has seen the county transformed from a 
sunny and flowery prairie to the settled 
home of a great population, a result which 
his industrial habits and manly vigor have 
helped advance. A period of fifty years has 
seen marvelous changes in the West. In 
1852 Iowa was but a fringe of settlement, 
with promise as to the future ; in 1905 it is 
an imperial State, with a splendid develop- 
ment not elsewhere accomplished in hun- 
dreds of years. Then Des iMoines county 
was mostly uncultivated prairie, with little 
towns and hamlets that hardly hinted future 
jjrosperity ; now it is a rich and fertile part 
of a magnificent commonwealth. And all 
this came easily within the life of the man 
whose name appears at the head of this 
article. He has .seen it, has been a part of 
it. has done much to bring it about. 

Frank G. Burkholder, residing on his 
farm of one hundred and forty acres in Sec- 
tion 34, Benton township, was born Jan. 11, 
1852, in Burlington township, where he 
remained till he was two years old. He 
was the son of John and Catherine W. 
(Inghram) Burkholder. 

The father was a native of Lancaster 
county, Pennsylvania, and was born Feb. 
18, 1813. His parents, Christopher and 
Mary (Gordon) Burkholder, were also na- 
tives of Pennsylvania. They became the 
parents of five children, of whom John was 
the eldest. The father was a millwright by 
trade, but in connection with that occupation 
also engaged in farming. As the family 
was in limited circumstances, John began 
to work when but fourteen years of age, 
first in a cotton factory, where he remained 
for five years, when he went to York. Pa., 
where he served an apprenticeship at the 
stone-mason's trade, which occupation he 



qi6 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



followed throughout life in connection with 
farming. In 1836 he located in Natchez, 
Miss., where he worked at his trade until 
February of the following year; then, pur- 
chasing two rtatboats, and loading them with 
sand, he floated them down the river to New 
Orleans, sold his sand, and. purchasing a 
full supi)ly of clothing, took ])assage on the 
steamboat " I"ancy." While making the voy- 
age up the river, the Iwat took fire and was 
burned, destroying all of his money and 
clothes, leaving him entirely penniless, his 
only remaining possession being a watch, 
which he sold to pay his passage to Bur- 
lington on another boat. He came to Des 
Moines county in 1837, and shortly pur- 
chased one hundred and twenty acres of land 
in Section 27, Benton township, borrowing 
the money (one hundred dollars at twenty- 
five per cent interest) to pay for it. 

Mr. Burkholder married Miss Catherine 
W. Inghram in 1847. She is a native of Vir- 
ginia, and a daughter of Arthur and Sarah 
(Ankiam) Inghram, who were natives of 
Pennsylvania, and wlm came to Des Moines 
county in 1835. and settled west of Burling- 
ton. In 184 1 Mr. Burkholder went to Iowa 
City, and worked on the first state-house, 
and was employed in the erection of the 
court-house in Mt. I'leasant. In 1849 he 
made an overland tri]) with ox-teams to Cal- 
ifornia, with A. W. Gordon and Carrolton 
Hughes, where he remained for two years. 
In 1854 his home was destroyed by fire, but 
with great energy he soon made good his 
loss. 

Mr. Burkholder was a very liberal Dem- 
ocrat, and was justice of the peace for many 
years, and also was a memlx;r of the board 
of supervisors, as well as couiitv assessor. 
when one man had cf)ntrol of the whole 
county. .March 4, 1904, he laid down his 



burdens, and passed peacefully away at the 
ripe age of ninety-one years. He is buried 
in Brazil cemetery. He was a good and just 
man, full of enterprise and integrity, anil 
had accomplished much for his community. 
His widow resides with her son Frank, of 
this review. She is a member of the Meth- 
odist church, and a la<l\ whom to know is 
to love and respect. 

Mr. Burkholder was one of seven chil- 
dren, all of whom are still living: Our sub- 
ject ; Amanda, wife of Wm. Kellogg, Benton 
township, Iowa: John, a farmer. Elk- 
county, Kans. ; Louisa, wife of Jno. I'. 
\\'alker, farmer. Ilenton township, Iowa; 
James, farmer, \'an Buren county. Iowa : 
Win. I., traveling man. Pendleton. Ind. : 
Kate J., wife of James Eggcrs, farmer, 
lienton townshij), Iowa. 

When Frank G. Burkholder, fiur sub- 
ject, was two years of age, his parents 
moved from Burlington township to a place 
four miles from Burlington, on the Mount 
Plea.sant road, in I'lint River township, 
where they lived till Mr. Burkholder was 
seven years old. .\t this time they came to 
Benton township, where the father pur- 
chased the farm of one hundred and forty 
acres on which Mr. Burkholder now resides. 

Mr. Burkholder received his education 
in the conmion schools of Flint River and 
Benton townships, at the same time receiv- 
ing the training in the practical work of 
farm life that has lx>en the foundation of 
his later success. He remained u|)on the 
home farni in Hcntnii township, assisting in 
the farm work, until he was twenty-one 
years of age, then farmeil the ])lace for a 
number of years afterward on shares until 
18X5. The ne.xt four years he sjient in llall 
county, Nebraska, where he rented land 
anil engaged in farming, .\fter this he re- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



917 



turned to the home farm in Benton town- 
ship, which he operated for about four 
years. In 1893 he rented and successfully 
conducted the Ray farm, consisting of 
three thousand five hundred acres in Huron 
township. This he handled for nine years 
with great success, carrying on a business 
of stock-raising and selling, as well as gen- 
eral farming. At the end of this time he 
purchased the home place, where he has 
lived since, continuing his work in general 
farming and stock-raising that he made 
such a successful beginning with on the 
Ray place. 

His success has been well sliown by the 
great number of improvements that he has 
made on the place since he became its 
owner. He erected a large, substantial 
dwelling house in 1902, to replace the old 
homestead building : has built fine com- 
modious barns and other buildings, and has 
brought the entire farm under cultivation. 
.\bout his home are found all the modern 
jmprovements and conveniences that go to 
prove that for real independence, happiness, 
and comfort in living, we must look to our 
country homes. 

Mr. Burkholder, besides his private busi- 
ness, takes a prominent part in township 
afifairs, acting politically with the Demo- 
cratic party. He was honored by re-elec- 
tion to the office of assessor for the town- 
ship for term after term, and was clerk of 
the township for a number of years. He is 
a man of unusual ability, and the confi- 
dence that his neighbors showed in elect- 
ing him to these positions of trust has been 
amply justified by tlie highly efficient and 
satisfactory manner in which he has per- 
formed the duties of these offices. 

]Mr. Burkholder was united in the holy 
bonds of matrimony to Miss Lurein Hart- 



man, who was born in Benton township, Feb. 
5, 1867, a daughter of Zebulon Hartman. 
Mr. Hartman was an early settler of Benton 
township, coming to Iowa in early child- 
iiood with his parents, who lived and died 
in Benton township. The father was a 
farmer, owning several large farms, and 
engaged in the active work of general farm- 
ing and stock-raising until the time of his 
tleath, which occurred when he was about 
seventy years of age, and is buried in Brazil 
cemetery. He was a man who was held 
in high esteem by all who knew him, for his 
sterling integrity and business sagacity. 
The mother of Mrs. Burkholder died some 
years before her husband, and is interred 
by her husband's side. 

Mrs. Burkholder, who was one of a fam- 
ily of seven children, was educated in the 
common schools of Benton township, and 
grevi' to womanhood here. She died at the 
home place at the age of twenty-seven years, 
on Feb. 7, 1904. She was a devoted wife 
and a kind and loving mother, giving her 
children loving care and service, and show- 
ing toward her husband a loving sympathy 
and helpfulness that did much to enable 
him to win tHfe high degree of success that 
he has attained in the community. She was 
the mother of three children, all of whom 
are living: Frank G., born Sept. 5, 1897, 
while she and Mr. Burkholder were living 
on the Ray farm in Huron township ; 
Catherine, also born in Huron township, 
April 19, 1899; and John, born on the home 
place in Benton township, Dec. 27, 1903. 

Mr. Burkholder is well known through- 
out this section, and is esteemed by all who 
know him for his thoroughly conscientious 
attitude in all the affairs of life, especially 
in matters touching the welfare of others. 
The long and useful career, which is briefly 



gi8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



outlined above, abounds with incidents 
whicli illustrate the genuine worth and dig- 
nity of his character. He has carried him- 
self so well and so carefully that as he ad- 
vances into the midst of the years he shows 
a record of integrity and uprightness, so 
that his life is worthy of study, and his 
business career worthy of emulation. 



CHRISTIAN MOHR. 

CiiRisTi.w MoiiK, one of the highly 
respected citizens of Flint River town- 
.ship, Des Moines county, where he re- 
sides upon a farm of forty acres of land, 
is a native of Germaiiy, his birth ha\ iiit;^ 
occurred in Schlcswig. Dec. ii. 1S41). 
lie resided at llu- [il.ue of his l>irtli until 
about twenty-two years of age, and in the 
meantime ac(|uircd his education in the 
public schools. 

lie came to America in 1X71. hinding at 
IJoslon. .Mass., and after about three 
years he made his way westward to Iowa, 
locating in l)an\ille township, Ues 
Moines county, where he worked on a 
farm for a year. He theii. rcmoveil to 
Augusta township, where he spent two 
years, and on the ex])iration of that period 
he returned to Danville township, where 
he continued for three and a half years 
more. He next removed to I-"lint River 
townshii). where in- purchased liis ])resent 
farm of forty acres, and has since made 
it his home, devoting his time and ener- 
gies to its cultivation. He has placed 
many improvemnets upon this i)n)])erty, 
making it a modern farm of model ei|uip- 
ment, and now successfully carries on 
general agricultural ])ursuils and stock- 
raising. 

Mr. Mohr was niarriecl in I'.urlington, 



Feb. i.S, 1881, to Miss .Mary Wilke. who 
was also born in Germany, coming to 
.\merica with her parents about 1875. 
Her father, .\ndrew Wilke, settled in 
.'\ugusta township. Des Moines cctunty. 
ancl during the latter years of his life lived 
retired from active business cares. He 
died about seven years ago, when sev- 
enty-three years of age. 

Mr. and Mrs. Mohr have no children of 
their own, but have reared three children, 
bestowing upon them parental love, care, 
and attention. These arc: Lhristina 
Jjusse, who was born in Augusta town- 
ship; Mary Wilke, who was born in Bur- 
lington, and is now the wife of Oscar 
Durr, a resident farmer of l-linl Ri\er 
township: and Otto Kane}, born in I'lint 
River township. 

-Mr. Mohr is a member of the Lutheran 
church of West Burlington, and is a Re- 
publican in his political views. He 
served as road sui)ervisor for two years, 
but has not been active in ]iolitics as an 
office seeker, preferring to concentrate liis 
energies upon his private business affairs. 
Purposeful effort and unremitting dili- 
gence form the basis of the success which 
he has gained while following farming 
])ursuits in Des Moines county. 



GEORGE EIDEMILLER. 

George Eidemili.er, a prominent and 
successful farmer and stock-raiser of .Au- 
gusta township, is a son of Leonard and 
Margaret (Rage) Eidemiller. whose birth 
occurred on a farm near ."^herilles, Du- 
l)U(|ue county, Iowa. His ])arents were 
both born in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germanv, 



DES MOIXES COUXTY, IOWA. 



919 



where they were also married. They came 
to America with httle or no money, in 
1848. He had learned the trade of a 
weaver, and was well trained as a musi- 
cian to play the clarinet. He first lo- 
cated in Pennsylvania, where he worked 
at weaving for three years, and then took 
up his music for a number of years. In 
185 1 he came to Dubuque county, Iowa, 
bought sixty-one acres of rich farming 
land, and at once began the arduous task 
of clearing it of timber. Selling this 
place, he moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 
but only staged there a short time, when 
he went Isack to Dubuque county, and 
again purchased one hundred and twenty 
acres of land. Having a chance to sell 
this farm to advantage, he moved to Mc- 
Gregor, Iowa, and settled on a large piece 
of land of about one hundred and forty- 
four acres, where he lived til! after the 
marriage of his son, of this review. 

Our subject grew to manhood in Du- 
buque county, on the farm of his father, 
remaining there till he was considerably 
past twenty-one years of age. In 1881 he 
married Miss Minnie Prehm. She was a 
daughter of Henry and C. (Shockel) 
Prehm, and was born in Germany, and at 
the time of her marriage was a resident 
of Augusta township. This union was 
blessed with five children: Lydia ; Hen- 
ry ; Emma : Rosa ; Edward, died at the 
age of four months. After their marriage 
they lived with Mr. Eidemiller's father 
for some years, but finally came to Au- 
gusta township, where Mrs. Eidemiller 
had inherited some fifty-two acres of 
land. He soon added sixty-five more 
acres, adjoining this place, and now car- 
ries on general farming and raises a fine 
lot of cattle. 



Politically, Mr. Eidemiller is independ- 
ent, but has never been one to seek the 
honors of any office. He was raised a 
Presbyterian and his wife a Lutheran, but 
the family are now all Seventh-day Ad- 
ventists, in which church, located in Bur- 
lington, Air. Eidemiller is a deacon, and 
is the superintendent of the Sabbath- 
school in Middletown. He is a man of 
honest convictions and integrity, one who 
keeps abreast of the times, and has made 
many friends in the county where he is 
so well known. He receives his mail at 
Middletown, Iowa, every day, as he is 
in Rural Deli\'erv Xo. i. 



JOHN SYDNEY SUTCLIFFE. 

John Sydney Sutcliffe, interested in 
general farming in Franklin township, 
is a native of this locality, born Dec. i, 
"1857. His father, James Sutclifife, was 
born in Yorkshire, England, and was 
married in that country to Anna Fernley, 
also a native of Yorkshire. In the year 
1854 he crossed the Atlantic to the New 
World, and made his way into the interior 
of the countr}^ at length taking up his 
abode in Franklin township, Des Moines 
county, Iowa, upon a farm belonging to 
his brother. There he lived for a year, 
after which he purchased one hundred 
and forty acres of land on Section 28, 
Franklin township. The remainder of his 
life was devoted to general agricultural 
pursuits, and he worked so persistently 
and energetically in the tilling of the soil 
that his farm became very productive, 
and he annually sold large crops, which 
returned him a good income. He died in 



920 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1873, while his wife, long surviving him. 
passed away in i<;oo. having for almost 
half a century hecn a resident of this 
county. 

Mr. Sutcliflfc, whose name introduces 
this record. ac(|uired a common-school 
education, and when not busy with his 
text-books assistetl in the labors of field 
and meadow, for he remained upon his 
father's farm until twenty-seven years of 
age. He then removed to his present 
place of residence on Section 15, Frank- 
lin township, where he has seventy-four 
acres of rich and productive land. He 
also owns forty-two and a half acres on 
Section 30. of which tweiUy-two acres are 
timber land. The remainder of this tract 
he rents. He has placed all of the im- 
provements upon the old homestead, has 
erected good buildings, and has drained 
his land by putting in about thirty-five 
thousand feet of tile — in fact has more 
tiling on the same amount of acreage 
than any place in the county. In all of 
his work he is practical, and he has been 
(|iiick to adopt any new methods which 
promise to prove of value in carrying on 
the farm work. 

Oct. 0, 1884, Mr. SutclilTe was united 
in marriage to Miss Catherine Sleeter, a 
native daughter of Franklin township. 
Her parents were Henry and Catherine 
Sleeter. both natives of Germany; and at 
an early period in the development and 
upbuilding of this section of the State 
they became residents of Des Moines 
county. I'lDth died in i'>04. there being 
an interval of about three months be- 
tween the dates of death. L'nto Mr. and 
Mrs. SutclilTc were born five children : 
John, married Mary Bates, of this town- 
ship, has one child. Sidney Lewis, and 



resides in Franklin township; Grace, 
Catherine. \'erna. and Ruby, all at home. 
Mr. Sutcliffe carries on general farm- 
ing, his main crop being corn, and he 
also raises horses, cattle, and Jersey Red 
hogs. Everything about his ])lace is neat 
and thrifty in appearance, and both de- 
partments of his business are proving 
profitable. His political allegiance . is 
given to the Repidjlican i)arty ; and while 
he has never sought or desired office, he 
has ever been loyal to the interests of 
the organization, and has kept well in- 
formed on the issues of the day. He has 
found in his farm work, however, ample 
(jl^portunity for the exercise .of his talents 
and energies, and in the control of his 
agricultural interests has gained a place 
among the substantial residents of his 
native township. 



WILLIAM BERLIN. 

William Berlin, now residing on his 
farm of fifty acres in Section 8. Franklin 
township, where he is engaged in farm- 
ing, is a native of the Fatherland, being 
born in Pommern, Gennany, Jan. 15, 1850. 
He received a good education in the Ger- 
man schools, attending until fourteen 
years old. He was raised a farmer, and 
followed that occupation in his native 
land, coming to the United States when 
he was twenty-one years of age, in 1871. 

I'pon coming to this country he re- 
mained for a short time in Cleveland. 
Ohio, and then removetl to Toledo, Ohio. 
where he engaged as a farm hand, remain- 
ing there until 1873. In that year he 
came to Des Moines countv, Iowa, and 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



921 



located at Burlington, being employed as 
a laborer. He was employed for nearly 
nine years in the shops of the Chicago, 
Burlington & Ouincy Railroad at West 
Burlington, working as a helper in the 
boiler shop. 

In 1890 he removed to a farm of one 
hundred and fifty acres in Flint River 
township, renting there, and remaining 
for ten years. In 1900 he purchased a 
farm consisting of fifty acres, which he 
brought under cultivation, and where he 
made himself a comfortable home; but 
in 1905 he sold this place, and has bought 
a good farm of one hundred acres near 
Monroe City, Ralls county. Mo., where he 
intends to locate in 1906. 

Mr. Berlin's parents never came to this 
country, both dying in Germany. July 
22, 1874, Mr. Berlin was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Dorothy Anna Richter. 
She was also a native of Germanv, being 
born in Saxony, where her parents died 
when she was a small child. She came 
to the United States in 1873, and lived in 
Burlington till the time of her marriage. 
Mr. and Mrs. Berlin have been blessed 
with a family of six children, of whom live 
are still living. The oldest son, C. Her- 
man, is a farmer, residing in Franklin 
township. He was married to Miss 
Laura Heitmeier, a native of Franklin 
township, and who now with her hus- 
band still lives on the same farm on 
which she was born, the place now be- 
longing to her father. They have one 
living son, Wilfred. Herman Berlin was 
in the Philippine Islands during the war 
there, and served during the entire period 
of the war. The second child of Mr. and 
J\Irs. William Berlin is a daughter, Eliz- 
abeth, the wife of Christ Luth, of Bur- 



lington, and is the mother of three chil- 
dren, Edward, Clara and Minnie. Wil- 
liam is a farmer, residing in Franklin 
township. Edward is also engaged in 
agriculture, in Franklin township. Emma 
resides with her brother William, mak- 
ing a home for him. The youngest child, 
Henry, died at the age of seven weeks. 
All the children were born in Des iMoines 
county, and all received good common- 
school education in the public schools of 
the community. 

Mr. Berlin has always taken a practical 
interest in the progress of the cause of 
popular education in the neighborhood, 
and has given valuable service to the pub- 
lic schools, by acting as director of 
schools of the district. In his political re- 
lations, Mr. Berlin has affiliated with the 
Republican party, which he considers 
represents in its principles the best forms 
of popular government. He is a genial 
man of well-developed social nature, one 
who is justly popular in his home com- 
munity, and who in his sturdy, thrifty 
ways and stanch integrity is a worthy 
representative of the better element of 
agriculturists of the county. He has won 
his success solely by his own efforts, 
building his way up from the bottom of 
the ladder to a position of prominence 
among his neighbors, who honor and re- 
spect him for what he has accomplished. 



FREDERICK J. GARDNER. 

Frederick J. Gardner, engaged in the 
raising of cereals and fruit, and also con- 
ducting a dairy business in Franklin town- 
ship, is one of the citizens that the Father- 



022 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



land has furnished to Des Moines county, 
for his birth occurred in Detmold,- Prussia, 
July 29, 1842, his parents being John B. 
and Florence (Huneke) Gardner. In the 
spring of 1849 the father with his family 
sailed from Germany to New Orleans, being 
six weeks upon the ocean ; and after reach- 
ing the Crescent City, he continued up the 
Mississippi River by steamer to Burlington, 
where he lived for a year. His wife, liow- 
ever, died in July, 1849, <'*"<^' '" ^'''^ spring of 
185 1 the father was again married, subse- 
quent to which time he removed to Benton 
townsliij), w here lie had purchased a farm of 
eighty acres, on which he spent his remain- 
ing days. His attention was then given to 
agricultural pursuits until his death, which 
occurred July 4, 1895. 

Frederick J. Gardner was not yet seven 
years of age when, with his parents, he came 
to the United States. He remained with his 
father until the fall of 1861, and then took 
11]) his abode in Burlington, where he became 
engaged in the grocery business in connec- 
tion witli his brother-in-law, Fred Balbert. 
That relation was maintained for six years, 
at the end of which time Mr. Gardner sold 
his interest to his partner, and turned his 
attention to farming upon a tract of rented 
land. In August, 1867, however, he again 
went to Burlington, where he engaged in 
business as a dry-goods clerk for the firm 
of Schram & Schmieg. This relation was 
maintained until 1881, at the end of which 
time the firm embarked in the wholesale 
business, while Mr. Gardner, in connection 
with Andrew Peterson and J. S. Park, 
bought the retail dry-goods house formerly 
conducted by the firm. He was thus iden- 
tified with mercantile interests in Burling- 
ton until 1888. when the stock was sold, 
and Mr. Gardner accepted a clerkship in 



the dry-goods store of J. S. Schram, re- 
maining there for three years. 

He next turned his attention to agricul- 
tural pursuits. In 1891 he bought a farm 
of one hundred and seven acres on Section 
24, Franklin township, hiring a man to work 
the place for two years. In 1893 he took 
up his abode on the farm, since which time 
he has erected several buildings. In all of 
his work he is very progressive, keeping in 
touch with modern thought concerning agri- 
cultural development. He has planted sev- 
eral hundred apple, plum, peach, and pear 
trees, and thus has an excellent orchard, 
which yields its fruits in season, and con- 
tril)utes in no small degree to his income, 
lie has also established a dairy, and now has 
about twenty cows. In the manufacture of 
butter he uses modern methods, including 
a gasoline engine, a separator, and like re- 
cent inventions. 

July 4, 1866, Mr. Gardner was married to 
Miss Susan G. Mott, who was born in Des 
Moines county, and is a daughter of Michael 
and Jane (Hollis) Mott, the former a native 
of England and the latter of Germany. In 
early life the father crossed the Atlantic to 
New ^'ork. while the mother's people came 
to America in 182 1, and from the Empire 
State removed to Ohio, and thence to Illi- 
nois, coming to Des Moines county, Iowa, 
.May 10, 1835. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Gardner have become the 
parents of six children : John, at home ; 
Lucius, a rancher in Colorado ; Walter, also 
at home ; Nettie, of Burlington ; Alice, a 
teacher in the public schools of Burlington ; 
and IHorence, a stenographer in Derby's mill 
in Piurlington. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gardner are members of 
the -Methodist Episcopal church of Sperry, 
in the work of which thev take an active in- 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, IOWA. 



923 



terest. He is now serving as its treasurer, 
and does all in his power to promote the 
various departments of church work. In 
politics he is a Republican, while fraternally 
he is connected with the Ancient Order of 
United Workmen. He has a wide and 
favorable acquaintance in business circles in 
Burlington, and is making a creditable rec- 
ord as a practical and enterprising agricul- 
turist : and his property is an indication of 
his business ability, for all that he possesses 
has been gained through his own labor. 



WILLIAM H. HURLBUT. 

William H. Hurlbut is the sole 
owner of the lumber and grain business 
at Danville, and is one of the progressive, 
enterprising, and active business men of 
Des Moines county. He was born on a 
farm in Danville township in 1851, his 
parents being Thomas K. and Jane 
(Tweedy) Hurlbut, both of whom are 
residing in Danville township. His boy- 
hood days were spent on the home farm, 
and after pursuing his preliminary edu- 
cation in the country schools, he pur- 
sued a course of study of more than four 
years in Denmark Academy, from which 
institution he was graduated with the 
class of 1874. 

Later he engaged in teaching for a 
number of years, in Waukesha, Wis., and 
Minneiska, Minn., and he attended the 
Normal Schools at AVinona, Minn., and 
Whitewater, Wis. He afterward ac- 
cepted a position as bookkeeper and 
cashier with railway contractors in South 
Dakota, acting in that capacity for four 
years J and on the expiration of that 



period he returned to his home, where 
he engaged in farming with his father. 

In the meantime he had invested in 
land, and in his agricultural pursuits he 
met with very gratifying success ; but in 
1897 he directed his business efforts into 
another channel of activity, purchasing 
the elevator and becoming a grain mer- 
chant at Danville. The following year he 
established the lumber business, and he 
also handles tile and brick. 

In 1901, in connection with others, he 
organized the Danville State Savings 
Bank, of which he was made a director 
and the first president; thus his business 
interests were closely connected with the 
commercial, industrial, and financial ac- 
tivities of Danville. He is emphatically 
a man of enterprise, positive character, 
indomitable energy, and strict integrity; 
and he belongs to that class of represen- 
tative men, who, while promoting indi- 
vidual success, also contribute to the gen- 
eral prosperity. 

Mr. Hurlbut was married, in 1898, to 
Miss Katherine Allen, of Montgomery 
county, Missouri, who was born near Ober- 
lin, Ohio, and was educated in Kirksville 
and in Warrenton, ]\Io. She afterward be- 
came a teacher, and was following that 
profession in Danville when she made the 
acquaintance of ]\Ir. Hurlbut. Her par- 
ents were Samuel and Mary (Hikock) 
Allen. Mr. and Mrs. Hurlbut now have 
three children: Frances Allen, Ruth 
Alethea, and Marian Allen. Mr. Hurlbut 
cast his first presidential ballot for U. S. 
Grant, in 1872, and has since been a stal- 
wart Republican, but never an office- 
seeker. To every enterprise calculated to 
advance the prosperity of Danville he is 
a generous contributor, and has been an 



024 



BIOGRAPHICAL RF.VIFJV 



important factor in the development of 
that city, of which he is one of the most 
popular rcsitlents. 



JACOB FREDERICK WAGNER. 

A SUBSTANTIA!, and progressive business 
man of Burlington, Iowa, is Jacob Fred- 
erick Wagner, who was born at Madi- 
son, Ind., May 20, 185 1, a son of Nicholas 
and Mary (Yeager) Wagner. When only 
one vear old he removed from his hirlli- 
place with his parents to this city, and here 
he. has ever since resided. His education 
was received in the public schools of the city, 
and on the completion of his education he 
entered the employ of George Kreichbaum 
for the purpose of learning the trade of tin- 
smith. He served a full apprenticeship of 
four years, after which he was engaged 
with others employing tinsmiths until the 
year 1901. On March i of that year he 
began business for himself, locating at 
1202 North Eighth Street, and here he has 
ever since enjoyed increasing success and 
prosperity. He executes all kinds of tin, 
sheet-iron and sheet-metal job wi»rk and 
repairing, and makes a specialty of gutter- 
ing, spouting, and roofing. His handiwork 
is in evidence on nearly all the public build- 
ings and finest private residences of the city 
of Burlington, while his labors frequently 
take him into the rural districts of Des 
Moines count), and lie is frequently called 
to surrounding towns and cities. 

Fraternally. Mr. Wagner is a well-known 
member of the .\ncient Order of United 
Workmen, which organization he joined on 
May 20, 1891. while his religfious relations 
identify him with St. John's Catholic 



church. He has always refused public 
ofiicc, although he has often been solicited 
to accept such honors, and may be fairly 
considered as entitled to them because of 
standing as an intUiential member of the 
Democratic part}-, which he has always 
loyally supported. On Nov. 30, 1S75, he 
married Miss Amelica C. Vogt, daughter 
of Frederick and I'licebc \'ogt, and td 
them have been born nine children : Walter, 
Arthur, Edward, Julius, William, Alice, 
Carrie, Elsie, and Frederick, all of whom 
reside in Burlington. Mr. Wagner, by the 
success which he has achieved in a business 
way, has shown himself to he the possessor 
of genuine practical ability, while as elo- 
quent testimony to the strength and upright- 
ness of his character may be mentioned the 
large number of friends whose esteem he 
has won. 



MAJOR J. N. MARTIN. 

Majou I. N. M.\RTiN, an honored vet- 
eran of the Civil \\'ar. who has been equally 
loyal to his country in public service in days 
of peace, has had a varied career, calling 
him into various parts of the country, and 
entailing upon him a multiplicity of duties 
which have given him broad experience. 
Since July, iSycj, he has filled the position 
of deputy collector of internal revenue at 
Burlington, has been an active and valued 
factor in community affairs, and a recog- 
nized leader in local Republican circles. 

Major Martin was born in Lubec, Me.. 
July 14, 1844, and is descended from Welsh 
ancestry. Re[)resentatives of the name re- 
moved from the little rock-ribbed country 
of \\ales to the north of Ireland, whence the 
grandfather of Major Martin came to the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



025 



New World. The family were Protestants 
in religious faith. James H. Martin, father 
of Major Martin, Ixirn in 1815, was a resi- 
dent of New Brunswick in early life, and 
afterward removed to Maine. He was suc- 
cessively a coast pilot, seaman, and first 
officer of a vessel, and he died in 1864, on 
the James River, while in the United States 
transport service. His wife, who bore the 
maiden name of Martha Olson, was a native 
of Dublin, Ireland, born in 181 7, and be- 
longed to a Catholic family. She died in 
Lubec, Me., in 1902. in the eighty-fifth 
year of her age. In the family of James H. 
and Martha Martin were the following 
named : George W., deceased ; Peter A., and 
Mary E., residents of Maine ; Margaret, 
deceased; John H., and Andrew P., who are 
living in Rhode Island ; George H., of the 
State of Washington ; and Charles, deceased. 
Two of the brothers, Peter and John, were 
soldiers of the Civil War, the former serving 
as commissary sergeant, while the latter 
was on a revenue cutter. 

P>orn in a seaport town, Major Martin 
worked through the summer months and in 
the winter seasons attended school. He 
went to sea in the coasting service, and was 
thus engaged at the time of the outbreak of 
the war of the Rebellion. He was a lad of 
only seventeen years when, in 1861, he en- 
listed as a private in Company A, Fifteenth 
Maine Infantry, serving under command 
of Capt. P>. P). IMurray. He was with 
the New England division of the Armv of 
the Gulf, and served four years and eight 
months, re-enlisting in January, 1864, while 
in Texas, in the same company and regi- 
ment. He participated in the capture of 
New Orleans, the Red River expedition un- 
der General Banks, and the Texas cam- 
paign of 1863-64. He was sent North and 



joined Grant's army on the James River, 
in July 1864, and went to Washington with 
his regiment at the time of the raid, to pre- 
vent the capitol from falling into the 
hands of the rebels. His regiment was then 
granted a thirty days' veteran furlough, 
which was spent in Maine. Returning to 
the South, he joined Sheridan's army in 
the Shenandoah valley. 

Following the surrender of Lee his regi- 
ment was ordered back to Washington, and 
stationed as guard about the city at the time 
of President Lincoln's assassination. Fol- 
lowing the grand review he was ordered 
to Savannah, Ga., and then to Georgetown, 
S. C, where the regiment was divided and 
distributed over the State, occupying the 
county-seats to maintain order, administer 
the oath of allegiance to the Confederate 
.soldiers, and to divide crops among the 
freedmen. He was mustered out at Charles- 
ton, S. C, July 5, 1866. From the ranks he 
was successively promoted to corporal, ser- 
geant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant, and 
captain,' and was discharged as captain of 
Company A. He had been brevetted major, 
April 9, 1864. He was not off duty a week 
during his entire service, except while on 
veteran furlough. At the time of the 
Spanish-American War, he again attempted 
to enter military service, making application 
to the governor of Iowa and the governor 
of Maine. 

Major Martin came West in 1867, and 
was with the engineering corps of the Bur- 
lington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Rail- 
road. He learned the business, and was 
with that road until 187 1, during the later 
years having charge of construction, and 
was assistant chief engineer on the Burling- 
ton & Southwestern until 1872, when he 
took a contract to build the bridges from 



026 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFAIIIW 



Moulton, Iowa, soutli to Lexington, Mo. 
He was engaged hi contracting for about 
six years. He was also connected with the 
Iowa Central Railroad, building approaches 
on Ijoth sides of the Keithsburg bridge over 
the Mississippi River. He afterward did 
general contracting, building the Valley 
Street sewer to Fifth Street, in Burlington, 
in 1880. 

Mr. Martin has visited the West on vari- 
ous occasions. He has visited California, 
Oregon, and other Western districts, and 
since coming to Burlington has visited 
every Western State. He made one trip 
to Alaska in 1884. Following the building 
of the L'liion I'acific Railroad he went to 
the West, and has prospected in nearly every 
State, including Wyoming and Colorado, 
and also in tlio Ilritish Possessions to the 
north, but has never met with success in 
his search for gold in the mines. 

In liurlington. in 1870, Major Martin 
married Miss Zilla L. Parsons, who w'as 
born in I'arsonfield, Me., and they now 
have fi)ur living children: James N.. who 
is auditor in the L'nited States engineer's 
office, at Louisville. Ky. : ^largaret L.. a 
pianist and music teacher : Frank P., who 
is prospecting in .-Xlaska ; and Olive ^L, who 
has been a student of voice culture in Chi- 
cago and Louisville, having an excellent 
voice. Mr. and Mrs. .Martin also lost two 
children: John L., who died at the age of 
twenty-four years; and Zilla. who died at 
the age of one year. 

Major Martin is a member of the Grand 
.\rmy of the Re])ublic, and attended the 
national encampment at Washington, in 
1892. In politics he has always been a 
stanch Republican, active in the work of 
the partv. He served as city marshal 
of Burlington mider Mayor .Adams, fill- 



ing the ]3osition for one term and a part 
of another. In 1890 he was appointed 
postmaster by President Harrison, filling 
the position for four years ; and in July, 
i8<><^ he received a])])i)intment to his present 
j)osition, that of deputy collector of internal 
revenue. No public trust reposed in him 
has ever been Ix-trayed in the slightest de- 
gree, and he stanils to-day as one of the 
honored men of the city because of his 
capable service in office and his unfaltering 
loyalty to his country in the darkest hour 
of Iier historv. 



CHARLES A. STROTHMAN. 

Charles A. Strothman, widely known 
by reason of his long connection with pub- 
lic life and his career as a successful farmer, 
is now residing in Pleasant Grove tCAvnship 
on his farm of one-hundred and two acres, 
situated in Sections 34 and 35, in addition to 
which he owns a half interest in the old 
family home fann of one hundred acres in 
Section 27. Mr. Strothman was born in 
this township Feb. 28, 1862. a son of Fred- 
erick and Louisa (Liemkuhln) Strothman. 
The father was a native of Westphalia, Ger- 
many, and emigrated to America in the "40's, 
landing at Xew Orleans after a voyage of 
approximately three months' duration, and 
thence coming up the river to St. Louis. 
He remained in that city for only a few 
months, however, soon coming to Burling- 
tiin. Des Moines county, where he began to 
look for a farming location. He decided to 
'settle in Pleasant Grove township, bought 
forty acres of land there, and by hard and 
unremitting toil achieved a considerable de- 
gree of ])rosperity. He added to his farm 




CHARLES A. STROTHMAN AND WIFE. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



929 



from time to time until he owned one- 
hundred and forty acres, all of which he 
cultivated. He was by trade a stone-mason, 
and besides agriculture and stock-raising 
did some work at that trade. He was a 
Democrat in his political leanings, and was 
among the most progressive and enterpris- 
ing element of the community. He was a 
lifelong member of the German Methodist 
Episcopal church. His death occurred in 
September, 1882, in the seventy-second year 
of his age, and his passing was matter for 
general regret. 

The mother of our subject was, like her 
husband, a native of Westphalia, accompa- 
nied him to America, and was throughout 
her life a devoted member of the church 
with which he was identified, being in the 
truest and best sense his helpmeet and friend. 
The date of her demise, which occurred at 
the home of our subject, was January, 1901. 
She was the mother of six children, of 
whom one, Henry, died on the voyage to the 
United States, and the others are as follows : 
William F., who died at the age of forty- 
four years, was a farmer of Washington 
township, and married Miss Elizabeth 
Daum, who survives him, and now resides 
in ]\Iissouri ; Serena, the wife of John 
Reusch, a butcher by trade, and a resident 
of Burlington : Caroline, the wife of Will- 
iam Hanne, engaged in the grocery busi- 
ness in Burlington : John H., engaged in 
farming in Washington township, this 
county, and Charles A., the subject of the 
present sketch. 

The education of Mr. Strothman was 
begun in the rural district schotjls of his 
native township, and later he became a stu- 
dent in Howe's Academy, at Mount Pleas- 
ant, continuing in that institution during 
two winter sessions. During the four vears 



immediately succeeiling he was engaged as 
a teacher in the district schools of Pleasant 
Grove township, and on relinquishing that 
work, began operating his father's farm. 
This he continued successfully until 1895, 
when he ])urchased his present holdings, 
where he has ever since carried on general 
farming and stock-raising. The farm has 
been greatly improved since he assumed its 
management, and modern methods have 
been introduced throughout. 

On Dec. 25, 1892, at Pleasant Grove, Mr. 
Strothman married I\Iiss Mary Parma 
Obermann, a daughter of Frederick and 
T\Iary A. (Hale) Obermann. Mr. Ober- 
mann was born in Darmstadt, Germany, 
coming to the United States during the 
'40's, when but fourteen years of age. At 
Cincinnati, Ohio, he learned the trade of 
carpenter and cabinet-maker, and at this 
he worked in Virginia for some years. He 
then came to Iowa and bought a small home 
in Pleasant Grove township, Des Moines 
county, where he worked at his trade dur- 
ing the remainder of his active life, and 
also ran a small dairy. He is a member of 
the Lutheran church, and his standing as a 
citizen and as a man has always been of 
the highest and most irreproachable in every 
respect. Airs. Obermann was born in 
Indiana, and came to Iowa as a child, her 
marriage taking place in this State in 1857. 
She died Jan. 16, 1892. She was the 
mother of seven children, as follows : 
Charles, who died in his forty-third year ; 
Etta, wife of J. H. Coad, a farmer of 
Cawker City, Kans. : George, a resident of 
Washington township, Des Moines county, 
where he is engaged in farming and stock- 
feeding; Alfred William, a plumber by 
trade, and a resident of the city of Burling- 
ton : Mary Parma, wife of our subject; 



93° 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 

EDWARD GOTTSCHALG. 



Bismarck, a fanner of Pleasant Grove town- 
ship ; and Henry, also a farmer and a resi- 
dent of Henry county. A worthy representative of the 

To Mr. and Mrs. Strothman have been younger and more i)rogressive agricul- 

born four children, all of whom, except tural element of Des Moines county, is 

the eldest, who was born at the home of Edward Gottschalg, of Huron township, 

the grandparents, claim their i)resent home who was born in Chicago, 111., Jan. 24, 

as place of birth. They are as follows: 1867, the son of Jofin and Mary (Brower) 

Bertha E., born Oct. 15, 1894; Grace V., Gottschalg. When only five years of age 

born Feb. 18, 189C; Gladys C., born July lie came with his parents to Huron town- 

22, 1899; and Charles F., born June 11. ship, but remained only two years, mov- 

1901. All are being educated in the local i"g then to Delaware, where he lived for 

public schools. seven years. .\t the end of that time he 

In his political relations .Mr. Strothman returned to Huron township, which has 

has always been a consistent and active sup- since been his home. There were nine 



porter of the great Democratic party, in 
whose tenets he is a firm and conscientious 
believer, and by his fellmv-citizciis has fre- 
quently been called u()on to undertake the 
service of the ])ublic in various capacities. 
He first served as constable for a number 



children in the lamil\', when he was at 
home as a boy : Albert, Molly Louise, 
John, .\nna. William, Frank. Eva Mary, 
.\melia Laura. His father. John Gott- 
schalg. was born Nov. JO. 1829, and died 
Dec. 16, i8</> The mother is still living. 



of years, and the second public office to making her home with a daughter at 

which he received election was that of Keithsburg, 111. 

justice of the peace, in which the duration l^ngaged in tin- work of his father's 
of his tenure was five years, while he has farm. Edward ( iotlschalg grew to man- 
since been in turn tcAvnshi]) clerk for five hood amid surroundings well fitted to 
years and assessor for two years. He is form and inii)art those strong, self-reliant, 
now again occupying the office of township and energetic traits of character which 
clerk. This long and honorable record has have since made him successful and re- 
been marked by eminent efficiency and by spected. Meanwhile he was acquiring in 
fidelity to duty at all times without regard the public schools of his township a good 
to personal or partisan interest, and the and thoroughly practical education, and 
great popularity which he enjoys has been this he has supplemented by a life of in- 
worthily won and justly bestowed. .A good telligent observation. 

neighbor, a true friend, and an able and Feb. 2, 1893, he was united in mar- 
upright official, he has fully merited the riage to Miss Mattie Puckett, daughter 
public favor. As a farmer he has by in- of John and Martha Jane (Oakley) 
dustry and careful management achieved Puckett. To tlii- union have been l)orn 
a very substantial success, but his chief four children, three girls and one boy, of 
claim to consideration lies in the fact of whom two girls are living: The children 
each duty being faithfully performed as it are as follows. Elsie Fern, born July 26, 
came to him. 1894. and died .'-;e|)t. iS. i.Xcjj; Myrtle Fay, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



931 



born Sept. 20, 1896; Frankie Edward, 
born Nov. 11, 1898, and died when a 
month old; and Nellie lona, born IMarch 
2, 1 901. 

Mr. Gottschalg owns eighty acres of 
the finest farming land in Huron town- 
ship, in Section 4, and there he is suc- 
cessfully engaged in the business of farm- 
ing; and by the exercise of judgment, 
foresight, and careful calculation, has se- 
cured very gratif3'ing financial rewards. 
Mr. Gottschalg has on all occasions 
manifested a progressive tendency, and 
has never failed to support any project 
that he considered proper for the mate- 
rial and moral advancement of the com- 
munity in which he lives. He is devoted 
to the cause of right and justice in all 
their aspects, and has always been a be- 
liever in the duty of the citizen to make a 
study of questions affecting the public, 
and to assist, with whatever ability he 
may possess, in their solution. He has 
never aspired to the holding of public of- 
fice, but in order to perform his part in 
local government he has taken a share in 
the work of the Republican party, and has 
been a stanch supporter of its chosen 
leaders. 

Mr. and Mrs. Gottschalg are active 
members of the Methodist Protestant 
church, Mr. Gottschalg being a class- 
leader in the same. Thus his activities 
bear no taint of self-seeking, but have all 
been calculated to benefit the community 
which claims his citizenship, and to bene- 
fit humanity at large. He and his wife 
bear a valued part in the social life of the 
community, and have many friends 
throughout Des ^loines county, who rec- 
ognize their ability, and predict for them 
a future of usefulness and honor. 



JOHN MILTON WATSON. 

John Milton Watson, who owns a 
farm of fifty-five acres in Section i, Yel- 
low Springs township, and also cultivates 
fifty acres belonging to his father, was 
born in this township Aug. i, 1854, his 
parents being Alexander and Lavina Ann 
(Lee) Watson. His father has always fol- 
lowed the occupation of farming, and is 
still living, being now one of the vener- 
able citizens of the county. The mother, 
however, has departed this life, having 
died June 30, 1904, when seventy-five 
years of age. 

John Milton ^^'atson acc|uired his edu- 
cation in the Hazel Grove School in Yel- 
low Springs township, his time being di- 
vided between the work of the school- 
room, the pleasures of the playground, 
and the duties of the home farm. He was 
early instructed concerning the practical 
methods of tilling the soil, and has always , 
engaged in general agricultural pursuits. 
He continued to assist his father in the 
operation of the old home place until 
twenty-three years of age, when he was 
married. 

It was on March 7, 1884, that he wedded 
^liss Elmira Kneedy, who was born June 
22, 1853, a daughter of John and Ann 
(Higgins) Kneedy, and a native of Mary- 
land. She came to Des Moines county 
with her parents when she was about 
eight or nine years old. They located in 
Burlington, where her father worked at 
the cooper's trade, which he had previously 
learned. 

Five children have graced this mar- 
riage: I^lorence Armilda, Bertha May, 
.-\my Rebecca, Albert Lee, and Raymond 
Carl. The famih' circle vet remains un- 



932 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



broken by the hand of ileatli. but two of 
the (laughters are away from home, 
liertlia May is now the wife of Lee Mc- 
Clintock. and they reside in Section 3, 
Yellow Springs township, moving here 
from Dover. .Mo., where they lived for a 
time. Florence is the wife of George W. 
Boston, by whom she had three children: 
Ralph, the only one living; John died at 
the age of about eleven months ; and one 
who died in infancy. Mrs. Boston is now 
making her home with her father. 

Mr. Watson has lived a <|iiict life, his 
energies being concentrated upon his 
farm work. By his untiring diligence an<l 
hard work he has brought about the ex- 
cellent condition of his hume ])lacc. put- 
ting on all of the improvements. Besides 
building a new residence in 1900, he has 
drilled a dcej) well at an expense of about 
$200. Me has fenced his entire property 
and added other improvements, till he 
now has a very comfortable and cozy 
home near the north line of Des Moines 
couiitv. 



FREDERICK BOCK. 

TiiK name of Frederick Bock became 
actively associated with the business his- 
tory of Flint River township, and in trade 
circles he sustained an unassailable repu- 
tation; but those who knew him in other 
walks of life also entertaineil for bin) the 
highest regard. He was a son of Freder- 
ick I'ock, and was born in Gubeardstadt, 
Germany, about 1823. He came to 
-Xnierica in 1864. and settled in Burling- 
ton township. Des Moines county. Iowa. 
Soon after this he bought a place of one 
hundred and sixty acres on Sections 14 



anil 22,. in Flint River township, where he 
lived till his death, which occurred Sept. 
16, 1893, at the ailvanced age of seventy- 
one years. He gave his political alle- 
giance to the Republican party, and was 
ever loyal to all of its greatest needs. 
He was an esteemed member of the Ger- 
man Evangelical church. 

In 1884, Mr. Bock was married to 
Mrs. Mary (Thurman) Houer, of Des 
.Moines county, who is a daughter of 
John and Catherine (Schulz) Thurman, 
and is a native of Machdenberg. Ger- 
many, her birth occurring Dec. 16, 1829. 
Her first husband was William Houer, 
and they had one child, William, who 
died at the age of six weeks. Mr. Houer 
passed away in .\ugust, 1882, aged fifty 
years. The memorj' of Mr. Houer is en- 
shrined in the hearts of all who knew 
him. 

Mrs. Bock adopted Charles Grothe, son 
of Henry and Dora (Ileinsauer) Grothe, 
who was born in West Phalen, Germany, 
.Xjiril 26, 1882. He came to America 
when only two years old. His father 
came before the family did, and met his 
death in 1884 while walking on the rail- 
road tracks, being struck by a Qiicago, 
Burlington & Quincy train and instantly 
killed. His widow later married Christ 
Pistorius, a prosperous stone-mason of 
Burlington. Iowa. They reside at 206 
South Woodlawn .\venue. .Mrs. Bock 
gave her adopted son a good home and a 
fair education in the district schools. 
After her husband died she sold the 
Bus.se place, and bought one hundred and 
twenty acres in Sections 7 and 8, in Flint 
River township. Her adopted son super- 
intends the farming interests of Mrs. 
Bock. They ha\ e made all the improve- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



93: 



nients on the place, putting up all the 
necessarj' outbuildings for grain and stock, 
and now have a comfortable home and new 
barn thirty by forty feet, which they erected 
in 1903. They do fanning and gardening 
and also raise stock. 

Mrs. Bock is a woman who has passed 
through much trouble, but each trial 
seems to have made her more able and 
better fitted to endure the burden of life. 
.She is respected throughout the township 
for her many deeds of kindness. Charles, 
her adopted son, also commands the uni- 
versal respect and esteem of all friends 
and neighbors for his sterling business 
qualifications, and for the attention which 
he exhibits constantly towards his mother 
in his efforts to make her-comfortable. 



FRANK L. MARSTELLER. 

Frank L. Marsteller private secre- 
tary to Dr. J. S. Caster, magnetic physician, 
who is mayor of Burlington, is a native of 
Lafayette, Ind., and was born Oct. 13, 1865. 
His father, William Holmes Marsteller, and 
his brothers started a carriage factory in 
Lafayette, and being very prosperous, grew 
wealthy. The grandfather, father, and 
three brothers of the father of our subject 
were in the Civil War. His father's 
youngest brother was only thirteen years of 
age -when he enlisted as drummer boy in the 
Twenty-second Indiana Regiment, but ad- 
vanced to the rank of adjutant. The great- 
grandfather of Mr. Marsteller. Major Wil- 
liam Henry Holmes, belonged to one of the 
old families of the Dominion, was a soldier 
in the Revolutionary War. and was a pall- 
bearer at the funeral of General George 
Washington. 



After Mr. Marsteller passed through the 
high school of Champaign, 111., he came to 
Burlington, being about seventeen years of 
age, and accepted a position as night clerk 
of the old Barrett House, which was then 
conducted by Bell & Sweeny. He attended 
Elliott's Business College during the day, 
from which he was graduated, and then 
became the head clerk of the Barrett House, 
one of the principal hotels of the West. 
Here he remained for ten years, becoming 
widely acquainted with the traveling public 
of that time. He then became head clerk 
of the Gorham House, now known as the 
Delano Hotel, remaining there till 1891. 
Since then Mr. Marsteller has been the 
private secretary to Dr. J- S. Caster. 

June 5, 1889, Mr. Marsteller and Miss 
Mary Darling were united in marriage. 
Mrs. Marsteller is a daughter of William 
and Sarah (Field) Darling, both members 
of old and highly respected pioneer families 
of Des Moines county. Mr. and Mrs. 
Darling -were the parents of three daughters : 
Mary, wife of Mr. Marsteller ; Fanny, mar- 
ried D. A. Bradley ; and Grace, married 
Robert Kroppach, and died in 1899. Mr. 
and ;\Irs. Darling are both dead. Since his 
mother's death Arthur Kroppach has been 
living with Mr. and Mrs. Marsteller. 

The father of our subject died in 1895 
and is buried in Lafayette, Ind., while his 
mother is still living, residing in Cham- 
paign, 111. Mr. and Mrs. Marsteller are 
both members of the Episcopalian church. 
He is a member of the Forresters, Modern 
Woodmen of America, and the Maccabees, 
holding office in the two last named. In 
politics he has always been actively engaged 
in the support of the Republican party, and 
in the fall of 1904 was a candidate for 
county clerk against a man who for the last 



034 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



eight years lias had a majority of some 
twelve hundred. Although this is a Demo- 
cratic county, Mr. Marsteller reduced his 
opponent's majority to seven. Surely Mr. 
Marstcller is to be congratulated upon 
his g^cat success in business, and his life, 
though young, gives promise of a still 
brighter future. His ability and his pleas- 
ant and courtly manner toward all, have 
gained for him many warm friends and ac- 
quaintances in all parts of the State. 



GOTTLIEB WOELLHAF. 

There is perhaps no city in the State of 
Iowa that can produce as great a number 
of men who began life with limited means 
that to-day are enjoying all the comforts of 
a retired life as the city of Burlington. Mr. 
Gottlieb Wocllhaf is one of this class, and 
one of the early and esteemed citizens of the 
city. He is a native of Germany, being 
bi)rn in Unterturkheim, Wiirtemberg, Ger- 
many, Feb. 22, 1841. He obtained his edu- 
cation in the public schools in Germany and 
France. After spending a number of years 
in learning the tailor's trade he decided to 
come to the United States, and landed in 
the city of New York in 1869, where he 
remained for six months. Thinking there 
were better opportunities for young men in 
the West, he chose Iowa for his future 
destiny, locating at Burlington, Iowa. He 
at once opened a tailor shop on Jeffer- 
son Street, and engaged in merchant tailor- 
ing. It did not take long for his skill and 
great ability to become known, and his 
trade grew from year to year very rapidly 
till he was the leading tailor of the great 
metropolis. He continued in the business 



for twenty-five years, at the end of which 
time he had accumulated considerable of 
this world's goods, and retired from the 
business. He had worked hard and faith- 
fully all these long years, and it -was very 
gratifying to his many friends to see him 
thus rewarded. He has erected a large and 
comfortable home at 842 High Street, and 
is also owner of one of the adjoining build- 
ings and the business store on Jefferson 
Street now occupied by the Miss Williams's 
millinery store. Part of his time is spent in 
a garden patch about a half mile from the 
city, where he raises garden truck, which he 
enjoys very much. 

In 1874, Mr. Wocllhaf married Miss 
Mary Disque, a daughter of Henry Disque, 
one of the early/ settlers of Burlington, and 
who was a cigar-maker. The parents of 
Mrs. Disque are both dead. She was 
'born in Burlington, and was a supporter of 
the German Lutheran church. Her death 
occurred July 9, 1903, and she was laid to 
rest in Aspen Grove cemetery in her native 
home. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wocllhaf three chil- 
dren were born in Burlington, and are now 
living here : Henry A., a watch-maker and 
jeweler, located on Jefferson Street; Fred 
W., assistant credit clerk at Chittenden & 
Eastman's, married Miss Nettie Kaster; 
Fanny, resides with her father. Mr. Wocll- 
haf is a strong Republican, but not an office- 
seeker, ]irefcrring to assist his party in a 
Ijfivatc manner. During his continuous 
residence or thirty-five years he has seen 
many vast changes take place in the city. 
While the city has not grown so rapidly as 
many other places in the same number of 
years, still it has grown slowly but surely, 
thus making a solid foundation for the 
progress in the future. Mr. Woellhaf has 



DES MOIXES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



935 



always stood ready to do his part in im- 
proving both the residence and business 
portion of the city. His close application 
to business and applied economy kept his 
wheels ever in motion, and in time brought 
him success. His life has been pure and 
just, and he possesses the entire confidence 
and good-will of all who have the pleasure 
of his acquaintance. 



HENRY WESTERBECK. 

In the year 1854 the Westerbeck fam- 
ily disembarked from a sailing vessel at 
New Orleans, ascended the Mississippi 
River to St. Louis, and after remaining 
ice-bound at that city for two weeks, pro- 
ceeded on their journey to the scene of 
their future home, the date of their ar- 
rival in Burlington being some time in 
March, 1854. Of this family was Henry 
Westerbeck, who was born in Prussia, 
Germany, March 25, 1845, ^ son of Phillip 
and Mary (Niehous) Westerbeck, eldest 
of a family of four, the others being 
WiUiam, of Middletown, Iowa; Lipp, of 
Grand Junction, Iowa ; and Anna, now the 
wife of James Mumme, a resident of Bur- 
lington. The father was a laborer, but 
after ten years of residence in Burlington 
he decided to become a farmer, and com- 
ing to Flint River township he purchased 
a tract comprising eighty acres of fine 
agricultural land. Here he had his home 
until the time of his death in 1887, and 
was very successful, attaining to a com- 
fortable degree of material prosperity. 
His wife survived him many years, her 
demise occurring in 1903. 

Mr. Westerbeck began his education in 



the schools of his native land, and after 
coming to America attended for a time 
the Burlington public schools. In Bur- 
lington also he acquired the mastery of a 
useful trade, that of coopering, which he 
learned under the direction of a Mr. 
Bresser, and followed it continuously for 
nine years. For the two years following 
he was in the employ of his father, and 
then purchased forty acres of land in 
Flint River township, to which he has 
since a<lded twenty acres. This farm, on 
which he has ever since made his home, 
was then almost in its original state, cov- 
ered with timber and entirely unculti- 
vated ; but by force of diligent and ar- 
duous eflforts he has made it one of the 
best-producing properties in this section, 
bringing it under cultivation and adding 
many modern improvements, doing all his 
own clearing, erecting a commodious 
dwelling-house and substantial barns and 
other buildings. 

Mr. Westerbeck has been twice mar- 
ried ; first, on Nov. 17, 1867, to Miss Mary 
Mumme, daughter of James and Mary 
(Rike) Mumme, and to them were born 
four children, Anna, Lillie, Lydia, and 
Andrew. Andrew, the youngest, died at 
the age of four and one-half years, and 
the demise of Mrs. W^esterbeck occurred 
March 28, 1873. Mr. Westerbeck's sec- 
ond marriage took place Feb. 10, 1875, 
when he was united with Miss Christina 
Humann, daughter of Adam and Caro- 
line (Faul) Humann, Mrs. Westerbeck 
was born in Russia, as also were her 
father and mother. They came to Amer- 
ica in 1874. Of their union have been 
horn the following children: .\dam, who 
married Miss Minnie Brendemeyer, and 
lives at New London, this State; Emrna, 



936 



BIOGRAI'HILAL REllEW 



wife of Henry Grii])c, of lUirliiifjton : 
James, who resides with his parents; 
Mary, who is the wife of August Flach- 
mann, and resides on a farm adjoining 
that of Mr. W'esterbeck ; and Henry, 
Joseph, John, I'hillip, Ida Mata, and Effie, 
who remain with their parents, besides two 
who died in infancy, and one son, William, 
who died at the age of one year. All were 
born and reared in Flint River township, 
and received their education in the district 
schools. 

Mr. W'esterbeck is an attendant of the 
Lutheran church, to whose support he 
contributes. While he feels an interest 
in public affairs, he is not connected with 
any partisan organization, preferring to 
act independently ; although at the last 
presidential election he cast his ballot for 
the regular nominee of the Republican 
party, Theodore Roosevelt. By the suc- 
cess which he has attained in the man- 
agement of his farm he has proved him- 
self a good business man, and has ac- 
quired a competency, entirely by his own 
eflforts. He has a large number of friends 
who will be interested in a re\icw of his 
career. 



WILLIAM WESTERBECK. 

One of the highly respected residents 
of Flint River township for the past thir- 
tv-five years, and who came to ,\merica 
when a mere lad of thirteen years, is 
William W'esterbeck. He is a son of Al- 
bert W'esterbeck, and was born in West 
Phalcn, Germany, May 24, 1840. He at- 
tended the common schools in his home 
place, and did all the chores on his father's 
farm till he made the above-mentioned 



great trip. His first work in this new 
country was on a farm in (Juincy, 111., 
where he remained for a year and a half. 
He then came to Des Moines county, and 
engaged by the month on various farms 
for some time, .\fter this he spent four 
years in the city of Burlington, being em- 
ployed at the old hotel know-n to all as 
the P.arrett House. In 1863, he began to 
farm for himself, carrying it on for a year 
and a half in Illinois, when in 1871 he 
bought his jjresent farm of one hundred 
acres in I-'lint River township. At the 
time of this purchase nearly all of this 
large tract of land was covered with tim- 
ber. Mr. W'esterbeck cleared it, and has 
made many substantial and valuable im- 
provements, erecting a comfortable house, 
a good barn thirty by forty feet, as well 
as other needed outbuildings for his 
stock, grain, and farm implements. Be- 
sides doing general farming he also raises 
a fine grade of stock, having at the pres- 
ent time three good horses, ten head of 
cattle, and raises from ten to fifteen hogs 
annually. 

.\pril 9, 1869. Mr. Westerbeck became 
the husband of Miss Anna Gardener, 
daughter of William and .\nna (Reiper) 
( lardener. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Wester- 
lieck were born three sons and five daugh- 
ters, as follows: Emma, died .March, 
1871, aged one and a half years; Lizzie, 
died .\ugust, 1872, at the age of one and 
a half years; May, passed away Dec i, 
1885. aged eleven years; Albert, lives in 
Flint River township; Laura, is the wife 
of M. Johnson; Fred, a resident of Bur- 
lington; Anna, married Julius Nelson, of 
Flint River township; and Wilhelm. at 
home. His children attended the Prairie 
(Jrove school in their own district. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



937 



Mr. and Mrs. Westerbeck are both 
members of the German Evangelical 
church, being regular attendants when 
the weather will permit. Mr. Westerbeck 
has always given his political allegiance 
to the Republican party, but has never 
aspired to office, preferring to spend his 
time on his farm with his family. His 
beautiful home, so accessible to West 
Burlington and to the great metropolis, 
is a fitting example of his thrift, energy, 
and well-guarded economy. He can look 
back and see all the struggles and sacri- 
fices he made as a pioneer farmer, and to- 
day point with pride to his measure of 
success, and well say that he earned it 
all by the hard labor of his own willing 
hands. His business career has always 
been upright and honest, his social dis- 
position kind and genial, and he has the 
respect and friendship of all with whom 
he comes in contact. 



JOHN GROSS. 



John Gross, proprietor of a prosper- 
ous blacksmith and wagon-making busi- 
ness at Augusta, Des Moines county, 
Iowa, has been a resident of that place 
for twenty-two years and of Des Moines 
county for *fifty-four years, and takes 
rank among the pioneer settlers of this 
part of Iowa. A native of Pennsyl- 
vania, he was born in the cit}^ of Har- 
risburg on June 15, 1849, son of Israel' 
and Maria Gross. The father, who was 
also born at Harrisburg, and who was 
by trade a shoemaker, brought his fam- 
ily to the West when our subject was 
but six months old, and located at Bur- 



lington. The flourishing city of to-day 
was then but a small village, and be- 
ing early on the ground Israel Gross 
established there a shoe shop, which 
was among the first, if not the very 
first, in the town. A few years later he 
purchased a tract of sixty-five acres in 
Union township, near the present Avery 
farm, and removed to that place, the fam- 
ily taking up its residence in a two-room 
log house that stood upon the farm, and 
that continued to be the home until our 
subject had reached manhood's estate. 
There the father did the neighborhood 
shoemaking and successfully engaged in 
farming for a number of years. He died 
in Union township in 1882, and is buried 
in Shiloh cemetery, as is also his wife, 
who survived him about ten years and 
died in 1892. 

John Gross passed his youth and young 
manhood largely in the discharge of the 
strenuous duties of pioneer life, for when 
he moved with his parents to Union town- 
ship the ancient trees of the jirinieval for- 
est stood thick upon the soil. He assisted 
his father in clearing the wild land, and 
late;- in sowing, tilling, and reaping with 
the implements then' in use, but which 
have since been replaced with modern 
labor-saving machinery. He received a 
fair education in the public schools of 
that day, attending school in a log build- 
ing erected for that purpose, and fur- 
nished in the most primitive manner 
with seats that were merely long, rough 
benches, consisting of puncheon slabs 
having holes bored in the corners in which 
the supporting legs were inserted. The 
old log schoolhousc still stands, a re- 
minder of other days, and may be seen on 
the farm of Mrs. Hausencleaver. 



938 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



When he \\a> m-miiu-cii years of age 
Mr. Gross went to lUirlington, and be- 
came an api)rentice to the firm of Ucnnett 
& France for the purpose of learning the 
trade of hlacksmithing. He served an 
apijrcnticcship of three years, receiving 
for his work the first year $50, the second 
$73, and the third $100, together with his 
board. He then secured work as a jour- 
neyman in Burlington, and was employed 
there until 1879, when he came to .\u- 
gusta. In. the years 1882 and 1883 he 
worked at Kossuth, but at the end of that 
tiinc he returned to Augusta, and lure he 
established a business of his own, which 
he has ever since conducted with grati- 
fying success. About 1889, in addition to 
the smithshop. lie added a woodworking 
department, which he has since main- 
tained, and he has also dealt in farming 
implements to some extent. 

In Burlington, Iowa, on April 28, 1872, 
Mr. Gross wedded Miss Anna W'iltz, of 
that place, a native of Peoria. 111., and a 
dauglUi-r of A(l;uii and Katbriiia W'iltz. 
To them have been born four sons and 
four daughters, as follows: Benjamin, 
who died at the age of three years; John, 
who died wluii five years of age; one 
child which died in infancy; F.nima, wife 
of Dr. I""rank 1'. llanaphy, and mother of 
two sons; Ida, who married Bert Buxton, 
of .\ugusta, and has five children ; Anna, 
who married Frank Cooper, of Burlington, 
and has one son ; and Paul, who married 
Miss Cora Peterson, and now resides in 
Burlington, where he is employed as a 
machinist in the Murray Iron W'orks. 
Mr. Gross has many friends, and is well 
known. He is a consistent supporter of 
the great Reimblican party, having cast 
his first ballot for Gen. L'lvsses S. (]rant 



lor president in 1872, but has never 
sought public office for himself nor been a 
candidate for public honors of any sort. 



GEORGE W. DEARLOVE. 

.\ .natul: of Des .Moines county, Mr. 
Dearlove was born in the city of Bur- 
lington, .\i>ril 7. iHr)5. the son of Richard 
and .\gna.ce ( Barnes) Dearlove, who 
were both of English birth. The father 
came from England to the United States 
in early manhood, and located first in Illi- 
nois, where he farmed for some time. 
Later he came to Burlington, and event- 
ually settled in Benton township. Here 
he purchased the farm of fifty-six acres 
on which our subject now resides, and 
here he lived till the time of his death, 
which occurred when he had reached the 
ri])e old age of eighty-four years. In the 
meantime he had brought the farm under 
culti\ation. and ])ut on all the improve- 
ments, doing much to advance the inter- 
ests of the entire community, as well as 
to make a comfortable home for his 
family. 

The mother of our subject, also a na- 
tive of England, died some eighteen years 
l)rior to the decease of her husband, and 
they both lie buried in Benton township. 

Mr. Dearlove, the subject oi this re- 
view, was one of a family of seven chil- 
dren, the third in point of birth. Four of 
these are still living, as follows: George 
\\'.: Mary, who is the wife of John Tee. 
a farmer owning eighty acres of land in 
I'enton townshi]) ; Harriet, tlie widow of 
Samuel Rutter, late of Kingston, Iowa, 
and a complete sketch of whose life is 
given elsewhere in this volume ; and 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



939 



Cora, wife of Jerry Sullivan, whose 
home is in Burlington. 

George W. Dearlove received his edu- 
cation in the schools of Kingston, Ben- 
ton township, where his parents had 
moved from Burlington while he was 
only a mere child. While he was receiv- 
ing his schooling, he was also learning 
all the minutias of farm work, and as he 
grew to manhood he remained upon the 
home farm, and took charge of it for his 
father. Afterward he purchased the 
place, and has made it his home ever 
since. 

On Jan. 24, 1902, Mr. Dearlove was 
united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth 
Brown, daughter of Joseph and Hannah 
(Mehaffy) Brown. Mrs. Dearlove is a 
native of ]\Iorning Sun, Louisa county, 
Iowa. Her father and mother are both 
still living, making their home in Louisa 
county, where the father is a prosperous 
farmer. Mrs. Dearlove was the oldest of 
four children, the others who are still 
at home being Lena, John, and Joseph. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Dearlove have been 
born two children, both born on the home 
place: Laura, born Dec. 6, 1903; and 
Martha, born Feb. 4, 1905. 

Mr. Dearlove has never neglected the 
duties of citizenship, and while he does 
not consider it within his proper province 
to seek public office, he is a consistent 
member of the Democratic party, and 
gives to that organization his unfailing 
support in all matters of importance. In 
religious matters, Mr. Dearlove was 
reared in the Episcopal church, his par- 
ents being loyal members and supporters 
of the church in Burlington, and bring- 
ing him up with a reverence for its de- 
vout ceremonial. 



CHARLES BEERE. 

When Iowa seemed to be just entering 
upon its era of development and substan- 
tial progress, Charles Beere, now deceased, 
became a resident of Des Moines county, 
and for many years thereafter was connected 
with farming interests here. He was a 
native of England, born in Oxford, March 
3, 1818, and was a son of William Beere. 
The first years of his life were spent in the 
land of his nativity, and then, anxious to 
enjoy the better business privileges of the 
United States, he secured passage on a sail- 
ing vessel, which in 1838 dropped anchor in 
the harbor of New York. He then landed on 
the shores of the New World, and in the 
Eastern metropolis he worked at the cab- 
inet-maker's trade, which he had previously 
learned in the mother country. He was thus 
employed in New York city for some years, 
during which time he purchased real estate 
in Kings county on Long Island. 

Dec. 2, 1844, Mr. Beere was united in 
marriage to Miss Annie Ruthven, who was 
born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Aug. 27, 1820, 
and came to New York in 1838 with a sis- 
ter, her parents having died when she was 
a child. Two years after their marriage Mr. 
and Mrs. Beere came to Iowa, arriving in 
Des jMoines county in 1846, at which time 
they took up their abode in Franklin town- 
ship, where Theodore Beckman now resides. 
Mr. Beere purchased eighty acres of cleared 
land and forty acres of timber, and built 
thereon a house and other buildings. For 
many years he resided on that farm, his 
labors making a great change in its appear- 
ance as he carefully tilled the soil and cul- 
tivated his crops. At length, however, he 
sold out to Theodore Beckman, and pur- 
chased land on Section 30, of the same 



040 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



township. To the original tract of one hun- 
dred and twenty acres he added until his 
widow is now the possessor of one hundred 
and tliirty acres of arable land and fifty 
acres of timber land. 

I'nto .Mr. and Mrs. Beere were born ten 
children : Margaret, who became the wife of 
William Manning, and died in 1901, at the 
age of fifty-nine years ; John, residing in Yel- 
low Springs township ; Elizabeth, the wife 
of John B. Kline, of this county; Amos, 
also of this county ; Jo.'^eph, died at the age 
of fourteen years ; Mary, the wife of Alonzo 
Nealey ; Jessie, the wife of Frank Nealey, a 
brother of her sister's husband, both residing 
in the State of Washington ; William, who 
retains his residence in this county ; Lynn, 
a fanner in California ; and Henry, who is 
living in Marysville, Cal. 

The death of Mr. Beere occurred .\pril 
14, 1868. after a residence of twenty-two 
years in this county. His worth was ac- 
knowledged by all who knew him, for in his 
business dealings he was straightforward 
and honorable, was reliable in friendship, 
and was devoted to the welfare of his wife 
and children. He worked earnestly and per- 
sistently in tlie acquirement of a compe- 
tence, and left to Iiis widow a good property. 
She has since remained upon the old home- 
stead ; and the land having increased in 
value, she is now in possession of an ex- 
cellent farm. She is one of the worthy 
pioneer women of the county, having for 
almost sixty years been a witness of the 
transformation that has taken place and 
the changes that have been wrought as a 
sturdy class of pioneer settlers have re- 
claimed this region for the purposes of civ- 
ilization, developing its wild lands into 
fertile farms, while the county has become 
settled l>y a |)rosperous people. 



CHRISTIAN J. WISCHMEIER. 

Christian J. Wischmeier, who carries 
on general farming, and is also well known 
as a stock-raiser, making a specialty of 
Hereford cattle and Poland China hogs, was 
born on Section 3, Flint River township, 
Nov. 27, 1873, his parents being Henry and 
.Mary (Boesch) V\'ischmeier. the former a 
native of Germany, while the latter was born 
in .America. The father came to the New- 
World on a sailing vessel, landing at New 
Orleans, whence he proceeded up the Mis- 
sissippi River by steamer to I'.urlington. He 
accompanied his parents on tliis triji. and 
they settled on Section 3, Flint River town- 
ship, where the grandfather of our subject 
secured a farm of seventy acres. .After the 
marriage of Henry Wischmeier, he pur- 
chased one hundred and nine acres of land 
adjoining the old homestead farm, and for 
tnany years thereafter gave his time and at- 
tention to its cultivation and improvement, 
making his home thereon until 1899, when 
he removed to Creston. Iowa. There he 
bought one hundred and sixty acres of land, 
but afterward sold it. and a year later re- 
turned to West Burlington, where he pur- 
chased forty acres of land from Henry 
PiefF, constituting a farm upon which he 
and his wife now reside. 

Christian J. Wischmeier, the youngest 
of three sons, resided with his parents until 
his marriage, his time being divided between 
school work and the labors of the fields. He 
acquired practical training in both, and 
after his marriage he purchased the old 
home place from his father. He has since 
given his attention to general agricultural 
[Hirsuits and stock-raising, and is meeting 
with fair success in his undertakings. He 
raises Hereford cattle, having about twenty 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



041 



head on his farm at the present time ; also 
twenty head of Poland China hogs. 

Feb. 21, 1900, Mr. Wischmeier was mar- 
ried to Miss Mary Reif, a native of Frank- 
lin township, and a daughter of William and 
Catherine (Wagner) Reif. Mr. Reif was 
born i\Iay 26, 1853, in Franklin township, 
Des Moines county, on the farm where he 
still resides ; and Mrs. Reif was born at 
Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, Jan. 16, 1854. 

Mrs. Wischmeier is the eldest in a family 
of two daughters and two sons, and she 
made her home with her parents until her 
marriage. Two children grace this mar- 
riage : Pearl Mar}', born Dec. 16, 1900 ; and 
Margo Catherine, born Nov. 4, 1904. Mr. 
W'ischmeier belongs to the Evangelical 
church, while his wife is a member of the 
Methodist Episcopal church. He gives his 
political support to the men and measures 
of the Republican party. 



ANTON KORF. 



AxTON KoRF. of Franklin township, is 
a native of Germany, his birth having 
occurred in Prussia, Jan. i, 1838. He was 
sixteen years of age when he came to the 
United States, landing at New Orleans, 
whence he made his way direct to Bur- 
lington, Iowa. After a short period spent 
in that city, he came to Franklin town- 
ship, Des Moines county, where he at 
first worked by the day as a farm hand. 
He was employed in that way until about 
twenty years of age, when he purchased 
a farm of forty acres in Franklin town- 
ship, and began its cultivation and im- 
provement. He built a home, placed tlie 
fields under cultivation, and continued to 



carry on the ^v•ork of the farm there for 
twenty years, when he sold that property, 
and after owning other property, he pur- 
chased his present home place of eighty 
acres in Franklin township, all of which 
is now under a high state of cultivation. 
He erected a large and substantial frame 
dwelling, put on other improvements, and 
now has a model farm. He has always 
carried on general agricultural pursuits 
and stock-raising, and his work is prov- 
ing profitable, his labors returning to him 
an excellent income. \\'hen he came to 
America he was employed at twenty-five 
cents a day, and afterward was paid seven 
dollars per month, and from this humble 
beginning he has worked his way steadily 
upward until he is now one of the sub- 
stantial agriculturists of his conimunitv. 

Mr. Korf was married, when twenty- 
seven years of age, to Mary Ann Nyhart, 
who was born and educated in Pennsyl- 
vania. Her father, Adam Nyhart, was a 
native of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, 
and became one of the pioneer residents 
of Des Moines county, following farming 
throughout the remainder of his active 
business career in Franklin township. He 
was the owner of three hundred acres of 
valuable land at the time of his death, 
which occurred when he was ninety-seven 
years of age. His remains were interred 
in a cemeter}' in Franklin township. 

Mr. and I\Irs. Korf have become the 
parents of seven children: Enuna. the 
wife of Henry Riepe. of Franklin town- 
ship, b}- whom she has three children: 
Henry, a resident farmer of Franklin 
township, where he owns and operates 
two hundred and fifty acres of land, and 
wlio married Ida Wassom ; William, a 
farmer of Union countv, Iowa, who mar- 



942 



BIOGRAPHICAL REJ'Iliir 



ried Alice Stivers, and has four children : 
Edward, who owns and conducts a farm 
of eighty acres in Yellow Springs town- 
ship, west of Mediapolis, and married 
I'ertha Thomas, by whom he has one 
child; Silas, a farmer of Henry county, 
Iowa, who wedded Caroline Feltman, and 
has two sons, the first-born, a daughter, 
dying at ago of one week ; and Sarah, who 
died at the age of fifteen years. 

Mr. Korf votes with the Republican 
party. He was a member of the German 
Lutheran church, but is now a Presby- 
terian. He belongs to that class of rep- 
resentative citizens who uphold the po- 
litical and legal status of the county, and 
co-operate in measures for its material, 
intellectual and moral welfare. His life, 
too, proves what can be accomplished by 
young men of foreign birth who have the 
determination and energj- which are the 
basis of success, and who achieve pros- 
perity in a land where effort is not ham- 
pered l)v caste or class. 



JOHN HARPER. 

John H.\rper is now living a retired 
life in Mediapolis, but for many years was 
actively and successfully engaged in agri- 
cultural pursuits. He has passed the 
eighty-third milestone on life's journey, 
and his has been an active, useful, and hon- 
orable career, so that he is now accorded 
the veneration and respect which should 
ever be given to those who have advanced 
far on the journey of life, and whose con- 
duct has ever been in harmony with up- 
right principles. 

His liirtli ipccurrcd in Ross countv, Ohio, 



Sept. 7, 1821, his parents being Joab and 
Lydia (Jones) Harper. He obtained his 
education in the old subscription schools 
common in his boyhood days, but his aggre- 
gate schooling did not cover more than 
fifteen months. However, he made the 
best of his opportunities, and by reading 
anil investigation in his leisure hours, quali- 
fied himself for teaching, which profession 
he fpllowed with success for several sea- 
sons. In 1846 he came to Burlington, 
where he taught for two years, this being 
a private school. After the first year, his 
school got so large that he had to get his 
brother, Hon. Wm. Harper, to assist him. 
In 1848 he took up his abode upon a 
farm which he purchased in Section 24, 
Yellow Springs township, comprising one 
hunilrcd and twenty acres of land. Later 
he sold that ])roperty, and bought another 
tract north of the village of Northfield, but 
on account of losing hundreds of hogs with 
cholera and a lot of cattle with an unknown 
ilisease, he was financially crippled to a 
considerable extent. In war times he also 
lost a car-load of fat hogs worth twelve 
dollars per hundred, and this was a great 
financial blow to him ; but he persevered, 
and for fifty-three years carried on general 
farming, and was also known as an exten- 
sive dealer in cattle. His shipments were 
made to various parts of the country, and 
his farming operations were carried on in 
harmony with most modern ideas of prog-* 
ress and improvement. Although difficul- 
ties anil obstacles beset him in earlier years, 
he jiersevered, and with strong purpose 
and resolute will overcame the disadvan- 
tages and hardships under which he la- 
bored. In this way he acquired a hand- 
some comjietence, and at length he sold 
his farm in order to educate his children. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



943 



To this end he hotight seven and one-half 
acres of land in Mediapolis, and removed 
to the town, in which he now has a pleas- 
ant home. Here his children were given 
good educational privileges. 

Mr. Harper was first married Jan. 12, 
1847, the lady of his choice being Aliss 
Emily Harper, a daughter of John and 
Delilah (Hughes) Harper. They became 
the parents of eight children : Josephine, 
the wife of William McClure, a resident of 
Winona, Minn. ; Lydia Jane, who died at 
the age of nine months ; Laura Lavinia, 
the wife of Zack Stahl, a resident of Day- 
ton, Wash. ; Eliza Jane, the wife of Frank 
Ware, who is living in Nebraska ; Eliza- 
beth Hughes, the wife of J. Q. Roberts, of 
Mediapolis; Anna Virginia, the wife of 
Oscar Rutherford, of Pueblo, Colo. ; Jessie 
Fremont, who became the wife of Fred 
Heizer, and is living in Sioux City, Iowa; 
and John Harlem, who married a Miss 
Harding, and resides in Hutchinson, Kans. 

Following the loss of his first wife, Mr. 
Harper married again, his second union 
being with Rebecca Heizer, a daughter of 
Fred and Margaret (Wilgus) Heizer. 

There was one child by this marriage, 
Harry Heizer, who is now living in Lead- 
ville, Colo. 

Mr. Harper also lost his second wife in 
death, and later married Amanda Torode, 
a daughter of Peter and Catherine (Brown) 
Torode. There are ten children by this 
marriage : Mary Amanda, the wife of 
John Garland, a resident of Harrisburg, 
Pa. ; Kate, who is a very capable and suc- 
cessful dressmaker, of Mediapolis ; Edna 
Leona, a trained nurse, of Scranton, Pa. ; 
Charles, who was a soldier of the Spanish- 
American War, and is now living at home ; 
Robert Hall, a resident of Coimcil r)luffs, 



Iowa ; William Franklin, who is studying 
pharmacy with his brother-in-law in Har- 
risburg, Pa. ; Lillie, Edith, Louie, and Mar- 
jorie, all at home. 

Mr. Harper has been solicited to accept 
many township and county offices, but has 
refused to become a candidate for political 
preferment. He is, however, never remiss 
in the duties of citizenship, but gives an 
active support to all measures for the gen- 
eral good, and has been a co-operative fac- 
tor in many movements which have con- 
tributed in large measure to the upbuilding 
and progress of the county. He holds 
membership in the Presbyterian church, and 
there has been naught in his life at variance 
with his professions. He has been found 
reliable in business, honorable at all times, 
and in social relations is a faithful friend 
and a devoted husband and father. 



FRANK ESAU. 



• Frank Esau, a retired business man of 
Burlington, was born at Corbach, West- 
phalia, Germany, Sept. 15, 1846. His 
paternal grandfather was a physician and 
surgeon of the Prussian army. His father, 
Carl Esau, also a native of Germany, be- 
came a physician, pursuing his education in 
Marburg, and later was private medical 
attendant to the Furst of Waldeck. He 
married Louisa Rube, his death occurring 
when his son Frank was only four years of 
age. The mother, long surviving him, 
passed away in Germany about 1894. 
Frank Esau had three brothers and one 
sister, and two of the brothers are yet liv- 
ing: Adolph, who is a high official in the 
Lutheran church of Germany ; and Rein- 



044 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



hardt, a farmer of Des Moines county. 
One brother. Carl, was a professor in the 
I'niversity of Heidelberg. 

P'rank Esau began his education in the 
common schools and afterward attended 
a gymnasium ur high school. He learned 
to speak, read, and write the German, Eng- 
lish, and French languages while attending 
the gymnasium, and he was afterward for 
several years inspector in a sugar factory 
in the province of Saxony. He came to 
the United States in 1872, on the steamer 
" Herman," which weighed anchor in the 
harlx)r of Hremen and reached the port of 
Xew "\'ork after a voyage of nine days. 

He did not tarry in the Eastern metropo- 
lis, however, but came at once to Burling- 
ton, where his brother Reinhardt was living. 
Here Mr. Esau entered upon his business 
career as a clerk in a confectionery and 
wholesale grocery house, known by the firm 
name of .Starker & Company, with whom 
he was connected for two years. He was 
then variously engaged in business until 
1888, when he became a wholesale liquor 
dealer, continuing in that line until 1898, 
with excellent success, after which he sold 
out his business and retired. He was lo- 
cated on \'aney and Washington Streets 
and had a large patronage, employing a 
traveling salesman. He has been entirely 
retired from the active world of trade for 
six years. 

Mr. E)sau was married in 1875 in Ikir- 
lington to Miss Louisa M. Range, who 
was born of German parentage in this city. 
Her father, Edward Runge, is now living 
retired in I'urlington. He was at one time 
a confectioner, and was one of the earliest 
residents of Burlington, arriving here in 
his childhood days, in 1835. Here he 
learned the confectionerv business, subse- 



<|uently established an enterprise of his own 
of that character, and after successfully con- 
ducting the business for a number of years, 
he retired. 

Mr. and Mrs. Esau now have three chil- 
dren : Etta, who is assistant principal of 
one of the public schools of Burlington, is 
a graduate of the high schools here. She 
began teaching when seventeen years of age, 
and two years later was made assistant 
principal. Charles is traveling agent for the 
Burlington Vinegar & Pickle Works, and 
resides with his father. Frank R. is book- 
keeper at Blaul's Wholesale Grocery House. 
The family home, at the corner of Seventh 
and Iowa Streets, was erected by Mr. Esau 
in 1876. 

Mr. Esau has been a member of the 
Knights of Pj-thias fraternity, and also held 
membership relations with the Knights of 
Honor and the National Union. He is a 
member of the German Lutheran church, 
being reared in that faith. In politics he is 
a Democrat. His career has been notably 
successful from the fact that he had little 
capital when he crossed the Atlantic to the 
Xew World and is to-day the possessor of a 
handsome competence that was won through 
keen foresight, capable business manage- 
ment, and close application. 



GUSTAF HERMAN BERGSTEN. 

GL'.ST.\r Her.man Bergsten, a farmer 
and stock-raiser of Franklin township, is a 
son of Peter and Carrie (Ekman) Bergsten, 
and was born in the southwestern part of 
Sweden, Aug. 25, 1843. His father was 
a farmer by occupation, and the son spent 
his early youth upon the farm. He acquired 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



94.T 



his education in the schools of his native 
country, and when sixteen years of age he 
began to learn the trades of saddlemaking 
and shoemaking, which pursuits he followed 
almost continuously until 1883. He came 
to America in 1871, and on the 1st of May 
arrived in Keokuk, Iowa, where he had 
friends living. He remained there for a 
short time, working on the canal, and later 
was employed on the construction train. 
Subsequently he secured work at his trade 
in Kinderhook, Pike county, 111. There he 
followed shoemaking for ten months, after 
which he came to Burlington, and three 
weeks later he bought an outfit, with which 
he came to Sperry and opened a shop of his 
own. There he carried on shoemaking for 
fifteen years, doing a successful business, 
as shoemaking at that time was quite a 
profitable industry. He also built up the 
hotel property there, and later traded his 
town property for forty acres of his present 
farm. He then took up his abode upon the 
farm which he had purchased from Mr. 
Gillette in 1876 — a tract of forty acres on 
Section 12, Franklin township. Two years 
later he bought twenty-nine acres from 
William Hill on the same section, and in 
1888 purchased twenty-six acres of William 
Dean, so that he now has ninety-five acres, 
constituting a good farm. He carries on 
general agricultural pursuits and stock-rais- 
ing, and is quite successful in both branches 
of his business. He raises about thirty- 
five head of Poland China hogs from his 
older stock annually, and is one of the suc- 
cessful breeders of this vicinity. He also 
raises about five head of young cattle each 
year. In all of his work he is practical and 
thoroughly reliable, and his industry and in- 
tegrity have been the salient features in his 
prosperity. 



On March 3, 1873, Mr. Bergsten was 
married to Miss Anna M. Peterson, a daugh- 
ter of Anders Peter and Gustava Shelin 
.\nderson. She was born in Sweden, Aug. 
19, 1843, a"d came to America in 1869. 
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Bergsten have been born 
three children : Ellen Aurora, the wife of 
X'ictor R. Lugn, of Huron township, and has 
one son, Alvin ; Adolph Leonard, a farmer 
living in Henry county, Iowa, married 
Alma McKenzie, and has two children, 
Elvin and Clio ; and Arthur Edwin, at pres- 
ent at Abingdon, 111., in a wagon factory. 

The parents are members of the Swedish 
Lutheran church. Politically, Mr. Bergsten 
is a Democrat. He was justice of the peace 
for sixteen years, and for most of the time 
was the only justice in the township. At his 
last election he declined to serve again. He 
lias ever discharged his duties with prompt- 
ness and fidelity, and no public trust reposed 
in him has ever been betrayed in the slightest 
degree. He is truly a self-made man, having 
worked his way upward from a very humble 
financial position until he is now classed 
with the substantial agriculturists of his 
community. 



CHARLES H. NELSON. 

Well known to the people of Burlington 
is Charles H. Nelson, ex-marshal of the 
city, and at present engaged in the cigar 
manufacturing business at the corner of 
Sixth and JelTerson Streets. Mr. Nelson 
is a native of Copenhagen. Denmark, where 
he was born Aug. 10. 1842. There he re- 
ceived liis education in the common schools, 
which he attended until the time of his con- 
firmation. He then, in 1856, took a position 
as apprentice on a sailing vessel bound for 



046 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



New York, and an reaching' pori and going 
on shore, was so pleased with New York 
that lie forgot to return to his ship in time 
for the voyage home. He then took service 
in the West Indies trade, visiting Jamaica, 
St. Thomas, and the other islands with ships 
carrying merchandise and bringing back 
sugar and niolasses. For fifteen years he 
followed the sea, his principal voyages being 
to Australia, China, and the Philippine Isl- 
ands, and has had the ill fortune to be ship- 
wrecked three times in one year, each time 
losing his ship. The first of these accidents 
occurred on the Dover Bank in the English 
Channel in 1H65, when he was under the 
English flag. He then shipped in an Amer- 
ican vessel, the " William Tell," for Sea- 
man's Bay, South Africa, touching at Per- 
nambuco, and on the outward voyage he had 
the opportunity to see the least attractive 
side of ocean life, as both the captain and 
the second mate were murdered by one of 
the crew, in revenge for the killing of a 
sailor, prior to that time, by the mate. Cape 
Town was made in safety, where he shipped 
on another boat, but just as the vessel was 
leaving the harbor she was overwhelmed 
by a hurricane, and was wrecked and lost. 
On Jan. 19, 1866, Mr. Nelson, after another 
voyage to South Africa with a cargo of 
coffee, was wrecked .'southwest of Cape 
Town, and while the ship was lost, he with 
six others escaped to shore, and started to 
walk overland to Cape Town. In order to 
reach their destination, however, it was nec- 
essary to traverse the Kalahari Desert, in 
which there had been no rainfall for a period 
of eighteen months, and in these dire cir- 
cumstances the jdurney was one of the ut- 
most hardship, onlv two of the party of six 
reaching the Cape, these being Mr. Nelson 
and a Frenchman. The remainder died of 



thirst, hunger, and privation. The trip re- 
quired seven weeks, the castaways living on 
hardtack and cheese, which they had ob- 
tained at a little village where they landed, 
and during this time they passed the car- 
casses of many wild animals that had per- 
ished from thirst, while Mr. Nelson paid as 
much as a shilling to natives for a single 
drink of water, and would, of course, have 
been willing to pay as much more, if it had 
been possible to buy it. Arrived at Cape 
Town, he shipped in the first vessel to 
.America, and has never visited Africa nor 
.•\sia since, although he did not forsake the 
sea until 1869. In the latter years of his 
nautical experience he became second mate, 
and then first mate, at one time having sole 
charge of navigating the ship on which he 
then was from Para to New York. Still 
further advancement awaited him, for he 
was offered a master's or captain's position, 
hut he refused, and taking up his residence 
in the city of New York, he became a ship 
carijcntcr. Later he accq)ted a foremanship 
• in the United States arsenal on Governor's 
Island, in New York harbor — a po.sition 
whose duties he discharged until 1872. In 
that year he removed to the West, arriving 
in Burlington on April 4, and here for two 
years he was employed as a carpenter for the 
Burlington & Missouri Railroad Company. 
He then inaugurated an independent enter- 
prise, entering the restaurant and hotel busi- 
ness, but the general panic which overtook 
all business shortly afterward rendered it 
impossible to continue. In 1876 he received 
appointment from Mayor Parsons as a 
member of the police force, on which he 
serveil until 1882, when he became deputy 
marshal. :iii<l during the following seven 
years performed such efficient service in 
that capacity that in 1889 he was elected 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



947 



marshal of the city of BurHngton, in which 
office re-election prolonged his tenure until 
1895, at which time he purchased the manu- 
facturing business in which he is now en- 
gaged. 

In 1869 our subject was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Sophia Schafer, who is a 
native of Germany, and to them has been 
born one daughter, now the wife of Samuel 
Hunneke. Mr. Nelson is an influential 
member of the local Democratic party, of 
which he has always been a supporter, and 
in recognition of his services to the party 
has a number of times received at its hands 
election to the office of township trustee, 
which he has held continuously for five or 
six years. Fraternally, he is affiliated with 
the Masonic Order, and has for thirty-one 
years been a member of Excelsior Lodge, 
No. 268, Independent Order of Odd Fel- 
lows, while in his social connection he is a 
member of the Burlington Turners' Society, 
and the German Military Society of Burling- 
ton. He has been quite successful in his last 
business venture, and is widely known 
among the people of Burlington, by whom 
his name is honored for his official record, 
which was in the highest degree creditable, 
and for the admirable personal characteris- 
tics which distinguish him. 



JOHN A. SCHRODER. 

John A. Schroder, a representative of 
the younger element in business, and now 
engaged in the conduct of a large general 
merchandise business at Augusta, Des 
Moines county, Iowa, was born in the city 
of Burlington, Iowa, July 6, 1874, eldest 
of the three children of Johan A. and Bertha 



(Schroder) Schroder, a full account of 
whose lives will be found elsewhere in this 
volume of history. When two years of age 
he removed with his parents to Augusta, 
where his father started in business with 
Mr. Lofft, and in this place he grew to man- 
hood, attending the public schools. In ad- 
dition to his school work he was assistant 
to his father in the store, having begun to 
bear a share of its duties at such an early 
age that he does not remember the actual 
date. 

Ambitious for self-advancement. Mr. 
Schroder, when he was eighteen years of 
age, matriculated in Elliott's Business Col- 
lege at Burlington, and attended that in- 
stitution for three months. His father 
having died, however, and the conduct of 
the store devolving upon his mother, she 
found that she could not do without his help, 
nor spare the necessary funds for his college 
course. He therefore reluctantly abandoned 
his education, and returning to Augusta 
acted as clerk for his mother for a number 
of years, or until February, 1900, when he 
purchased the store. In Washington town- 
ship, Lee county, Iowa, on Nov. 15, 1900, 
he wedded Miss Alice Eofif, who was born 
in that township, a daughter of \\'. S. and 
Rebecca A. (Lauther) Eoff. 

Mr. Schroder has greatly increased the 
volume of his business since purchasing the 
store in 1900, as well as the size of the stock, 
and now carries a very large and remarkably 
complete stock, while his patronage is grow- 
ing rapidly. He is an extensive buyer of 
farm produce in this section, and keeps a 
wagon on the road hauling the local output 
to Burlington, while freight is transported 
on the return trip. 

Bom and reared a Democrat, Mr. Schro- 
der has always remained faithful to his early 



0+8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



allegiance, ami lias tiftcii served his party 
in iinporlant CDnventions as delegate from 
his home community. He has never sought 
public honors, but at one time his friends 
bestowed upon liim the nomination for a 
township office. This was expressly con- 
trary to his own wish, however, and he made 
no effort to secure election. His fraternal 
relations connect him witli the Danville 
Lodge of the Masonic order, and Green 
Bay Camp, No. 4637, Modem Woodmen of 
.America, of Wever, he having transferred 
his membership to the latter from Newman 
Camp, No. 4442, of which he was a charter 
member, and in which he occupied the office 
of clerk. In a business way he has at all 
times enjoyed pronounced success, being 
well grounded in business principles and 
practice through long experience, and also 
being possessed of a natural ability which 
seems destined to win him still greater re- 
ward in tlu' future. He enjoys the regard 
and confidence of his conmnuiity in the high- 
est degree, and those who have known him 
longest are among his warmest admirers and 
well-wishers. 



JOHN A. SCHRODER. 

John A. Sciikodkr. now deceased, who 
was long a prominent resident of Augus- 
ta, Des Moines county, Iowa, and was 
numbered among the best-known and 
most successful business men of this sec- 
tion, was born in Oldenburg, Germany, 
July 4, 1849, * son of Adolph and Sophia 
Schroder. He received a good education, 
and as a boy began to learn the mercan- 
tile business, but becoming dissatisfied 
with the restricted opportunities of his 
native land, he decided to come to Amer- 



ica, and made tin- trip soon after comple- 
ting his twenty-first year, locating first in 
Illinois, where he became a clerk in a 
grocery store, and also managing the 
hoarding-house which was operated in 
connection with the store. 

( )n the way across the Atlantic, Mr. 
Schroder met and became slightly ac- 
(|uainted with Miss Bertha Schroder, and 
when they separated, she going to live in 
Wisconsin, he solicited the privilege of 
beginning a correspondence — a request 
which was refused. He nevertheless 
wrote to her, but she did not reply. The 
second year after their arrival in this 
country the father of Mr. Schroder also 
came to America, and on his buying a 
farm at Bloomfield, our subject left Illi- 
nois and joined him at that place. At 
about the same time Miss Schroder left 
Wisconsin and went to make her home 
with the family of Lawyer Carruthers at 
I'.loonifield, and there the ac(|uaintance 
was renewed, with the result that within 
a year they celebrated their marriage. 
Mrs. Schroder was born in the Province 
of Schufelbein, Prussia, a daughter of Fer- 
dinand and Albertina ( Rotka ) Schroder. 
Her. mother died when she was but eight 
years of age, and she came to America in 
1868. the voyage being made in a sailing 
vessel and occupying six weeks and three 
days. Mr. and Mrs. Schroder became the 
parents of four children, one of whom 
died in infancy and the others being as 
follows : John .\., successor of our subject 
in the conduct of the large and growing 
business at .\ugusta, and to whom a sep- 
arate chapter of this work is devoted; 
Bertha, who married Douglas Murphy, of 
Union township, and has one son, Mil- 
lard : and Otto, born Aug. 20. 1883. 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



949 



Soon after his marriage Mr. Schroder possessed of i)ractical business talents 

Tcmoved to Burlington, becoming a clerk that made him highly efficient in material 

in a flour store, and later being promoted affairs, the human side of his character 

to the position of bookkeeper for the same was fully developed, and many valued 

firm. After a residence of three years in him as a true and loyal friend. His name 

that city he decided to make an independ- is entitled to a place on the rolls of local 

ent venture, and selecting Augusta as a history, and by all those who were ac- 

promising location, he began business quainled with the measure of his worth 

here with a general stock of merchandise he is accorded credit for his work here, 

of modest proportions. This he gradu- and will long be held in remembrance, 
ally built up. for he was a man of strong 

executive ability and the highest personal 

integrity, and success came to him read- 
ily. He was engaged in business here for 
a period of about twelve or thirteen years, 
and during that time he invested large j,,,in Ramsey Stew.\kt. the owner 

sums of money in enlarging the scope of of a splendi.Uy imi)roved farm in Yellow 

Tiis operations and in permanent improve- Springs township, was bc.rn in liutler 

ments, tluis by his public spirit earning county. Ohio. March 2J. 1851. his par- 

the gratitude of his fellow-citizens and of gnts being RoUin Harris and Eleanor C. 

all who felt or still feel a worthy interest (Swan) Stewart. They came to Des 

in the progress and upbuilding .of the Moines county. Iowa, when their son was 

community. only si.x weeks old, and he was reared to 

His political faith was that of the Dem- farm life, early becoming familiar with 

ocracy, and he wielded a very potent in- the work of the fields and the best meth- 

fluence in the counsels of the party, ods of caring for the stock, 
while the confidence reposed in him by The occupation to which he was reared 



JOHN RAMSEY STEWART. 



the ]niblic is evidenced by the fact that 
he was twice elected to the office of 
township clerk for Atigusta township. 
Fraternally, he was identified with the 
Augusta Lodge of the ^lasonic order, 
and served as its secretary, while his 
religious affiliation was perhaps deter- 
mined by the circumstance of his be- 
ing born and re'ared in the Lutheran 
chiu'ch. in whose doctrines he was a be- 
liever and according: to whose tenets he 



he determined to make the source of his 
maintenance and income, and after reach- 
ing his majority he ])urehased one hun- 
dred and five acres of land in Section 5, 
Yellow Springs township, whereon he 
has since made his home. 

In addition to the ]}r<)(luction of the 
cereals best ada])ted to the soil and cli- 
mate, he also raises about seven head of 
cattle each year, and thirty head of hogs. 
All of the imiirovements were made bv 



shaped his life. He died in the year 1888, the family, the barn Ijeing erected in 1875; 

and is buried in Augusta cemetery. His while in 1902, Mr. Stewart erected his 

influence was always exerted on the side present attractive and commodious resi- 

of right and justice: and ahhough he was dcnce. The greater part of the land has 



950 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



been cleared, and is now under a liigh state 
of cultivation, the farm forming one of the 
attractive features of the landscape. 

Sept 17. 1874. Mr. Stewart was united 
in marriage to .Miss Mary E. Ryker, a 
daughter of John and .\nn (.Mitchell) 
Ryker. Six children have been born unto 
them : Clara, who is the wife of C. 
Elledge, and has two children, Forrest 
McKinley and Edwin; Earnest M.. 
Eleanor Tearl. l-'rank Wallace. Stella, and 
Russell Vernon, all at home, the last 
named being now eleven years of age. 

In bis political views Mr. Stewart is a 
Republican, and keeps well informed on 
the (|iiestions and issues of the day, but 
has no desire for public office. He be- 
longs to the Presbyterian church, and 
the motive forces in his life are in har- 
mony with his profession, constituting 
him a man of genuine worth, as well as 
a successful re])resentative of agricultural 
interests. 



PEARL ALFRED MOVERS. 

Till-: fact that many of hir native sons 
have retained their residence in 1 )es Moines 
county after att.iining adult age. is jiroof of 
the attractiveness of this section of the 
State, and of the advantages, natural aiifl 
otherwise, which it offers to its citizens. 
Mr. Movers has always lived here, his birth 
having occurred in I'ranklin townshi]), Dec. 
12, 1875. His ])arents were George W. and 
I\cbecca (IVnce) Movers. During the boy- 
hood days of their son they removed to 
Kansas, where he attended the district 
schools for four years, and later was a 
student in the district schools of Louisa 
countv. He also atleiideil school in Yellow 



Springs township, and was reared to farm 
life, his father following agricultural pur- 
suits. He. too, was born in Des Moines 
county, and is now living in Louisa county. 
He trained his .son in the practical work of 
the farm, so that he became familiar with 
the best methods of plowing, planting, and 
harvesting, and throughout his entire life he 
has continued to devote his energies to agri- 
cultural pursuits. In 1899 he purchased his 
jiresent farm from Richard r)rr. becoming 
owner of ninety-five acres situated on Sec- 
tion 2, Yellow Springs townshij). It is a 
well-improved property, and Mr. Moyers is 
continually laboring to make the land more 
|)roductive and his farm of greater value. 
He has laid some tiling, has erected some 
sheds, has dug a well, and now has a good 
wind-]niTnp. In addition to the tilling of 
the soil he raises stock, antl now has upon 
his place twelve head of cattle, six or eight 
hogs, si.x horses, and two colts. 

On March 6. 1898, was celebrated the 
marriage of Mr. Moyers and Miss Jessie 
.M. ."-^wan. a daughter of George L. and 
Jennie ((iregory) Swan. Mrs. Moyers was 
born in Louisa county, Iowa, and by her 
marriage has become the mother of three 
children : Earl, Lloyd, and Lottie, whose 
])resence adds much to the real home 
life. The parents hold membershi]! in 
the .Methodist Episcopal church, and are 
well known in this part of the State, where 
they have long resided. There have been 
no exciting chapters in the history of Mr. 
.Moyers, but he is a man who is found true 
to his duties of |)ublic and private life, and 
in all trade transactions is reliable and enter- 
l)rising. The success that he has achieved 
is due to his own efforts, and he is now 
accounted one of the substantial young 
farmers of ^'ellow Springs township. • 



DES MOIXES COUXTV. IOWA. 



P5I 



CHARLES M. LUNDEEN. 

Charles M. Lundeen, living in the en- 
joyment of well-earncfl ease, after long 
active, and successful connection with agri- 
cultural interests, now makes his home in 
Kossuth. He was born in Esteryetland, 
Sweden, Sept. 23, 1841, his parents being 
Mangus and Bertha ( Anderson ) Lundeen. 
In the place of his nativity he began his edu- 
cation in the public schools, but his oppor- 
tunities in that direction were limited, his 
services being needed upon his father's farm, 
which he assisted to cultivate and improve 
until fifteen years of age, when he started 
out to earn his own livelihood by working 
as a farm hand. He acted in that capacity 
until 1870. when, thinking that he might 
enjoy better business privileges and oppor- 
tunities in the New World, he sailed for 
the United States. 

Making his way to Burlington, he ob- 
tained a position in the lumber yard of the 
Rand Lumber Company, and later was em- 
ployed in the stone cpiarry. He worked in 
the city for a little more than three years, 
and in .September, 1873, he secured work 
on a farm, being thus employed for the 
following year. He next went to Louisa 
county, where he remained for about two 
years, and op the expiration of that period 
he purchased ten acres of land on Section 6, 
Benton township, on which he erected a 
house and other buildings. That was the 
nucleus of his present landed possessions. 
He added to this property until the home 
farm comprised one hundred and fifty-seven 
and one-fourth acres, and he also had fifteen 
acres in Yellow Springs townshi]). He con- 
tinued to reside upon his farm until i8y2, 
when he removed to Kossuth, where he has 
since jiractically lived retired. He still 



retains the ownershi]) of his farm, which is 
now rented to his son-in-law. Amil William 
Johnson. When Mr. Lundeen took posses- 
sion of the place, there was a very small 
dwelling ujjon it. but he made additions and 
improvements thereto from time to time 
until it is one of the fine farm residences of 
the township. He also added all of tlie other 
improvements to the i)lace, and he fleserves 
much credit for what he accomi)lished in the 
way of developing one of the fine farming 
properties of the locality. His labors were 
so carefully directed, and his interests so 
judiciously managed, that he acquired a 
handsome competence that now enables him 
to live retired, and at the same time enjoy 
the comforts and many of the luxuries which 
go to make life worth the living. 

( )n .April 14, 1870, Mr. Lundeen was mar- 
ried to Miss -Matilda Norrbone, a- daughter 
of Peter and Sophia (.Anderson) Xorrbone. 
The\- have become the parents of the follow- 
ing children : Charles, a resident farmer 
of Benton township : So])hia, who died at the 
age of eight years : Emma, the wife of .\mil 
W. Johnson ; Peter .Vndrew, who is living 
in Cjalesburg, 111. : .Anna, a resident of Bur- 
lington ; Alaria, at home: .Allen, who is also 
living in Burlington : Luther, who died at 
the age of twelve years ; one who died in in- 
fancy : and liertha, who died in Burlington 
Hospital, Aug. 24, 1901, when about twenty 
years of age. 

Mr. Lundeen is a member of the Swedish 
\ Lutheran church, in the work of which he 
has taken an active and helpful part. He has 
served as deacon for twenty years, and is 
still the incumbent in that office, and his 
labors have l)een effective in ])romoting the 
growth and extending the influence of the 
party. Politically, he is a Rejuiblican. with 
strong belief in the ])rinci])les of the party. 



052 



BlOGR.ll'HICAL Rlilll.W 



Tlif Swedish' citizcnslii]) of America is a 
recofjiiizod elenient of vahio in the nation, 
for the sons of Sweden who have come to 
.\mcrica have usually hecn found reliable, 
industrious, and honest ; and, takings advan- 
tage of the o|)|)ortunities of the Xew World, 
have not only won individual success, but 
have also contributed to the development 
and upbuilding^ of the localities in which 
they have resided. Mr. Lundeen is a repre- 
sentative of this class of citizenship, and is 
respected and esteemed in the county where 
he has now lonij made his home. 



ROBERT GIBSON REED. 

RoHERT Gibson RiiEO. a representa- 
tive of the farminfj interests of Des 
Moines county, is the owner of a very 
uell-im])roved farm, and gives to the 
management of this place the ipialities 
which are always essential in the cultiva- 
tion of land and the raising of stock. Me 
is ever watcliful of opiiortunities, indus- 
trious, and i)ersevering, and to these char- 
acteristics he owes his present ])rosperity. 
His birth occurred- in (hiernsey county-, 
( )hio, ( )ct. J.V if<5-J. His parents were 
Matthew and .Mary ( Walkinshaw) Reeil, 
wh<) came to hnva when their son Robert 
was only two and a half years old. 

Tliey lived tor al)out a year on what 
is known as the L'urran farm, in Louisa 
county, west of Morning .Sun, and after- 
ward came to ^\•llow Springs township, 
settling on a farm which is now owned 
by his mother. The father improved this 
place, transforming a tract of raw jirairie 
land into rich fields, making it one of the 
best farms of the townshi]). The place 



comjjrises one hundre<l and sixty acres, 
and is situated on Section <■). The family 
endured many of the hardsiiips and diffi- 
culties incident to frontier life, anil all of 
the arduous task of developing a new- 
farm devolved uiion the father and the 
sons. 

Uobert (i. Reed, s])ending his boyhood 
days uiKler the jjarental roof, was edu- 
cated in the district schools of his town- 
ship, lie was reared to farm life, taking 
his place behind the plow when a young 
lad, and working in the fields from the 
tirtie of early s])ring i)lanting until the 
crops were har\ested in the late autumn. 
Througlu)Ut his entire life he has car- 
ried on agricultural ])ursuits. first as his 
father's assistant, and later on his own 
accoimt. 

In 1873 he purchased eighty acres of 
land from S. E. .Mcl-llhinncy, and after- 
ward bought forty acres of CI. McElhin- 
ney. He has placed all of the improve- 
ments upon his ])ro])erty, including a 
modern residence, which was built in 
H)()). Tile barn was erected in i8<)0, and 
is a structure thirty-four by fifty feet. 
He has also ])ut \\\> a iiKxlern wind-pump, 
and other farm e<|uipments and buildings. 
Everything is kej)! ii) good re])air, and 
the ])lace is divided into fields of conve- 
nient size by well-kejjt fences. .Mr. Reed 
raises about one hundred head of Poland 
China, Chester White, ami lierkshire 
hogs, and he also raises some horses. He 
is an excellent judge of stock, and his 
labors as a stock-raiser are attended with 
gratifying success. 

Mr. Reed was married l-"eb. 22. 1882, 
to .Miss Elizabeth I'.aird. a daughter of 
jciliii ;ind (atlu-rine ( McElhinney) Haird. 
Tlv.-v have two children. Catherine Retta 



nns MOfXHs couxt)-. loir.i. 



955 



and Mary Viletta. twins, who were Ixirn 
Feb. 19, i8()i, but tlu- latter died when 
only se\'en months old. The parents are 
members of the Reformed ]'resl)_\-terian 
church, and are interested in its work, 
and in all progressive measures that tend 
to benefit the county along material, 
social, and moral lines. 



JOHN M. CLINE, 

JoHX M. C'lixe, residing in Section 10, 
Augusta townshi]). where he is engaged in 
farming and stock-raising on his farm of 
three hundred and twenty acres, was born on 
the section where lie now resides, Nov. 17, 
1848, a son of Wilson S. and Maria 
( IJrown) Clinc. The father was born near 
Liberty. L'nion county, Ind., Feb. 18. 1818, 
and was the son of John Cline. a farmer. 
The mother, who was a daughter of Peyton 
Brown, was also a native of Union county. 
Indiana, the date of her birth being Jan. 5. 
1825. and their marriage was celebrated 
Jan. 5. 184,^. 

In the fall of 1842. Wilson S. Cline and his 
father made a trip to the West, and bought 
lanil here, althnugh the elder Cline never re- 
moved to this State. Their ])urchase com- 
prised three hundred and thirty acres of 
wild land, being a claim which they bought 
of a Mr. Fikenbury. Soon after their mar- 
riage, the ]«rents of our subject, together 
with a partv of other ])ioneers. left their 
Indiana home. and. driving across the 
countrv in wagons, reached and crossed the 
Mississi]jpi River at ISurlington on March 
26, 1845. effecting a crossing on the ice. 
On tlie land which they liad secured, a small 
lotr cabin was alreadx' standing, and in 



this they lived for a year, at the end of which 
time, however, they built a three-room log 
house that afforded a degree of comparative 
comlort. and fcjrmed their place of residence 
until i860. In the latter year a connno- 
dious two-story frame structure was erected, 
and this is still in use. 

The subject of this review is one of a 
family of six children, as follows : Henry B. ; 
Alary, who became the wife of .Samuel 
Welch, and at ])resent resides near Middle- 
town, has two children; Juhn .M , ; Lewis, 
wh(j died at the age of seventeen years ; 
Flvira, who married Dr. Henry 1 'aimer, and 
lives at I'"ort Dodge, Iowa: and Wilson A., 
will) married .Miss .Vnna Shirley, and died 
at ( )maha. Nebr., leaving one child. He is 
buried in Long Creek cemetery. The father 
of this family was a man of strong char- 
acter and pronounced ability, and to him 
was accorded the res])ect and esteem of 
all who knew him. He was public spirited, 
and as a conscientious believer in the de- 
clared |)rinciples of the great Democratic 
party, never neglected his duty as a citizen, 
but he was not numbered among those who 
seek the adventitious distinction of public 
ciftice. Of a strong religious nature, he 
was a believer in the teachings of the Prcs- 
Interian church, and assisted the congrega- 
tion at Middletown in building its house of 
worship. He died Dec. 28, 1898, while his 
wife's demise preceded hi,s own many years, 
occurring h'eb. 14. 1887. It is to them and 
to such as they that the West owes its pres- 
ent wonderful development and unrivaled 
])ositiou among the most ])rosperous sections 
of the country and of the world : and for 
the hardshijjs and deprivations to which they 
willingl}- submitted in order to achieve hon- 
orable independence, they deserve all credit. 

Jolm M. Cline passed his early years at 



956 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



the partiital ImiiK'. iiicantinK- sociiring a 
fjuod education in the (hstrict schools, and 
there he attained to years of maturity. On 
March 27. 18(^5. he wedded Miss Flora 
Miner, of West I'oint, Lee county. Iowa. 
Mrs. (line was born in L'nion township, 
Des .Moines comity, a daufjhter of .\atlian 
and Susan ( .-\blxit ) .Miner. Since their 
marriajje .Mr. and Mrs. C'line have resided 
on the old home farm, and Mr. Cline has 
ac(|uired very extensive holdings in real 
estate, first purchasing forty acres in the 
Skunk River bottoms in 1872, and afterward 
one hundred and twenty, and one hunilred 
and sixty acres, successively, so that he now 
owns three hundred ami twenty acres, all 
of which is classed as among the most val- 
uable land in the comity. The imi)rove- 
ments are ample and all of the best. 

I-'raternally. he was made a .Mason in 
.\iigusta Lodge, X(3. 7. of which he has 
served as .senior warden. In his attitude 
toward jiartisan political (piestinns he is 
one of that increasingly influential body 
known as independent. He has never cared 
for |)uhlic office. |)referring to devote his 
time l<i |)rivMte business; but despite his pro- 
testations to that effect his fellow-citizens 
at one time elected him to the office of jus- 
tice of the i)eace. Ik-, however, declined 
the honor. In matters of business he has 
been distinctly successful, his ability com- 
manding the general respect, and by his 
fairness and just dealing he has made many 
friends. 



HENRY GREVE. 

Hknrv Gufat. came to Flint River town- 
ship, when a lad of fourteen years, and has 
been a respected ami nuich-csteemed citi- 



zen of the township for forty years, and well 
ileserves mention in this review as one of 
the ]>romincnt farmers of the community. 
He is a son of Henry and Mary Greve. and 
was l)orn in \\'esti)halia. (iennany, Nov. 
17. 185 1. When he was a babe, his ])arents 
came to .Xmerica, and settled in Niagara 
county. New York, where they remained till 
i9i^-,. when they came West and located in 
Hes Moines county, Iowa. They at once 
bought a farm in I'.enton townshii), near 
l.atty, Iowa, making many needed improve- 
ments on it. and there the aged father still 
resides. The mother of our subject died 
in I'ebruary, HJ03. at the ripe age of eighty- 
three years, seven months, and nine days. 
Lloyd Reipe. a ne|)hew of Henry Greve, is 
now operating the old home farm. 

( )ur subject began his education in the 
schools of Niagara county. New York, and 
completed the .same in the scIkxiIs of Pien- 
ton townshii). I-'or two years after leaving 
school he was engaged by tin- railroad in 
the roundhouse as fireman and general 
handy man. He was cpiite successfid for 
a number of years in running a threshing 
machine, which be owned, in the neighbor- 
hood. 

April 21. 1875, Mr. (ireve became the 
husband of Miss I'Vederica (hardener, 
daughter oi William and Elizabeth (Reipe) 
Gardener. Mrs. Greve was born in West- 
l>halia. ( lerniany, Nov. 1 1, 1S55, and came to 
.Vmerica with her parents, who located in 
lUirlington, Iowa, in 1871. The father was 
a ])rominent farmer of the county, and died 
in i8()5, aged fifty years. an<l the kind and 
loving motlur in 1877. at the age bf sixty- 
eight years. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Greve were the jiarents of 
seven children, of whfnn but three remain: 
Aima. born lul\ 1. 1877. ijied July 31, of 



DES MOIXRS COUNTY, IOWA. 



957 



the same year; Helena, born Nov. 25, 1878, 
died in August, 1884; Rosa born June 26, 
1883, married Charles E. Johnson; Louisa, 
an infant, who .died Aug. 5, 1886; Law- 
rence, born Oct. 2, 1885, died Aug. 5, 
1901 ; Amelia, born Aug. 13, i8yo; and 
Elsie, the baby, born May 13, 1895, both at 
home. 

In 1901 Mr. Greve purchased seventy- 
three acres of fine farm land in the north- 
west corner of Flint River township, in 
Section 6, from the Henry Fogle heirs, and 
moved from the home farm in Benton town- 
ship. He has a number of good horses and 
a lot of fine cattle, and his farm is well 
equipped with all the modern machinery 
and implements necessary to operate a farm. 

He has always been a stalwart Republican, 
and constantly strong enough to decline anv 
office his party might wish to confer upon 
him. He and his estimable wife are promi- 
nent and influential members of the German 
Lutheran church. He is an upright citizen, 
a good neighbor, a true friend, and a man 
of great activity and value in the community 
where he has lived for so long a time. 



FREDERICK WILLIAM SWYGARD. 

Frederick Willi.xm Swvgard, although 
still retaining the ownership of the old home 
farm, is now living a retired life in Medi- 
apolis. He was born in Wiirtemberg, Ger- 
many, Aug. II, 1833, and is a son of Simon 
Peter and Hannah (Schermeier) Swygard. 
He was only six years of age when brought 
to America by his parents, who crossed the 
Atlantic on one of the old-time sailing ves- 
sels, which was sixty-one days in making 



that voyage. The family iKinic was estab- 
lished in Baltimore. .Md.. and the next sum- 
mer the |)arents removed to Frederick City, 
Aid., where the father engaged in weaving, 
having previously learned that trade. He 
lived at Frederick City for about three 
years, and then removed to Washington 
county, Maryland, where he resided until 
1848, when he made a journey in a freight 
wagon to Pittsburg, and thence down the 
( )hio and up the Mississippi Rivers to Bur- 
lington, accompanied by his family. They 
remained in I'.urlington until 1855, and then 
removed to Louisa county, where the father 
purchased one hundred and twenty acres of 
land. He at once began the cultivation and 
im])rovenient of a farm, on which he con- 
tinued to make his home until his death 
in the year 1858. He was long survived by 
his wife, who died .Aug. 20, 1900, at the very 
advanced age of eighty-nine years, her birth 
having occurred Aug. 11, 181 1. In their 
family were four children : Frederick Will- 
iam ; William, deceased; John P., who has 
also ]jassed away ; and Benjamin, who died 
in Burlington in 1904. Following the death 
of her first husband the motlier became the 
wife of Frederick Jacob Aliller. 

Mr. Swygard, of this review, accompa- 
nied his parents on their various removals, 
and with Ihe family came to Iowa in 1848. 
He lived in Burlington with the family for 
several vcars, and then took up his abode on 
the old homestead farm : 'ami when his 
father died, he purchased the interest of the 
other heirs in the property, and took pos- 
session of that farm, to which he afterward 
added a tract of forty acres. He made his 
home there until 1892, when he retired to 
private life, taking up his abode in Medi- 
apolis. where he still resides. However, he 
retains the ownershi]) of the old homestead, 



g58 



niocR.U'iiic.ii. Ri:i inir 



which is just across the Ixnindary hue of 
Des Moines county, and for many years he 
was actively engaged in its improvement, 
development, and cultivation. AH \\h>> vis- 
ited the locality during that period and saw 
his well-tilled fields and good improvements, 
knew the owner to he a man of enterprise 
and activity in his business life. The neat 
and thrifty appearance of the place indicated 
his practical and progressive spirit. The 
ony interruption to his business career was 
at the time of the Civil War. 

.\ug. i). 1862. Mr. Swygard enlisted as 
a member of Comi)any C. Thirtieth Iowa 
Infantrv. with which he served until 18^)3. 
particii)ating in all the battles and skir- 
mishes of his regiment, .\lthough often in 
the thickest of the fight, taking part in 
twenty-two dilTerent engagements, he was 
never wounded. l)ut he made a creditable 
military record as a brave and fearless sol- 
dier, never faltering in his allegiance to the 
old flag and the cause it represented. 

On Jan. 1. 1S51;. Mr. Swygard was mar- 
rietl to Miss Helena ^'ugenheimer. a daugh- 
ter of William and Susamia ( Knippenber- 
ger) Yugenheimer. They became the i>ar- 
ents of .seven children: William Henry, 
born in Louisa county. Sept. 1. iSro. was 
iiiaiTii<l to .Miss Marie .Magdelene Herges, 
a daughter of John Henry and .\nna Chris- 
tina Louise (\oldorf) Herges. There are 
.six children of this marriage: I'rederick 
William Henry, who is living in Monmouth. 
111., where he is connected with the gas 
works: Mimiie Louise: William Ldwin ; 
Carl John: John I'eter Herman; and \inla 
Lucinda. John V. Swygard was the second 
of the family, anil was a farmer by occui)a- 
tion. .\nna Matilda is the wife of Henr\ 
Todd, and lives in. Oklahoma. Charles 1". 
married Carolin.i Hummel, of Peoria, ill.. 



and they have four children : Ida C, Her- 
man S., Dorothy Lillian, and Lawrence E. 
James K. married Lula Kline, a daughter of 
John Kline, of whom mention is made else- 
where in this work. Mary Helena is the 
wife of I'rank Nelson, an imi)lement dealer 
of Mediapolis, and their children are: Min- 
nie Fern, Emma Evaline, Stanley, HaroUL 
and Malcolm. Deljorah Evaline is the wife 
of John Loper. a barber at ( )akville, Iowa, 
.iud they have four children : Leslie L., Dal 
n.. Keva. and Marvin. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Swygard are well known 
in Mediapolis and in the .soiuhern part of 
Des Moines county, as well as across the 
border in the county where their old home 
farm lies. Mr. Swygard was a represent- 
ative agriculturist, cajjably conducting his 
farming interests: and now, in the enjoy- 
ment of a well-earned ease, he is living in 
the village surrounded by the comforts anil 
nian\ of the luxuries that go to make life 
worth living. 



JOHN BERNHARD BOHLEN. 

loiiN 1'.i:k.\ii.\ki> IJoiii.K.N. who is a 
(lerman by birth, has been a resident of 
Des Moines county since iS<)J. where he 
has been a ])ros])erous farmer the greater 
part of the lime. He is a son of Henry 
and .\leda (Lubbers) llohlen, being born 
in Oldenburg, (k-rmany. May 2H. 1875. 

His education was received in the com- 
mon schools of his hi>me ])lace, where he 
also assisted his father, who was a farmer, 
until he was seventeen years old. Com- 
ing to .\merica in i8<>i he located at once 
in r.urlington. where he first obtained 
work witii tile Hnrg Wagon Comi)any. 
After working iure for soiiu- time he was 



DES MOIXRS COUXTY. IOWA. 



g5^> 



later employed for three niontlis in the 
Chicago, Burlington & Oiiincy Railroad 
shops. About this time he gave up shop 
work and engaged in outdoor work, ac- 
cepting a position to haul sand for two 
months for the improvement of Osborn 
Street. Soon after an opportunity pre- 
sented itself, and our subject attended 
school in Danville, wdiere he acquired a 
better knowledge of the English lan- 
guage. He then returned to farm life, 
buying eight}- acres of land in Section 24, 
Flint River township, and wdiere he has 
lived and farmed since igoo. To-day he 
has some forty acres under cultixation, 
and has built a good barn, besides making- 
other needed substantial improvements. 

In June, 1903, Mr. Bohlen, with a num- 
ber of other farmers, organized the l-dint 
River Valley Telephone Company, and he 
was elected one of the directors. The 
capital stock of the company is about one 
thousand dollars, with a list of twenty- 
four subscribers, who are all connected 
with the city telephones. 

Mr. Bohlen was married, Felx 18, 1897, 
to Aliss Lena Moehlman, daughter of 
Frederick and Sbphia ( Luers) Aloehlman. 
They are the parents of the following four 
children: Amanda: Herbert, who died 
Dec. II, 1902, aged one year and four 
months; Emil ; Martha: and Esther, the 
baby. 

Mr. and Mrs. llohlen are members of 
the German Baptist church, where the 
former has 1)een a teacher and superin- 
tendent of the .Sunday-school. Politically, 
he is a Republican, but generally acts in- 
dependently. He served as school direct- 
or for one term in 1903. He is now tak- 
ing the .Scranton home study course of 
Telephone Engineering. 



In reading liiis red ird \vi' find .\li'. Boli- 
Icn to yjossess an active and progressive 
spirit in all lines that pertain to the ad- 
\anccment of his fellow-tnen, and though 
quite a young man in ,vears, vt't li\' his 
great ambition and willing han<ls lie has 
achieved financial success, and througli 
iiis integrit}- and uprightness he has won 
the respect and gdnd-will of his frienils 
and neighbors. 



DAVID JOHN KELLEY. 

The entire life of David John Kelley has 
been spent in Des Aloines county, as a 
farmer, giving the strength of his manhood 
and intelligence to the agricultural suprem- 
acy of this section of the State. He is luim- 
bered among the native sons, his birth 
having occurred in blint River idwnsliip, 
July 16, 1868. He is a son of William and 
Elizabeth (Porter) Kelley, who were pio- 
neer settlers of Des Moines county, where 
thev have been i)ros])erous farmers for many 
vears. ()ur subject received his early edu- 
cation in the district schools of I'lint River 
townshi]). .\fter leaving school he began 
working on iiis father's farm, remaining so 
empioxed until his marriage, which occurred 
Feb. 13, i8()3- Ili>^ wife's maiden natue was 
Miss Mary Elizabeth Dodds. daugiiter of 
Samuel and Sarah (Allison) Dodds. To 
them one son has been born : Porter .Mlison, 
l)orn June 18, 1898. 

Mr. ;md .Mrs. Kelley began their wedded 
life in Danville townshiiJ, where ihey re- 
mained for two years. They then moved to 
the Wapello road, ami have lived in this 
vicinity ever since, buying the farm of one 
hundred and sixty acres in the northwest 



o6o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



corner of Section 26. in September, 1901, 
and which is now tlieir jiresent liomc. This 
was the first farm in the townsliip tliat sold 
for one hundred dollars an acre. It is con- 
sidered as gootl land as the county affords, 
and is constantly increasing in value. Mr. 
Kelley is occupied all the time doing general 
farming and stock-raising. He feeds two 
loads of hogs and two car-loads of cattle 
annually, and has a number of gcKxl horses. 
.Ml the improved machinery may be found 
on his i^lace. and everything indicates thrift 
and energy. 

Mr. Kelley gives his political allegiance 
to the Democratic party, and through his 
untiring efforts has accomplished nuicli for 
his community. He belongs to the Independ- 
ent Order of Odd Fellows, and has ])asse(l 
through the chairs, \ie\ved in a personal 
light, he is a strong man of excellent judg- 
ment, fair in his views, and highly honor- 
able in his relations with his fellow-men. 
and has won the favorable regard of his 
fellow-citizens to a marked degree. 

.\ sketch of William Kelley, father of 
David, of this review, and a sketch of his 
brother, James Kelley, of I'liiil River town- 
ship, will be found on another i)age in this 
volume. 



ZURO VANDEMARK. 

ZuRo \'.\ni)i:mauk. residing on his farm 
on Section 17. I'ranklin township, where 
he owns and cultivates eighty-five acres 
of land which is rich and arable, was 
born in Luzerne county, I'eiinsylvania, 
June 28, 1837. his parents Ixnng IClijah 
and Margaret ( I'ellis ) X'andemark. Both 
were natives of Luzerne county, Pennsyl- 
vania, the former born March 27. 1814. 



and the latter March 18, 1818. They were 
married (.)ct. 18, 1835. ^nd Mrs. Vande- 
mark died May 25, 1893. They came to 
Iowa in 1859, settling in Des Moines county, 
where the father purchased eighty acres of 
land in I'ranklin township and a tract of 
similar pro])ortions in Yellow Springs town- 
ship. Here he followed farming until his 
later years, and as an agriculturist was prac- 
tical in his methods, systematic in all that 
he did, and resolute in carrying forward 
to successful completion whatever he under- 
took. He died at the venerable age of 
eighty-two years, while his wife passed 
away at the age of seventy years. Both 
were members of the Methodist church, 
and their remains lie buried in the old stone 
church cemetery in Franklin township. Mr. 
X'andemark was a Democrat in his political 
views, and for eight years served as super- 
visor of Franklin townshij). in which office 
his duties were discharged with jiromptness 
and fidelity. In the family were twelve 
children, eight of whom are now living. 

Zuro X'andemark remained at the place of 
his birth until about twenty-one years of 
age. and acquired his education in the public 
schools. When not busy with his text-books, 
his attention was largely given to farm 
labor, and thus he received practical training 
in the vocation which he has followed since 
attaining man's estate. He, too, is num- 
bered among the veterans of the Civil War 
that Iowa furnished to the L'nion, for in 
1863 he joined the boys in blue of Company 
r>. Fifteenth Iowa Infantry, thus .serving 
until the close of hostilities. He was sta- 
tioned in the .Southern States. — Tennessee, 
( ieorgia. North and South Carolina, — and 
took part in many skirmishes and engage- 
ments. In riiiladelphia, in 1865, he re- 
ceived an honorable discharge, having been 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



q6i 



ill in a hospital there, so that he was unable 
to participate in the grand review in Wash- 
ington which was the closing event and 
brilliant finale of the war. 

His military service ended, Mr. Vande- 
mark returned to Franklin township, where 
he took up the occupation of farming, and 
not long afterward he purchased his present 
farm, where he has lived continuously since, 
devoting his energies to the tilling of the 
soil, and to some extent he has also fol- 
lowed stock-raising. He was active in farm 
work until about fifteen years ago, when 
he lost his eyesight. 

On Feb. 19, 1869, Mr. \'andemark wed- 
ded Miss Eliza J. Hines, a daughter of 
Henry and Elizabeth (Ping) Hines, who 
were early settlers of Franklin township, 
this county, coming here from Kentucky. 
Mr. Hines was a prominent farmer of the 
locality, and both he and his wife died in 
Franklin township, and were buried in the 
old .stone cemetery. They had been married 
on Feb. 19, 1845, and traveled life's journey 
together for forty-three years, Mr. Hines 
passing away June 3, 1888, and his wife on 
May. 24, 1899. ^Irs. Vandemark was born 
on her father's farm in that township, and 
attended the common schools near his home. 
She became the mother of twins, but both 
died in infancy, and Mr. and Mrs. \'ande- 
mark now have an adopted son. Alfred, 
who resides with them, and operates the 
farm. He married Miss Mable Kline, who 
was also adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Vande- 
mark when she was eight years of age. 
There is one child of this marriage, — Al- 
fred L. \'andemark. 

Our subject and his wife, and also their 
adopted children, are members of the Meth- 
odist church, and in politics Mr. Vandemark 
is a Republican. His life has been honor- 



able, his conduct manl\- and sincere, and the 
.sterling traits of his character have won him 
the respect and confidence of his fellow- 
men. 



FRED LEICHT. 



There is no man in Des Moines county 
toward whom the people feel more kindly, 
or one who is more highly respected, than 
the subject of this review. We can confi- 
dently say no man holding public office has 
given better satisfaction, and the beautiful 
appearance of our lovely Aspen Grove cem- 
etery speaks for his ability and energy. 

Fred Leicht is a son of Peter and 
Philipina Leicht, and was born in Sie- 
beldinger, Landan county, Bavaria, Ger- 
many, April, 9, 183 1. His parents were 
natives of the same place, and never came 
to America. They were the parents of 
twelve children, of whom five grew to 
majority, the others dying in infancy. After 
receiving a very limited education in the 
schools of his home place, Mr. Leicht 
helped on his father's farm, principally in 
the vineyard. In 1847 '^^ came to America 
by way of New Orleans, in one of the old- 
time sailing vessels, being some sixty-two 
days on the briny deep. 

He first located in Cincinnati, Ohio, 
where he learned to make chairs, and re- 
mained there and in Louisville, Ky., till 
1855. He then came West and settled in 
Burlington, working one year at his trade, 
and the next .seven years was a successful 
farmer of Union township. Returning to 
Burlington, he was employed for two years 
as carpenter by the Chicago, FUirlington & 
Quincy Railroad. 

In the fall of 1866 Air. Leicht began 



g62 



lilOURAI'UlCAL REriEir 



\M irking as sexton of As])cn Grove ceme- 
tery, anfl to-day he is lioldinf; the same posi- 
tion, — a period covering nearly forty years. 
This cemetery is conceded to be one of the 
finest in the State, if not of the Xorthwest ; 
it contains about seventy acres of ground. 
\\ hen he first assumed control of it it was 
only a very small place ; but from time to 
time it has been necessary to add to it. and 
.\lr. Leicht.now eniiiloys ten people to care 
for it. .\ineteen years ago the corporation 
erected a cottage for Mr. Leicht on the 
grounds, in w liich he resides. He has given 
great care and attention to every detail, 
attfiiding various cemetery associations 
luld in some of the large Eastern cities. 
The natural beauty of the grounds is 
greatly admired, and each year valuable 
improvemeiUs are made under the direction 
of llie faithful su])erintendent, Mr. Leiclil. 
There is scarcely a family resitling in Bur- 
lington to-day whom he has not directly or 
indirectly assisted in sorrow. 

.March 4. 1S53. .Mr. Leicht niarritd Miss 
.Anna Maria Dreher. in Cincinnati, Ohio. 
Mrs. Leicht was born March 31. 1834. and 
was a daughter of John Thobald and Kath- 
erine ( i'>lemwein ) Dreher, natives of 
Siebeldinger. (iermanx. Mrs. Leicht came 
to .America in 1S31, by way of .New York. 
Mr. and Mrs. Leicht became the parents of 
a large family, having eleven children, of 
whom nine are living: l'hili])ina. born in 
Cincinnati, Ohio. Jan. 7, 1S54, married 
Fred Liechtenburg; Henry, born in Wwt- 
linglon. Dec. 14. 1855. <lied in I'orl .\ra<Ii- 
.son. Iowa, July 7, iSt;3. and is buried there; 
John \\'., born in llurlington, .March 20, 
1857. married Miss Caroline Lucas, and is 
a ])rosperous grocery merchant in llurling- 
ton : .Amelia, born June 7, i85<), is the wife 
of .Adam Walker, being married Oct. 28, 



1877, and has six chililren : IVtcr. a success- 
ful grocer of r>urlington. born Dec. 7, i86r. 
married Miss Lena Rundorf Sept. 16. 1882, 
and has three children ; Matilda, born .April 
14. 18(^)4. married William Thienes Aug. 8, 
1883. who died Xov. 10. i8r)4; Frederick, 
born Xov. 19. i8f)6; Emma, born Feb. 9, 
i8rxj. married George C. Hassman .May 7. 
1890. and has three children. Hazel. Clif- 
ford, and Grace; I'ertha. born Oct. 21. 
1871, died in infancy; Frank, born Xov. 
20. 1873. married Miss .M;md .Metzger. of 
lUirlington. April 26, 1(^05 ; George, born 
Sept. 30. 1875. married Miss Mary Olson 
Feb. 22. 1903. 

Mr. and Mrs. Leicht shared the many 
joys and sorrows of married life for over 
fifty years, and had the pleasure of celebrat- 
ing their golden wedding anniversary, upon 
which occasion they received many congrat- 
ulations and good wishes from their many 
friends. Alarch 9. KJ05. a day or two over 
two years from this joyous time. Mrs. 
Leicht. the devoted wife and loving mother, 
was called to her heavenly home, and her 
loss was deeply de])loreil liy the whole com- 
munity. Her life was made up of kind and 
loving deeds, and she jiosses.sed a beautiful 
and retiring nature rarely equaled. She 
was carefully and tenderly laid away in a 
beautiful spot close to the home cottage, 
and her grave receives many beautiful 
llowers as tributes of love and respect from 
friends in all stations of life. 

Mr. Leicht's home is now presided over 
by his widowed daughter, Mrs. Thienes. 
In iiolitics he votes for the man whom he 
thinks best suited for office, but is inclined 
toward the Republican i)arty, though he 
never cared for public rect)gnition. He was 
formerly a member of the Druids, — a se- 
cret societv, — and for several vears was the 



DES MOIXES COUXTV. IOWA. 



Q63 



treasurer of the same. He holds memher- 
ship in the First Evangehcal German 
church. Mr. Leicht is a very plain and un- 
pretentious man. broad and hberal in his 
views, warm-hearted and genial. There is 
probably no one having a larger acquaint- 
ance in the county than he has. His duties, 
which are of a hard nature, have been 
promptly and faithfully performed in all 
conditions of weather. He is rapidly ad- 
vancing in years, and the cares and burdens 
of his active life have made some inroads 
upon his health, but his thousands of friends 
hope and trust he will be spared for many 
years to come, and that his life of honesty 
and uprightness will receive a just reward. 



FREDRICK SUESSENS. 

UxE of the highly respected citizens of 
Des Moines comity, Iowa, is Fred Sues- 
sens, now residing on his large farm of 
three hundred acres in ]^)urlington town- 
ship, just north of the city of Burlington. 
He is a native of Germany, where he was 
born May 4, 1851, the son of Fredrich 
and Anna (Jonkermann) Suessens, and 
resided in his native land until he attained 
his twenty-first year, meantime recei\ing 
a good education in the ])ublic schools. 

It was in 1871 that he came to seek the 
wide opportunities of America, and land- 
ing at New York, he came at once to 
Iowa, locating in the city of Burlington, 
■where he remained for two years, at the 
end of which time he ]nirchased his ])res- 
ent farm of fertile agricultural lands, 
where he has ever since continued to re- 
side. While the entire tract at that time 
consisted of wild and untilled lands, it is 



now praclicallv all under culti\ation, and 
1)\ the fostering care and sound practical 
judgment of Mr. Suessens, has become 
one of the finest farms in Des Moines 
county. 

The imjjrovements are all of his own 
making, and include a large and modern 
frame dwrlling-house, which is fitted up 
with many of the latest conveniences de- 
\ised by mechanical ingenuity to min- 
ister to the comfort and ease of the occu- 
|)ants. Here he has resided ever since 
.first making it his home, devoting his 
time to general farming and to stock-rais- 
ing. That he has succeeded from a pe- 
cuniary point of view is amply evidenced 
l)y the high state of efficiency to which he 
has brought his farm as a source of ])ro- 
duction, as well as by the e.xct'Ilent ap- 
pearance and general atmi)S])here of order 
and neatness which |)revail all o\er the 
farm. 

< )n Xo\-. 25, 1873, Mr. Suessens wed- 
ded Miss Catherine Hadeler, wdio, like 
iiimself, is a native of Germany, and came 
to the I'nited -Slates in 1871. 'Vo them 
have been born eleven children, four of 
whom are living, as follows: Lena, wife 
of Fred Hickenback, a farmer of liurling- 
ton township: and .Minnie. Mary, and Em- 
ma, who are members of their father's 
household. Those deceased are Anna, 
F,da, John, and four who died in infancy. 
Mr. and IMrs. Hickenback are the parents 
of three sons, Raymond. .Mberl, and Al- 
fred, the latter being deceasetl. 

Mr. Suessens is himself one of a family 
of four children, all of whom still survive, 
although the parents are now deceased, 
the father having died at about the age of 
fift\-seven years, and the mother at the 
a])proxiniate age of sevent\- years. They 



1)6+ 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



are buried in i'.iirliiij^ton township. The 
parents of Mr. Siiessens came to .\nicr- 
ica in 1874. and made llicir home witli 
him tUirinj,' tlie remainder of their lives, 
the father, who was in (iermany a farmer, 
leading a retired life in this country. 

A Democrat in pohtics, and a con- 
scientious heliever in the |)rinci])les of 
that ])arty. he has nevertheless never 
eared for the honor of holdinfj ])ublic 
office, but has devoted his abilities to 
business affairs almost exclusively, al- 
thoufjh he was at one time induced by 
his friends to accept tlie office of super- 
visor of the |)ublic hifjhways, and in that 
ca|)acity performed useful service. 

While he has been always conspicu- 
ously successful in dealing with the ma- 
terial side of life, he has, on the other 
hand not neglected the cause of religion, 
.•mil iiimself ami wife are both faithful 
members of the (ierman Lutheran church, 
to the sujjport of which he is a liberal 
contributor, and in whose work he has 
ever taken a deep and substantial inter- 
est. Mis life is a glorious e.\em])lification 
of the energy and enteri)rise that have 
made our land what it is to-day, — the 
proudest among the nations of the earth. 
And withal, his integrity and strict hon- 
esty in all his relations with his fellow- 
men ha\e gained him tlie universal re- 
spect, and made him countless friends 
who are ready to testify to his high and 
admirable qualities. 



FRANKLIN RENNER. 

At an early perind in tju' dcvtlnpnient 
of Des Moines county, l-rankiin Renner 
became one of its rcsidrnts. and his hmne 



is now in the city of IJanville. He is a 
native of Cincinnati. ()hio. born June 8, 
i8_^4; but when he was only a few weeks 
old. he was taken to IJearborn county. 
Indiana, by his parents. Peter and Sybil 
(Ilahn) Renner, l)oth of whom were na- 
tives of (■icrmany, and came to the United 
.States at an early age. .After living in 
Ohio for a nund)er of years. I'eler Ren- 
ner removed to Indiana, taking up his 
abode in Dearborn county, where he en- 
tered forty acres of land. He spent his 
remaining days there, dying at the age of 
si.xty-five years; and his wife, surviving 
him for some time, passed away at the 
very advanced age of ninety years, her 
death occurring at the old home in Dear- 
born county. Indiana. 

It was in that county that I'ranklin 
Reinier was reared and educated, attend- 
ing the subscrii)tion and the district 
schools. He remained in Indiana until 
1S55. when he settled in Des .Moines 
county. ])urchasing forty acres of land in 
Danville townshij). Tliis |u- partially im- 
proved, erecting thereon a good house 
and barn, and jilacing the fields under 
cultivation, l-'rom time to time, as his 
financial resources increased, he pur- 
chased more land, until he now owns in 
the home farm one hundred and si.xty-five 
acres, and in adilition he has ;ini>lher 
farm of seventy-nine acres in Danville 
townshi]). L'])on the old homestead he 
carried on general farming and stock- 
raising w itli excilient success, making the 
pro|)erty one of the model farms of the 
township: and there he lived until i8(X>, 
when he removed to Danville, ])Utting 
aside the more aoti\e course of business 
life. In the city he ])urchase(l a ])leasant 
home and fourteen acres of land, and is 



DES MOIXES COUXTY, IOWA. 



965 



now very comfortably situated, the labor 
of former days supplying him with all 
of the necessities and many of the lux- 
uries of life. 

Mr. Renner was married in i(S54 to 
Miss Elizabeth Adle, who was born in 
Germany, and came to the United States 
when a young- child. She died on the 
home farm in Danville township, Dec. 
21, 1893, at the age of seventy-five years. 
For his second wife Mr. Renner chose 
Rosa Kalmus, their marriage taking place 
June 5, 1894. She was born in Danville 
township, Des Moines county, and is a 
daughter of Peter and Margaret (Bing- 
ham) Kalmus, both of whom were na- 
tives of Germany, whence they came to 
the United States at an early day, loca- 
ting in Des Moines county, Iowa, whence 
they afterward removed to Henry county, 
this State. The father is now deceased, 
but the mother is still living at her home 
in Henry county. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
Renner have been born two children, 
Frank Joseph and Grover P'etcr, both of 
whom were born on the old homestead. 

In politics Mr. Renner is a Democrat, 
and for three years was trustee of the 
township board in Danville. He has 
served for some time as a member of the 
city council. He is now one of the board 
of directors of school district No. 5 and 
is a member of the Catholic church, of 
West Burlington. His pronounced abil- 
ity as a business man, and his integrity 
in the successful management of the in- 
terests which have claimed his attention, 
have won him prominence. In all busi- 
ness transactions he has been found relia- 
ble and trustworthy, and in public or pri- 
vate life his integrity is above question 
and his honor above reproach. 



MONROE BAILEY. 

Monroe Baii.kv, numijcred among the 
substantial farmers of Danville town- 
ship, and engaged in 0])erating a large 
farm of three hundred and twenty acres, 
which he leases from the John lianna es- 
tate, was born in the town of La Harpe, 
Hancock county. 111., May 17, 1861, a son 
of John F. and Maria (Haggard) Bailey. 
The fatiier was a native of Virginia, 
whence he renioxed to the West and lo- 
cated in Illinois in the early '40's, settling 
in Hancock county, lie purchased land 
there, engaging in farming and stock rais- 
ing during the remainder of his life, and 
it was there that his death occurred in 
the seventy-ninth year of his age on the 
anniversary of his birth. During his later 
years he made his home with his son 
James. He was able, progressive, and 
prosperous, and was long active in re- 
ligious work, being a member of the Bap- 
tist church. Politically, he was a life-long 
Republican. 

He first married a Miss Thompson, by 
whom he had eight childret>; and of his 
union with .Maria Haggard were born 
two sons: Monroe, subject of this sketch; 
and Charles, now a resident of St. Louis, 
Mo., where he is employed in the street 
railwa\' service as a motormaii. Maria 
Haggard Bailey was born in Kentucky, 
coming as a small child to Illinois with 
her parents, who. settling in Hancock 
countw devoted their lives to the work of 
the farm, and both died there. She her- 
self died in Hancock county, her demise 
occurring when our sui)jeet was but two 
years of age. She was a member of the 
Baptist church. . She and her husband 
are buried in Hancock county. 



<J»l(l 



HIOGR.II'HK.U. Rf.l lEW 



l-'or his formal cdiicatidii Mr. Hailcy is 
indebted to the public schools of iiis na- 
tive ])lace and to the Carthage, 111., high 
school. His practical training, however, 
was received on his father's farm, and he 
lias been engaged in farming all his life. 
He remained in Illinois until he was 
twenty-two years of age, coming to Iowa 
in 1882 and locating near Denmark in 
Lee county, where he resided for four 
years, and then removing to Des Moines 
county, in the vicinity of Danxille. In 
that section he rented successively two 
farms, each for five years, and at the ex- 
piration of the ten year period rented the 
present farm, which he has occupied con- 
timH)Usly since, devoting his etTitrts to 
stock-raising and general farming. He 
buys anil feeds cattle and hogs for the 
market on a large scale, and has enjoyed 
excellent success witli this branch of his 
work. 

( )n .March 3. 1882. Mr. I'ailey was 
united in marriage to .Miss C"ora !•'. Rice, 
wlio was bnrn in Hamilton, Hancock 
county. 111., ;i ilaughter of Orin and 
Maria (Kent) Rice. Her father, who 
was a man of distinguished ability, was 
l)i>rn in (ieueseo. X. ^ ., and he and his 
wife were for some time residents of 
Cincinnati, removing thence to Hancock 
county. Illinois, in iS5(>. During the 
earlier portion of his life he was an invent- 
or of note, and was the inventor oi the 
first zinc washboard introduced into gen- 
eral use. this being at thai time an ad- 
vance over older methods that was highly 
important. His later years were jtassed 
in Hancock county, in the occupation 
of farming and stcx'k-raising. high-grade 
I'erkshire hogs being his specialty. He 
was a member and worker in the Presbv- 



terian church, and was very prominent in 
the (Grange moVement of his tlay, being a 
leader of public sentiment along lines 
that would have resulted in vast benefit 
to the farming element if his ideas had 
received the support which their initial 
success merited. He was identified with 
the Re])itblican party, but took no active 
share in practical jjartisan work, although 
he never neglected his civic duties as he 
.saw them. 

He died at his home in .\drian. 111., 
aged seventy-five years, and was buried 
in Chicago. His widow died Dec. 28, 
i8(j8, in Chicago, being then eighty years 
of age. She was born in Derry, \. H.. 
and removed to Michigan at the age of 
eighteen years, locating at .Xdrian, where 
she continued to reside until her mar- 
riage. She was the mother of seven chil- 
dren, five of whom are still living, and of 
these Mrs. Bailey is the youngest. 

To Mr. and Mrs. I'ailey have been born 
five sons, as follows: Kent R.. born near 
Denmark. Lee county, assists in the work 
of the farm ; Charles E., born in Lee 
county, also assists his father: Ward L.. 
born in Lee county: ( )rin R.. born in 
DanxiJle township. Des .Moines county: 
and Illaine E.. born in Danville townshij). 
Des Moines county. .\11 were educated 
in the schools of Danville, and have re- 
ceived excellent advantages in the way of 
thorough school training. 

.Mr. Hailev is a mend)er and generous 
stijiporter of the Congregation.d church, 
of Danville, and in his fraternal relations 
is identified with Camp 43,^2. Modern 
Woodmen of .\merica. of Danville. A 
stanch Re])ul>lie.in, he enjoys wide popu- 
larity with those of his own and all other 
political faiths, an<l is at the jiresent time 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



967 



occupying- the office of trustee of Dan- 
ville township, being- now in the second 
year of his incumbency. 



WILLIAM CLUDY. 

One of the prominent representatives 
of practical agriculture in Des Moines 
county is William Cludy, a resident of 
Jackson township, where he operates a 
well-improved farm of one hundred and 
twenty acres. Mr. Cludy traces his an- 
cestry to Germany, his parents having 
been natives of that country, but his own 
place of birth is Jackson township, Des 
Moines county, and the date May i, 1864. 

He is the son of Henry and Mary 
Cludy. Both parents were born in Ger- 
many, but came to America when quite 
young. After their marriage they lo- 
cated in Indiana, where the father rented 
land and farmed. After living there a 
few years they moved to Iowa, settling in 
Jackson township, this county. They 
were the parents of seven sons, all of 
whom except two are still living, as fol- 
lows : Fred, whose home is in Burling- 
ton ; Henry, born Jan. 31, 1855, ^'^^'^ ^^' 
siding on his farm of one hundred acres 
in Jackson township, has one son, John, 
who is also married and lives in this 
township ; John, a farmer in Huron town- 
ship ; Frank, deceased; William, the im- 
mediate subject of this review; Edward, 
whose home is in Burlington ; and Sam- 
uel, who died at the age of two years. 

Mr. and Mrs. Cludy. the parents of our 
subject, were both devoted members of 
the German Lutheran church. They 
made their home in Jackson township 



from the time that they first came to 
Iowa until the end of their lives. Mr. 
Cludy died on the home place in 1880, at 
the age of about forty years. His widow 
survived him for almost twenty years, 
her decease occurring on Oct. 22, 189Q, 
when she was about sixty-two years of 
age. They are both buried in the ceme- 
tery in this township. 

William Cludy secured his education 
in the public schools of the community, 
and enjoyed the additional advantage of 
learning the work of the farm by practi- 
cal experience with its details. He re- 
mained upon the home place, assisting in 
its operation, until he was eighteen years 
of age, when he felt that it was time for 
him to begin working for himself. He 
started his career of independent exertion 
by working by the month on different 
farms in Huron township. After doing 
this for several years, he rented a farm 
consisting of one hundred and twenty 
acres, in Section 4, Jackson township, 
which he has operated two years. Dur- 
ing the years 1905-1906 he will operate 
the Dr. Fades farm. He carries on gen- 
eral farming and stock-raising, and has 
made a specialty of breeding Poland 
China hogs and Hereford cattle. His 
energy, care, and foresight in the conduct 
of business have resulted in bringing him 
a large measure of success. Many im- 
provements have been made on the farm 
under his supervision. 

On March 15, 1898. Mr, Cludy was 
wedded to Miss Katie Rice, daughter of 
John and Harriet (Mertz) Rice. Mr. 
Rice is a large property owner and farmer 
of Benton township, owning about four 
hundred acres of rich farming land. He 
was an earlv settler of Des Moines 



968 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



county, locatinj^ in Benton township at 
an early day. He was born in Germany, 
and came to the United States with his 
parents, when he was only two years of 
age. His parents settled in Putnam 
county, Indiana, remaining for about five 
years ; tliey then came to Iowa, and set- 
tled in liurliiigton township. Here they 
remained for only two years, then mov- 
ing to Henton township, where the father 
bought land near Latty Station. 

John Rice, father of Mrs. Cludy, re- 
ceived his education in the common 
schools of Burlington township, and as- 
sisted upon the home farm, remaining 
there until he was thirty years of age. 
.\t that time he purchased his present 
farm of three hundred and thirty-five 
acres in Benton and Jackson townships, 
and has lived there ever since, engaged 
in general farming and stock-raising. He 
is a Democrat in politics, and both he 
and his family are members of the Ger- 
man Lutheran church. He was married 
to Miss Harriet Mertz, a native of Penn- 
sylvania, who came with her parents to 
Iowa when a small child. They settled 
at Kingston, where she made her home 
until the time of her marriage. Mrs. 
Cludy is one of twelve children that were 
born to them, of whom nine are still 
living. 

Mrs. Cludy was educated in the district 
schools of Benton township, and grew to 
womanhood there. She is a member of 
the Methodist Episcopal church, and a 
Iielpcr in its enterprises. To her and Mr. 
Cludy have been born three children, as 
follows: Elsie, born March 15, 1899; 
Charles W., born Dec. 20, 1901, died July 
31, 1903; and a son, born Aug. 15, 1904. 

In his political faith Mr. Cludy is a 



firm believer in the principles of the Re- 
publican ]}arty. and has served his party 
faithfully in various ways, though he has 
never been an aspirant to public office. 
He was reared in the German Lutheran 
church, and still holds membership in 
that body. He is enterprising, public- 
spirited, and progressive, and his loyalty 
to his convictions and absolute integrity 
in his dealings have inspired respect for 
his character on the part of all with whom 
he comes in contact. 



HENRY C. SCHMIDT. 

The birthplace of Henry C. Schmidt was 
a farm not far from Burlington, and his 
natal day is Oct. 5, 1871. His parents were 
Henry Peter Carl and Magdalena (Busch) 
Schmidt, both of whom were natives of 
Germany, the former born in Nassau and 
the latter in Swaben. In early life, how- 
ever, they came to America, and were mar- 
ried in Burlington, where Mr. Schmidt 
worked for a nurseryman for a time. He 
afterward purchased four and a half acres 
of land northwest of Burlington, took up 
his abode thereon, and as the years ad- 
vanced he added to the property until at 
the time of his death ninety-six acres were 
enclosed within the boundaries of his place. 
He had also cultivated and improved the 
property until it was an excellent farm, 
with considerable market value. He passed 
away in July, 1896, and the mother con- 
tinued to reside upon the old homestead 
for about six years thereafter, renting the 
land to her son-in-law, Fred Schoell, for 
one year, at the end of which time he pur- 
chased the property. Mrs. Schmidt is now 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



969 



living in \\'est Burlington with her young- 
est son. 

Henry C. Schmidt is the eldest of a fam- 
ily of four sons and two daughters. He 
made his home with his parents until six- 
teen years of age. when he began working 
in Burlington, where he was employed for 
three and a half years. He then returned 
home, but afterward worked in West Bur- 
lington shops for a short time. His early 
education was acquired in the public 
schools, after which he secured employ- 
ment as a farm hand, being thus engaged 
for a year and a half. Then believing that 
he could profitably conduct a farm, he 
rented sixt\--five acres of land from his 
father on Section 3, Flint River township. 
That he did not overestimate his abilities 
is indicated by the fact that his labors were 
so profitable that after two years he was 
enabled to purchase the land, and he also 
bought an additional tract of fifteen acres 
of timber. In 1898 he built a residence on 
his farm, and he has put all of the improve- 
ments on the property, having now a fine 
farm, although many others are greater in 
extent. In all that he undertakes he is 
practical, and his labors are therefore 
profitable. 

April 8, 1896, Mr. Schmidt was married 
to Miss Minnie Reif, who was born in 
Wapello, Iowa, and is a daughter of Philip 
and Henrietta (Winters) Reif, the former 
a native of Ohio, and the latter of Ger- 
many. ]Mr. and Mrs. Schmidt have become 
the parents of two daughters and a son : 
Esther, born June 12, 1897; Viola, born 
May 30, 1899; and Walter, born Dec. 3, 
1901. The parents hold membership in 
the Methodist Episcopal church, and are 
people of genuine worth, their good quali- 
ties of heart and mind winning them the 



friendly regard of many with whom they 
have been associated. Mr. Schmidt is yet 
a young man, but his business enterprise 
and unremitting diligence have brought 
him gratifying success, and the visible evi- 
dence of his life of labor is his excellent 
farm in Flint River township. 



JOHN McPAKE. 

JoHx McPake, who owns and operates 
a farm of thirty acres on Section 26, Flint 
River township, Des Moines county, is a 
native of Illinois, his birth having occurred 
in Henderson county, Feb. 8, 1857. He is 
one of eight children born unto Owen and 
Bridget (Clark) McPake, both of whom 
were natives of Ireland, the father's birth 
having occurred in County- Tyrone, while 
the mother was born in County Meath. 

They came to the United States in early 
life, and die father cast his first presiden- 
tial vote for Polk. Establishing his home 
in Pennsylvania, he was there employed in 
rolling-mills. He was married in Allen- 
town, Pa., and five years later brought his 
family to Illinois, settling in Henderson 
county, where he was employed as a farm 
hand for a year and then purchased a 
small farm, whereon he continued to reside 
throughout the remainder of his active busi- 
ness life. His last days were spent in re- 
tirement from labor at the home of his son 
John, where he died March 26, 1903, at the 
venerable age of one hundred years and four 
months. His wife died two years before 
her husband, at the age of seventy-nine 
years. Of their children five are still 
living. 

Remaining a resident of Henderson 



y70 



BIOGRAPHICAL Kill 1 EW 



county, Illinois, for twelve years, John Mc- 
Pakc acquired his early education in the 
public schools there, and following the re- 
moval of the family to Des Moines county, 
July 29, 1869, he continued his studies in 
the schotils of Flint River township. He 
remained upon the home farm until old 
enough to start out in life on his own ac- 
count, when he began working on the farm 
of William I-". Johnson, cuntiiuiing there 
for two or three years. He then returned 
to the home farm in Illinois, which he oper- 
ated for several years, or until his marriage, 
in 1879. 

In Febniary. 1884, he returned to Iowa, 
and again located in l-lint River township, 
where he engaged in farming for two years. 
He next took up his abode in West Burling- 
ton, where he was engaged in the wood and 
coal business for two years. He then en- 
tered the boiler shops of the Chicago, Bur- 
lington & Quincy Railroad Company, being 
employed there for three years, and later 
he spent a similar period at Chicago in the 
boiler shops of the Chicago & Northwestern 
Railroad Company. On the expiration of 
that period he returned to Flint River town- 
ship, and has since engaged in farming in 
Section 26. 

April 21, 1879, Mr. McPake was married. 
in St. Paul's Catholic church, in Burlington, 
to Miss Anna Lacey, who was born in that 
city, Jan. 2, 1858, a daughter of John and 
Anna (Breen) Lacey. who were natives of 
County Wexford, Ireland. The father came 
to the United States when twenty years of 
age, and located at West Chester, Pa., and 
his wife crossed the Atlantic with her par- 
ents in her childhood days, and also became 
a resident of West Chester. They were mar- 
ried there in 1852, and the same day started 
for Iowa, settling in Burlington. Some years 



later they removed to Flint River township, 
where the father engaged in farming. His 
death occurred Dec. 4, 1891, when he had 
reached the age of seventy-four years and 
nine months, while his wife passed away in 
1859, when their daughter Anna was but a 
year old. She was their only child. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. McPake have been 
born eleven children, all of whom are liv- 
ing: Ella, the wife of George Hetz, a team- 
ster of Burlington. l)y whom she has three 
children, Anna, Leona, and Gladys ; Kath- 
erine, who resides in West Burlington ; 
Joseph Owen, a machinist, married Dorothy 
Ijrone, of West Point, Iowa, and now re- 
sides at Moline, III.; John Lacey; Mary 
Breen ; William Henry ; George Edward ; 
Susan ; Rose Marie ; Marguerite .Mice ; and 
Charles Philip. 

The parents are members of the Catholic 
church, and in his political affiliation Mr. 
McPake is a Democrat. While living in 
West Burlington he served as constable, 
and for two years has filled the i)osition of 
road supervisor, proving a competent officer, 
and is always interested in public progress 
and ini|)rovement. 



EDWARD LEHR. 

A PROMINENT and influential position 
is accorded Edward Lehr among the suc- 
cessful merchants of Burlington, his con- 
nection with the lumber interests of the 
community having added to their value 
in various lines. He was born in West- 
phalia, Germany, Feb. 19, 1850, a son of 
Carl Lehr, who was a prominent lawyer 
in Westphalia, but never came to Amer- 
ica. He received a part of his education 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



Q7I 



in the gyniiiasiuin schools in Germany, 
anil came to America when he was fif- 
teen years of age. He had an uncle in 
Baltimore who was a tobacco exporter, 
with whom he remained for one year. 
He came to Burlington first in 1866, but 
stayed only three years, when he returned 
to Baltimore, where he remained till 1879 
with his uncle. After again coming to 
Burlington he was with the Murray Iron 
Works for two years, and about this 
time became identified with the Gilbert & 
Hedge Lumber Companj', one of the 
largest and most successful industries in 
Burlington. He was bookkeeper and as- 
sociate manager for some years, and in 
1900 became a member of the firm and 
has done much towards building up the 
extensive business. 

June 23, 1900, 'Mr. Lehr was married to 
]Miss Alice Wolf, daughter of Charles 
Wolf, of Burlington. They have two 
sons: Edward, Jr., born Alarch 26, 1903, 
and Gilbert, born Dec. 21, 1904. Mr. 
Lehr was formerly a Democrat, but his 
study of the political issues and questions 
of the day has led him to give his support 
to no party; for he believes that he can 
best discharge his duties of citizenship by 
supporting the men whom he thinks most 
ably qualified for office regardless of 
party affiliations. Air. Lehr resides at 
1837 West Avenue. Both he and his 
wife are held in high regard by all who 
appreciate genuine personal worth. 



JOHN MONTGOMERY. 

John I^Iontgomerv was for many years 
a prominent mechanic in the city of Bur- 
lington, and well deserves mention among 



the prominent residents of this community 
who in the ])ast were loyal to its best inter- 
ests and largely promoted the general good. 
Although some years have come and gone 
since he was called so suddenly to his final 
rest, his influence remains as a potent factor 
in the world, especially along those lines 
which stand for the highest and best in life. 

John Montgomery was a son of Robert 
and Margaret (Montgomery) Montgom- 
ery, and was born in Irvineston, County 
Fermanagh, Ireland, Sept. 24, 1843. He 
attended the local schools of his native 
county for a few years, but his education 
was principally acquired through the em- 
ployment of his leisure hours in extensive 
reading. He thus became a well-informed 
man, for he possessed an observing eye and 
a retentive memory. Hearing favorable re- 
ports concerning the business ojiportunities 
of the New World, and desirous of learn- 
ing something of other countries besides his 
native land, he determined to emigrate to 
the United States, and in 1861 crossed the 
great Atlantic, landing in New York, from 
whence he came direct to Burlington, Iowa. 

Here he learned the trade of a blacksmith 
in the Chicago, Burlington & Ouincy Rail- 
road shops, where he was later employed 
as foreman in the blacksmith shop, in West 
Burlington, till his death. Dec. 24, 1889, 
Mr. ^Montgomery w^as accidentally killed by 
the cars while attempting to board the morn- 
ing work train. His death was deeply de- 
plored by his employers and associates, 
and was a sad blow to his beloved family. 
Being the oldest mechanic in the employ 
of the company at the time of his death, he 
had become widely known in the industrial 
circles of Burlington, and his many sterling 
traits of character had gained for him the 
warm regard of all with whom he was asso- 



072 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFJV 



ciated. He died leaving his family a com- 
fortable competence and an nntarnislied 
name. His remains are buried in Aspen 
Grove cemetery. For years Mr. Mont- 
gomery has been an honored member of the 
Association of United Workmen, in which 
he carried an insurance policy of two 
thousand dollars. He was a member of 
the Presbyterian church, and his life was in 
constant harmony with his Christian faith 
and profession. His political allegiance was 
always given to the Reijublican party, and 
in matters of citizenshi]} he was ever pro- 
gressive, being interested in everything for 
the good of the city. 

March i. 1864. Mr. Montgomery was 
married to Miss Mary Ann Mitchell, daugh- 
ter of John and Jane (Armstrong) Mitchell, 
of New York city. Mrs. Montgomery was 
born in County Derry, Ireland, June 20, 
1843, and came to America when but eleven 
years okl. making the trip in one of the early 
steamers in some ten or twelve days. She 
received her education in her birthplace. 

L'nto Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery were 
born four children : Jennie, a graduate of 
ttu' high school and city training school of 
liurlington, Iowa, has been a successful 
teacher in the schools of the same city for 
over twenty years, having charge now of 
the ])rimary department of the Washington 
School. Resides her school duties. Miss 
Jennie is active in the service of the Pres- 
byterian church, of which she is a faithful 
member ; she has also, for a number of 
years, represented the charity organization 
of the city in her district, in wliich she is 
deservedly popular, always being kind and 
considerate to the poor and needy, and at 
the same time exerting her influence for 
right and justice. Mary, the second daugh- 
ter, married Mervon Howe, a machinist, 



and lives in Buffalo, X. V.. and has one 
child, Margaret. Robert, the only son, 
married Miss Louisa Schramm, is a ma- 
chinist, and resides at Cleveland Station, 
Ohio, and is the father of one son, Herbert. 
Cora married a Presbyterian minister by 
name of Quinn, has one child, Rubert, and 
lives in Britt, Iowa. 

Mrs. Montgomery and daughter Jennie 
still live in the old home, at 1816 Agency 
Street, which the husband and father 
bought in 1865, and which he improved to 
its jiresent condition. Montgomery Street, 
in tiie same neighborhood, was named in 
honor of our subject. Mrs. Montgomery is 
a woman whose strength of character lies 
in her integrity and her imfaltering <levotion 
to the principles which she believes to be 
right. Her church life has been one of pure 
devotion, while her work in the behalf of 
the sick and afflicted has been continuous 
and far reaching, and in this resjiect she 
has ever followed the example of her be- 
loved hushaml. 



CARL LUDWICK SCHMIDT. 

C.\RI- Ll'DWICK Schmidt is a repre- 
sentative of one of the pioneer families 
of Des Moines county, having for many 
years resided in this part of the State. A 
native of Prussia, he was born in Bran- 
denburg, \'oldenburg, Prussia, Germany, 
Nov. 27, 1834, his parents being Frederick 
and Johanna (Bench) Schmidt. In his 
native land he attended the public 
schools, and alter ])Utting aside his text- 
books he learned the stone-mason's trade. 
Later he secured a position as baggage- 
master, but subsequently was taken sick. 
Wluii he had recovered his health, he 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



973 



worked in the freight house, and was 
thus engaged at the time of his marriage. 

In 1868 he came to America, believing 
that he might have better business oppor- 
tunities in the New World. Taking pas- 
sage on an old sailing vessel, he was just 
nine weeks in crossing the Atlantic, and 
then landed at Baltimore. He came di- 
rect to Burlington by way of Chicago, 
and. accompanied by his family, estab- 
lished his home in this city. Here he 
secured employment in the gas works. 
He also built a house, and later traded 
that property for eightj^ acres of land in 
Benton township, at the northeast corner 
of Section 27. Here he turned his atten- 
tion to general agricultural pursuits, and 
has largely developed the farm, erecting 
all of the buildings thereon with the ex- 
ception of the house. He also placed a 
foundation under the house and built a 
porch. Everything about his farm is neat 
and thrifty in appearance, and the well- 
tilled fields are an evidence of his life of 
thrift and industry. 

Nov. 4, 1865, while still in Germany, 
Mr. Schmidt was married to Miss Caro- 
lina Franciska Fenska, a daughter of John 
and Charlotte (Schultz) Fenska. She 
was born March 2, 1841, and by her mar- 
riage has become the mother of seven 
children, four sons and three daughters : 
Martha Antonia Elizabeth, born in Vol- 
denburg, Germany, Sept. 13, 1866, and :s 
the wife of Henry Young, of Benton 
township; Otto Albert P., born in Bur- 
lington, Dec. 20, 1868; Charles John Fred- 
erick, born Aug. 9. 1871, and is living 
in Burlington ; Juliana Louisa Francis- 
ca, born Nov. 16, 1873, and is the wife of 
Frank Haus, of Benton township : .\lbert 
Julius Richard, born Oct. 21, 1873: John 



W'ilhelm Gothelf, born May 7, 1878; and 
Helena Maria Charlotta, born Dec. 4, 
1881, and is the wife of John Nasius of 
Benton township. The son, John W. G. 
Schmidt, was elected to the office of road 
supervisor, March, 1905. He had previ- 
ously worked for the county under the 
direction of the board of supervisors. He 
is a wide-awake and enterprising young 
man, full of energy and determination. 

Air. and Mrs. Schmidt are members of 
St. Paul's German Lutheran church, and 
take an active part in its work and up- 
building. He is serving as trustee and 
treasurer, and does all in his power to 
jjromote the growth of the church. In 
politics he is a stanch Democrat, but has 
never sought or desired office, preferring 
to give his time and attention to his busi- 
ness affairs, and as a farmer is now meet- 
ing with creditable success. Upon his 
place he has four cows, three calves, six 
horses, and eighteen hogs. He carries on 
general farming, and is nicely located on 
Yellow Springs creek, in Benton town- 
ship. 



CHRIS ROLD. 



Chris Rold, a retired farmer living in 
Huron township, was born in Baden, Ger- 
many, Dec. 21, 1839, h's father being Joseph 
Rold, of that county. The son acquired his 
education in the public schools, and learned 
the carpenter's trade in early manhood. 
Thinking that he might enjoy better bus- 
iness privileges and opportunities in the 
New World, he made arrangements to leave 
the Fatherland in 1872, and crossed the 
Atlantic to the United States. He did not 
tarrv on the Atlantic coast, but made his 



Q74 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



way at once to Burlington, where he secured 
employment in Joy's factory, where he re- 
mained through one summer and winter. 
He was also employed by the firm of Gillis 
& W inters, and he also acted as turnkey 
at the jail under William SchaflFner, who is 
the ])resent deputy sheriff of the county. 
At length retiring from that ]iosition, he 
bought twenty acres of land in Section 26, 
Huron township, where he has since lived. 
He is now living retired, his children doing 
the work of the farm, but for a long period 
he was actively engaged in farm life, tilling 
the soil and harvesting his crops. 

In the spring of 1872 Mr. Rold was 
united in marriage to Miss Mary Wearly, a 
daughter of Joscpli Wearly. and they have 
nine children : lidward. Bertha, i^.arbara, 
Mary. .Anna, Emerence. Gustave, Christ, 
and Athcrn, all living in Des Moines county. 
Several of the number were born in Huron 
townshij), and three are still at home. The 
parents are members of the Catholic church 
of Kingston, and have reared their family 
in that faith. 



FREDERICK RAMILLER. 

Frederick Rj\miller, who claims Ger- 
many as his birthplace, and who has 
been an esteemed citizen of the United 
States from early childhood, and a 
respected farmer of Flint River town- 
ship for many years, is a son of Fred- 
erick and Elizabeth (Brucr) Ramiller, 
and was born in West Phalen, Germany, 
Dec. 23, 1844. When he was but two 
years old his parents brought him to 
America, bought land, and settled in 
Flint River township, being among the 
very early pioneers of this county. They 



spent the remainder of their good lives 
on this pretty farm, made so by their 
own personal efforts; and during this 
long residence of more than thirty years 
they became well known in the commu- 
nity, where they made scores of true 
friends. P'rederick Ramiller. Sr.. died in 
1885. and his worthy wife, who had 
shared his many jovs and sorrows, fol- 
lowed in 1889. 

Our subject received a limited educa- 
tion in the rural schools of his parents' 
neighborhood. In 1901 he bought a part 
of the old homestead and purchased the 
Frank Jones place, and now has two hun- 
dred and forty acres of good farm land in 
Flint River tow-nship on Sections 5 and 6. 
His father left a nice country home, as 
well as many other improvements. Mr. 
Ramiller is kept busy tending to his large, 
well-kept farm, wdiich is equipped with all 
the modern improvements and machin- 
ery. His horses and cattle all present a 
fine appearance, and the whole place in- 
dicates much pains and neatness. 

Feb. 22, 1872, Mr. Ramiller took unto 
himself Miss Mary Pagamiller for his 
partner in life. Her parents were Weiloff 
and Louisa I'agamiller. Like all noble 
Germans Mr. and Mrs. U.imiller have 
raised a large family, being the parents 
of nine children, which, remarkable to 
say, are all living, and are as follows: 
Christ : Edward, of Danville township ; 
George, at home; Henry, Samuel, and 
Charles, of Minnesota: Benjamin, Emma, 
and Nellie, at home. 

Mrs. Ramiller died .\pril 26, 1901, 
aged fifty years. Her death was a great 
blow to her family and friends, as she 
was a woman of many virtues, and whom 
to know was to love and respect. Mr. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



975 



Ramiller is a member of the Lutheran 
church, as was also his departed wife. 
Politically, he is a stanch Republican, but 
does not care to hold office, preferring to 
devote all of his time to his farm and 
happy family. 

Though probably not the oldest in 
years, yet our subject has been a con- 
tinuous resident of this prosperous town- 
ship longer than any other man. He has 
a retentive memory, and relates with 
much interest all the hardships and pri- 
vations his parents underwent upon set- 
tling in this new country some fifty-nine 
years ago. He is a very plain and unas- 
suming man, who has always adhered to 
honest principles in every business trans- 
action, and being of a sunny and bright 
disposition he has numbered his friends 
bv the hundreds. 



CHRISTOPHER BENDIX. 

Christopher Bendix, now residing on 
his farm in Section i6, Union township, is 
a native of Prussia, having been born about 
ten miles from the city of Mecklenburg, 
Dec. 1 6, i860, a son of Andrew and Anna 
Marie (Hess) Bendix. His parents were 
married in 1846, and came to the United 
States in 1871, bringing with them their 
family of three children, of whom Christo- 
pher Bendix was the youngest. They came 
direct to Iowa, locating in the city of Bur- 
lington, where the father immediately se- 
cured employment at his trade as a car- 
penter. He continued to reside there for 
twenty years, but removed to Union town- 
ship in the spring of 1895, and now resides 
with his son. He has throughout life en- 
joyed excellent health, and even now, in 



the eightieth year of his age, is cheerful, 
active, and remarkably well preserved. The 
mother is now deceased, her demise having 
occurred Dec. 15, 1875. 

Mr. Bendix early had the advantage of 
good training in the schools of his native 
country, and later in the German schools 
of Burlington ; but when only fourteen 
years of age was obliged by circumstances 
to quit school and begin work to aid in the 
support of the family. He first worked in 
the basket factory at Burlington, after 
which he spent three years as a farm hand. 
He then returned to the city to take a posi- 
tion in the Union depot, whence he was 
transferred at the end of one year to the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy roundhouse. 
Here he worked for a period of fourteen 
years as a machinist, the first three years 
of that time being devoted to learning the 
trade. In 1894 he purchased his present 
farm in Union township, consisting of sixty- 
three acres of excellent farming land, to 
which he removed in 1895, and here he con- 
ducts general farming in addition to en- 
gaging largely in the feeding of hogs for 
the market. 

April 19, 1883, Mr. Bendix wedded Miss 
Matilda Schwab, who was born in Swit- 
zerland, and came to America at the age 
of sixteen years, making her jiomc in Bur- 
lington. To their union have been born 
five children: Walter Wernhard, Leslie 
Andrew, Goldie Malinda, Raymond Carl 
Albert, and Elsie Marie Matilda. Mr. and 
Mrs. Bendix and their children are mem- 
bers of Saint Lucas' Lutheran church. 

Fraternally, our subject is identified with 
Red Cross Lodge, No. 242, .Ancient Order 
United Workmen, and is in his political 
affiliation a Democrat. He has been to 
some extent connected with public service, 



976 



BIOGRAPHICAL KEllEW 



having been elected to the office of director 
of public schools in 1897. He occupied 
that position for three years, or until lyoo, 
with credit to himself and to the satisfac- 
tion of all. He is pleasant, genial, a good 
neighbor, and has many friends who wish 
him well. He has achieved success by his 
own eflforts, entirely without hcli) of any 
kind, and this by the practice of those dis- 
tinctively .Vmcrican virtues, energy, enter- 
prise, and self-reliance. 



HON. THOMAS HEDGE. 

Hox. TiiOM.xs Hedge, member of Con- 
gress, and president of the Gilbert-Hedge 
Lumber Company, was born June 24, 1844, 
in the city of nurlington, when Iowa was 
still under territorial government, his par- 
ents Ijeing Thomas and Eliza Burr (Eld- 
ridge) Hedge. In his youth he attended the 
public and private schools of his native 
city, and continued his education in Den- 
mark .\cademy, at Denmark, Iowa, and 
Phillips Andover Academy, of Massachu- 
setts, being graduated from the latter insti- 
tution with the class of 1861. The succeed- 
ing year was i)assc(l in his father's employ, 
after which he entered u])on his collegiate 
work at Yale, of which he is an alumnist of 
1867. His college course, however, was 
interrupted by his service in the Union army 
in 1864 and 1865, when as a member of 
Com])any E. One Hundred and Sixth New 
Vi>rk Infantry, he went to the South, where 
he won promotion to the .second lieutenancy 
of Company G of the same regiment. His 
professional training was received at the 
Columbia Law School, from which he was 
graduated in 1869. 



For thirty-si.x years a member of the Bur- 
lington board, Mr. Hedge has likewise 
figured in financial and commercial circles 
here, being a director of the First National 
Bank, and president of the Gilbert-Hedge 
Lumber Company. His name as a political 
leader is well known, and since 1899 he has 
represented his home district in Congress, 
occupying a seat upon the Republican side 
of the House. He is president of the board 
of trustees of the Congregational church of 
Burlington, and his name is found upon the 
subscription list of many of the worthy 
charities of the city. 

Mr. Hedge was married Jan. 8, 1873. 'o 
Miss Mary Frances Cook, a daughter of 
the late L\mian Cook, and they have four 
children : Thomas, Lyman Cook. .'\nna 
Louise, and Henry Lorrain. 



THOMAS HEDGE. SR. 

TiiiiM.xs Hedge, Sr., whose life history 
contributes an important chapter to the his- 
tory of commercial and industrial develop- 
ment in Burlington, saw in the new and 
embryonic city of Des Moines county the 
opportunity for successful accomplishment, 
and. calling forth all his latent powers, he 
utilized each possibility that came to him, 
and in the course of years attained the suc- 
cess that made his an honored name in com- 
mercial and financial circles here. In pio- 
neer times his connection with Burlington's 
interest was that of a merchant, while later 
he became one of the extensive lumber 
dealers of the city, and the importance of 
his operations in this direction made him 
known even beyond the boundaries of the 
State. 



DES -MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



977 



A native of Massachusetts, he was born 
in Yarmouth, Feb. 14, 1815, and was de- 
scended from Puritan EngHsh ancestry, the 
first representative of the name in America 
being Capt. ^^"iUiam Hedge, who settled in 
Yarmouth in 1638. His father, Capt. James 
Hedge, was a sea captain and farmer, 
dividing his life between the water and the 
land, his carefully directed labors bringing 
him a fair measure of success in each place. 

Thomas Hedge, reared in his Cape Cod 
home, went to Boston when a youth of 
si.xteen years to enter business life, and be- 
came an employee in a commission house 
in that city. He was retained in his first 
service for two years, after which he secured 
a better position with Burgess & Son, exten- 
sive importers of goods from the West 
Indies. Although but a youth he was given 
a position of much responsibility, and dis- 
played ready adaptability and superior qual- 
ifications for the trust reposed in him. 

Mr. Hedge retained his residence in Bos- 
ton until 1836, but in the meantime had 
given considerable attention and reflection 
to the question of a residence in the new 
but rapidly growing West, and in the _\ear 
mentioned, in company with two young 
Bostonians, Dickinson and Sears by name, 
he came to Burlington. The young men 
associated their capital in a general mercan- 
tile enterprise, but, not meeting with the 
success they had anticipated, they soon dis- 
posed of their stock and returned to the 
East, where Mr. Hedge again entered the 
employ of the house of Burgess & Son, be- 
coming agent for the firm in Cuba. He had, 
however, formed an attachment for the Mid- 
dle West, and subsequent to his marriage to 
Miss Eliza Burr Eldridge, of Yarmouth, 
he returned to Burlington in September, 
1843, '^nd again ventured upon a mercantile 



experience, establishing a general store upon 
the present site of the large dry-goods house 
of J. S. Schramm & Company. This time 
he was more successful, and a rapidly grow- 
ing patronage justified his active connection 
with banking interests in 1838, in which 
year he entered the private banking hou.se 
of Gen. Jacob G. and George C. Lauman, 
the new firm being styled Lauman, Hedge 
& Company. Following his retirement from 
this business in the early T)o's, he devoted a 
few years to carrying on the grain trade, and 
in 1866 he entered into partnership with 
John W. and W. D. Gilbert as wholesale 
lumber dealers, under the firm style of 
Gilbert, Hedge & Company. Those famil- 
iar with the history of Burlington, or with 
the trade records of the State through the 
latter half of the ninteenth century, know of 
the success of this house. The operations 
of the firm constantly grew, reaching mam- 
moth proportions, and the promoters of the 
enterprise became wealthy men of the city. 
Mr. Hedge is, moreover, entitled to dis- 
tinctive mention as one of the most promi- 
nent and representative men of Burlington, 
by reason of the active and stalwart support 
which he gave to many measures for the 
general good. Realizing the value and im- 
portance of railroad transportation, he be- 
came one of the most active promoters 
of the plan for the building of the Bur- 
lington & \'orthwestern Railroad in the 
'/o's, and u|OTn its incorporation was chosen 
its first president. His political allegiance 
was unswervingly given to the Republican 
])arty, and for .several years he rendered 
effective service as a member of the Des 
Moines board of supervisors. He was at 
one time a member of the board of trustees 
for the Hospital for the Insane, and at the 
time of his death was a member of the board 



978 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



of trustees of the First Congregational 
clnircli. in which he lonp held membership. 

In 1869 Thomas Hedge was called upon 
to mourn the loss of his wife, who in that 
vear passed away, survived by a son and 
daughter: Thomas Hedge, now representing 
the Des Moines district in Congress ; and 
Mrs. Anna Hedge Squires, widow of the 
late C. P. Squires. 

Mr. Hedge sur\'ived l\>r about sixteen 
years, departing this life Jan. 8, 1885. While 
his business success won him the admiration 
of his contemporaries and the entire trust 
of his business associates, his broad humani- 
tarian principles and devotion to the general 
good gained him the warm regard of all 
who knew aught of his career ; and so ef- 
fective, far-reaching, and beneficial was his 
service in behalf of his community and his 
State, that his demise was the occasion of 
unifnnn and wide-spread regret. 



AMOS BEERE. 



A FINE representative of the middle-aged 
farmers of Yellow Springs township is 
.'\mos Beere, who was born in Franklin 
township, Des Moines county, May 24, 1847. 
His father was a cabinet-maker in the State 
of New York, but on account of ill health 
was induced to come West, where, in 1845, 
he purchased a farm of one hundred and 
twenty acres in Des Moines county, and 
added to this till at the time of his death 
two hundred and ninety acres bore golden 
tribute to his labor. 

Our subject was educated in the pioneer 
district scho<ils of his native township, and 
remained upon the home farm till long after 
he had reached his majority. He then for a 



number of years rented a farm, and in 1893 
he bought his present place of eighty acres 
in the northeast c<irner rif Section 29. 
This farm then was devoitl of any improve- 
ments, but Mr. Beere has now a nice house 
and a good barn, besides all the other 
buildings necessary for grain and stock. 
He is a very methodical farmer, which 
assertion is verified by the tidy and neat 
ajjpearance of his place. He raises some 
cattle each year, has from thirty to forty 
hogs, and also raises from five to seven 
calves annually. 

Mr. Beere has always been a strong 
Democrat, and taken much interest in the 
work of his party. He was trustee of 
Franklin township for two years, and has 
served as road supervisor and school di- 
rector, also. 

Feb. 2, 1882. Mr. Beere was united in 
marriage with Miss Charlotte Lines, daugh- 
ter of Allison and Elizabeth (Bishop) 
Lines. 

Mr. Beere has e.xerted considerable in- 
fluence in public and community affairs in 
his township, and his worth is widely rec- 
ognized, for his business methods will al- 
wavs bear the closest investigation, and his 
course in politics has ever been that of a 
loyal and ]>rogressive citizen. 



EDWARD W. M. CATLETT. 

]'j>w.\Ki) \\'. M. C.\Ti.ETT, general agent 
for the Connecticut .Mutual Life Insur- 
ance Com])any, was born in Lexington, 
McLean county. 111., July 4. 1866. and is 
a son of William O. Catlett. whose birth 
occurred in Martinsburg. W. \'a. His 
paternal grandfather, although a resident 



> 

o 

m 

w 
w 
w 

so 
B 

» 

w 
o 

n 




DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



98 1 



of the South, was a stanch aboHtionist. 
William O. Catlett, in his early boyhood 
days, was bound out to a miller, and 
mastering the business he followed the 
miller's trade until after the inauguration of 
the Civil War, when he enlisted as a member 
of Company C, Ninety-fourth Illinois In- 
fantry, at Lexington, 111., as a private. He 
w-as wounded in military service at Spring- 
field, J\[o., while on guard at the arsenal 
there, and was then transferred to Chicago. 
He served for three years, and was put on 
guard duty at Camp Douglas, in Chicago, 
on account of physical disability that un- 
fitted him for active field service. 

After the war he engaged in the nursery 
business at Lexington, building up an ex- 
tensive trade, the Catlett nursery becoming 
widely known. At length he disposed of 
the nursery, and removed to Des Moines 
Iowa, where he lived until his death. He 
married Alice Caroline Mahan, Sept. 27, 
1855, a native of Zanesville, Ohio. Her 
father was also a stanch abolitionist, and 
died in a rebel prison. He was an aged 
man, and because of his bitter opposition to 
the system of slaver\' he aided in freeing 
a number of slaves, his home being a station 
on the famous underground railroad. Sus- 
picion being aroused against him in the 
minds of Southern sympathizers, he was 
captured by the rebels and put in prison, 
where the hardships of prison existence 
terminated his life. 

Three brothers of William O. Catlett 
were soldiers in the Civil War, and 
although they lived in West Virginia, 
were stanch abolitionists. Airs. Catlett, 
following her husband's demise, came to 
Burlington, Iowa, to make her home with 
her son, Edward W. M. Catlett, and here 
died June 20, 1889. In their family were 



the following named : Thomas G., who was 
the oldest child by Mr. Catlett's first mar- 
riage, and who was at one time an attorney 
of Burlington, died in Lineus, Mo., Oct. 28, 
1903; Evelyn E., a daughter by the first 
marriage, is the wife of John B. Wright, 
a resident of Manitoba ; Viola is the wife of 
W. V. Beal, of Red Cloud, Nebr. ; Maude 
E. died Jan. 11, 1886; Edward W.: and 
Horace, who died Jan. 25, 1900. 

Edward W. M. Catlett acquired his 
early education in the schools of Lexing- 
ton, 111. In the year of the Chicago fire, 
1871, when he was five years of age, his 
father removed from Lexington to Ne- 
braska, during a rush there, and secured 
a claim; but later the family returned to 
Winterset, Iowa, where Mr. Catlett, of 
this review, pursued his studies in the pub- 
lic schools. He also took a course in El- 
liott's Business College after coming to 
Burlington. When fourteen years of age, 
he began learning the printer's trade in the 
employ of the George A. Miller Printing 
Company, of Des Moines, Iowa, with which 
he was connected for three years. He after- 
ward entered the employ of the Kenyon 
Printing Company, of Des Aloines, and later 
removed to Burlington, where, following his 
commercial course, he entered the services 
of the Conrad Lutz Printing Company, be- 
ing employed as a job printer for three 
years. Nov. i, 1889, he entered the office 
of the Burlington Hazck-Eye as mailing 
clerk, and was connected with the advertis- 
ing and collection department for twelve 
years, while during the last four years of 
his relation with the paper he was also con- 
nected with the mailing department. He 
resigned his position on the Haivk-Eye, Jan. 
I, 1904, to accept the agency of southeastern 
Iowa for the Connecticut Mutual Life In- 



982 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



surance Company, of Hartford, his territory 
extending east of Ottuniwa and south of 
Cedar Rapids. He appoints agents and 
looks after the business generally in the 
principal towns in southeastern Iowa. 

Mr. Catlctt is a member of the Woodmen 
of the World. He has filled all of its posi- 
tions as an executive officer. He became a 
charter member of lilack Hawk Camp. No. 
33, and five times has been a representative 
to the head camp, and twice to the sovereign 
cam]). His political allegiance is given to 
the Republican i)arty, and he is active in its 
ranks, doing all in his power to promote its 
local work and successes, being in 1903 a 
delegate to the State convention. 

On June 28, 1892, Mr. Catlett was mar- 
ried, in Burlington, to Miss Bertha Krop- 
])ach. wliii was born in iiurlington, while her 
parents were natives of Prussia, coming to 
this city at a very early day, and for more 
than twenty years the father was assessor. 

Mr. and Mrs. Catlett have an attractive 
home at 807 .Soutli Ninth Street, wliich was 
built in 1891) at a cost of three tliovisand 
dollars. They have a large circle of friends 
in the city, and enjoy the hospitality of many 
of the best homes in Burlington. Mr. Cat- 
lett is classed with the representative busi- 
ness men here, and the success he lias 
achieved is the tlirect result of his own 
labors : for he entered business life without 
capital, and has gained advancement 
through close application, laudable ambition, 
and imfaltering diligence. 



FRANK E. THOMPSON. 

Frank E. Tiiomi'.'^on. who is filling the 
position of county attorney of Des Moines 
county, was born in Grandview, Louisa 



county, Iowa, Dec. 13, 1870, his parents 
lx?ing John W. and Mary (See) Thompson. 
1 lis grandfather, John Thompson, was born 
in Ross county, Ohio, in 1810, and was of 
New luigland ancestry. He came with his 
l)arents to Iowa in 1839, settling in Louisa 
county, near Grandview. This was a wild 
frontier district. Every evidence of pioneer 
life was to be seen here, and the work of 
])rogress and civilization seemed scarcely 
begim. The Thompson family were wealthy 
people, and purchased large tracts of land. 
John Thompson turned his attention to 
stock-raising, and he also did a large 
amount of contract work. He was twice 
married, his fir.st wife being a Miss Nichols, 
by whom he had four children. His second 
wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah 
Nichols, was horn in Ross county, Ohio, 
and there were five children by that mar- 
riage. The grandfather died in 1886, while 
his wife passed away in 1880, when about 
fifty-five years of age. 

fohn W. Thompson ac<|uire(l his educa- 
tion in the common schools, and throughout 
his entire life has engaged in general farm- 
ing and stock-raising. He has always been 
identified with the interests of Iowa, taking 
a most active part in its deveIo])ment and 
l)rogress. About 1870 he removed to Henry 
countv. Iowa, where be lived for thirty 
years, and in 1900 he went to Missouri, 
settling near Sedalia, where he owns a 
large tract of lan<l. There he is extensively 
engaged in dealing in horses, mules, and 
cattle. He wedded .Miss Mary See, a 
daughter of Rev. Michael See, and a repre- 
sentative of one of the old colonial families 
of \'irginia. Her father came to the West 
in 1836, settling in Burlington with his par- 
ents, who entered land from the government 
in what is known as the Miller settlement, 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



983 



in Des Moines county. Michael See was 
a man of powerful and vigorous constitu- 
tion. He became a circuit rider of the 
Methodist church, and from the age of 
twenty-one years devoted his life entirely 
to the work of the ministry. He was a 
very successful preacher, being gifted with 
eloquence, and with that quality which for 
want of a better term we have called per- 
sonal magnetism. He was logical in argu- 
ment, persuasive, and earnest, and his labors 
led to the substantia! upbuilding of the 
church. He was an intimate friend of H. 
Clay Dean and Rev. Frank Evans, and 
was one of the notable figures in the early 
history of Iowa. He was twice married, 
his first wife being a Miss Miller, whose 
mother belonged to the Hanks family, and 
was a relative of Abraham Lincoln. He de- 
parted this life in 1899, full of years and 
honors, having passed the eighty-second 
milestone on life's journey. He had never 
been ill until just prior to his death, and he 
continued in the active work of the ministry 
almost to the last. 

Frank E. Thompson began his education 
in the district schools, and at thirteen years 
became a student in the high school at 
Columbus City, Iowa. He also continued 
his studies in the high school at Muscatine, 
Iowa, and was a student in a business col- 
lege there. Later he entered the Iowa State 
University, where he pursued a literary 
course for a time, and then entered upon the 
study of law, being graduated with the class 
of 1896. Soon afterward he opened an 
office for the practice of law in Burlington, 
and has since been an active member of the 
legal profession in this city. Mr. Thomp- 
son has ever prepared his cases with great 
thoroughness,. and in tlie presentation of his 
cause his arguments have been clear, and his 



deductions have foUcjwed in logical se- 
quence. He is clear and cogent in his 
reasoning, and is familiar with precedent 
and the points in law. 

A stanch Republican in Iiis ]j(ilitical views, 
Mr. Thompson was a candidate on the ticket 
of that party for rci)resentative to the State 
Legislature in 1901, and was defeated, as 
were all of the other Republican candidates. 
He lost the election, however, by a very 
small vote, running ahead of many of the 
candidates on the ticket. In 1904 he was 
made the Republican nominee for county 
attorney, and was elected, leading the 
county ticket, his majority being about 
nine hundred, notwithstanding his oppon- 
ent was regarded as one of the strongest 
members of the county bar. He has taken 
an active interest in ])olitics, regarding it 
the duty as well as the privilege of every 
true American citizen to keep well informed 
on the issues of the day, and to support by 
his ballot the principles which he believes 
contain the best elements of good govern- 
ment. He was chairman of the Republican 
count}- central committee in 1902, and has 
been active in politics, delivering many cam- 
paign addresses in Des Moines and adjoin- 
ing counties. Fraternally, he is connected 
with the Knights of Pythias, the Benevolent 
and Protective Order of Elks, the Fraternal 
Order of Eagles, and the Modern Woodmen 
of America. 

In 1894 Mt. Thompson was married to 
Miss Lillian Russell, a daughter of John J. 
Russell, a retired merchant of Columbus 
Junction, Iowa. They are prominent 
socially, having a wide and favorable ac- 
c|uaintance in Burlington. Mr. Thompson, 
devoting the greater part of his time and at- 
tention to his profession, has made for 
himself an enviable position as one of the 



u84 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



leading young lawyers of Burlington, and as 
county attorney is giving excellent satisfac- 
tion by liis unfaltering devotion to the duties 
which devolve upon him. 



HENRY EWINGER. 

Henry Ewinger, who made for himself 
a creditable position in the business circles 
of Burlington as a steam- and gas-fitter, and 
•whose success was the legitimate result of 
close application and earnest effort, was 
born in Rhine, Bavaria, on the 20th of 
February, 1827. The days of his youth 
were there passed, and when he was sixteen 
years of age he was apprenticed to a ma- 
chinist of Germany, becoming very thor- 
ough in his work, and gaining a practical 
as well as theoretical knowledge of mechan- 
ical principles that proved the basis of his 
success in later life. 

Before leaving his native country Mr. 
Ewinger was niarricii, in 1852, to Miss 
Kate Burg, also a native of Rhine, Bavaria, 
and a sister of John Burg, the well-known 
wagon-maker of Burlington, prominently 
identified with the early industrial develop- 
ment of the city. In the fall of 1853 ^^'■• 
Ewinger started with his young wife for the 
New World upon a sailing vessel. It was 
sixty-five day later before they were allowed 
to land at New Orleans, for the ship was 
quarantined, cholera having broken out on 
board. Every child on board died with the 
exception of Mary, the little daughter of 
Mr. and Mrs. Ewinger, who lived to reach 
womanhood. After reaching the Crescent 
City, Mr. Ewinger proceeded up the Mis- 
sissippi River to Burlington, where he ar- 



rived with sixty dollars in his pocket. Not 
finding immediate employment at his trade 
he engaged in laying rails on the Chicago, 
Burlington, & Quincy Railroad, which was 
then being constructed on the east side of 
the river in Illinois. There were no rail- 
roads in Burlington, nor did a bridge span 
the river, most of the products of the city 
and surrounding district being shi])ped 
down the river. In the spring of 1854 he 
secured employment in the machine shops 
of Rentz & Bradley, with whom he remained 
until 1858, when he took charge of a sta- 
tionary engine in the Putnam llonring mill, 
occupying that position from 1858 until 
1873. He then purchased an interest in a 
plumbing and steam- and gas-fitting estab- 
lishment, becoming a partner in the firm of 
Conrad & Ewinger. Five years later he 
became sole proprietor through the purchase 
of his partner's interest, and so remained 
until January, 1896, when the business was 
incorporated, his two sons, William O. and 
John H., being admitted to a partnership, at 
which time Mr. Ewinger became president, 
anil so continued until his death. 

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Ewinger wen- born 
eight children : Mary, who became the wife 
of August Marquardt, died in 1886, at the 
age of thirty-three years, leaving four chil- 
dren ; Kate, who became the wife of Fred 
C. Frebert, and died in 1881, leaving two 
children ; Sarah, the wife of George Reif, 
a farmer living about seven miles from 
Burlington ; Ricke, the wife of Chris Ebert, 
a cigar manufacturer of Burlington, and 
they have four children ; John, who is now 
interested in the plumbing and steam- and 
gas-fitting business, married Ursula Joanna, 
and they have three children ; Lydia, the 
wife of B. Dixon, a railway engineer of 
Fort Madison, Iowa, and they have four 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



985 



children ; William, now the president of the 
business, married Tillie Strohm, of Tcru, 
111. ; Emma, the wife of Carl Kurle, who 
is engaged in the harness business in Dallas 
City, 111. Mrs. Ewinger died in 1878, and 
her remains were interred in Aspen Grove 
cemetery, and there also rest the remains of 
Mr. Ewinger and their two deceased 
daughters. 

In his political views Mr. Ewinger was a 
Democrat, but while never remiss in the 
duties of citizenship, he did not seek or 
desire office. He was at one time a member 
of the German Methodist Episcopal church, 
and later he became a member of the First 
Methodist Episcopal church. He came to 
Burlington a poor man, but lived a life of 
. imtiring industry ; and through the care- 
ful husbanding of his resources, his unfal- 
tering energy, and laudable ambition, he 
achieved success, and at his death left a 
very desirable estate, his realty being valued 
at thirty thousand dollars. His son, 
William O., was appointed his executor. 
Mr. Ewinger was a man of fine physique, 
six feet and four inches in height, and 
weighing two hundred and twenty pounds, 
and he was also noted for his feats of 
strength. A man of domestic tastes he was 
devoted to his family, and was also most 
generous in his contributions to the deserv- 
ing poor. When prosperity had crowned his 
efforts, he traveled to a considerable extent, 
twice returning to the Fatherland, and also 
visiting the But^'alo Exposition, Denver, 
Boston, and other cities. He died May 22, 
1896, and the funeral services were con- 
ducted by Rev. Hurlhurt. who s[)okc in 
English, and Rev. Holkampt, who spoke 
in German. Flis principles were high, his 
actions manly and sincere, and without os- 
tentation he \et did mucli good in tlic 



world through the influence which he ex- 
erted in his adopted city in behalf of im- 
provement, reform, and the right. 



PETER NEES. 



Tjie success which has come to Peter 
Nees is entirely the result of his own efforts, 
the reward of a concentrated energy and 
ambition, and as the architect of his own 
fortunes he liuilded wisely and well. There 
is probably no man in the entire comnuinity 
better knoAvn than he is, nor one who is held 
in higher esteem by his fellow-men. 

He is a son of Leonard and Eliza (Hoop) 
Nees, and was born in Stockstad, Germany, 
Oct. 23, 1823. His parents gave him a 
very substantial education in the public 
schools in his home place, which he at- 
tended, as well as the Sunday-schools, till 
he was twenty-one years old. He also re- 
ceived a thorough education in music, which 
has been of much pleasure as well as very 
useful to him in life. 

After reaching his majority he learned the 
tlorist's business, in which he exhibited great 
natural ability. In 1850 he decided to 
try his fortunes beyond the Atlantic, and 
after being forty-six days on the ocean he 
landed in New York, and went at once to 
Pittsburg. Here he grew almost discour- 
aged, as it was a long time before he could 
find employment : but one evening he took 
his cornet with him and played some very 
l)retty pieces in front of an attractive house, 
where his music was appreciated so much 
that the owner of the house gave him a good 
supper and a glass of wine, which Mr. 
Nees relished very much, as it was the first 
f(iod he li.'id had since early morning. Go- 



986 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ing farther down the street he saw two other 
musicians playing, the one a bass viol and 
the other a violin. Permission was given 
him to play with them, which he did for two 
hours, receiving two dollars and a half and 
one day's board at the hotel as a compen- 
sation for his playing. Tims equipped he 
went to an adjoining town, where he worked 
as a hod carrier all that summer. He then 
traveled all through the large cities of 
America, maintaining himself by working 
a few days at a time in each place at any 
.thing he might find to do, till 1870, when 
he came to Burlington, and bought his 
present farm on the Mason road and Starr 
.Avenue. He at once improved the land, 
built his house, and erected modern green- 
houses. 

He was married in October, t86i, to 
Miss Louisa Riecewick. They became the 
parents of eight children, five of whom were 
bom in St. Louis and three in Burlington: 
Emma, married William Garrett ; William, 
died aged six months ; William, has a 
harness store at 700 Jefferson Street, Bur- 
lington, Iowa ; Rose, a resident of Chicago ; 
Oscar, a farmer of South Dakota; Vir- 
ginia (Mrs. William Dowdie), lives in Bur- 
lington : Arthur, a druggist; Otto and Peter, 
florists, of Chicago. 

Mrs. Nees was a great help to her hus- 
band, for beside her family and household 
cares she assisted him in the greenhouse and 
also in the vegetable garden. For many 
years she and one of the boys attended 
regularly early market, supplying many of 
the people of the city with fresh vegetables 
and home-made cottage cheese. Mr. Nees 
usually brought a load of potted plants and 
cut flowers, and if he did not dispose of 
them at the market, he would go round to 



Third and Jeflferson Streets, where he al- 
ways found a ready sale for his pretty 
plants. He seemed to be very fond of chil- 
dren, and was very generous to them with 
his flowers, and on his return trip home, 
nearly ahvays had a load of little folks 
whom he was taking for a ride. His mu- 
sical voice attracted everybody, old and 
young: and as he was always yodeling, 
either when walking or standing at his 
accustomed comer with his plants, his 
friends always knew he was around long 
before they saw him. 

Mrs. Nees died May 16, 1899, and is 
buried in Aspen Grove cemetery, and since 
then Mr. Nees has lived alone at the old 
home place, where he still raises about five 
thousand plants annually. On account of 
the advanced age of our subject he does 
not get to town as often as he used to do, 
but his friends and customers go to him 
for plants, cut flowers, prepared soil, and 
general advice for the care of shrubs and 
plants. His energy, activity, integrity, and 
progressive spirit, together with a cultivated 
natural ability, have been the means of his 
prosi)erity in his line of business, and he 
receives the respect and good-will of the 
people everywhere. Besides his daily labors 
with his hands he has also been enriching 
his mental sphere, till his mind is like a 
storehouse, filled with knowledge acquired 
from his early and thorough education, from 
general reading and observation, and above 
all from his extensive travels ; and the 
writer is justified in saying that it is very 
rarely indeed that one meets with a man 
so well posted on all subjects and so thor- 
oughly acquainted with the manners and 
customs of people of so many different 
places. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



987 



JOHN A. UHLER. 

In no country is such scope furnished for 
individual enterprise as in America, and it 
is a matter of pride with us that this is so ; 
but while in all lines of life advancement 
depends upon personal effort and merit, 
it is especially true that progress in the 
learned trades or professions results from 
individual accomplishment ; and when one 
has attained success and prominence, there- 
fore, it is indicative of talent and skill. John 
Adam Uhler is a son of Uriah and Elizabeth 
(Boger) Uhler, who were both born in 
Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, the father in 
1835, ^"d the mother in 1833. The father 
of our subject learned the trade of a cabinet- 
maker in Lebanon county, Pennsylvania, 
with Joseph Troxel, father of John Troxel, 
the furniture dealer, in Burlington, Iowa. 
He later turned his attention to carpenter 
work, but finally drifted back to the cabinet- 
maker's trade, in Anville, where he was 
foreman for }-ears in the building where our 
subject afterward learned his trade — that 
of a cabinet-maker. 

Mr. L'hler was married three times, and 
became the father of twelve children, of 
whom five are now living. His first wife, 
Elizabeth (Boger) L'hler, died in 187 1, 
when a little later, he married Miss Sarah 
Dontrich, who died in 1875, who was the 
mother of three children, all of whom are 
dead. The third wife was, in maidenhood, 
Miss Caroline Long, who still resides at the 
old home in Anville, Lebanon county. Pa., 
where her three children, Lucy, Carrie, and 
Harry, all reside. 

Mr. Uhler, of this review, has four sis- 
ters, as follows : Mary Jane, born Oct. 7, 
1862. married Henry Hershey, and lives 
in Hummelstown, Pa. ; Elizabeth, born in 



1868, is a resident of Burlington, Iowa; 
Alice Minerva, lx)rn in March, 1871, is the 
wife of Cieorge Phreamer, and they live in 
F.urcka, Cal. ; Sarah Ann, born in October, 
1859, married Henry Barnhart, who lives in 
.\nvillc. Pa. 

The father of our subject died in his 
native home in 1892. He was a Republican, 
hut did not .seek office. He and his first wife 
were devoted members of the United Breth- 
ren church, where his father was a trustee 
for some years. John A. Uhler was born in 
Anville. Lebanon county. Pa., Oct. 7, 1855, 
where he received his early education. At 
the age of fifteen years he began to learn 
the trade of a cabinet-maker, receiving 
twelve dollars a year for his services and 
an allowance of eight dollars, which made 
about twenty dollars for one year's work. 
It took him about one and a half years to 
complete his trade, vvhen he went to Harris- 
burg, Pa., to assist in the building of a large 
furnace as a common laborer ; but when he 
got there, he was asked where his tools 
were, and he told the foreman, who was a 
friend and schoolmate of his father's, that 
he was not to do carpenter work, and so had 
no tools. This friend took special interest 
in Mr. Uhler, and assisted him in many 
ways, advising him how to secure a box of 
tools, and telling him to go at once to work 
with the carpenters, which he did, and re- 
ceived as compensation one dollar and sev- 
enty-five cents a day. 

.\t the end of three months he was em- 
ployed as one of the carpenters who helped 
to build the Masonic temple at Harrisburg, 
Pa., which is still standing. The contrac- 
tors, recognizing his skill and ability as a 
mechanic, raised his wages the second week 
from nine dollars a week to twelve dollars a 
week. When the panic of 1873 came on, 



988 



BIOGRAPHICAL REIIEIV 



a groat many of tlie cari)enters had to be 
laid off, and Mr. L'hler, knowing this, and 
fearing he would be one of them, applied 
at once, one moniing by daylight, to a prom- 
inent contractor by the name of Wilson, 
who always employed a great number of 
men, for a job. and was successful. In the 
fall of 1873 lie went to the ftiot of the Blue 
Mountains — the village of Rankstown — 
where he was a partner of an uncle in the 
erection of some houses and the making 
of furniture, which in those days was mostly 
hand-made. 

In 1874 he came to Burlington, Iowa, 
where he first worked for two weeks at nine 
dollars a week at Quick's Mill, now called 
Union Furniture Company. lie then 
worked for a few weeks on two farms for 
friends, when he returned to Burlington 
and to his first love, that of a carpenter. 
Mr. Kicliard Howard was at that time one 
of tiic leading carpenters of the city, and 
noting the determination of young Uhler 
to siicceetl. either in the city or in the coun- 
try, agreed to employ him for one day, 
which gave such good results, that Mr. 
Howard employetl him till winter set in, 
shutting off all outdoor work. 

.\fter .>;peiiding the winter in the East, 
Mr. Uhler again returned to Burlington, 
and was again employed by Mr. Howard, 
working on the I'. II. Smythe house, the 
Starr house, and others til! 1S77, when lie 
and J. W. McClean formed a ])artnership. 
Their first contract was that of the residence 
of the late E. M. Burt, on the corner of 
Fiftii and Spring Streets. Their business 
increased steadily till they were soon num- 
bered among the leading contractors of the 
city. They had the contract for the wood 
work of the stone front block on Fourth and 
Jefferson Streets, owned by Mrs. C. P. 



Squires, E. H. Carpenter, and John M. 
(jregg. They also had the contract for the 
car|)enter work for the Gregg building, on 
the corner of Third and Division Streets, 
and many others. In March, 1882, this firm 
dissolved partnership, when Mr. Uhler took 
charge of the shipjiing and retail depart- 
ment of Gilbert Hedge Company, of Bur- 
lington, Iowa. After filling this responsible 
[Kjsition for twelve \ears, he was employed 
by the same company as a traveling sales- 
man, making fre<|uent trips in southern 
Iowa, northern Missouri, southeastern Ne- 
braska, and western Illinois, till 1903. when 
he severed his connection with this firm, and 
Ix'came a prosperous lumljer broker — being 
a manufacturers' agent, selling posts, poles, 
and shingles. He uses a very 'unique postal 
to announce his coming. His business is 
constantly growing, and he has connection 
with the largest manufacturers of lumber, 
selling white pine from the home manufac- 
tories, as well as Minnesota and Wisconsin, 
and Pacific Coast lumber and shingles ; he 
also sells yellow pine from Louisiana, Ar- 
kansas, and Mississippi; Louisana red cy- 
press from Louisiana. California redwood 
from San Francisco, white cedar posts and 
poles from \\'isconsin and Michigan: red 
cedar posts and poles from Tennessee ; white 
and red oak stock from Arkansas. His 
f)fiice is located in his home in Burlington. 
On Oct. 2, 1879, Mr. Uhler married Miss 
Ida M. Barlow, daughter of William F. and 
Sarah E. (Babcock) Barlow, who was bom 
in Monmouth. 111., Feb. 26, 1859. Mrs. 
Uhler attended the Monmouth schools in 
her youth : and when her parents located in 
Burlington, she became a puj)il in the city 
schools, where she graduated from the high 
school in June, 1878. Mr. Barlow was bom 
in Kentucky, June 6, 1831, and located in 



DES. MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



989 



Burlington, Iowa, in 1869, wlit-rc lie worked 
for many years in the carpentering depart- 
ment of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 
Railroad shops. He was a devoted member 
of the Baptist church. Mr. Barlow died 
Sept. 6, 1877, and is buried in Monmouth 
beside his children. Mrs. Barlow resides 
in Burlington with her daughter, Mrs. 
Uhler, and still retains some of the home 
property. 

Unto Mr. and ^Irs. Barlow were born 
five children : Frank W., also a graduate of 
the Burlington high school, who now resides 
in Denver, Colo. He has one daughter, 
Blanch, the wife of Christian Kumm, who 
also has one daughter. They reside in 
Denver: Ida M., wife of subject; and two 
daughters and one son, who died when very 
young. 

^Ir. and Mrs. Uhler have been blessed 
with three children : Pcrle, born Feb. 14, 
1881. a graduate of the Burlington Insti- 
tute, possessing a sweet soprano voice, and 
who also assists her father in his large office 
work ; Edna, born March 29, 1882, also a 
graduate of the Burlington Institute, and 
a piano teacher in the Lombard College at 
Galesburg. 111., during the winters of 1901- 
02 and 1902-03. Since then she has had one 
of the largest music classes in the city. Oct. 
4. 1905, she was married to William F. Gil- 
man, son of H. H. Oilman, of Burlington, 
Iowa. :Mr. Oilman is the bookkeeper of the 
Burlington Lumber Company. He and his 
charming wife reside on the South Hill. 
Mrs. Oilman is still a member of the Phi 
Beta Society, and is assistant secretary of 
the Woman's Musical Club and corre- 
sponding secretary of the City Federation 
of woman's clubs. John Arthur Uhler was 
born April 15, 1897, and is a student in 
Saunderson's school. Mr. Uhler has been a 



member of the .Vncient Order of United 
Workmen since 1877 — Red Cross Lodge, 
No. 242 — and has passed all of the chairs. 
He is also a member of Iowa Camp, No. 98, 
of Modern M'oodmen of America ; also 
belongs to the Travelers' Protective Asso- 
ciation, known ^s the T. P. A. of Burling- 
ton. He is also identified with the State 
Traveling Men's Association, of Des 
Moines. 

Mr. and Mrs. Uhler and family and Mrs. 
liarlow are devoted members of the Congre- 
gational church. In 1901 Mr. L'hler built 
his handsome and substantial residence at 
207 Marietta Street, where he now resides. 
He is a self-made man, as this record shows 
full well, and has gradually made strides 
of success till he now has a goodly portion 
of this world's goods. He is a very genial 
and pleasant man, and has hundreds of 
friends, not only in his home city, but all 
along the line where he does business. 



CHARLES WOODCOCK. 

To know Charles W^oodcock is to honor 
and respect him. for in all of life's relations 
he has ever been true to upright principles. 
His capability has been the success of his 
business career, for without the aid of in- 
fluential friends or of wealth he has worked 
his way upward till to-day he is one of tlie 
leading contractors in the city. He is a 
son of Thomas and .Vnna (Hollyoake) 
Woodcock, and was born in Tannerth, near 
Hockleyheath. Warwickshire, England, 
Dec. 15. 1836. His father was a native of 
England, and was born in 1798. His mother 
was born in \\'arwickshire, England, in 
1800. Thev were married in England, and 



90O 



niOGRAPHICAL RRVIFAi- 



came to America in 1858 on a vessel named 
"Smith Hamptnii," which came iij) the St. 
Lawrence River ti> (Jiichcc. and made the 
trip in twelve days. They settled in Canaan 
township. Henry county, near Mt. Pleasant. 
Iowa, where the father hought a farm of 
sixty acres, upon which place he lived and 
farmed till he died in 18S1. Mrs. Wood- 
cock died in 1879. They were the ])arents 
of ten children, of whom three are living: 
James, born in I-'ebruary, 1826, lives in his 
birth|)lace, Warwickshire, England ; Emma, 
married Thomas .Shaffer, who was killed 
in the army at Mem])his in 1863, during 
the Civil War. She married for her second 
husband Riley Forbes, a farmer of Mt. 
Pleasant. Iowa, and he, too, is dead, leav- 
ing one child. Mrs. I'orbes, who also has 
one chilli by her first husband, resides in 
Mt. Pleasant. Charles is the subject of this 
review. 

He attended the .-.chools in his native 
place, where his jiarents had to \\a\ two 
cents a week for his tuition, and between 
times learned the trade of a bricklayer with 
his father, who carried on this trade with 
much success. After he came to America 
in 1858. he attended the Howe .Academy 
at Mt. Pleasant, Towa, where he took a 
commercial course, and thus leariKil nuuh 
of the American business methods. Mr. 
Woodcock went back and forth between 
Mt. Pleasant and Burlington, working part 
of the time on the farm and part of the 
time at odd jobs in the city above named till 
1872, when he settled in lUirlington and 
finished his trade with Simeon Rus.sell. He 
continued doing journeymen's work till 
1887, when he began contracting, .\mong 
the prominent buildings he has erected are : 
the Burlington hospital, James Moir's resi- 
dence, the addition to Mercy hospital, and 



many other private homes. He has laid 
brick walks in all parts of the city, and has 
also built himdrefis of cisterns. Mr. Wood- 
cock celebrated the national independence 
day, July 4, 1869, by marrying Miss Mary 
Cochran, who is a daughter of Matthew 
and .Ann (Kennedy) Cochran, and was 
I)orn in Galena. III., .\pril 23. 185 1. Her 
]jarents died when she was very young, 
and she moved to Iowa in early girlhood. 
Her father settled in Mt. Pleasant, where 
he died, and left seven children, of whom 
four are living: Margaret Cochran, married 
-Mr. McGinley, and lives in Dubu(|iie, Iowa; 
Timothy, a farmer residing near Oberlin, 
Kans. : Edward, a farmer, and also lives 
near C)berlin : and Mrs. Woodcock, wife 
of our subject. 

.Mr. and Mrs. Woodcock have been 
blessed with ten children : lamina, is at 
home: Clarence, married Miss Teresa 
Shaffer, owns and conducts the brick-yard 
formerly owned by Henry Rittcr, and they 
have three children, Margaret. Laura, and 
Dorothy: Julia, married I-'wing lsh;un, has 
one daughter. Myrtle, and lives in Texas; 
Dora, bookkeeper for the Tabor Burns 
Company, of Burlington ; Charles, Jr., mar- 
ried Miss Jidia Ritter, and has one son, 
Iknry: he has a brick-yard on Sunnyside 
Avenue, in Burlington; Samuel, married 
Miss Tillie Long, and has two sons, and 
is a brick contractor residing on Garfield 
Avenue, in Burlington; Myrtle, a student 
in the high school ; Birdie, died when three 
years of age : Theodore, died when three 
months old ; Earl Lewis, died in infancy. 

Mr. and Mrs. Woodcock have endeavored 
to give each of their children a substantial 
education in the grammar schools, and sev- 
eral of them also attended the business col- 
lege, of which .Samuel is a graduate. It 



IS a great satisfaction to the parents to see 
them all so comfortably settled in life. 
When the call was made for men to defend 
this country during the Civil War, Mr. 
Woodcock enlisted in the Nineteenth Iowa 
Volunteer Infantry at Mt. Pleasant, in 1862. 
From this time until 1865, when the war 
closed, he was located in the frontier 
army most of the time, and was honorably 
discharged at Springfield, ]\Io. After this 
he returned home. 

In politics he is a Republican, but gener- 
ally votes for the man whom he considers 
best qualified to serve the people. Though 
ever ready to do his full dut\-. yet Air. 
Woodcock does not aspire to public office 
of any kind. Mr. and Mrs. Woodcock are 
devoted members of St. Paul's Catholic 
church, and so are their daughters. Mr. 
Woodcock belongs to the Grand Army of 
the Republic, and Mrs. Woodcock is a mem- 
ber of the Relief Corps." 

When this household was first estab- 
lished, Mr. Woodcock bought a lot at 910 
Linden Street, from Simeon Russell, and 
resided in a cottage for many years. As 
time advanced he was enabled each }ear to 
lay by some of his income, which in 1892 
had accumulated so that he removed the 
cottage and replaced it with a beautiful 
modern residence, in which he now lives. 
He and his worthy wife have worked hand 
in hand, and deserve many words of ])raise. 
Mr. Woodcock surely has been the archi- 
tect of his own fortunes, for he has worked 
earlv and late, beginning in life with exceed- 
ingly low wages. He possesses a large, 
warm heart, and is of an unusually cheerful 
disposition, while his business methods are 
along those lines that lead to integrity and 
uprightness, and thus has friends by the 
score all through the communitv. 



DES ^{0!XES COUNTY, IOWA. ggi 

THOMAS K. HURLBUT. 



As one f)f the very early settlers and 
large landholders of Des Moines county, 
Thomas K. Hurlbut is widely known 
throughout this portion of the State, and 
as a man of liberal education and broad 
views, he has always exercised a marked 
influence upon the side of true progress in 
the community where he resides^. He has 
been a citizen of Danville township since 
his first settlement in the county, and now 
occupies a pleasant home on his magnificent 
farm of one hundred and forty acres in Sec- 
tion 2j. .Mr. Hurlbut is a native of West 
Hartford, Conn., where he was born April 
22, 1817, in the old Webster house in which 
the famous Noah Webster was born, Mr. 
Hurlbut's grandfather having purchased 
the house and farm from the father of Noah 
Webster. He is the son of Samuel and 
Catherine (Goodman) Hurlbut, being de- 
scended on the paternal side from Puritan 
ancestors who settled in the colonies in the 
year 1635 ; while in the maternal line his 
genealogy is traced to the Goodmans who 
came over in the " Mayflower." 

Samuel Hurliiut was born in Wethers- 
field, Conn., and was by trade a shoemaker, 
a trade which he learned from his father, 
who was a shoemaker and tanner. He fol- 
lowed his trade until several years after his 
marriage, when he began cultivating the 
old Webster farm, continuing in this occu- 
pation until his death, which occurred in 
the seventy-fourth year of his age. He was 
a member of the Congregational church. 
and in his political faith was originally a 
Whig, but joined the Re|)nl)lican jjarty on 
its organizaton. He was a man of pro- 
gressive tendencies, and by the exercise of 
industrv and natural talent acquired a com- 



002 



BIOGRAPHICAL Kill 'I Elf 



pctcnce and genuine prosperity. Catlierine 
Goodman Hurlbut was born in Hartford, 
Conn., and died at the age of forty-six 
years, leaving a family comprising one son 
and four daughters, of which Thomas K., 
the subject of this review, is the only sur- 
viving menilier. She, like her husband, was 
identified with the Congregational church, 
in which she was a prominent and devoted 
worker, lloth ])arcnts are buried in West 
Hartford, Conn. 

The early education of Mr. Hurlbut was 
received in the public schools near the place 
of his birth, and he remained at home until 
he was eighteen years of age. when a desire 
for further progress along intellectual lines 
led him to become a student in an academy 
near the city of Rochester, X. Y. On com- 
pleting his studies at that place, he returned 
to the home farm in Connecticut, and re- 
sumed the work of assisting his father in 
the conduct of the farm. This he continued 
for one year, at the termination of which 
period he traveled westward to Cincinnati 
in company with a college friend, they 
making the trip with a horse and buggy 
and selling books on the way — a method of 
l)aying expenses which proved both pleas- 
ant and profitable. He did not long remain 
at Cincinnati, but struck boldly forth into 
the untried West beyond the Mississipj)! 
River, and in 1S37 came to Iowa, locating 
on the farm which he still occupies. He 
entered a quarter section of land, which 
he soon placed under cultivation. The 
farm has been developed by his efforts 
.'iiid uiidiT his direction in a very high 
degree, and he has erected a large and 
substantial dwelling-house, as well as nu- 
merous other buildings, which are con- 
structed according to the most improved 
methods, and constitute a monument to 



his enter])rising spirit. In fact the farm is 
one of the model agricultural establish- 
ments of Des Moines county, and here Mr. 
Hurlbut has engaged in general farming' 
and stock-raising with conspicuous success. 
It is becoming generally recognized in re- 
cent years that the successful conduct of a 
farm requires the exercise of business abil- 
ity of the highest order, and that Mr. Hurl- 
but has succeeded in the face of great diffi- 
culties is the surest proof of his natural 
talents and the firmness of his purpose. The 
I)resent acreage does not represent the full 
extent of his holdings, as he at one time 
purchased an additional tract of one hun- 
dred and twenty-three acres ; but this he 
.sold about three years ago, the transaction 
yielding him a handsome profit. 

.\t Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1848. .Mr. Hurl- 
but was united in marriage to Miss Jane 
Tweedy, who was Ixirn in Ohio, a daughter 
of James and Margaret (Kirk) Tweedy, 
both of whom died in Ohio when Mrs. 
Hurlbut was a mere child. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Hurlbut have been born twelve chil- 
dren, as follows : Charlotte E., who died 
unmarried at the age of twenty-seven years ; 
William H., who resides at Danville, Iowa, 
and a sketch of whose successful career ap- 
pears elsewhere in this volume ; Charles, 
who is engageil in agriculture and stock- 
raising on his father's farm ; Jennie, who is 
at home ; Lucy, who was the wife of Wal- 
lace Stevenson, of Nebraska, and is now 
deceased, leaving two daughters. May and 
Nellie, who reside with the family of our 
subject; Emma, who is at home; Fannie,, 
who died at the age of eighteen years; 
Frank, who was an inventor of great tal- 
ents, but died in the midst of his promising 
career at the age of thirty-nine years ; Kath- 
crinc C, who died in 1904, aged thirty-nine 



DES MOINES COUXTY. lOUW. 



993 



years ; Sallie, who is the wife of Howard 
Foster, of Shenandoah, Iowa, and has one 
son, Harvey ; Delia, who is the wife of Will- 
iam Kolb, a farmer of Danville township, 
and has one daughter, Katherine L. ; and 
John, who died in infancy, at the age of 
one year. 

Mr. Hurlburt is a man of broad and char- 
itable views and impulses, and has always 
been an interested student of public ques- 
tions : and while he has been a lifelong sup- 
porter of die great Republican party, in 
whose declared principles he is a firm be- 
liever, he has never sought recognition 
through public office. A modest estimate of 
his own worth has always been character- 
istic of him, but at the same time he at- 
tacked the hard problems of life in a new 
country with aggressiveness and unwaver- 
ing determination. Depending exclusively 
upon his own efforts, he has acquired ample 
resources and surrounded himself and fam- 
ily with the comforts of life. On the other 
hand, he hasf at no time neglected the higher 
interests of life, and has devoted much time, 
money, and thought to works of philan- 
thropy and religion. He and Mrs. Hurlbut 
have been for many years devoted members 
of the Congregational church, in whose 
work and that of the great cause for which 
it stands they have labored with unceasing 
fidelity ; and for a long term of years he held 
the office of trustee of the church, discharg- 
ing the duties of that position with the same 
distinguished ability which have marked the 
conduct of his private aflfairs. A good 
neighbor, a loyal friend, and a man of 
strong and spotless character, he has made 
many friends, won the respect and esteem 
of all who know him. and now. in the eve- 
ning of his years, finds himself rich in the 
possession of an honored name. 



FRANK MILLARD. 

Frv\nk Mill.xkd, for years one of the 
prominent anfl enterprising business men 
of Burlington, and now in his retirement 
from labor occupying one of the finest 
homes of the city, which from its height 
on Prospect hill commands an excellent 
view of the city, with its industrial and 
commercial interests, and the river, with 
its traffic and its pleasure craft, was born 
in Hampton, Washington county, N. Y., 
Oct. 7, 1831. His father, .\shley Millard, 
was a native of Rhode Island, and a 
cousin of President ^lillard Fillmore, whose 
mother was a daughter of Dr. Abiatha 
IMillard, of Pittsfield, Mass., a sister of the 
grandfather of Frank Millard. The wife 
of Ashley Millard bore the maiden name 
of Polly Peck, and her family were orig- 
inally froin Connecticut, where they were 
well connected and highly esteemed. 

Frank milliard spent his early life upon a 
farm in ^^'ashington county. New York, 
and ere his removal to the West he was 
married, in Warsaw, N. Y., in 1862, to Miss 
Annie I. Catlett, a daughter of Bradley S. 
Catlett. Three children were born of this 
union, two sons and a daughter. Courtney, 
Homer, and Emma. 

In 1864 Mr. Millard arrived in Iowa, 
locating in Burlington, where he engaged 
in the lumber business in company with his 
brother George, and William F. Thomp.son, 
under the name of Frank Millard & Com- 
pany. This connection was continued until 
1879, when Mr. Millard sold his interest 
and engaged in the paint and oil trade, 
which he carried on until 1881, when he 
purchased the interest of Gilbert, Hedge & 
Companw in the Cascade Lumber Com- 
pany, and was elected president of the or- 



U04 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVHIW 



ganizatinn. This company was formed in 
April, 1880, the incorporators being Gilbert, 
Hedge & Company, W. S. Berry, H. H. 
Gilman, and Charles Putnam. Thomas 
Hedge, Sr.. was elected president ; John 
Gilbert, vice-president : and Charles Put- 
nam, secretary. 'J"he business was first es- 
tablished and the mill placed in operation 
by tlie firm of Berry & Gilman in 1876, and 
in J 878 A. Kaiser was admitted to a part- 
nership, the firm of Kaiser & Berry con- 
tinuing the business until 1880. when the 
Cascade Company was organized and suc- 
ceeded to the business, the owners being 
Gilbert, Hedge & Comjiany until 1881, 
when Mr. Millard bought them out. He 
was elected president and treasurer, with 
W. S. Berry as vice-president, and R. G. 
Saundcrson as secretary. These gentlemen, 
with H. H. Gilman. Charles Putnam, and 
the llurlington Insurance Company, are 
the stockholders. The mill was situated 
on the Mississippi River, near the south- 
ern limits of the city, at the foot of the 
bluflf of Crapo Park, at what is known as 
Cascade, on the Keokuk branch of the Chi- 
cago, Burlington & Ouincy Railroad. Em- 
ployment was furnished to from fifty to 
sixty hands, and the annual capacity was 
seven million feet of lumber. Mr. Millard 
continued with the Cascade Lumber Com- 
pany until the i)lant was destroyed by fire 
in 1896. Later he became identified with 
J. D. Harmer & Company, who operated a 
lumber and planing mill, and manufactured 
sash and doors, acting as manager of the 
business, and largely furnishing the funds 
necessary for the conduct of the enterprise. 
When the business failed .some months 
after, Mr. Millard having withdrawn there- 
from, he was apjiointed receiver for the 
bondholders, and the business was sold. 



since which time he has lived a retired life. 
The Prank Millard Company was organ- 
ized in 1 901 for the purpose of conducting 
a wholesale and retail business in lime and 
cement. A. A. McArthur, son-in-law of Mr. 
Millard, being the active manager, the latter 
partner being only financially interested. 

In 1868 Mr. Millard was called upon to 
mourn the loss of his first wife, who died 
at her father's house in Warsaw, N. V. In 
1871, at Galesburg, 111., he married Miss 
Ella Blannerhasset Hewson, a daughter of 
Prancis D. Hewson, of Toronto, Canada. 
At the summit of one of the highest bluffs 
along the Mississippi River, just opposite 
and above the Iowa approach to the Chi- 
cago. lUirlington & Quincy Railroad bridge, 
stands the Millard residence, from whose 
windows there can be obtained magnificent 
views of a most attractive landscape, over- 
looking the commercial center of Burling- 
ton, as well as many of its homes, the Union 
depot with its outgoing and incoming trains, 
and the broad river, with its freight and 
passenger boats and pleasure craft, and is 
one of the finest homes of the city. 

In politics always a stanch Democrat, he 
has often been urged to accept a nomina- 
tion for alderman, or for the mayoralty, 
hut lias always declined ; yet for a number 
of years he has been a member of the board 
of education, the public-school system hav- 
ing in him a strong champion. 



ARTHUR WILLIAM SAARMANN. 

Arthur Wii.i,i.\m S.\.\r.m.\nx. who is 
now engaged as a farmer in Mint River 
township, where he is the possessor of 
eighty acres which has been acquired en- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



995 



tirely through his own labor, industry, and 
careful management, was born in the above- 
named township, Jan. 29, 1878. He is the 
son of Gotlieb and Mary (Saarmann) Wes- 
terbeck, and the adopted son of William 
and Frederica (Huseman) Saarmann. His 
own mother was a native of Germany, and 
was married to Mr. Westerbeck in Des 
Moines county, Iowa, and died in Flint 
River township July 7, 1878. Her husband 
has been a resident of the village of Fon- 
tanelle, Washington County, Nebr., for the 
past twenty-five years. He was a carpenter 
for many years, when by accident he lost 
one of his eyes, and later, by disease, lost 
the other one, thus making him totallv 
blind. j\Ir. and ^Irs. Westerbeck were the 
parents of eight children : Emma ; Philip ; 
Lydia; William, died aged one year; Will- 
iam, 2d : John ; Caroline, died aged one year ; 
and Arthur William, of this review. 

]\Ir. Saarmann, the foster father of our 
subject, died Jan. 18, 1896, aged fifty-six 
years, and his widow makes her home with 
her adopted son. Mr. and Mrs. Saarmann 
never had any chililren of their own, but 
out of the generosity of their hearts they 
took our subject and his sister Lydia, who 
married C. J. ]\Iumme, and did by them 
as their own flesh and blood. Mr. and Mrs. 
Mumme reside on Section 15. in Flint River 
township. His foster parents educated Mr. 
Saarmann in the district school, and reared 
him to be a fanner, which vocation he has 
always followed. He now owns eighty 
acres of land in the township where he was 
born, besides having the general supervision 
of the old home place on Section 16. His 
interests are devoted to general farming 
and stock-raising. He has a fine home, and 
one that is enhancing in value all the time. 
His marriage occurred April 23. 1902, 



when he wedded Miss Clara M. Luecking, 
(laughter of Henry and Hannah (Swartz) 
Luecking. They have only one son, Ir- 
win, born Jan. 21, 1903. They are both 
consistent members of the German Luther- 
an church, where Mr. Saarmann has been 
the efficient Sunday-school sui)crintendcnl 
for the past f(nir years. Politically, he is 
a strong Democrat, but never cared to hold 
any office. Mr. Saarmann is only a little 
over twenty-seven years old at this writing, 
being among the younger farmers in his 
township, yet his success in business has 
been gratifying, while the care and devo- 
tion of his adopted mother has always been 
very commendable, and his social stand- 
ing and good name above reproach. 



HENRY A. BINKELE. 

The State of Iowa is greatly indebted 
to its citizens of German birth and blood, 
who have done much to build it up to its 
]>resent imperial proportions. They are 
a careful and c(Miservative people, indus- 
trious in their habits, economical in their 
manner of life, and as a body are ever 
found on the moral side of every question. 
It is always safe to appeal to their better 
nature. Every great reform has found 
among them stanch adherents. They are 
the most persistent friends of a uniform 
and general public education. 

Mr. Binkele, whose name appears 
above, is a noteworthy representative of 
an old German family, being born in 
Baden, Germany. March 27, 1878, the son 
of Henry A. and Catherine (Baer) Bin- 
kele. who are still living in the same place 
where he was born. 



996 



BlOGRAPHli.lL REVIEW 



Mr. Hinki-lf received his education in 
the world-famed public schools of Ger- 
many, attending them for eight years, 
after which he attended the Landwird- 
schaftliche Aker Bauschule, or Agricul- 
tural College, for six months. .As he was 
reared on a farm, and thus became thor- 
oughly familiar with the ])ractical work 
of the farm, after he had finished his 
course at the Agricultural College, he fol- 
lowed the vocation of farmer until lie 
came to America. 

lie came to .\merica in October, 1894, 
coming by way of New York direct to 
Morton, 111. Here he began life in his 
new environment by working as a farm 
hand. After remaining near Morton for 
two years, he made a change, going to 
Cissna Park, 111., where he remained for 
one year. His next move was to Peoria. 
111., where he left farming, and worked at 
the Keystone Wire Works for three or 
four years. After this time his natural 
love for the free life of the country in- 
duced him to give up the confinement of 
city work, and he came to Des Moines 
county, Iowa, working in the general 
store of I. C. Thompson, in Oakville, for 
one year. He then moved onto the farm 
owned by Daniel Mangold, where he now 
resides, this being his second year on the 
place. 

.Mr. IJinkele was married Nov. 9, 1902, 
to Miss Emma Gerst, daughter of Henry 
and Catherine (Grau) Gerst. Mrs. llin- 
kele is also of German birth, liaving 
been born at W'iirtemberg, Germany. In 
.\ugust, 1893, she came to America with 
her parents, who are both still living, 
making their home in Des Moines county. 

To Mr. .md Mrs. Binkele have been 
born two cliildren : Frieda, born Sept. 



\>. 1903; and Henry Abraham, bom 
.March 3. njo.S- Mr. and Mrs. Uinkele 
are members of the Christian Ajx^stolic 
church, and are young people of such 
sterling integrity and intrinsic strength 
of character that their many friends look 
to them to do much for the advancement 
of neighborhood interests, as well as to 
earn many material blessings for them- 
selves during the next decade or two. 



ISAAC JAMES YOHE. 

Is.\.\c Ja.mes Vohe, whom to know is 
to respect and honor because of his well- 
spent and upright life, has long been iden- 
tified with agricultural interests in Franklin 
townshi]). and is also well known in the 
county because of his activity in political 
circles. He likewise has wide acquantance 
throughout the State as a prominent repre- 
sentative of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows. He was born in Washington 
county, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1849, and is 
a son of Daniel and Margaret (McPher.son) 
Yohe. In both the paternal and maternal 
lines he is descended from ancestors who 
were in the .American army in the Revolu- 
tionary War. The Yohcs came to this 
country in 1680, with the first Gennan emi- 
grants who established homes in Pennsyl- 
vania. They settled near Easton, where they 
followed the occu|)ation of farming, and 
Michael \'o\k, the great-great-grandfather 
of the subject of this review, was one of the 
organizers of the First Lutheran church es- 
tablished west of the .Mleghany mountains. 
When the Colonies could no longer endure 
the yoke of British oppression, and rose in 
arms against the mother country, he joined 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



99~ 



the Colonial troops, and after the republic 
was established, he was granted a patent 
to land in recognition of his services, and 
located this in Washington county, be- 
ing one of the first to secure land in that 
county after that manner. Isaac Yohe, the 
grandfather, was a soldier of the War of 
1812, serving as a captain in a Pennsylvania 
regiment. Again the loyalty and valor of 
the family was demonstrated, when in the 
Civil War Daniel Yohe, father of our sub- 
ject, became a lieutenant with the Pennsyl- 
vania State troops. He was in active serv- 
ice twice, taking part in the battle of Gettys- 
burg. Among the maternal ancestors of 
our subject were also those who served in 
the war for independence. 

Daniel Yohe, the father, was both a 
farmer and a blacksmith, and through the 
•dual pursuit he provided for his family. 
He continued his residence in Washington 
county, Pennsylvania, until 1868, when, re- 
moving to the \\'est, he became a resident 
of Washington township, Des Moines 
county, where he was engaged in farming 
for a year. He then purchased a tract of 
land of two hundred and forty acres near 
Allerton, Wayne county, Iowa. This, in 
1869, was new land, whereon he made im- 
provements, and there resided, actively en- 
gaged in farming until he retired from 
business life on account of old age, and re- 
sided until his death at the home of his son, 
Thomas Yohe. in Lincoln, Kans. He passed 
away in July, 1903, and his remains were 
interred at Lincoln. He was married on 
the 1st of ^larch, 1844, in Washington 
county, Pennsylvania, to iNIiss Margaret 
McPherson, a daughter of Robert and Mary 
(Russell) McPherson. They became the 
parents of eleven children, of whom Isaac 
J. was the third in order of birth. Both Mr. 



and Airs, ^'llhe held membership in the 
Lutheran church, and he acted as an elder 
in the church in Washington county, Penn- 
."^ylvania. He was also a justice of the peace 
for twenty-five years, and his decisions were 
marked by strict equity and a due regard 
fur the law in the case. His political sup- 
port was given the Democracy. His wife 
passed away in Pennsylvania, May 4. 1867. 

Isaac Yohe acquired his early education 
in the public schools of Pennsylvania, and 
afterward became a student in Howe's 
.\cademy at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, which 
he attended for two terms. He took up his 
abode in this county in 1868, settling in 
hranklin township, where he has since lived. 
In his younger years he learned the painter's 
trade, which he followed for four years. 
and his savings during that period enabled 
him to make his first purchase of land. He 
bought forty acres of land on Section 16, 
Franklin township, which he improved from 
the original timber, erecting substantial * 
buildings thereon, and transforming his 
tract into productive fields. In 1886 he 
bought eighty acres on Section 4, Franklin 
township, and he also owns one hundred 
acres adjoining in Yellow Springs township, 
purchasing a part of it in 1895 and the re- 
mainder in 1896. He is a general farmer 
and stock-feeder, having no specialties in 
his work, but in all the departments of Jiis 
labor is energetic and enterprising, and 
carries forward to successful completion 
whatever claims his attention. He was also 
one of the original stockholders and incor- 
porators of the JMediapolis Mutual Tele- 
phone Company, and his keen sagacity, 
enterprise, and strong purpose have been 
salient factors in his success. 

On the 24th of November, 1875, Mr. 
Yohe was married to Miss Mary McDonald, 



998 



BIOGRAPHICAL RBI -Hill' 



who died in 1892, leaving four children: 
Ramon, who is a farmer at Elk City, Kans. ; 
James, Margaret, and Leslie, all at home. 
His first wife was a daughter of James Mc- 
Donald, one of the early settlers of this 
county, and she was born in Franklin town- 
ship in 1851. After the death of his first 
wife, Mr. Yohe was again married in 1896, 
his second union being with .\mcrica 
Wright, who was born in Franklin town- 
ship. May 16, 1853, and is a daughter of 
John and Nancy (Woolscy) Wright, who 
were among the i)ioneer settlers of this 
township, the father being a respected 
farmer of the locality for many years. The 
daughter was reared and educated here. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Yohe are devout mem- 
bers of the Predestinarian Baptist denom- 
ination, holding membership in the old stone 
church, which was organized in February, 
1840, and is one of the oldest, if not the 
oldest. Baptist churches in the State. Mr. 
Yohe served as one of its deacons for many 
years, and has taken an active and hcli)fnl 
part in its work, contributing generously 
to its support. He affiliates with the Odd 
Fellows' Lodge, No. 326, at Sperry, Iowa ; 
has held all of the offices in the local lodge, 
and has also been district deputy grand 
master. He is a broad-minded, intelligent 
man, keeping well informed on the general 
questions and issues of the day, jjolitical 
and otherwise, and his efforts in behalf of 
public progress in his adopted county have 
been far-reaching and beneficial. A genial 
manner, deference to the opinions of oth- 
ers, kindliness, and loyalty to high prin- 
ciples, have made him one of the most re- 
spected citizens of Franklin township, 
esteemed by all with whom he has come in 
contact, while within the closer circle of 
his friendship, and home life he has endeared 



himself to many who know him. Since 
age gave to him the right of franchise, he 
has supported the Democratic party, and 
has been township trustee for six years, and 
clerk for four years. He is still active in 
the party work, and his services are greatly 
depended u])on. for he is a capable campaign 
worker, getting out the vote for the candi- 
dates of the party. Indeed, he enters heart- 
ily into everything that he undertakes, and 
his enthusiasm and interest are basic ele- 
ments in the successful accomplishment of 
his life work. 



FRED RICKMAN. 

A CAREFUL and methodical farmer, a con- 
scientious citizen, and a good neighbor and 
friend, Fred Rickman has established a 
record of which his friends may well be 
proud. Mr. Rickman is a son of James and 
Mary (Houn) Rickman, and is a native of 
Germany, his birth occurring Feb. 3, 1864. 
His father emigrated to America in 1890 
and settled in Flint River tCAvnship, where 
he devoted his time to farming. His life 
in .\nicrica was very short, as he died in two 
years, his death occurring Christmas day, 
1893. 

Our subject attended the district schools 
in his native land, after which he worked on 
his father's farm till he was twenty years 
old. In 1884 he sailed for America, coming 
by way of New York, where he remained 
for three months, after which he came di- 
rect to Burlington. He at once took up 
the life of a farmer, and in 1887, three years 
jjrior to his father's arrival, he purchased a 
farm of forty acres in I''lint River valley. 



DES MOINES 

where he immediately arranged things for 
a permanent residence, and has devoted his 
time ever since to truck gardening. He 
finds a ready sale for his vegetables, which 
are of the best, as he does also for his fine 
poultry. 

Mr. Rickman married IMiss Annie i\Ieyer, 
March lo, 1888. ]\Irs. Rickman was a 
daughter of William and Mary Meyer, who 
were natives of Germany. Mrs. Rickman 
died Feb. 28, 1896, leaving our subject with 
four motherless children : Anna, Laura, 
Minnie, and Fred ; Ina preceded her mother 
to the better land about a year, her death 
occurring May 25, 1895, aged two years. 
The children are all at home with their par- 
ents. Mr. Rickman was again married, 
April 8, 1897, to Miss Fannie Loddeka, who 
is a daughter of William and .\nna (Mer- 
keng) Loddeka. She was born in Han- 
over, Germany, April 15, 1874. At tl^e 
age of twenty Mrs. Rickman came alone to 
America, arriving in Homestead, Iowa, 
Sept. I, 1895. After remaining here eight 
months she came to Burlington, where she 
made her home till she was married. By 
this marriage four children were born, 
namely : Emma, William, ^^'alter, and 
Clarence. 

Politically, Mr. Rickman is a Democrat, 
but always acts to the best of his judg- 
ment according to the aspirant for office. 
Mr. and Mrs. Rickman are members of 
the Lutheran church. He is a man of 
retiring disposition, his interest centering in 
his home, and he finds his greatest delight 
in providing for the happiness and welfare 
of his family, for whom he has provided a 
very comfortable residence. In business he 
sustains a high reputation for reliability and 
enterprise, and those who know him best, 
prize his friendship most highly. 



COUNTY, IOWA. ggg 

IRA M. McNAUGHT. 

Ir.v M. McNaught, who now resides 
in the city of Mediapolis, Iowa, was 
born in Des Moines county, Iowa, Jan. 
26, 1872, the son of George W. and Mc- 
linda (Adams) McXaught. The father 
was born in Knox county, Illinois, on 
July 22, 1847, and lived there till he was 
a man grown, engaged in farming. About 
1868 he came to Des iMoines county. 
Iowa, and engaged in farming here for 
a number of years, returning in 1875, 
when his son Ira was three years of age, 
to the old home place in Knox county, 
Illinois, where he lived till his death, 
which occurred Jan. 17, 1882. He was a 
Republican in politics, and was a con- 
scientious believer in the doctrines of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, of which he is 
a member and supporter. 

The mother of our subject was born in 
.Missouri, Oct. 25, 1 85 1, and received her 
early education at the jjlacc of her birth, 
where she remained till the time of her 
marriage. During her early life she was 
a member of the Christian church, but 
after her marriage she went with her hus- 
l)and into the Methodist church. She is 
still living, making her home in .Stark 
countv, Illinois. She was married a sec- 
ond time, taking as her second husband 
Presley Terrell, a retired farmer. 

Ira M. McXaught was the oldest of a 
family of five children born to Mr. and 
Mrs. George W. McXaught. The other 
members of the family are as follows: 
Charles E., resides in Kansas, where he 
follows the occupation of farming and 
gardening; George A., is a prosperous 
merchant in Moline. 111.: William .\.. who 
is a fireman on the railroad, makes his 



lOOO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



home in Galesburg, 111. ; and John H., died 
in infanc\'. 

Mr. McXaufjht obtained his education 
in the di.strict schools of Knox county, 
Illinois, and at the same time assisted 
with the work on the home farm till he 
was ten years of ajje. He then went to 
Atchison, Kans., and engaged in work at 
the packing-house. He worked tliere for 
some eight months, then undertook to 
learn the painter's trade, and was in the 
employment of the man from whom he 
learned the trade for eight years. At the 
expiration of that time he left Atchison, 
Kans., and returned to Kno.x county, Illi- 
nois; there he followed his trade for a 
few years, after which he came to Bur- 
lington, where he followed his trade for 
part of the time, and also acted as clerk 
at the Pauly House, and engaged in farm- 
ing in Jackson township for a short time. 

W lun the Spanish War broke out, and 
the call was issued for volunteers, Mr. 
McNaught was among the number of 
brave men who responded to the call. He 
enlisted at Des Moines, Iowa, in Com- 
pany E, of the Fifteenth Cavalry of the 
United States regular army. They went 
to Presidio, Cal., where they were in 
camp for six weeks; then to Bencia Bar- 
racks, Cal.. where they remained for 
seven months. .After that they returned 
to Presidio, where they remained till the 
troops left for the Philippine Islands. 
When the time came for the troops to 
embark, Mr. McXaught was in the hos- 
pital. It was found that he c<iul(l not re- 
maii^ in the army because of a defect in 
his hearing, and other disability, therefore 
he was discharged. 

After receiving his discharge, he re- 
turned home to Burlington, and followed 



agriculture for a year, farming on the 
land owned by his father-in-law, William 
I'ichthorn. in Jackson township. The 
next year he removed to Mcdiapolis, 
where he has since made his home, en- 
gaged as a painter and paper-hanger. 

Jan. ID. 1903, Mr. McNaught was 
united in marriage to Miss Mattie Fich- 
tliorn. who was born in Huron township, 
this county, the daughter of William 
Fichthorn, a complete sketch of whose 
life appears elsewhere' in this volume. 
Mrs. McXaught was educated in the 
schools of Jackson townshij). and later at 
Elliott's Business College, in Burlington. 
She is of a genial, sunny disposition, and 
has made her home a synonym for hos- 
pitality among her friends, who are many. 
Both she and lur husband are devoted 
nuMubers of the ^lethodist Ejiiscopal 
church, and can be counted upon to as- 
sist in its enterprises, and generously sup- 
port its jdiilanthropies. In politics Mr. 
McXaught is a Republican, ever devoted 
to his party, its principles, and its chosen 
leaders. 

Mr. McXaught has had a varied career 
for a man so young, and has known what 
it is to attain success solely by his own 
elTorts. having starte<l out on a self-sup- 
porting career at an age when most boys 
arc still living closely guarded lives 
among all the protecting influences of 
home. In all these various relations of 
life, whether acting as a business man, a 
soldier, or a citizen, he has commanded 
uniform confidence and respect, and has 
made for himself a sjilendid reputation, 
while in his home and among his friends 
he has disjilayed the sterling traits of 
manhood that ever command good-will 
and confidence. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



lOOI 



JOHN H. GEAR. 

Among the men of prominence in Iowa 
was John H. Gear, deceased, who began Hfe 
in a very quiet, humble way, but by his own 
integrity and abiUty succeeded in occupying 
all of the offices within the gift of the State. 
He was the tenth gentleman to occupy the 
executive chair of Iowa, and was a native of 
the Empire State, where, in the city of 
Ithaca, he was born April 7, 1825, being the 
only son born to Rev. E. G. and Miranda E. 
(Cook) Gear. His father was born in New 
London, Conn., in 1792, and became a dis- 
tinguished Protestant Episcopal clergyman, 
being ordained in 1816, and served for many 
years various congregations in western New 
York. In 1836 he came to northern Illinois, 
where he remained till 1838, when he re- 
ceived the appointment as chaplain in the 
United States army while located at Fort 
Snelling, Minn. His life was long and 
active, doing much good, and he quitted his 
labors in the year 1874, at the advanced age 
of eighty-two years. 

In 1843 ^Ir. Gear came to Burlington, 
when still a young man, and here he con- 
tinued to reside after he became her most 
distinguished citizen. He was first em- 
ployed as a clerk in the store of Bridgman 
& Brothers, with whom he remained one 
year. He then entered upon an engagement 
with W. F. Coolbaugh, who at that period 
was the leading merchant of eastern Iowa. 
After serving for five years as clerk for Mr. 
Coolbaugh, with great credit and satisfac- 
tion, he was rewarded by being made a part- 
ner in this establishment, which was well 
known under the firm name of W. F. Cool- 
baugh & Company. This firm continued 
for five years, when Mr. Gear purchased the 
entire business, which he carried on with 



marked success till he became known as the 
oldest wholesale grocer in the State. 

He always acted with the Republican 
party, and was honored by his fellow-citi- 
zens with many positions of trust. In 1852 
he was elected alderman ; in 1863 he was 
elected mayor over A. W. Carpenter, being 
the first Republican up to that time who had 
been elected in Rurlington on a jiarty issue. 
He was chosen the president of the Burling- 
ton, Cedar Rapids & Minnesota Railroad 
Company, and was also active in promoting 
the Burlington & Southwestern Railroad, 
as well as the Burlington & Northwest- 
ern Narrow-guage Road. In 1871 he was 
elected a member of the House of Represent- 
atives of the fourteenth General .A.ssembly, 
and in 1873 was elected to the fifteenth 
General Assembly. The Republican caucus 
of the House nominated him for speaker by 
acclamation, and after two weeks he was 
chosen over his opponent, J. W. Dixon. He 
filled the position as speaker very acceptably, 
and at the close of the session all the mem- 
bers of the House, independent of party 
affiliations, joined in signing their names to 
a resolution of thanks, which was engraved 
and presented to him. In 1875 he was again 
elected to the General .Assembly, being also 
elected as speaker b}' a handsome majority- 
over his competitor. Hon. John Y. Stone. 
He was the only man in the State who ever 
had the honor of being chosen to this high 
position a second time. 

In 1877 he was elected as governor, and 
was inaugurated Jan. 17. 1878, which office 
he held for four years, being re-elected in 
1879, and inaugurated in 1880. Governor 
Gear's business habits enabled him to dis- 
charge the duties of his office with marked 
ability, and though he found the financial 
condition of the State at a low ebb. he raised 



1002 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Iowa's credit to that of the best of our 
States. In 1887 Governor Gear was elected 
a member of Congress from the first dis- 
trict, and re-elected in 1889, and again 
elected in 1893. His political honors did 
not cease here, for in 1894 he was elected 
United States Senator, and re-elected in 
1900; but an all wise Father had planned 
otherwise, as Senator Gear had not (juite 
finished his first term as Senator when the 
hand of death was laid upon him, and he 
rendered up his account July 14, 1900. when 
not only the city, county, and State were 
overshadowed with grief, but the United 
States had received a loss which was 
irreparable. 

In summing uj) such a noted record as this 
of Senator Gear's, words fail to express the 
true worth and value of his noble life de- 
voted to the public service : suffice it to say 
tliat his efforts were always along lines of 
right and justice, and as a friend, citizen, 
or statesman, his memory will be everlast- 
ingly enshrined in llic luarts of the people 
throughout the nation. 

In 1852 Mr. Gear married Miss Harriet 
Foote, who was born Xov. 18, 1818. and 
was a lady of great refinement and many 
capabilities, whose warm and generous im- 
pulses, attractive and winning manner, made 
her innumerable friends not only in her home 
citv, but also in the social circles in Wash- 
ington and Des Moines. Her (juiet and 
noble deeds of love among the needy are a 
fitting example for all to emulate. Mrs. 
Gear survived her husband only about two 
years, her death occurring Oct. 4, 1902. 
This hajJiiv niiioii was blessed with four 
children, two of whom are living, ami reside 
in Burlington: Margaret is the wife of J. 
W. Blythe, and Ruth married Horace S. 
Rand. 



HON. JAMES W. GRIMES. 

.\.MO.\i; the names whose personal his- 
tory is inseparably interwoven witii that of 
the State, and whose name deserves a 
foremost rank, is James Wilson Grimes. 
He was the third gentleman to fill the 
chair of gf)vernor of Iowa, and was born 
in the town of Deering, Hillsborough 
county. \. H., Oct. 20, 1816. His par- 
ents. John anil Elizabeth (Wilson) Grimes 
were also natives of the same town, the 
father being born Aug. 11. 1772. and 
the mother March nj. 1773. They be- 
came the ijarents of eight children, of 
whom James was the youngest, and be- 
came one of the most distinguished cit- 
izens of Iowa. After an attendance at 
the district school and some private in- 
struction, he entered Dartmouth College 
wdien he was sixteen years of age. In 
1833 'i'" fiuished college, and began his 
chosen profession with James Walker, of 
1 Vlirhoioui;!!. X. 11. He felt there were 
i)etler o))i)ortunities for young men in the 
West, and in i83<> he came to Burlington, 
and hung out his shingle, and ere long 
establislui! a reputation as a rising law- 
ver. In 1837 he was ai)pointed city solic- 
itor, and entering ujion the duties of that 
office he assisted in drawing uj) the first 
])olice laws of that town. In 1838 he was 
appointed justice of the peace, and be- 
came a law ])artner of William W. Chap- 
man. United States district attorney for 
Wisconsin Territory, lie formed a part- 
nership with Henry W . Starr in 1841. 
which lasted for twelve years. This firm 
stood at the lu-a<l of the legal profession 
of Iowa. 

In 1838 he was chosen one of the rep- 
resentatives of Des Moines county in the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1003 



first Legislative Assembly of the Terri- 
tory of Iowa, which convened in Tur- 
lington, Nov. 12, 1838; in the sixth, at 
Iowa City, Dec. 4, 1843 : and in the fourth 
General Assembly of the -State, at Iowa 
City, Dec. 6, 1852. He early took front 
rank among the public men of Iowa. He 
was chairman of the judiciary committee 
in the House of Representatives of the 
first Legislative Assembly of the Terri- 
tory, and all the laws for the new Terri- 
tory passed through his hands. 

In February, 1854, Mr. Grimes was 
nominated by a convention of the Whig 
party for governor of the State. This was 
the largest convention of that partv ever 
held in Iowa, and the last. Soon after 
this it was proposed he should go to the 
United States Senate, but Mr. Grimes 
gave his admirers to understand that he 
would fill the term of office for which he 
had been elected, w hiih he did with great 
satisfaction. The representatives in Con- 
gress were allies of the slave power, and 
after Mr. Grimes was elected, he gave his 
whole soul to the work ; and it may he 
truly said that Governor Grimes made 
Iowa Republican, and allied it with the 
loyal States. He retired from the exec- 
utive chair in 1858. only, however, to as- 
sume the responsibilities of a United 
.States Senator, taking his seat on the 
fourth of March, and being placed on the 
committee of naval affairs, upon which 
he remained during his senatorial career. 

In 1864 Mr. Grimes was again chosen 
to rei>resenl Iowa in the .Senate, receiving 
all but si.x of the votes of the (jcneral 
Assembly in joint convention. He was 
a great advocate of education, being al- 
ways ready to promote the welfare of the 
State, and gave, unsolicited, land worth 



si.x thousand dollars to the Congrega- 
tional College, at Grinnell. Iowa. It con- 
stituted the "Grimes foundation," and is 
"to be applied to the establishment and 
mainlenance in Iowa College, forever, of 
four scholarships, to be awarded by the 
trustees, on the recommendation of the 
faculty, to the best scholars, and the most 
promising, in any dep;irtnient, who may 
need and seek such aid, and without any 
regard to the religious tenets or opinions 
of the persons seeking either of the said 
scholarships." These terms were im- 
posed by Mr. Grimes, and assumed July 
20, 1865, by the trustees. 

He receixed the hc^norary degree of 
LL. I)., in 1865. from Dartmouth College, 
and also from Iowa College. He also 
aided in founding the public library in 
lUirlington. donating five thousand dol- 
lars, which was exijended in the purchase 
of costly books. He subsequently sent 
from Europe two hiindre<l and fiftv-si.x 
volumes in the (German language, and 
also contributed six hundred volumes of 
public dncumeiUs. In January. i8f)0. he 
made a donation to Dartmouth College 
of five thousand dollars, and one thou- 
sand dollars to the ".Social Friend," a lit- 
erary society in the college of which he 
was a member. He also secured the ap- 
]impriati(>n for the Hospital for the Insane 
at .Mt. rieasant. 

Xov. i;, 184G. Senator Grimes was 
united in marriage in lUirlington, Iowa, 
to Miss Elizabeth Xealley. and they were 
permitted to celebrate their silver wed- 
ding anniversary in 1871, after returning 
from a two-year trip abroad for the Sen- 
ator's health. He did not have long to 
spend with his family, for, Feb. 7, 1872. 
after having voted at the city election. 



I004 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'IEW 



he was suddenly taken ill. and died short- 
ly after. Mrs. (irinics survived him a 
numhcr of years, dying at Washington 
in 1890. 

Mr. Grimes stood in the foremost ranks 
among the men of his time, not only of 
the Slate hut of the nation. Tiie young 
attorney who left the granite hills of New 
Hampshire for the fertile ])rairics of the 
West, distinguished himself both as an 
attorney and as a statesman. The re- 
mains of Senator and Mrs. Grimes are 
buried in the cemetery of their adopted 
home, where hundreds of friends visit 
their graves. 



GEN. AUGUSTUS C. DODGE. 

The career of Gen. A. C Dodge pre- 
sents a succession of varied and interest- 
ing experiences : in some res])ect like 
many others, yet marked bv a force of 
will and character well worthy of men- 
tion in the lists of prominent and success- 
ful men. .Augustus Caesar Uodge was 
the son of Henry anil Christiana (Mc 
Donald) Dodge, who were married near 
St. Louis in 1800, and became the ])arents 
of thirteen children, of whom our subject 
was the fourth in ordtT of birth. He was 
born near St. (jencvieve. Mo., Jan. 12. 
181 2, where he remained till 1827, when 
his father, who had been i)reviously com- 
missioned brigadier-general by I'residcnt 
Madison for his successful expedition 
against the hostile Indians of the ui)iier 
Missouri, luaring nf the discovery of the 
lead mines on the U|)])er .\lississi|)])i, in 
Michigan Territory, now Wisconsin, mi- 
grated thither. Simultaneously with his 
arrival, the W innebagocs raised the mer- 



ciless tomahawk. ;ind were killing and 
scalping the few settlers, and were also 
attacking the boatmen engaged in the 
navigation of the Mississippi. Selected 
as their leader by the volunteers under 
arms, he led them to the Indian towns on 
the Pecatonica, forcing them to surrender 
the murderers of the whites for trial. 
Peace having thus been restored, he set- 
tled in the ])lace called in honor of him- 
self, Dotlgevillc, the present c<iunty-seat 
of Iowa county, Wisconsin. When the 
iilack Hawk war broke <iut he was 
elected first lieutenant of volunteers, for 
home ])rotection. 

in tS_^8 he was ai)])ointed by President 
\'an Liurcn, register of the United States 
land office at P.urlington, and removed to 
this city, which was his home the rest of 
his life. In January, 1830, he was ap- 
])ointed by (iovernor Lucas, brigadier- 
general of the first division of the militia 
of Iowa Territory, and in 1840, without 
the thought of effort on his part, he was 
nominated to Congress, defeating a Whig 
competitor by five hundred and eighty- 
five votes. In .'-lei>tember he took his seat 
in Congress, and on the "th of December 
following he welcomed his father to a 
seat by his side, as a delegate from the 
Territory of Wisconsin, the first and only 
instance of a father anti son sitting to- 
gether in the House of Representatives 
since the foundation of the government. 
In 1848 he was elected L^nited States Sen- 
ator; and as seven years before the son 
had welcomed the father to a seat by his 
side in tile i louse of Representatives, so 
now the father, who had entered the Sen- 
ate on the 23d of the previous June, as 
one of the Senators from the State of 
Wisconsin, greeted the arriv.'il of his son 



DES J\fO[A'ES COUNTY. IOWA. 



in the Senate chamber. This was an un- 
precedented occurrence, and also note- 
worthy that Augustus C. Dodge was the 
first person born west of the Mississippi 
River to become a Senator of the United 
States. He was congratulated by Mr. S. 
Fremont, who said, "General. I am sure 
that you will be the best-l)clia\cd man in 
the Senate, on the ground that a dutiful 
son will be exceedingly decorous in the 
immediate presence of his father." 

During the time he was in the Senate, 
there wers very exciting times, and the 
reply which Gen. Dodge made to Senator 
Brown, of Mississippi, who said, "There 
are certain menial employments which 
belong exclusively to the negro," verify 
the fact that he was always a gentleman, 
a man of warm and generous feeling, with 
a high sense of honor, of courteous man- 
ners, frank and kindly, the index of his 
heart. He replied : "Sir, I tell the Sen- 
ator from Mississippi, I speak it upon the 
floor of the American Senate, in the pres- 
ence of my father, who wnll attest its 
truth, that I performed and do perform, 
when at home, all of these menial serv- 
ices to which the Senator referred in 
terms so grating to my feelings. As a 
general thing I saw my own wood, do all 
my own marketing. I have driven teams, 
oxen, horses, and mules, and considered 
myself as respectable then as I do now, 
or as any Senator upon the floor." 

In 1874 Mr. Dodge was elected mayor 
of Burlington by a spontaneous move- 
ment of citizens, irrespective of party, 
and in 1875 served, by appointment of 
Governor Carpenter, on a connnission to 
investigate alleged abuses in a reform 
school at Eldorado, Iowa. He was an 
ardent friend of the young folks, and was 



a frecpu-nt visitor in the schools, where 
he so often encouraged the youth Ijy tell- 
ing them that the educati(jnal advantages 
in his bo\lu)od days were very scant, 
when he attended only a school kept in 
an old log house for a few months, the 
light of which came through greased 
papers; pencils were made from a bullet 
beaten into shape and hammered to a 
point; ])ens were made with a Barlow 
knife, and ink from the boiling of butter- 
nut bark or gunpowder. The Bible, 
Shakespeare, and Plutarch's Lives were 
the only books that came within his 
reach, but from these he learned the art 
of reading, and with its mastery, he soon 
ajjpreciated their literary excellence : and 
undoubtedly that chaste language and 
emphatic manner of expressing efen 
connnonplace things which made his 
speeches and conversation so interesting 
and elevating, was due to the study of 
these three books. 

In summing up the public career of one 
worthy anil illustrious we wish to add the 
high tribute of respect which Gen. 
George W. Jones, who was a fellow- 
soldier, an aide-de-camp of his father in 
that war, and afterwards a colleague in 
the United States Senate, paid tieneral 
Dodge in his address at the celebration of 
the Semi-Centennial at lUirlington. ("len. 
Jones said: "If modesty had not pre- 
vented, he could have told of his own serv- 
ice when under fifteen years of age, in 
the Winnebago war of 1827, with his only 
brother Henry L. Dodge; how he and I 
campaigned together in the regiment led 
by his gallant father; of how we slept, 
and sweetly too, o'er nights with our sad- 
dles for pillows, and resting upon the 
under-side blanket, with no cover for the 



ioo6 



BIOGRAPHICAL RIUIEW 



upper, save the starry heavens ; of how 
ifrequently we swam rivers together, 
drawing over them tlic liastily con- 
structed rafts, laden with iniii who couhl 
not swim. He might have informed yon 
how, as brother Senators, we worked bv 
day, and sometimes by night, drawing uj) 
and preparing l)ills for pre-emption and 
homestead rights, ajiprojiriations for thi- 
Rapids, and to secure grants of land for 
the four railroads which traverse our 
State, from the Mississippi to the Mis- 
souri, and also for the Union Pacific Rail- 
road, for which wc sijoke and voted, not 
mentioning ])riv;ite bills and acts of serv- 
ice for our constitueiUs. I am tempted 
to retaliate some of his comi^limentary 
references to me by telling you how, as 
representative to the court of Spain, he 
was mentioned by Lord Ilowden. her 
majesty's envoy at the same court, in let- 
ters to Secretary Cass, as tlie man above 
all others whom he (Howden) would se- 
lect as his counsellor and advisor, on ac- 
count of firmness, intelligence, and thor- 
ough understanding of his duties. ( )ur 
illustrious countryman. William (."ulUii 
Bryant, who visited Madrid during Gen- 
eral Dodge's residence tlure. thus also 
spoke and wrote of him. Not long ante- 
rior to his death. I met ex-President 
Pierce at the Astor House, Xew York, 
where, in a long conversation with me he 
mentioned that of all foreign appoint- 
ments made during his administration, he 
believed that of General Dodge, as min- 
ister to Spain, to have been the best." 
Referring to his retirement from ])olit- 
ical life, a friend wrote: "General Dodge 
passed into private life, but not into ob- 
scurity. He fell politically with his 
party, but every man in his jiarty closed 



around him in his downfall, honored him 
in his misfortunes, and cheered him with 
the hope of a better day, and pointed to 
his private and public life as a model of 
what an American statesman should be 
and as it was in the earlier days of the 
Republic. The honor which attaches to 
the name of Augustus Caesar Dodge will 
in\ite the young .Vmerican and)itious of 
l)ublic position, to lot)k for future honor 
and fame, not in speculation, but honest, 
candid, and patriotic aspiration." 

General Dodge was taken ill in the win- 
ter of 1883. and although every effort 
known to skilled and special physicians 
was made to prolong his useful life, it 
was without avail, and November 20. 
1883. his spirit tied. 

The domestic life of General Dodge 
was also very pleasant and ha])py. it be- 
ing inaugurated March ii>, 1837. when he 
married Miss Clara .\. Hertich, who was 
then seventeen years old, and the 
daughter of Professor Joseph Hertich. an 
educated Swiss gentleman who had a 
private school near Ste. Genevieve. It 
was in this school that the General first 
learned to write, his teacher. Miss Her- 
tich, becoming his future wife, under cir- 
cumstances ])eculiarly romantic, and 
which will be imderstood and ai>|)reciated 
by those familiar with the devotion of 
this model man and woman. To Mr. and 
Mrs. Dodge were born eight children, of 
whom but one remains: William J., 
Marceline .M.. Augustus \'.. Christiana. 
Clara .\.. Henry ].. Charles J., and Will- 
iam Wallace, who is a prominent lawyer 
and legislator, and is a recent citizen of 
Omaha, Nebr. Mrs. Dodge was very retir- 
ing and quiet, but kind and lovable as 
possible for woman, .ind was a \ery 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1007 



pleasant conversationalist. She was a 
devoted member of the Catholic church, 
but her influence for good and charitv 
knew no bounds of creed or church or- 
ganization. Her beautiful life closed in 
1892, and she sleeps beside her husband 
in the lovely family lot in Aspen (Iroxe 
cemetery. 



HON. CHARLES MASON. 

HoNOR.'\BLE Charles Mason, deceased, 
was one of the very prominent and 
influential men of Des Moines county, 
and was respected by the entire com- 
munity. He was enterprising and ever 
ready to assist in all ways that would 
promote the general prosperity of the 
city. He was born in Onondaga county. 
New York, Oct. 24, 1804, where his first 
education was obtained. He went to 
West Point in 1825 as a cadet, where 
he remained for six years, — two as a 
cadet and four as an assistant professor. 
He spent the year 183 1 and jiart of 1832 
in New York city, and in the autumn of 
the latter year went to Newburg, where 
he remained two years in the practice of 
his profession. The next t\vo years were 
passed in New York, the last si.\ months 
as editor of the Post. In 1836 he relin- 
quished that, and came ^^'est on an ex- 
ploring expedition. Returning, he was 
married Aug. i, 1837, to Miss Angeline 
Gear, of Berkshire, Mass., and, early in 
the November following, lu' Ijrought his 
wife to Burlington. He was ap])ointed 
prosecuting attorney for this district and 
one of Governor Dodge's aides. 

On the division of \\'isconsin Terri- 
torv, he was made chief justice of the ter- 



ritory, and at the same time held the 
niifice of first solicitor of Burlington. He 
held the office of chief justice till 1847, 
when he resumed [iracticc. The gov- 
ernor ai)pointcd him to represent the 
.State in the matter of the boundary diffi- 
culty with Mi.s.souri, which question was 
decided in 1849. He was also appointed 
l)y the governor to revise the code of 
Iowa, which resulted in the code of 1851. 
He was elected under that code judge of 
the county, and served one year, when he 
was elected, in the summer of 1852, presi- 
dent of the Peoria and Oquawka Rail- 
road, U])()n which he resigned his posi- 
tion of judge. In May, 1853, he was ap- 
pointed commissioner of patents, which 
office he resigned in 1857. In the fall of 
1858 he was elected a member of the 
State board of jjubJic instruction, and 
served one term. During the year 1859 
he was connected with the New York 
Scientific American, and went from New 
York to Washington in i860, where lie 
engaged in the practice of patent law, to 
whicii l)usiness he devoted several years, 
liurlington is indebted to Judge Mason 
for its fine system of water-works, to 
which he brought the resource of his 
ample capital. He was president of the 
Burlington W'ater Company, president of 
the I>urlington and North Western Rail- 
way, president of the i'lurlington .Street 
Railway Conqiany. treasurer of tlie 
school board, vice-])resident of the Bur- 
lington. Keosauqua & Western Railway 
Company, and president of the German 
American .Savings Bank, all of which im- 
portant trusts he filled with nuich dig- 
nity and ability. I lis pretty country 
home on the Mason road south of the 
citv will be remembered, as will also his 



ioo8 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



beautiful residence on the corner of Sixth 
and Franklin Streets, which he erected in 
the later part of the Tto's. Mrs. Mason 
died during the early '70's. 

Judge and Mrs. Mason were the par- 
ents of three children, one daughter, 
Mar\', now living, is the wife of .\diniral 
George C. Reniey, of the navy. They 
were members of the I-'piscoiial church, 
and the Judge was a vestryman of the 
church for some years. Judge Mason 
died Feb. 25, 1882, and he and Mrs. 
Mason are buried in a beautiful spot on a 
part of the old Mason homestead south 
of town. The hardwood from which the 
casket was made for the Judge's body 
was raised on this farm. In his death the 
city lost one who could illy be spared. 
He was kind, just, and considerate of all, 
and was conspicuous for his manly bear- 
ing, fine attainments, ri-niarkaljlc ()liysical 
endurance, and great executive ability. 



HON. DAVID RORER. 

Judge Rorer, deceased, was promi- 
nent among the i)ioncers of Dcs Moines 
county. He was a son of Abraham and 
Nancy (Cook) Rorer, and was born in 
Pittsylvania county, Virginia, May 12, 
1806. His father was of Swiss ancestry, 
while his mother was of an old Virginia 
family. They lived on a farm, where our 
subject spent his early days attending the 
country schools of the neighborhood. 
When seventeen years of age he went to 
I'^ranklin county, \'irginia, and there 
studied law with a .Mr. Claiborne, a 
prominent lawyer of that county, living 
with the family, and teaching school at 



the same time he was pursuing his law 
course. In 1826, just before he reached 
his majority, he was admitted to the bar, 
and at once started West on horseback. 
He located in Little Rock, .\rk.. where 
he remained till 1835. when he sold out 
his practice and came to Burlington in 
1836, and built the first brick house in 
Iowa, laying the first brick himself, on 
the corner of Fourth and Columbia 
Streets. 

In 1841 he erected the old homestead 
on the corner of Fourth and W'ashington 
Streets, where he resided until death, a 
pcriotl of over forty-two years. Judge 
Rorer wrote the articles of incorporation 
of llurlington in 1836, and was elected 
one of the trustees of the town. He also 
wrote the first ordinance, assisted in lay- 
ing out the streets, named many of them, 
and in various ways aided in the organ- 
ization and (Ie\el()i)nK'nt of the ]>lace. 
His ability as a lawyer soon became 
known. His ambition was to become one 
of the leaders in his profession, and he 
was justly ranked among the eminent 
jurists of his time. He drew up the char- 
ter for the lUirlington & .Missouri Rail- 
road, and also named it. He became the 
attorney and afterward counselor of that 
road, and al.so of the Chicago, Burlington 
& Quincy Railroad, until the time of his 
death, which was about a (juarter of a 
century. 

He was essentially a self-made man, 
who, by incessant study from his youth 
up, had become a thorough scholar, and 
enjoyed a national reputation as an au- 
thor, having written and jmblished three 
nuist valuable law books, "Rorer on Ju- 
dicial Sales," "Rorer on Interstate Law," 
and "Rorer on Railroads." He also wrote 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1 000 



and left in nianuscri[)t a nimiber of in- 
teresting and valuable historical sketches 
of the early Northwest, for which he dili- 
gently searched the earliest records. An 
interesting item that deserves to ])e men- 
tioned here, and which illustrates the in- 
terest he felt in his adopted State, is the 
fact that to him belongs the credit of hav- 
ing first given to the residents of Iowa 
the name of "Hawkeyes." We learn from 
an article published in the Burlington 
Haivk-Eye, in November, 1878, that the 
first mention of the name was in the Fort 
Madison Patriot, in 1838, a paper pub- 
lished by James G. Edwards, the founder 
of the Hazi'k-Eye. At the suggestion of 
Judge Rorer, Mr. Edwards proposed in 
his paper that the people of Iowa adopt 
the name of "Hawkeye." This was done 
to prevent citizens of other States giving 
the people of Iowa some more oppro- 
brious title. The name was not adopted 
at this time, however; but early in 1839, 
after Mr. Edwards had moved his paper 
to Burlington, the question was again 
discussed, and it was decided to write a 
series of letters to the papers then pub- 
lished in Iowa, in which the people in 
Iowa were to be called "Hawkeyes." 
Judge Rorer, James G. Edwards, and H. 
W. Starr were the principal parties to the 
transaction, and it was voted that Judge 
Rorer w-rite the letters. These letters 
were so written by him. and bore the 
signature of "A Wolverine among the 
Hawkeyes." These letters created much 
interest, and the name "Hawkeye" was 
ever after adopted to designate the peo- 
ple of Iowa. Soon after this Mr. Ed- 
wards changed the name of his paper to 
the Hawk-Eye, in honor of the people of 
the State of Iowa, .\lthough Judge Rorer 



was born in a slave State, yet his feelings 
revolted at the injustice of slavery, and 
early in the war he boldly advocated the 
emancipation of the slaves as the heroic 
remedy for the nation's relief; and with 
all the firmness of his decided character, 
.Southerner as he was, he knew no mid- 
dle ground between loyalty and disloy- 
alty. He was bold and fearless in his 
advocacy of liberty and justice for all and 
oppression for none. Before the war he 
had been a Democrat in [xjlitics, but after 
that time he became a warm supporter 
of the Republican party. He was a mem- 
ber of the Episcopal church. 

Ill 1827, at Little Rock, Ark., Judge 
Rorer married Mrs. Martin, nee Miss 
Daniel, a native of Georgia. They had 
four children : Daniel, who for many 
years was a prominent lawyer in Worth- 
ington, Minn. ; Martha, the wife of Will- 
iam Garrett, of Burlington, both de- 
ceased ; Claiborne, was killed at the bat- 
tle of Rivas, in Nicaragua, whither he 
went with the Walker expedition ; and 
Frances, who is the widow of D. J. 
Crocker, of Chicago. Mrs. Rorer died in 
1838. 

March 21, i83<;. he was united in mar- 
riage with Miss Delia M. Viele, of Scott 
county, Iowa. She was a native of Pitts- 
town, Rensselaer county. X. Y., and a 
daughter of .\bram and Hannah (Doug- 
las) Viele, the former being of French 
and the latter of Scotch origin. Three 
(laughters graced this union : \'irginia 
1)., who passed away a few years ago; 
Delia M. : and Mary L., now the wife of 
John T. Remey, of Burlington. Judge 
Rorer died very suddenly, July 7, 1884, 
ending a notable career in the history of 
Iowa. By reason of a strong constitution 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFJIEW 



and U-mi)cratc haliits he hail cxcccdi'd 
mans allotted years, " threescore years 
and ten." and died with the honors of 
ripe old aj:;c. His devoted ;iiid worthy 
wife survived him four years, lu-r death 
occurring Xo\'. 4. 1888. 



HON. ABRAHAM G. ADAMS. 

The subject of this brief biufjra])hy 
was a man whose life work well illus- 
trates what may be accomplished by per- 
sistent, energetic, .'ind honorable effort. 
AI)rahani (\. .\dams was a son of Reuben 
and Maria ((iibbs) Adams, and was born 
at .Sterling, Worcester county. Mass., 
.Sejjl. ,VJ. 1830. lie came to I'urlington 
with his parents in 1831;. when only eight 
years of age. being about six weeks in 
making the trip to St. i.ouis by te:un and 
canal-boat. He recited his first les.sons 
in a log schoolhouse, with its puncheon 
floor and its slabs for seats and desks. 
Later his studies wire pnrsufd in tin- 
basement of the old Zion church, which 
had been converted into a schoolroonu 
and where the ])ioneer jjedagogue ruled 
and taught in the old-fashioned district- 
school style. 

In 1847. Mr. Adams went to St. I.ouis. 
where he sjjcnt two years in a large job- 
bing boot and shoe house, there ac<|uir- 
ing a knowledge of the business, which 
proved valuable to him in later years. 
lie then assisted his father in his shoe 
store for two years, and in 1851 was made 
a ])artner of the firm. His father died in 
i8()4, and after the estate was settled. A. 
G. succeeded to the business, and carriecl 
it on alone with marked success. He in- 



creased the manufacturing facilities of 
the house, and extended his jobbing trade 
until he had one of the most im])ortant 
and prosperous estal)lishments in the 
wholesale boot and shoe line in the State. 

In early life Mr. .\daius was a Whig, 
and cast his first vote for Gen. W'inficld 
Scott for president. When the Repub- 
lican party was organized, he joined the 
ranks, and was ever afterwards a faith- 
ful adlu-rent to its i)rinci))Ie>. and an 
earnest worker in its su])|)ort. He made 
many warm political friends, some of 
whom were the nation's most illustrious 
heroes and statesmen. Gen. L'. S. (irant 
was his true friend, who with his wife 
and family were visitors at the .\dams 
mansion, as were also Gen. and Mrs. 
Logan and Hon. James G. I Maine. 

In 1878 Mr. .\dams was elected mayor 
of r.urlington. re-elected in 1879, and, 
after an interval of five years, was ag^in 
elected to the same office, and re-elected 
each succeeding year, holding that office 
at the time of his death, which occurred 
juni' iS, 1887. 

.\s a business man, Mr. .\dams was 
clear-headed, sagacious, promjit. and up- 
right, and his success in life was largely 
due to his correct business habits, direct- 
ness of ])urpose, and unswerving integ- 
rity. He was eminently a self-made man, 
and :U the tinu- of his death h.ul won a 
foremost place among the leading busi- 
ness men of the State. His strict regard 
for the law made him one of the best ex- 
ecutive officers Burlington ever had, mak- 
ing a record in his administration of city 
affairs that found an en<luring ])lace in 
the niunici])al history of the city. 

In June. 1852. .\lr. .\dams was married 
to Miss Emily .Swain, a lady possessing 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



many excellencies of character that en- 
deared her to a large circle of friends, 
and her kindly sympathy and open- 
handed benevolence relieved and cheered 
many who were suffering from want or 
sickness. Twelve children blessed this 
union, of whom six arc living: Fannie 
D.. Frank O., and .Maud L. reside in Chi- 
cago; Arthur A. married Miss JMaud 
Manning in 1882. anil they have one 
daughter, Louise, and make lUirlington 
their home ; Genevieve, the wife of Sam- 
uel Harrington, of Peoria, 111.; Gail, is a 
resident of San Francisco. Cal. Dec. i<). 
1872, Mrs. Adams was taken from her 
husband and children. up(jn the eve of 
their removal to their beautiful new home 
on Fifth and Arch Street. 

Mr. Adams married Mrs. Laura 
Weaver, June 4, 1885, in \ew York, and 
took his bride on a wedding trip to the 
old country. After the death of Mr. 
Adams, his wife remained in the old home 
for a while, and then went East, where 
she passed away a few years ago. 



DR. CHARLES BEARDSLEY. 

Dr. Ch.xrles Be.xrdsley, deceased, was 
one of the most prominent and ac- 
tive politicians of Des Moines county. 
He was a man of great executive and 
literary ability, and held several high 
offices in his adopted State. His ances- 
tors were among the early settlers of 
Connecticut, William Reardsley coming 
from Stratford-on-.\von. iMigland. in 
1635, and helped to found and probably 
gave the name to Stratford, Conn., in 
1639. John Beardsley, father of our sub- 



ject, was l)orn in tiu' same \illage in 
1792. and in 1822 wedded Mary I'itch, 
a native of New Haven, Conn., hers be- 
ing also an old family in that State. 
They were tlie jjarents of six children. 
Mrs. IJeardsley died in 1870. and Mr. 
Beardsley joined her in 1887. 

Our subject was burn in Knox counlv, 
( )hio, Feb. 18, 1830, and when sixteen 
\ears of age began to work at the car- 
penter's trade, whieli he continued for 
several years. He then attended school 
in Granville, Ohio, which was supple- 
mented by a year's course in tiie (jhio 
Wesleyau L'niversity at Delaware, dur- 
ing the presidency of the accomplished 
and sweet-tem])ered Dr. Edward Thum- 
son. afterwards bisho[) of the Methodist 
Episcopal church. Mr. Beardsley then 
began the study of medicine, teaching 
school during the intervals of stud}', and 
was graduated at Cincinnati in 1855. 
.\fter practicing for a short time in .Mus- 
catine and ( )skaloosa, Iowa, he became 
the editor of the Oskaloosa Herald, and 
in 1 86 1 was ap])ointed ])ostmaster of the 
same city, continuing in that position till 
1865. Under the act of Congress of July 
14. 1862. he w^as also a])pointed examin- 
ing surgeon of applicants for pensions, 
and faithfully discharged the duties until 
his reni(i\;d from Oskaloosa in i8C)3. 
Removing to Burlington in the fall of 
the same year he became the editor and 
one of the proprietors of the Hawk-Eye. 
and so continued until his witlidrawal 
from the paper in 1874. 

He rei)resented Des .Moines county in 
the Slate Senate from 1870 to 1874, serv- 
ing as chairman of the committees on 
federal relations and on schools, and also 
a member of the committee on railroads 



IOI2 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFJ -IIUV 



and ])rintinp;-. At the session of 1872. hi' 
introduced a l)ill into tlie Senate for coni- 
I)iiisory education, wliicli was passed, but 
which failed in the House. He again se- 
cured its passaf^e in the Senate at the 
extra session in 1873. hut it ajjain failed 
to pass the House, .\fter spending sev- 
eral nioutlis abroad Dr. Beardsley took 
an active part in politics, speaking in the 
majority of the counties of the State. In 
187S lu' was appointed by President 
Hayes one of the Chicago Commission- 
ers, to visit the United States mint in 
Philadelphia. In June, 1879, Secretary 
McCrary tendered him a position in the 
war department, to assist in the prejjara- 
tion of the war records for publication. 
This was accepted, but six weeks later, 
the office of the fourth auditor of the 
treasury department becoming vacant, 
he was appointed to that position by the 
president, on tlu' recommendation of Sec- 
retary Sherman, as well as that of Sena- 
tors Allison and Kirkwood and many 
other leading Re])ublicans of Iowa. He 
resigned this office when the Democrats 
came into power in 1885. During his 
service as fourth auditor. Dr. lleardsley 
also served by ajjpointment of President 
.\rthur as acting first auditor during a 
brief interregnum in the latter office. 

Dr. Heartlsley returned to Burlington 
in 1885, and in .\ugust of that year he 
was chairman of the committee on 
resolutions in the Republican State Con- 
vention, and the same day was chosen 
chairman of the l\e|>ublican State central 
committee, to which position he was re- 
chosen in i88(). and again in 1887. In 
April, Dr. fSeardsley became State audit- 
or, having charge of that office for three 
months, during tlu- trial :u\t\ mitil the 



acipiittal of the former incumbent of the 
office. In January, 1887, he was commis- 
sioned by Governor Larabee to examine 
the books and i)apers of the various pub- 
lic institutions of the State, with a view 
to imi)rove and make uniform their meth- 
ods of bookkeeping and re])orts. In 
March, 1888, Governor Larabee, by and 
with the advice and consent of the Sen- » 
ate, ai)])ointed him State inspector of oils 
for the term of two years. 

Nov. 2^. 1865, Mr. Beardsley was mar- 
ried to Miss liliza M. Pool, who is a 
daughter of Simeon Pool, formerly of 
IVanklin county, Ohio, where he had 
been known as one of the early and 
stanch abolitionists. .Mr. Beardsley and 
his estimable wife were blessed with five 
children : I-'lorence, married lidward 
Xeally, a rising young lawyer of Burling- 
ton, and they now live in Santa iVna, 
Cal.; Charles. Jr.. and G<jprge, reside on 
a farm in Nebraska; Simeon, lives in 
Danville. Iowa: John also claims Cali- 
fornia as home. The family were all 
devoted members of the Congregational 
church. Dr. I'.eardsley being the beloved 
superintendent of the Sunday-school 
from i8()7-i874. and while in Washington, 
D. C, was a trustee and ])resident of the 
First Congregational society in that city. 

.•\fter a few years rest from active busi- 
ness life this political leader and high 
official was called to meet his Judge, his 
death occurring in the city of liurlington 
Dec. 29. i8i)6. llis widow, who is a lit- 
erary woman of much ability, resides 
with her daughter, Mrs. Xeally, in Cali- 
fornia. This was a famil)' Burlington 
could ill afford to lose, and especially Dr. 
I'eardsley, who iKit only displayed tal- 
ents as an organizer, was of incalculable 



DES MOINliS COUNTY. lOlVA. 



lOI ■ 



benefit to the Repulilican party, and 
proxed himself truly worthy and coni])c- 
tent in the many responsii)le public posi- 
tions to which he was repeatedly called, 
but was also a man of large heart and 
sympathy, being ever reaily to assist the 
young folks in many har<l and diffictdt 
undertakings. 



HON. HENRY W. STARR. 

Successful as have been many of the 
able men of the early days, none have 
achieved a more deserved reputation for 
character as a citizen, and talents as an 
advocate, than Henry W. Starr, deceased. 
Noted from his boyhood for his clear and 
active intellect, these faculties were high- 
ly cultured by a liberal course of educa- 
tion. He passed through college with 
credit, and his studies in the law school 
were a thorough preparation for the bril- 
liant course of practice which followed. 
In legal acumen, general scholarship, and 
literary and social acquirements. Air. 
Starr occupied a prominence above many 
of his contemporaries of the bar of Iowa. 
Had he gone into politics he might have 
distinguished himself in the halls of leg- 
islation. But neither his taste nor ambi- 
tion led him in this direction. He was 
twice elected mayor of I'.urlington, — in 
1849 a"fl 1850, — beyond which he never 
sought nor held office, but wholly es- 
chewed the political arena. 

Mr. Starr was born in Middlebury, Vt., 
July 24. 181 5, where he graduated from 
college in 1834, and after studying law for 
three years in Cincinnati, was admitted 
to the bar in 1837. Chief Justice Chase 
was his examiner. In June. 1837. he left 



Cincinnati, seeking a jjlace in which to 
locate in his ])rofession. lie visited St. 
Louis, l'"ort iMadison, llurlington. Galena, 
and Chicago, and finally decided to set- 
tle in l')Urlingt(in, then the eajjitol of Wis- 
consin Territory, Iowa having not yet 
been set ofV. Ceneral Dodge was then 
the gcjxernor. .\fter a short visit home, 
he located in HurlingtDn, in .\'ii\end)er, 
1837. It took him twenty days to reach 
here from X'ermont, by the national roa<l 
from ISaltimore to Wheeling, thence 
down the Ohio, and u]) the Mississip])i. 

In the winter of 1837-38 the Legislature 
met here, holding its sessions over a store 
in a frame building on the corner of Main 
and Columbia .Streets. Mr. Starr was 
waiting for a client. At that session the 
Legislature passed resolutions to e.xpe! 
one of its members, a Mr. McGregor, for 
accepting a liribe from one Mr. Wilson, 
and also to rei)rimand Wilson for offering 
a bribe to a member of their body. Wil- 
son employed Mr. Starr and Senator 
(Crimes to defend him before the Legis- 
lature. During the trial one of the mem- 
bers, in replying to Mr. Starr, stated a 
falsehood, which he characterized as 
such, whereupon the Legislature arrested 
him for contempt. He was acquitted and 
so was his client. He afterward formed a 
I)artnership with Senator Grimes, and 
this trial giving them celebrity, they soon 
came into a lucrative j^ractice, which con- 
tinued for seventeen years. 

In the early settlement of the country, 
collections, loans, and real estate consti- 
tuted an important part of a responsible 
lawyer's business, and the firm of Starr 
iv: Grimes h.ning established a reputation 
for ])roni]>tness. ability, and integrity, se- 
cured a line of business equal to at least 



IOI4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



three of the leading firms of Iowa. At 
their annual settlement, durinp the year 
they were engaged in the celebrated Half- 
breed Tract Suit, tlieir business netted 
them sixty thousand dollars. 

Mr. Starr was married twice. His first 
wife being Miss Marian S. Teaslcy, to 
whom he was married Sejit. 28. 1843, and 
who died April zt,, 1834, leaving two 
sons: Charles E., I^orn at lUirlington, 
Iowa. Sept. 2t). 1845, while fitting for col- 
lege in 1862, was ai)pointed to the United 
States Naval Academy, where he re- 
mained until he was orilered into active 
service as midshipman, in i86('). After 
one year of active iluty in that capacity 
he resigned, and engaged in the study of 
law, gfraduating from the law department 
of tile W ashington I'nixersity at St. 
Loui?- ill the class of 1873. Returning to 
Iturliiigtoii. he began his profession in his 
native city, where he was a rising lawyer 
for many years. Peter J. was born Feb. 
15, 1851, graduated from the .Michigan 
Law School in the class of 1873. and died 
in lii> native city Aug. 23. of the same 
ytar. 

.\l)ril 1;. 1837. Mr. .^tarr was married to 
Miss Eliza A. .Merrill, daughter of 
Thomas .\. Merrill, a native of Middle- 
bury. \t.. and an estimable lady. She 
survived her luisbantl for a number of 
years, d}ing .M.ircli iS, i8<p. Uy this 
union Mr. and .Mrs. Starr became the ])ar- 
cnts of two daughters: Marian K., who 
became the second wile of .Mr. Luke 
Palmer, of Burlington, and whose true 
and noble life was closed Feb. 11, 1898, 
in her fortieth year. Carrie .A. married 
Harry Clifton H.-idley, a prosperous law- 
yer of Burlington, who died Oct. i, i8(X). 
Mrs. Hadlev now resides in the East. 



Mr. Starr continued in active practice 
until on account of failing health he re- 
tired from business, and spent the re- 
mainder of his days in honorable ease. 
enjoying the ample fortune which was 
the result of many years of close applica- 
tion to the arduous duties of a success- 
ful lawyer. His death occurred from 
apo])le.\y, ()ct. 30, 1881, closing an active, 
useful, and honorable career, in which he 
won distinction as an eminent jurist, be- 
ing recognized as the peer of the highest 
in the profession in the State, and the 
esteem and respect of a wide circle of 
friends. 



JOSEPH C. STONE, M. D. 

I)k. j. C. Stone, deceased, "was every 
inch a man," and the thousands who 
knew him appreciated that fact. We 
could make a book were we to attempt 
to give a detailed account of his life, and 
a larger book if all of his good deeds, of 
which he never spoke, were to be re- 
called. He simply forgot the accounts of 
hundreds who were not well able to re- 
munerate him for his services; anil per- 
haps a friendly greeting, a word of grati- 
tude now and then, made the good doctor 
as rich as all the wealth of Crcesus. He 
was ever the same kindly, courtly gen- 
tleman of the old school : generous to a 
fault, chivalrous, gentle, yet firm. 

Joseph C. Stone was a son of Henry 
and .\l)igail .'^tone, and was born in West- 
port. l-"ssex county, N. V.. July 30. 1829. 
His father was a Xew England farmer, 
and served in the War of 181 2. partici- 
])aling in the battle of Plattsburg. His 
mother, who was highly educated, was 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



enabled to give her large family a knovvl- of dollars have been saved to the govern- 
edge of the rudiments of learning, and ment. That consciousness you carry 
thus Joseph grew up to manhood with with you to your home, and with it the 
only such advantages as were to l)e found 
at a family fireside many years ago. De- 
termining he would make medicine his 
profession, he went to Illinois College, 
where he remained one year, preparatory 
to entering upon his professional studies. 
He studied medicine at St. Louis under on to accept a nomination for Congress 
Charles A. Pope, and was graduated with in 1876, and was elected. He did not 
high honors in 1854. Later he returned like public life, however, and soon re- 
to Iowa, where he entered upon a good turned to Burlington to rebuild his scat- 



lo\e and respect of your connnanding offi- 
cer and friend." 

At the close of the war he settled in 
Piurlington, and soon built up a large 
and hicrati\e practice. Having always 
been a kei)ublican. he was ])revailed up- 



tered practice, and never again permitted 
himself to be led away from the practice 
of his chosen profession. He was on the 
board of pension examiners and also the 
commission of insane at the time of bis 
death. 

In 1862, Dr. Stone married Miss Ellen 



practice, and gained a reputation as sur- 
geon equalled by few in Iowa. When the 
Crimean War broke out, he secured a 
commission in the Russian service, re- 
maining abroad over a year, and seeing 
much of that campaign, which was 
studied by George B. McClellan on be- 
half of this government. Returning to L. Lutz, of Ohio. This union was graced 
this country he located in Iowa City. He bv one daughter. Carrie, who is an as- 
served the State acceptabh* as superin- sistant in the public library in Burling- 
tendent of public instruction, and en- ton. The busy and useful life of Dr. 
gaged in private practice. Stone was suddenly terminated, Dec. 3. 
At the breaking out of the Civil War, 1902, and in the circle that knew him 
Dr. Stone closed his office, and was one best, the genial, whole-souled physician 
of the first to offer his services to his is missed and mourned, and his memory 
country. He was soon made the adjutant will be kept green until the last one of 
of the First Iowa Cavalry, and in a few those who prized him so highly in his 
weeks was appointed captain and adju- turn "wra])s the drapery of his couch 
tant-general, and from time to time was about him, and lies down to pleasant 
promoted to the offices of major and lieu- dreams." He is buried in beautiful .\spen 
tenant-colonel. He had the reputation of Grove cemetery, where a unique and 
an officer of fine executive ability and tasty monument bears the following in- 
solid integrity, and when the war was scription : — 

over, and he about to return home, Gen- "In memory of Dr. Joseph C. Stone, 

eral Canby endorsed his final order: surgeon in the service of Russia in the 

"Few officers return from the service of Crimea, lieutenant of the First Iowa Cav- 

their countrv with the consciousness that a!r\ in the Civil War. and a member of 

their every act has been approved, and the Congress of the United States. He 

that through their watchful care millions was of New England ancestry, born in 



ioi6 



BIOGRAPHKAL REllEW 



Essex county, Xew York. July 30, 1820. 
came to Iowa in 1844. Dieil in Ihirlin^- 
ton, Dec. 3, 1902. This monument has 
been erected as a mark of respect and 
love for a pure, honorable, courtly, aiul 
chivalrous gentleman." 



HON. M. D. BROWNING. 

Judge Milton D. Browning, deceased, 
was born in Harrison county, Kentucky, 
Dec. 25, 1810. His father's home was 
his home till 1834, when he left for a 
wider knowledge of the world ancl its 
people, taking a position in the law 
office of his brother, Orville H. Brown- 
ing, of Quincy, secretary of the inte- 
rior under President Johnson, and en- 
tering upon the work of devolving upon 
a man of large capacity, strong mind, and 
great intellect, with all the enthusiasm of 
an ambitious youth. His education was 
com|)rised in a course of study such as 
was afTorded by the C'>ninion schools, but 
he failed not nor faltered for lack of 
classic lore or university diplomas and 
sounding degrees. 

In the spring of 1837 he came to Bur- 
lington, and liked it so well that he set- 
tled here. In i83<) he returned to his old 
Kentucky home, and soon came back to 
our city, then young and hopeful like 
himself, bringing with him as his bride, 
Miss Anna, daughter of Judge Brown, of 
Kentucky, and starting out upon life as 
a citizen and a man with a pur])ose be- 
fore him. He gained a noted prominence 
in his profession, being one of the most 
successful lawyers of the day, and never 
lacking for clients when others were su])- 



plied. From 1846 to 1857, inclusive, he 
served in the capacity of State Senator, 
and gained a wide reputation for coolness 
and deliberative foresight, at a time when 
such <|ualities were in demand. In 1857 
President Johnson appointed him United 
States district attorney, and he retired 
with that administration. Before this, in 
1851, he had associated himself with 
Juilge Joshua Tracy, and the firm stood 
till the latter became district attorney, 
when his son, Henry O. Browning, 
stepped into the vacancy. This partner- 
ship was continuetl till the activity of the 
senior partner was ended by his sudden 
attack of paralysis. The younger partner 
continued in the office until he became 
police judge, which terminated the firm. 

During the life and activity of the old 
\\ big party Judge Browning was promi- 
nciitl}' identified with politics, but upon 
his retirement from the field, he secluded 
himself from all political matters and 
seemed to have lost all interest in it to so 
great a degree as to almost entirely ab- 
stain from voting. .After a lingering sick- 
ness. Judge I'rowning died. Nov. 6, 1881, 
aged seventy-one years. He was a man 
of brilliant mind and strongest character, 
and bis circle of ac(|uaintances was ex- 
tensive and varied. His honest and un- 
swerving nature won him many friends 
and admirers. Mrs. Itrowning survived 
him till Feb. 7, 1884. She was the oldest 
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. O. Brown, 
of St. .\nna, Ky., and was born in that 
place Aug. 19, i8ig. She was a member 
of the R|)isco]ial cliurcli. and was active, 
kind, and charitable in all things, which 
made her a favorite in social circles. 

Mr. and Mrs. Browning were the par- 
ents of five children, of whom two are 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1017 



now living: Philip, died in 1865 ; Milton, 
passed away in St. Louis in 1893; Sallie 
and Nannie, both reside in Burlington; 
Henry O., was born in Burlington, Iowa, 
Jan. I, 1841, and attended the schools of 
Burlington, the old Baptist College, and 
later Denmark Academy. His education 
was finished at Transylvania University, 
in Lexington, Ky. He first studied law 
with his father, who was then a partner 
of Judge Tracy. In 1863 he was admitted 
to the bar, and from that time until he 
entered the steamboat business he was 
engaged in the practice of law in this 
county. In 1872 Mr. Browning was 
elected justice of the peace, and con- 
tinued in that office until January, 1878, 
when he was appointed to fill out the un- 
expired term of A. H. Stutsman as police 
judge. In March of the same year he was 
elected to that office, and served the city 
in that capacity until 1886. He then en- 
tered the employ of the Diamond Jo 
Steamboat Company as general agent 
and traveled for them for a number of 
years. He was the local agent for the 
Carnival City Packet Company at the 
time he was seized with his last illness. 
Dec. 18, 1867, Mr. Browning was mar- 
ried to Miss Margaret Virginia Trimble, 
who died in 1880. Mr. Browning died 
Dec. 8, 1901. He left one daughter. 
Lydia, who married J. A. \\' hite, of Mo- 
line, 111., and has three children. Mr. 
Browning was high-minded and fearless 
in the expression of opinion, and he did 
not hesitate to place the proper estimate 
on things and individuals. His integrity 
was of a scrupulous nature, and in all his 
relation with his fellow-men, whether in 
business or social affairs, he was without 
a suggestion of selfish or sordid motives. 



GEN. JOHN M. CORSE. 

Gen. John M. Corse was a son of 
John L. and Sarah (Murray) Corse, and 
was born in Pittsburg, I'a., April 27, 
1835. il's father was born in Dover, 
Del., March 5, 1813, and was for many 
years engaged in the East in carriage 
manufacturing. In 1842 he came to Bur- 
lington, carrying on this business there 
for several years, and tiu-n went into the 
book and stationery business. He was a 
Democrat in jjolitics, and served as alder- 
man for three terms, 1844, 1851, and 1852, 
and was mayor during 1845-46 and 1856- 
57. His death occurred March 22, 1868. 
Mrs. Corse died Sept. 28, 1866. 

Our suljject received his ])riniary edu- 
cation in the public schools of Burling- 
ton, of which his father was a strong ad- 
vocate and true friend. 1 le was after- 
ward a cadet in West Point for about two 
}'ears, when he resigned and returned to 
Burlington, and engaging in the book 
store with his fatiu-r. It is told of him 
that when his father suggested that the 
firm name should be "J. L. Corse & Son," 
the embryo patriot insisted that it should 
be "John M. Corse & Father." At this 
time he was nominated by the Demo- 
cratic party for lieutenant-governor. 

He entered the I'nited States service 
as major of the Sixth Iowa Volunteers in 
August, 1861, serving under General Fre- 
mont, and then as judge-advocate and in- 
spector-general on the staff of General 
Pope ; but after the victories of Island 
No. 10 and Shiloh, ])rcfcring active serv- 
ice, joined this regiment and became its 
colonel. He commanded a division at 
Mem])his, and was connnissioncd a brig- 
adier-general on Aug. II, 1863. He 



loU 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



served in the Chatanooga campaign, dis- 
tinguished himself at Chickamauga. and 
was wounded at Missionary Ridge. In 
Sherman's march to the sea he com- 
nianded a division of tlie fifteenth corps. 

W'lien, after the evacuation of .\tlanta. 
the Confederates crossed the Chata- 
choochee and destroyed the railroad, 
Corse was ordered from Rome to the re- 
lief of Allatoona, where large commissar}' 
supplies, guarded hy eight hundred and 
ninety men, under Colonel Tourtellotte. 
were threatened hy an infantry division 
of the enemy. General Corse arrived 
with one thousand and fifty-four troops 
before the Confederates; hut when the 
latter came, being greatly superior in 
numbers, they closely surrounded the ])0- 
sition. 

To the summons of the Confederate 
general, French, to surrender and avoid 
a needless effusion of blood, (leneral 
Corse returned a defiant answer. The 
Confederates, numbering four thousand 
or five thousand, attacked the fortifica- 
tions furiously Oct. 5, 1864, but were re- 
peatedly driven back. During this at- 
tack, the incident occurred which gave 
rise to the famous Sunday-school song, 
"Hold the Fort, for I am Coming." Gen- 
eral Sherman, who had dispatched a 
corps to attack the Confederate rear, sig- 
naled from Kenesaw Mountain, where he 
Iieard the roar of battle, eighteen miles 
away, for the commander to hold out, as 
relief was approaching; and when he 
learned by tlie heliograph that Corse was 
in command, he said: "He will hold out, 
I know the man." General Corse was 
badly wounded at Allatoona. but the next 
morning after the conflict sent this mes- 
sage himself: "\ am short a cheekbone 



and an ear, but I can whip all h — 11 yet. 
My losses arc very heavy. A force mov- 
ing from Stilesboro to Kingston gives mc 
some anxiety. Tell me where Sherman 
is." 

Corse defended Allatoona so bravely 
that Sherman, who considered the point 
very handsome and important, made it 
the subject of a special order, emphasiz- 
ing the principle in warfare that fortified 
posts should be defended to the last, 
without regard to the strength of the at- 
tacking force. " The thanks of the army 
are due, and are hereby accorded, to Gen- 
eral Corse, Colonel Tourtellotte, Colonel 
Rowe. and officers and men, for their de- 
termined and gallant defense of Allalixjna; 
and it is made an example to illustrate 
the importance of pre])aring in time, and 
meeting the danger, when present, boldly, 
manfully and well." Corse received the 
I)revet of major-general Oct. 5. 1864. 

After the war. General Corse was for 
two years (1807-y) collector of internal 
revenue in Chicago, 111. He then spent 
four years in Europe, and on his return 
engaged in railroading, building several 
hundred miles of road in the neighbor- 
hood of Chicago. In 1881 he returned to 
Massachusetts, residing in Boston and in 
Winchester, where he settled in 1882. 
He was a vigorous (opponent of General 
I'lUtler ill his political campaigns, and be- 
came chairman of the executive commit- 
tee of the Democratic State Central Com- 
mittee. On Oct. 9, 1886, he was ap- 
])ointed postmaster of Boston. 

General Corse was married first to 
Miss Ellen Prince, who died in 1853, and 
later to Miss Fannie McNeil, a niece of ex- 
President Pierce, who died in 1881. He 
was the father of one son, Murrav Pichot. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



lOIO 



who is still livint,^ When his first wife 
passed away General Corse erected a me- 
morial chapel in Aspen Grove cemetery to 
her memory, and here his whole family are 
laid. A beantifnl statue of General Corse 
and his fiery horse adorns Crapo Park, 
placed there by the citizens of his old 
home, as a mark of love and respect for 
him and the great victories he achieved 
at Allatoona. His death occurred April 7, 
1893. This equestrian statue on the mon- 
ument erected by the State of Iowa, may 
also be found in Des Moines. 



GENERAL FITZ HENRY WARREN. 

General Warren, deceased, was the 
fourth in descent from Daniel Warren, 
son of John Warren, Avho was born in 
England in 1585, and came to "Western" 
in 1630, and from "Western" to Brim- 
field. General \\'arren was also of the 
same family as Joseph Warren, of Revo- 
lutionary fame, was a son of Philemon 
and Hannah (Johnson) ^^'arren. and was 
born in Brimfield, Mass.. Jan. 11. i8i(). 
His father was born Jan. 31. 1761, and 
died March 11. 1847. His mother died in 
1850. After Fitz Henry went through 
the usual course of the town school, with 
one or more terms at W'illjraham Acad- 
emy, he commenced his business life in 
a mercantile house in Xew York City ; 
from thence to Petersburg. \'a. I*"rom 
1835 to 1843 he was in business with his 
father and brother at Brimfield. During 
his residence here at that peritxl. the 
"Rifle Company," having become reduced 
in numbers and efficiency, was, by the 
eflforts of Mr. Warren and others, re- 



cruited by eidistments to a full company, 
of which he was chosen captain, June 12, 
1837. He was promoted the ne.xt year, 
and in 1840 was coloiul of the Tenth 
Regiment ui" Ma.s.sachusetts Volunteer 
Militia. While in these positions he ex- 
hibited the same (|ualities which in after 
life were c<)ns]}icuous in the service of 
his country in the war of the Rebellion. 
In 1844 .Mr. Warren emigrated to and 
located jn llurlington, Iowa, where he 
was engaged in the mercantile business, 
and for several years was connected with 
the Burlington Hawk-Eyc as editor. Here, 
as pre\-i()usly in his native State, he took 
an active part in ])olitics, and was chair- 
man of the Whig State Committee. In 
|S4(; lie was a])pointed by President Tay- 
lor first assistant postmaster general, in 
which high and responsible position he 
<lisplayed such judgment and business 
tact as to secure general commendation ; 
resigning the office in 1852, he had charge 
of the Xational \\ big C(^mmittee during 
tiie Scott presidential campaign. Re- 
turning to Iowa in 1853, he was engagef! 
in banking, and steamboating on the 
.Mississip])i River. Notwithstanding the 
business pursuits, Mr. Warren continued 
active in ])olitics. a zealous worker, and 
efficient s])eaker in national and State 
elections, .\fter tiie election in i8fx). his 
name was prnminent among those men- 
tioned for the office of postmaster- 
general. It is said his former position in 
the department was ofTere<! him. which he 
declined. In 1861, he was assistant edi- 
tor of the Xew York Tribune, at the head 
of the start' in W ashington, and was the 
author of the famous "On to Richmond" 
correspondence. He resigned this posi- 
tion to take command of the First Iowa 



I020 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Cavalry, one of tin- first volunteer cav- 
alry regiments mustered into the service 
of the United States. He was promoted 
to be bripadicr-gcneral in August, 1862, 
an<l afterward made brevet major- 
general. In the following summer, his 
health failing, he was relieved from com- 
mand, and placed on duty in New Vork 
City, where he remained until the close of 
the war. 

General Warren was elected* to the 
Iowa Senate in 18M). and ser\ed one 
term. He was a])i)ointed minister to 
Guatemala the same year, and resided 
there with his family till i86(;, when he 
resigned, returning to Iowa the same 
year. He was afterward engaged in the 
construction of several railroads in the 
States of Iowa, Missouri, and Nebraska. 

General Warren joined the Liberals in 
the presidential campaign of 1872, taking 
a prominent part in the convention at 
Cincinnati, and was at the head of the 
Iowa electoral ticket. In 1875-7^ he was 
employed at Washington and New York 
as writer for the New York Sun. 

Oct. 31, 1838, General Warren married 
Hannah So])hia llartlett, whose father 
was Wait liarllett, born in 1786, and died 
in November, 1869, whose wife was Mar- 
tha (Gould) Chapin. They were married 
January, 1808, and had twelve children, 
none of whom are living. General War- 
ren and his wife were married by a Con- 
gregational minister, but soon after they 
joined the I''.i)isco])al church. They be- 
came the ])arenls of tliree sons and one 
daughter, of whom only Francis Johnson 
Warren and Lily Johnson Warren are 
now living. 

Mrs. Warren was born .March 15. iSi-;. 
and died at lirimfield. Mass., .\pril 15, 



1877. Her husband survive<l her about 
one year, his death also occurring in his 
Jiative place June 21, 1878. They left Bur- 
lington, Iowa, in 1875: and though many 
years have passed since titen, still the 
memories of this worthy cou|)le are green 
and fresh in the hearts of their many 
friends. 



THOMAS FRENCH. 

Capt.m.n Tiiom.as I'RENCii was born 
in ISrighton, Beaver county, Pa., Oct. 
4. 181 5. When he was but one year 
old his parents moved to Beaver, the 
county-seat. Here Thomas was raised, 
and attended the village school till nearly 
si.xteen years of age, when he went to 
Pittsburg and learned the engineer's 
trade, remaining till the spring of 1836. 
'J"hat S])ring he went on board a steamer 
running on the < )liio River from Pitts- 
burg to Louisville, in the ca|)acity of en- 
gineer, running on the Ohio and other 
rivers of the Southwest till 1841, when 
he came to Burlington, from St. Louis 
through Illinois, by stage. In the spring 
of 1842 he took charge of the liurlington 
ferr\ , then owned by Gales & Seaton, the 
])roprietors of the National Intelligencer, 
an anti-slavery paper, published in Wash- 
ington city. He continued in that ca- 
pacity till 1854, attending to all of the 
business of Gales & Seaton in this local- 
ity, which consisted of large landed es- 
tates in Burlington and the Illinois land- 
ing. 

In 1854, in connection with (iencral 
I"itz-1 lenry Warren and others, he went 
to Washington and imrcliasid the entire 
ferry iirojierty aii<l i.inil. amounting to 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1 02 I 



about seven lunnlred acres on the oppo- 
site side in Illinois. He built four steam- 
boats — three for the ferry and one for the 
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad. 
These were built, respectively, at St. 
Louis, Cincinnati, and Brownsville, Pa. 
In the fall of 1856 he sold out his interest 
in the ferry to General Warren and 
others, and had nothing further to do 
with it till i8f)3, when he took charge of 
it for Mr. Warren. In 1867 he purchased 
the ferry again, and continued to run it 
for many years. In 1859 Captain French 
became a member of the city council, in 
which he remained seven years. For five 
years, during the entire war, he was 
mayor of the city, and in that eajjacity did 
efficient service in aiding the government. 
He took a very active and prominent part 
in getting up companies, particularly the 
First Iowa Battery, in which he met with 
the most violent opposition on the part 
of the opponents of the war. But 
through the aid of General Warren, in 
Washington, and Dallam Gilbert and 
John Lahee, at home, he succeeded in 
getting it up in spite of all opposition. He 
got a requisition from the secretary of 
war on the governor of the State to ac- 
cept the battery on July 23, 1861, the 
second day after the battle of Bull Run. 
Captain French was an efficient city offi- 
cer, and during his administration affairs 
were managed with order and economy. 
There was not a single mob n<ir a single 
life lost during the whole period. 

At the commencement of the war the 
citizens organized a society for the relief 
of soldiers' families and widows, which 
was kept up all through the war. It was 
managed by a committee of three, name- 
Iv: l\Ir. French, who was president. 



George C. Lauman. and Mosby Evving. 
This was an active institution, doing a 
great deal of good. Besides carrying on 
the ferry, Captain hrench dealt a great 
ileal in real estate, and owned considera- 
ble property on the west hill, which was 
in lime dixidcd intd lots, and now forms 
a very attractive portion of the city. In 
1872 he purchased his elegant and com- 
modious home on the west hill, which 
was totally destroyed by fire a few years 
ago. 

Dec. 2, 1840, Mr. French was married 
to Miss Delia E. Griffey, daughter of 
William Griffey, one of the early settlers 
of I'.urlington. Unto Mr. and Mrs. 
iM'ench six children were horn, most of 
whom are dead. Mr. French was all his 
life on the liberal and progressive side of 
politics, in favor of humanity, justice, and 
liberty for all classes, races, and colors. 
He cared little whether his views were 
pojndar or not. if they were in his judg- 
ment right. .After some years of retire- 
ment, .Mr. French died in Burlington, 
Nov. 2, 1886. He was a man of good 
business talents, and was successful in 
his financial operations. For integrity of 
character and firmness of purpose he 
justlv stood as a man and a citizen. His 
worthy wife resides in Chicago with her 
son, and is a lady of much ability and 
intellect. 



DR. G. J. JOHNSON. 

The story of the life and labors of 
Dr. George J. Johnson, deceased, would 
fill a volume. Few men live to .see such 
marked results, and reap such rich re- 
wards for their life work. His travels 



I022 



niOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



would ri-acli moru tlian twiiiiy liiiu-s 
around the cartli, — over five hundred 
thousand miles: and wlierever he went 
he not only made friends, hut imparted to 
them the impress of liis own godly indi- 
viduality and the strength of his enthusi- 
asm. Alertness characterized his everv 
movement, and a resolute will and inde- 
fatigable industry served him mightily in 
his victorious achievements ; but the pre- 
dominating trait of this strenuous man's 
life was his "fervency in siiirit." and 
"serving the lord." 

Rev. George J. Johnson was born at 
Trenton Falls. \. V., Oct. 9, 1824. He 
was educated in a school at Madison, now 
Colgate University, N. Y. He received 
his license to preach in his native place, 
and during his college days supplied the 
village church for months at a time. It 
was also in Trenton Falls that he was 
ordained, soon after which he came to 
Burlington, in 1848. as a missionary from 
the Baptist Home Mission Society. Here 
he established a ehiirch of twelve mem- 
bers, in an U])per room on Third Street. 
He soon built and i)aid for a respectable 
house of worship, and was prominently 
connected with the school known as the 
Burlington Institute, — raising much of 
the money necessary for this school, and 
being a member of the financial executive 
board for many years. 

After a pastorate of ten years in Bur- 
lington, Rev. Johnson went to Fort Madi- 
son, Iowa, where lie also assisted in the 
organization of a church, and served as 
its ])astor for five years, during which 
time he led the pe()i)le in the Iniildiiig of 
a good house of worship. Returning to 
Burlington, he served as district secre- 
tary of the American Baptist Publication 



.Society, for the field of the entire West, 
with headcpiarters at I'.urlington and 
Chicago. 

In five years his district was changed 
to the southwest of the country, with 
headquarters in St. Louis. During the 
next two years he resided near .\lton, 
111., and led in a eami)aign for the raising 
of one hundred thousand dollars for 
Shurtleff College. The ne.xt six years he 
was stationed at the city of Philadelphia, 
as the missionary secretary and Bible sec- 
retary of the Publication Society, mak- 
ing eighteen and a half years in all that 
he served this society. During this time 
he also preached, even more than when 
a regular pastor. 

In 1884 Dr. Johnson returned t<i i'.iir- 
lington. Iowa, for a second pastorate, dur- 
ing which he completed the second house 
nf worship of the First Baptist church, 
and bajjtized some sixty converts. Being 
broken down in health he took a year's 
trij) in Furo])e. He then gave his atten- 
tion tor two \ ears to the affairs of Bur- 
lington Institute, in Iowa, and mainly 
supi)lied the ])ulpit of a church near by, 
in Illinois. I'Or nearly two years follow- 
ing he sujjplied the church at Auburn 
Park, and for over three years served as 
a S]jecial missionary of the Baptist Board, 
at St. .\ugustine. l'"la., where he was per- 
mitted to erect a beautiful house of wor- 
ship, free from del)t. 

Dr. Johnson had the i)leasure of <ledi- 
cating over one hundred church edifices 
in the difFcrcnt States and Territories, 
and baptized over eight hundred persons 
into new lite. He certainl) raised over 
one million dollars for various churches, 
schools, and missionary work. Ho never 
fullv recovered his health, and at last. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1023 



after months of patient waiting, God 
spoke the word, July 7, 1902, in St. Louis, 
Mo. The servant answered, and he was 
with God. 

We would like to write more of his 
masterful ministerial labors, covering a 
period of over half a century, of liis turn- 
ing thousands to a life of righteousness, 
leading many young men to the ministry, 
building churches, endowing colleges, etc., 
and hold up his life more fully to the 
\oung as an example, but this brief record 
forbids, so we will add a few notes of his 
happy domestic life. 

Dr. Johnson became the husband of 
Maria Louisa Nickerson in 1850, in Caz- 
€novia, N. Y. Her father was a Baptist 
clergyman of western New York. Unto 
Dr. and Mrs. Johnson six children were 
born : Emma E. is the wife of Alexander 
E. Forbes, of St. Louis, Mo. ; James 
Nickerson died Aug, 7, 1869; George 
Thomas became the husband of Miss 
Helen R. Forbes, of Alton, 111., and died 
Nov. 19, 1892; Sarah M. resides with her 
sister, Mrs. Forbes ; Kendall Warren 
married Miss Nellie Colwell, of Chicago; 
and Gove Griffith became the husband 
of Miss May F. Russell, of Hamilton, 
N. Y. The latter is a Baptist minister of 
marked ability. 

It is impossible to speak adequately of 
the excellent traits which characterized 
Mrs. Johnson as a mother, a minister's 
wife, and a Christian. She had most 
winning natural traits, both of character 
and person, and under the sanctifying 
touch of the spirit, became one of the 
saintliest of women. C)n Sunday morn- 
ing, Dec. 25, 1898. at her home in St, 
Louis, she received a loving invitation 
from her Lord to spend that Christmas 



day with Him in glory. She was ready 
to accept the invitation ; her work was 
done ; her "wedding garment" was pre- 
pared, and so she went where two of her 
sons had gone before her, mmirned by 
hundreds of friends in each of the many 
cities which had l)een her home during 
the forty-eight years she had been the 
faithful and loving wife of Dr. Johnson. 



GOVERNOR JOHN HOPWOOD 
MICKEY. 

John Hopwoou Mickey is a native 
of the Hawkeye State, born six miles 
west of Burlington, Iowa, Sept. 30, 1845. 
His father, Oliver Perry Mickey, was a 
pioneer in Iowa, locating there in 1836. 
His mother in maidenhood was Betsey 
Ann Davison, of English extraction. In 
1847, two years after the birth of John 
H. Mickey, the family removed to Louisa 
county, Iowa, and there in the common 
schools of the day the governor to be 
received his early education, well directed 
by careful parents who zealously guarded 
the moral environments of their growing 
children. 

In 1863 John H. Mickey enlisted as a 
private in Company D, Eighth Iowa Cav- 
alry, and until the close of the war, with 
his regiment, was in service in eastern 
Tennessee, with Sherman in his cam- 
paign until the surrender of .Atlanta, and 
with Hood and Thomas in their Tennes- 
see campaign. He was honorably mus- 
tered out of service in .Vugusl. 1865. He 
returned to his Iowa home, and for two 
years was a student at Wesleyan College 
at Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Upon leaving 



1024 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



college, he enpaged in school-teaching, 
and during the vacation periods he de- 
voted himself to farming. 

Sept. ID, i86", he was married to Miss 
Morinda McCray, of Des Moines county, 
Iowa. One year after, with his worldly 
wealth, the material ])art of which he 
loaded into a prairie schooner, he set out 
for Polk county, Nebraska, and on Sept. 
3, 1868, he had reached the banks of the 
Blue River, and there filed upon a home- 
stead. M that time there was only one 
family living in Polk county, though 
quite a number of claims had been taken 
up by homesteaders. Governor Mickey 
remained upon his homestead until No- 
vember, 1872, when he removed to Os- 
ceola, then a town consisting of a court- 
house and a small store. The town could 
not at that time boast of a first settler, 
as there was not a single residence in the 
town, and there was much interest at- 
tached to who should be the first settler. 
Mr. Mickey, with his wife, their baby, 
and a two-horse team and lumber wagon 
laden with household effects, started for 
the town, and at the same time another 
pioneer, W. 1'. Kimmel, started over the 
same road for Osceola. It was a race be- 
tween the two parties as to which would 
reach the place first. Their horses ran 
neck by neck the last two miles of the 
road, but as they neared the town. Mr. 
Kimmel, having the lighter load, and per- 
haps the best team of horses, left Gov- 
ernor Mickey a little in the rear, and 
thus was the Governor robbed of the 
honor of becoming Osceola's first settler. 
This race was Governor Mickey's first 
and last horse race. 

In 1870, two years before the location 
of the county seat at Osceola, Polk coun- 



ty was organized and Governor Mickey 
was elected the first county treasurer, an 
office he held for nearly ten years. In 
November, 1880, he was elected a mem- 
ber of the Legislature, and during the 
term in which he served he was one of 
the leaders of the House. He was active 
in belialf of, and gave his ardent support 
to, the Slocum bill for the regulation of 
the sale of liquors. 

In May, 1879, the Osceola Bank, with a 
capital of five thousand dollars was 
opened by Mr. Mickey. This bank 
through the careful management of Mr. 
Mickey, has been one of the successful in- 
stitutions of its kind in the State, and in 
1903 had a paid-up capital of $37,500. 
Ever since its organization Mr. Mickey 
has been its ])residcnt. During the finan- 
cial stringency of 1893, when financial in- 
stitutions throughout the country were 
threatened with disaster, Mr. Mickey's 
bank survived the storm, and was the 
means of assisting many of the business 
houses and farmers of Polk county in 
maintaining such credit as enabled them 
to survive during the depressed times. 

Governor Mickey from his early man- 
hood has been a Republican of the un- 
swerving kind, though his father was a 
Stephen .\. Douglas Democrat. Gov- 
ernor Mickey's first vote was cast for 
Lincoln in 1864, when he was only nine- 
teen years of age, the State of Iowa hav- 
ing passed a special act enabling all sol- 
diers to vote irrespective of age. In jus- 
lice to Mr. Mickey it may be said that his 
ambitions for political honors have never 
been overzealous, hut his ambitions to 
serve the people, his State, and his coun- 
try to the utmost of his power have al- 
waj's been prominent. To this con- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1025 



scientious sense of duty is due his ascend- 
ency to the gubernatorial chair. His se- 
lection for the nomination of governor 
came to him without any jjcrsonal effort 
of his own other than his (ibctliencc to 
the desires of the Republican ])arty of 
the State, voiced through the members of 
the convention which nominated him. 
The conduct of his campaign in Nebraska 
was beyond criticism. The fight made in 
his behalf was a clean figlit, and his elec- 
tion was a victory, not alone for his 
party, but for all citizens of the State who 
advocate careful administration of public 
affairs and untrammeled and unbiased 
exercise of executive prerogatives. 

Governor Mickej- is a member of the 
Methodist church at Osceola, has been a 
trustee of his church for many years, and 
superintendent of the Sunday-school. In 
the support of his church and in matters 
of charity he has always been unosten- 
tatiously liberal. 

The church at Osceola was erected at a 
cost of fifteen thousand dollars, toward 
which amount Governor Mickey donated 
five thousand dollars. \\'ithin the last 
dozen years he has contributed more than 
eleven thousand dollars to the Wesleyan 
University at Lincoln, and there is hardly 
a State enterprise of his church in Ne- 
braska toward which he has not given lib- 
erally, including a subscription of five 
hundred dollars to assist in the erection of 
the Methodist hospital at Omaha. While 
he is a stanch supporter of his own 
church, he is liberal in assisting other de- 
nominations, and is broad-minded in his 

• 
religious views. For some years he has 

been the president of the board of trus- 
tees of the Nebraska Wesleyan I'niver- 
sity, at University Place, near Lincoln. 



Governor Mickey has been twice mar- 
ried. His first wife died Dec. 23, 1886, 
leaving him five children. On Dec. 8, 
1887, he was married to I^lora C. Camp- 
bell, of Norden, Nebr., who is the mother 
of four of his children, his family consist- 
ing of nine, all of whom are living — five 
boys and four girls: The eldest son is 
Oliver E. Mickey, thirty-three years of 
age, and is the cashier of his father's 
bank ; Harlan \., age thirty-one, of Keya 
Paha county, and Evan S., age twenty- 
nine, who is his father's chief clerk ; the 
eldest daughter. Bertha E., is the wife of 
H. O. Smith, of the Burlington ticket 
office at Lincoln ; Mary N., the second 
daughter, is a student at the Wesleyan 
L'niversity at Lincoln ; Benjamin H., age 
fourteen ; James H., age twelve ; and two 
young daughters. Flora Elizabeth, age 
eight, and Norma .Vdelinc, age three, 
complete the family list of the go\ernor's 
household. 

Governor Mickey was inaugurated Jan. 
6, 1903, and is. with his family, making 
his home at the State executive mansion. 
He was re-elected Nov. 8, 1904. and is 
now serving his second term. 



HON. CHARLES L BARKER. 

Hon. Ch.vrles L Barker, deceased, 
one of the leading Democrats of the State 
of Iowa, was the son of Benjamin and 
.\bigail Barker, and was born in West- 
moreland, N. H., June 4, 1826. His father 
was a prosperous farmer among the hills 
of New Hampshire. Mr. Barker was the 
voungest of thirteen children, — eleven 
boys and two girls, — and was the last 



I026 



BIOGRAPHICAL REIIEIV 



survivor of liis family. He- came West 
in the early "so's, and engaged in news- 
paper work at Cincinnati, Ohio, publisli- 
ing his first newspaper, the Hamilton 
Democrat at Hamilton, Ohio, in 1854. 

Feb. 19, 185^), Mr. Barker married Miss 
Hannah M. Bell, of Hamilton, Ohio, who 
was born in Urbana, Ohio, Feb. 10, 18.^7. 
Mrs. Barker was a daughter of Daniel S. 
Bell, a prominent lawyer of Ohio, and 
Julia M. Bell, a niece of the late Governor 
Thomas Corwin, of Ohio. Four children 
graced this union : Breckinridge and 
Paul C, both <lying in infancy; liell C. 
and Abbie F. Barker, who reside in Chi- 
cago. Mrs. Barker passed away in Chi- 
cago, Sept. 3, 1898. She was one of the 
charter members of the chapter, at Bur- 
lington, Iowa, of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, her ancestor, 
Major John Brown, having received dis- 
tinction for acts of bravery during the 
Revolutionary War. She was a woman 
of literary ability, and also possessing 
those lovely traits of character which en- 
dear one to all. 

Mr. Barker published a Democratic 
paper at Anderson. Ind., during the war, 
and later published a paper at lUooming- 
ton. 111. After spending several years 
South, he came to i'.urlington. Iowa, in 
1867, and was editor and iinipriilcjr of 
the lUirlington Gazette for a number of 
years. He was always a stanch Demo- 
crat, was a member of the city council in 
1896, and re])rcscnled his State in the 
Legislature in 1894-95. Mr. Barker was 
a man of much intelligence, a great 
reader, well posted on all questions of 
the day, and was authority on all political 
subjects. 

Oct. 6, 1904, he was taken suddenly ill 



while making a trij) to his wile's grave, 
and died at once. The remains of Mr. 
and .Mrs. Barker are buried in .-Kspen 
Grove cemetery in Burlington. 



JAMES FOX ABRAHAMS. 

().\i; who was closely connected with 
all the interests of Burlington in its early 
days was J. Fo.x .\brahams. deceased. 
He was born in Philadelphia. I'a.. in 1812. 
His father was an Irishman, and did gal- 
lant service in the War of 1812. under 
that celebrated naval hero. Commodore 
William Bonridge, and received a sword 
from the commodore as a mark of a])i)ro- 
bation for his service. The sword is still 
in the family. His mother was a Quaker, 
and the name by which he was so famil- 
iarly known to the people of Burlington 
was given to him in honor of George Fox. 
the distinguished founder of the Society 
of Friends. .Mr. .\l)rahams came froiu 
Philadelphia to Burlington in 1846, at the 
ago of thirty-four years, and resided here 
till death. He was engaged in the book 
and stationery business for some years, 
and finally sold out to John L. Corse, 
father of General John M. Corse. Dur- 
ing the existence of the I'.urlington and 
Mt. Pleasant plank road, he was secre- 
tary of the company, and during his fre- 
quent trips over the line made hosts of 
friends by his cheerfulness of disposition 
and many social qualities. 

.\fter disposing of his book-store to 
Mr. Corse, he engaged in real estate 
transactions in this city, and continued 
thus engaged up to the first year of Lin- 
coln's administration, when he was ap- 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



1027 



pointed postmaster, which position he 
held for many years, until he resigned in 
favor of Mr. Clark Dunham. After this 
he retired to private life, and spent the 
last part of his earthly career at the home 
of Mr. James Love, who was a brother of 
Mrs. Abrahams. 

Mr. .Abrahams was a man of strong im- 
pulses, of kindly feelings to his acquaint- 
ances, and of many private deeds of gen- 
erosity. None was more generously wel- 
comed in all circles, business and social, 
than Fox Abrahams, and his death, which 
occurred July 8, 1875, cast a shadow over 
the entire city. He was a man of brilliant 
intellect, the files of the Hazvk-Eye contain- 
ing many evidences of his ability. To him 
we are indebted for the beautiful poem, 
"The Night Before Christmas," and ''The 
Tin Bucket Brigade." 



DR. JOHN F. HENRY. 

Dr. John F. Henry, deceased, was one 
of the leading physicians here many years 
ago, and was a typical Southern gentle- 
man, being well and favorably known 
throughout all the county. He was the 
fifth child of General William Henry, be- 
ing born in K^entucky, Jan. 17. 177,^ and 
■dying in Burlington, Iowa. Xov. 12, 1873, 
at the age of eighty-one years. 

The doctor was married. May 7, 1818. 
to Miss Mary Basil Duke, who was born 
Feb. 10, 1797, a daughter of Dr. Basil 
Duke and Charlotte Duke, of W'ashing- 
ton. Mason county. Ky. They became 
the parents of one child, Elizabeth Julia, 
who lived only two and one-half years, 
dying in 1821. Her mother continued to 



grieve till malignant fever set in, and 
death claimed her al.so Sept. 26. 1821, in 
Perry county, Missouri. 

Jan. I, 1828, Dr. Henry married .Miss 
Lucy Stringer Ridgely, daughter of Dr. 
Frederick Ridgely, a distinguished physi- 
cian of Lexington, Ky. By this union 
they had six children, all of whom are 
dead but one: William; Grcenbury 
Ridgely; Mary Belle, who was the wife of 
the late George Robertson, of Burlington ; 
John Flournoy, of Kentucky; and Flora. 
Our subject was a fine conversational- 
ist and a distinguished physician, being a 
surgeon in the War of 1812-14 under Col- 
onel Boswell, of Kentucky, and at his 
own request was transferred to General 
William Harrison's command, directed 
against Canada. He was in Fort Meigs 
during a long siege, and was also at the 
battle of the Thames. In after years 
he was professor in the medical college 
of the Miami University in Cincinnati, 
Ohio. He was a member of Congress, in 
1827, from the Christian county, Ken- 
tucky, district. Coming to Burlington in 
the early forties he began the practice of 
medicine, in which he continued with 
much success till failing health and the 
infirmities of old age overtook him. 

His son. Dr. Greenbury Ridgely, was 
born in Hopkinsville, Ky., Sept. 21, 1828, 
and was educated principally at Jubilee 
College, Illinois, and at Illinois College. 
Jacksonville, in that State. He was grad- 
uated from Louisville College, in Ken- 
tucky, in March. 1849. Soon after this he 
came to llurlington, and engaged in jirac- 
tice with his father. He had met and i)e- 
come engaged to Miss Kate Logan 
Chambers during his school days, whom 
he married, Oct. i6, 1850. Mrs. Henry 



I028 



BIOGRAPHICAL RllllElV 



was born in Woodford county, Kenluckv, 
Jan. 30, 1830, and was the daughter of 
Col. George M. Chambers, of Lexington, 
Ky. She was a capable woman, and it was 
tlirniigli her that a large proportion of our 
subject's success was due. 

In professional life Dr. Henry was suc- 
cessful, but met with some financial em- 
barrassments in 1857 from land specula- 
tions in the West, which, owing to iiis 
large practice, however, he was able to 
overcome in a short lime. He was on the 
school board for a number of years, and 
was the president of the board when he 
died. He was also at that time a mem- 
ber of the State board of trustees for the 
Hospital for the Insane, at Mt. Pleasant, 
Iowa; president of Des Moines County 
Medical Society ; a contributor to the 
Boston Medical Journal; and president of 
the examining surgeons of the United 
States Board of Pensions. 

A Democrat of the Jackson school in 
politics, he took active part in munici])al. 
State and national afYairs, i)ut always de- 
clined party office. He was a man of 
very sensitive and tender feelings, — de- 
voted to his profession, and literally died 
in harness, May 14, 1885, niournccl by one 
and all. Mrs. Henry survived him till 
March 22, i8yi. They had six children, 
of whom three are living: George C, who 
recently moved from ilurliiigton to .\r- 
kansas; Mrs. .Mary Short Tousey, of Chi- 
cago; and John I-"., of Fo.'t Smith, ,\rk. 



JOHN WILLIAM BURDETTE. 

Among the respected and ])rominent 
men who accomplished much for the city 
of llurlington is John W. liurdclte, who 



is a son of I-'rederick Rdwin and Sophia 
Eberhartlt (Jones) llurdette. He was 
born in Cummingsville, now within the 
corjjorate liniits of Cincinnati. .\])ril zy, 
1849. 

His father was born .May 14, 1820, in 
X'irginia. and is a st)n of Frederick Bur- 
(lett, who was a successful general mer- 
chant and leading citizen of \'irginia in 
his day. His father, James Burdett, with 
two brothers, came from England. The 
original stock was Hugenot, and the 
name was originally spelled rUirdcttc. 
The final e was dropped in England, how- 
ever, and has not been restored by all 
branches of the family. 

leather I'urdette, as he is familiarly 
called, was engaged in newspaper work 
for many years, and was also assistant 
autlitor in Burlington one or two terms. 
He moved to Chicago in 1892, and makes 
his home with his daughter. Mrs. Anna de 
Clercc). 

.Mrs. I'redcrick Edwin Burdette. the 
mother of our subject, was a daughter of 
Robert and Elizabeth ( l-Lberhart) Jones, 
and was born in Greensboro, Pa., about 
1825, and died at Peoria, III., in June, 1869. 
Her father was a full-blooded Welshman, 
and for many years was a glass manufac- 
turer at Pittsburg; her mother was a full- 
blooded German. 

John W. moved with his jiarcnts to 
Peoria in 1852, where he was educated in 
the public schools, graduating from the 
Peoria high school in June, 1864. His 
first em])l(>ynient was as office boy in the 
counting room of the Peoria Transcript 
( newspai)er, job printing, and book-mak- 
ers), commencing on April 15, 1865: and 
he .soon after became the general book- 
keeper and cashier. In 1863 he resigned, 



DES ^[OINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



I02Q 



and took the position of deputy county 
clerk at Metamora, Woodford county, 111. 
He was nominated by the Republicans of 
that county for surveyor in 1869, a Demo- 
cratic year. In 1869 he returned to his 
first love, the Peoria Transcript, and be- 
came one of the staff of that prosperous 
house, covering southern Illinois, western 
Indiana, and central Missouri. 

Jan. I, 1871, Mr. Burdette took the 
position of deputy county clerk at Pekin, 
Tazewell county. 111., which office he held 
till Dec. 31, 1875. He then accepted the 
position of city editor of the Burlington 
Hazvk-Eye, assuming his new duties Jan. 
2, 1876. He was appointed city auditor 
by the city council in August, 1877, for 
the unexpired term of eight montlis. Dur- 
ing his term as auditor the finances were 
reformed, a large floating debt was paid, 
interest on city warrants was abolished, 
the business of city was put on a cash 
basis, refunded bonded debt of $413,000, 
and, saving one-per-cent interest, pro- 
vided for paying the princijial with it, as 
a sinking fund. 

He was twice re-elected city auditor. 
He assisted the city solicitor in obtaining 
judgment in favor of the city for $28,000 
against a firm of brokers for breach of 
contract in sale of refunding bonds. He 
organized and installed at r.urlington the 
first public electric-lighting plant west of 
the Mississippi River. In 1880. on reor- 
ganization of the Hawk-Eye Company, he 
•obtained control of a majority of the 
stock, becoming its business manager, 
and later also chief editor. 

Mr. Burdette was appointed United 
States collector of internal revenue for 
the new fourth district of Iowa, in 1884, 
by President Arthur. In 1885 he dis- 



posed of all his newspaper interests, and 
established a i)rinting and pul)lishing 
house on North Main Street, as Burdette 
& Company, incorijoratcd, and was also 
engaged as manager and owner in several 
other enterprises. He was the first pres- 
ident of the Iowa Editors' Association, 
and for four years was president of the 
Iowa Baptist State Convention. In 1892, 
at the request of county court of Cook 
county. 111., he became assignee for a 
niammiith label factory, — the R. S. Dickie 
.Manufacturing Company, with headquar- 
ters in Chicago, and a large plant in 
Elgin. 

The following December he closed up 
his business in Burlington, and moved his 
family to Chicago, where in 1894 he 
opened up an office for the general prac- 
tice of law. He v^'as the attorney for 
Englewood Law and ( )rder League, and 
forced a reform in justice-court practice 
in criminal cases, by prosecuting an 
action by mandamus against a justice of 
the peace (Condit vs. Lee, 83. HI. App. 

He carried to the supreme court of Il- 
linois the famous Plumber's case, and re- 
versed the appellate court's decision. He 
invalidated a Chicago ordinance under 
which the city collected $27.otx) annually 
from plumbers as license (W'ilkie vs. Chi- 
cago, 188, III. 444). recently on appeal, 
and reversed the Cnited States circuit 
court's decision at Chicago in two im- 
portant ])atent-infringement suits. He 
has personally practiced before federal 
courts in seven States, covering five of 
the nine circuits: and in the .State courts 
of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and South Da- 
kota, but has never specialized. 

Oct. 9, 1870. Mr. Burdette was mar- 



I030 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ried to Miss Anna M. Egbert, a daiigliter 
of Captain Lewis J. and Annie Matilda 
( Waterman j Kghert. of Mctamora, 111., 
formerly of Georgetown. Ohio. This 
union was blessed with one son and four 
(laughters, of whom three daughters are 
now living: Irma. Zulcnic, and Idelle. 
Mrs. Hurdette was a woman of rare 
mental and moral gifts. ])ossessed great 
force of character, and cherished the most 
lofty ideals. For several years she con- 
ducted with signal success the literary 
and home department of the Burlington 
lhnx.'k-E\c. Her acquaintance with books 
anil authors was remarkable, and her 
judgment the most reliable. -She died in 
Chicago. Jan. 31, i8<j8. and is buried in 
.\spen Grove cemetery, in Burlington, 
Iowa. 

On Jan. 3. i(;o5, .Mr. P.urdette married 
Mrs. Helen M. Clark (nee Stedman), for 
eight years the relict of George Clark, de- 
ceased. She is an accomplished and pol- 
ished lady, a lifetime resident of Chicago, 
and one of its leading teachers and artists 
in oil. water colors, and china decorating. 
She holds a medal of the World's Colum- 
bian Exposition, and maintains an ele- 
gant studio in tlu Auditoriuni Tower, as 
well as one in her home in Englewood, 
and continues the devoted pursuit of her 
art. She is a member of the Englewood 
Baptist church, of which Mr. I'.urdette has 
been deacon for eleven vears. 



JOSEPH PENDLETON VVIGHTMAN. 

Judge Joseph I'. Wightman, deceased, 
heli)ed to make the name of " Old Hick- 
ory " immortal, and could look back over 
almost a centurv of vears and find in 



in them little to regret so far as his per- 
sonal life was concerned. He was born 
in Hudson, X. Y., .\ug. 26, 1800. At the 
age of twenty-four he left his home, and 
went to Marietta, Ohio, where he taught 
school for five years, and then became 
interested in stcamboating on the Ohio 
River. In 1843 'ic came to Burlington, 
Iowa. In 1854 he was elected to the 
mayoralty of I'urlington, and two years 
later was ekclid presitlcnt of the board 
of education. In addition to these civic 
honors he was probate and county judge, 
and was otherwise known to the public 
and his fellow-citizens as proprietor of 
the Wightman House, which was first on 
Main and later on Eourth Street. 

About 1875 he went to Chicago to live 
with his daughter, Mrs. Oscar Ward, but 
never engaged in business there. He was 
a large and robust man, and during his 
long life of ninety-four years rarely was 
ill. and it is said of him that he did not 
use a doctor's prescription nor ask iiis ad- 
vice for fifty years. Death came to him 
at last, when the machinery of life had 
sim])ly run down. .Aug. 8. 1894. Judge 
Wightman had always been in the front 
rank of tin- citizens of Burlington, who 
paid him a marked tribnU- of resjiect at 
his large funeral. 

In 1823 Judge Wightman became the 
husband of .Miss Lucinda Cole, whose 
girlhood days were spent m Marietta, 
Ohio, where her father was a man of 
some prominence. She was familiarly 
known to all as .\unt Lucinda, and was a 
woman possessing rare ability, and a dis- 
position as mild and gentle as a dove. 
.She was one of the earnest and faitliful 
members of the First Baptist church. 
Surviving: her husband six vears, she 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1031 



passed peacefully away in 1900, at the 
ripe old age of ninety-four. Judge and 
Mrs. Wightman quietly repo.se in beauti- 
ful Aspen Grove cemetery, which he 
helped to plat, and was the first to buy a 
lot where for forty-five years no spade 
had broken the sod for a grave. 

Unto Judge and Mrs. Wightman four 
children were born, as follows : Wal- 
lace W., of Buena Vista, Colo.; Henry, 
deceased ; Julia, the widow of Oscar 
Ward, residing in Chicago; and Joseph 
P., who lives in Evanston, Til., where he 
is a retired employee of the railroad. 



HON. A. H. STUTSMAN. 

Ex-JuDGE A. H. Stutsman, now a resi- 
dent of Santa Ana, Cal., was for many 
years a highly respected resident of Iowa, 
where he followed the profession of a 
lawyer. His parents settled on a farm 
west of West Point, I^ee county, in 1842, 
and it was there our subject spent his 
boyhood days. When the Civil War 
broke out, he was one of the first to enlist 
in Company C, Iowa Volunteer Cavalry, 
July, 1861, in Burlington, and served till 
March, 1864, when he received a wound 
which caused the loss of one of his arms, 
and he was accordingly discharged. 
.•\fter this he read law at Fort Wayne, 
Ind., and was admitted to the bar in 1866. 
In 1870 he located in Burlington, and be- 
gan his chosen profession. He was a 
strong politician, early in life having affil- 
iated himself with the Republican party, 
of which later he became a leader. From 
1874 to 1876 he filled the office of city so- 
licitor, and in 1878 was elected judge of 



the district cOurt, the district being then 
composed of four counties. In 1882 he 
was re-elected without opposition, and at 
the end of his term returned to his prac- 
tice in the city. 

Both the judge and his estimable wife 
were active workers and devoted mem- 
bers of the First Baptist church. They 
still retain their beautiful home on Foster 
Street, to which their many friends and 
neighbors hope they will return. Mr. 
and Mrs. Stutsman are the parents of 
three sons and one daughter: Carl A., 
who for many years was associated with 
his father in the practice of law, and was 
also one of the young and enterprising 
alderman of the city for several terms, is 
with his parents in California, as arc also 
Carrie, Walter, and Abraham. Judge 
Stutsman's family stood high sociallj', as 
well as prominently in business affairs, 
and during their long residence here have 
made many warm and true friends, who 
would give them a royal welcome were 
they to return to their old home. 



RICHARD SPENCER. 

Among the self-made and highly re- 
spected men of Burlington we recall the 
name of Richard Spencer, who was born 
on the banks of the Susquehanna River, 
in the village of Jersey Shore, Lycoming 
county. Pa., Oct. 26. 1823. His father 
was of English and his mother of Scotch- 
Irish descent. The village schools af- 
forded hut little means of education in 
those days, but in 1837 the family moved 
to Ohio, and Mr. Si)encer attended a bet- 
ter common school for a few months. Ir» 



I032 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



1840 liis father movefl to Jay county, In- 
diana, where they had all the hardships of 
pioneer life to contend with. There were 
no schools or churches, social advantages, 
books or ])a])crs. or any of the' refining in- 
fluences that constitute social life as it 
exists to-day in most parts of the country. 
Here our subject had five long years of 
hard laborous work with only an oc- 
casional coon hunt as a means of recrea- 
tion. After this he taught school in Indi- 
ana and Ohio in small schools, boarding 
around with the pupils. In 1846, Mr. 
Spencer located in Lebanon, Ohio, where 
he opened a harness and saddlery store, 
having learned this trade some years be- 
fore. 

Ill iS4<) Mr. Spencer married Miss 
Amanda J. Mathews, who was born Aug. 
19, 1831. Of the nine children born of 
this union, five are still living in New 
York City: Laura, wife of George II. 
Patchen : Ella, Kay, Fred, and Theodore. 

\\'hen Mr. Spencer came to Burlington 
in 1856, he was connected with the man- 
agement of a threshing machine, and in 
i85() took charge of the gas business in 
liurlinglon; and to this business, as 
superintendent, secretary, manager, and 
president, he was devoted most of his life. 
He was president of the two companies 
when he died, Oct. 16, 1896. He had al- 
ways been a Democrat till 1S54. wlun he 
became a Whig, and later a Republican. 
He was always a free trader, and ad- 
vanced the cause of single tax, which ad- 
vocacy grew out of his sincerest convic- 
tion and a burning desire to improve 
economic conditions among his fellow- 
nuMi. .Mr. .*>pencer lixcd and itinl hnii- 
ored and resjjected for his integrity and 
singleness of pur])ose. He wa>; a deter- 



mined champion of the rights of individ- 
uals, and an equally stout defender of 
law and order. Mrs. Spencer and daugh- 
ters moved to New York city in 1897, 
where she died, Feb. 8, 1905. Every one 
ac{|uainted with Mrs. Spencer loved her 
for her gentle. Christian character. 



M. C. CONNOR. 



M. C. Connor, deceased, was one of 
the leading jewelers of Burlington for a 
period o£ nearly forty years. His birth 
occurred in Zanesville, Ohio, where he 
entered the army at the age of si.xteen in 
what is called the hundred-day service, 
and as he was not quite old enough to be 
accepted as a regular soldier, was made 
orderly and assigned to the stafT of Col. 
Jiihnson as a non-commissioned officer. 

.\fter this he turned his attention to 
learning the mechanism of clocks and 
watches, and entered the store of R. S. 
Mershone, a celebrated watchmaker, who 
invented the patent regulator on the 
Howard watch. In 1866 Mr. Connor 
came West and located in I'.iirlington, 
where the firm of Fix & Connor was es- 
tablished and continued till 1878, when 
Mr. Connor bought out Mr. Fix and 
moved to Jefferson and Third Streets. 
.Mr. Connor belonged to the Democratic 
l)arty, but never as])ired to be a leader or 
office holder. 

Although of a very domestic turn, he 
never married, but enjoyed a comfortable 
home in his elegant rooms in Mrs. Cath- 
t-rine Wightman's residence on North 
Hill for over twenty years. The last 
eight or ten years of his life he was in 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1033 



very poor health, and though he spared 
no means in trying to regain his lost 
blessing, fate was against him. In April. 
1905, he starte<l on a trip abroad, hoping 
to be benefited by the journe_\-, but be- 
came so weak he had to retire from the 
vessel before the end of the journey was 
reached, and died in Gibraltar, April 30, 
1905, aged si.xty-onc years. His remains 
were brought back to Burlington, and 
buried in .Vspen Grove cemetery. Mr. 
Connor is survived b}^ one sister, Mrs. 
Grannon, a widow residing in Ohio. 

Though he started out in life with lit- 
tle, he liad at the time of his death ac- 
•cuniulated a fortune, some of which he 
distributed among the city hospitals in 
Burlington. Mr. Connor was a perfect 
gentleman, and enjoyed the hospitality 
of many homes. 



GEORGE FRAZEE. 

George Frazee, deceased, stood prom- 
inent among the leading lawyers of Bur- 
lington ; his firm purpose from the be- 
g'inning of his legal career was to honor 
his profession ; and his success in this re- 
gard is best attested by the high esteem 
in which he was held by the members of 
the bar. He was a son of William and 
Betsey (Dennan) Frazee, and was born 
in New York City, April i, 1821. His 
father was a native of the same city, of 
Scottish ancestry, his forefathers being 
among the early Scotch emigrants who 
settled in what is known as Scotch Plains, 
N. J. His mother's family was originally 
from the same region, and her father was 
a major in the War of Independence. 

Mr. Frazee attended the public schools 



in his native city till in was about four- 
teen years of age, and in 1843 went to 
Danville, Ky., where he studied law and 
was admitted to tlie bar. After practis- 
ing there until 1849, he decided to come 
West, and located in Burlington, which 
was then a very small village. In early 
life he was a Whig, but upon the forma- 
tion of the Republican jiarty became one 
of its able and earnest supjjorters. He 
was on the editorial stalt of the liurling- 
ton Haivk-Eye for several years. 

^Ir. Frazee also held various public 
offices, having served as United States 
court commissioner, and collector of cus- 
toms of this port. He was al.so justice of 
the peace for many years, and the last 
office he held was that of police judge. 
In 1897 failing health and impaired eye- 
sight caused him to abandon active busi- 
ness, and he was necessarily retired the 
remainder of his life. His life in Burling- 
ton covered a period of over fifty-five 
years, and at the time of his death, which 
occurred Dec. 8. 1904. at the age of 
eighty-five, was one of the oldest lawyers, 
both in age and time of residence in the 
city. 

Nov. 12, 1848, Mr. Frazee was married 
to Miss Nancy Park Martin, in Danville. 
Ky. Mrs. Frazee was a daughter of Col. 
Edward Martin, of Rhode Island, where 
she was born. Of the six children born 
to Mr. and Mrs. Frazee, only two remain; 
Fannie, who kept house for her widowed 
father for years, and in many ways tried 
to cheer and comfort him in his long 
period of blindness and poor health, is a 
resident of Burlington ; Florence is a resi- 
dent of New \'ork. .Mrs. Frazee's death 
occurred Feb. 9, 1882. She was a woman 
of much strength of character and one 



I034 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



who made friends of all. As an editorial 
writer Mr. Frazec was a sharp critic, and 
forceful in argument. He had been a 
great reader in his day, and during his 
long years of residence made scores of 
friends in the county, who were very kind 
and attentive to him when nature de- 
])ri\i.<l him of the blessing of sight. 



PROFESSOR JOHNSON PIERSON. 

Professor Johnson Pierson was a 
])romiiient figure in the history of lUir- 
lington, and the family name is closely 
identified with the development of the 
place. He was one of the bfst-cihicated 
men of pioneer times, and i)ossesscd the 
characteristics of the intelligent, affable 
old \'irginian school, to be found in quite 
a number of the prominent families of 
early Burlington. He is the second son 
of John Pierson, Sr., who came to Bur- 
lington, Iowa, in 1835, where he died Jan. 
3. 1861, in his eightieth year. 

Professor Pierson was born un a farm 
in Ohio county, Va., June 24, 1814, under 
the administration of President Madison. 
He received his i)riniary education in a 
log schoolhouse in his native county, and 
later, when about eight years of age, was 
sent to a school on the Virginia and 
Pennsylvania State line, where, in 1824, 
he had the ])leasure of seeing General La- 
fayette (escorted by the great Kentucky 
orator, Henry Clay), caparisoned in reg- 
imentals, wearing the sword that was 
General Washington's gift. This was a 
treat to the entire school. He later be- 
came a student in the Wheeling .Acad- 



emy, where he learned all the higher 
branches of study. 

In 1835 1'"^ came West with iiis father, 
and settled in what was then called the 
I'lint Hills. Still desiring a higher and 
more com])lete education, he entered the 
McKendree College in 1837, where he 
took a classical course of four years. On 
the day of his graduation, in 1841. he was 
elected principal of .Mt. \'ernon Academy 
by members of the board of education 
(who were visitors). 

In 1843 he was elected professor of an- 
cient languages and literature by the 
hoard of trustees of the Mt. Pleasant, 
Iowa, Collegiate Institute. In 1849, ow- 
ing to overwork, he was obliged to re- 
sign, and moved his family to Burlington, 
where he soon recui)eratc<l. 

.\bout this time he was induced to be- 
come editor of the Haick-Eye, and as the 
times were lively with the political issues 
of the day, he greatly encouraged his 
])arty, yet at the same time treated his 
o])poncnts in a very fair and courteous 
manner. Througli tlie efforts of his 
friend. Senator Dodge, he secured a 
jjosition on the staff of Surveyor-General 
Lewis. In connection with his father he 
continued publishing his paper till 1855, 
when Clark Dunham and John L. I'rown 
bought the paper. 

When Lincoln called for seventy-five 
thousand to crush the rampant trend of 
secession, he was appointed commissioner 
of the draft for the first congressional dis- 
trict. He served two years with Captain 
Rutledge as chief, and Dr. James Shaf- 
fer as examining surgeon. When the 
Cedar Rapids Railroad was completed, 
Professor Pierson was appointed postal 
clerk, and ran on th'' road as such til! 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1035 



1885, which covered a ijcriod of thirteen 
years. Since then he has been retired, 
devoting odd moments to his favorite 
pastime of writing poems. He has made 
his home among his chikhx-n since his 
wife died, and at the jjresent writing he is 
in St. Louis with his son. John L. Pier- 
son, at 1252 Aubert .\venue. During the 
last two months he has been sorely af- 
flicted with paralysis. 

Professor Pierson was married in 1842 
to Miss Martha J. Howard, at Lebanon. 
111., by Reverend John I\L Peck, author 
of " Peck's Gazetteer." Airs. Pierson was 
born in Xenia, Ohio, Christmas day, 1820, 
and of the eight children born to them 
five remain, as follows : Cora married 
Robert Cameron, of Burlington, who died 
a number of years ago. Mrs. Cameron 
resides in Chicago. John L., of St. 
Louis; Byron, and Ada, who is now Mrs. 
Ball, reside in St. Louis. Robert J., the 
youngest child, is now in Old Mexico. 

Professor Pierson is a member of the 
Philosophian Societ}-, and has had the de- 
gree of Doctor of Philosophy conferred 
upon him by McKendree College, his 
alma mater, and by the Wesleyan Uni- 
versity, where he taught. He has also 
written a number of poems, the oldest of 
which is: "Struggles of the Revolution- 
ary Heroes." The first one published 
was in 1842, entitled "The Judaied." 
Another was entitled "The Old School- 
master." One very interesting poem 
called "Old Zion," contains the names of 
many of the old settlers of Burlington. 
His longest poem is: "Fair Illinelle, a 
Romance of Kaskaskia." His Semi-Cen- 
tennial of the Statehood of Iowa, entitled 
"A Poem" was published in 1807. and is 
a very interesting production. 



JUDGE L. D. STOCKTON. 



Jluuk L. D. Stockton, deceased, was 
born in Richmond county, Kentucky, in 
1814. and after ac(|uiring a thorough edu- 
cation in law, which he had chosen as his 
life work, he came to Iowa in 1837, and 
located in iUirlington, where he at once 
opened a law oflice. For a short period 
in the early days Judge Stockton was as- 
sociated with John Pierson, Sn, in the 
publication of the Burlington Hawk-Eye, 
but soon disposed of his interest to his 
partner and gave himself to the practice 
of law. In 1856 he was appointed judge 
of the supreme court by Governor 
Grimes. His wife, who was .Miss Eliza- 
beth Collins in maidenhood, bore him five 
sons and three daughters, most of wlicjm 
are dead. Airs. Stockton died in 1862. 
In early life Judge Stockton was a Whig, 
and upon the organization of the Repub- 
lican party became one of its constitu- 
ents. He was the honored mayor of the 
city of Burlington between 1850 and 
1855. His death occurred June 9, i860. 
He was active and enterprising and ranked 
among the leading lawyers of the State. 
Judge and Mrs. Stockton were devoted 
members of the Methodist church. They 
lived where the J. S. Schramm residence 
now stands on Seventh and Columbia 
Streets. 



COL. JOHN CREE ABERCROMBIE. 

CoL. John C. Ahercrombie, deceased, 
was a resident of Burlington for fifty 
years, and distinguished himself in the 
Mexican and Civil Wars. His father, a 
native of Philadelphia, of Scotch parent- 



1036 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



age, was an officer in the "Pennsylvania 
Bucktails" and served in tlie War of 181 2. 
dying in Miami county, Uliio. His son, 
Jolin Cree, was Ijorn in the village of 
Lundesbiirg, Perry county. Pa., Oct. 30, 
1823, and became an or])han at the age of 
eleven years. W hen eighteen he left 
Uhio and came to Iowa, arriving in l!ur- 
lington Oct. 10, 1841, on the steamer ".Vg- 
nes." Soon after coming he enrolled in a 
company organized by Captain Hight to 
aid Texas in gaining her independence. 
When later the Mormon difficulties at- 
tracted his attention, he went there, was 
arrested as a spy, and with some tlifti- 
culty secured his release through the in- 
tercession of James W. Woods, familiarly 
known as "Old Timber," who had .some 
influence witli the saints. W'hen the 
Mexican war was declared, he enlisted in 
Com])any K, Fifteenth United .States In- 
fantry, under Captain Guthrie, participa- 
ting in many battles. 

.A.t the close of this war he returned to 
Burlington, and was engaged in the prac- 
tice of dentistry till the beginning of the 
Civil War, when he enlisted in the First 
Regiment of Iowa Volunteers, leaving here 
May 14, 1861, as lieutenant of Company 
E, which company he commanded at the 
battle of W'ilson's Creek. Soon after re- 
turning he was appointed major of the 
Eleventh Iowa Volunteers, and left for 
tlie field with his regiment, which was a 
part of the famous Crocker brigade. He 
took part in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, 
Vicksburg, Atlanta. Jonesboro, and Ezra 
Church. At Shiloh, the first ilay he was 
wounded in the head. Returning to P>ur- 
lington in 1864, he engaged in the com- 
mission business, and also as agent of 
steamboat lines, until i86o, when total 



blindness set in, and also a crii)i)led con- 
dition of liml)s, whicli confine<l him close 
to his home. 

Oct. 25, 1854, Colonel .\bercrombie 
married Miss .Amelia Swain, at Cascade. 
Iowa. Of their three children who grew 
to maturity, two remain : John S.. who 
was a mail-carrier in Burlington many 
years ago; Nellie, is the wife of Carl 
\'ogt, of Denver, Colo.; Anna, became 
the wife of Mr. Randall, and died a few 
years after her marriage. The severe 
aftlictions of Colonel .\bercrondjie lasted 
till January, i8yo, when ileath released 
him. rile liigh regard in which lie was 
held was constantly manifested by his 
many friends, who visited and read to 
him during his twenty years of blindness. 
He took great delight in reviewing the 
])ast, being \ery well posted on early 
pioneer limes. 



WILLIAM B. EWING. 

WiLLi.\M li. EwiNG, deceased, famil- 
iarly known as Father Ewing, was born 
in Gettjsburg, Pa., May i, i"<)3, where 
his ancestors on both his father's and 
mother's side lived from the settlement of 
the place. His father, John Ewing, was 
a farmer in tlu' immediate vicinity, and 
lia<l a mill on the ground rendered historic 
by the famous battle fought there during 
the Rebellion, and the national cemetery 
since erected. Our subject was reared on 
his father's farm, and educated in the 
common schools of the district. In 1812. 
when nineteen years of age, he crossed 
the mountains by stage to Pittsburg, and 
such was the condition of the roads that 
the driver carried along a rail to pry the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1037 



stage out of the mud in the worst places. 
Arriving at Pittsburg, he descended the 
Ohio River to Cincinnati, where he was 
engaged with an uncle for six years in 
the dry-goods business, having also a 
branch store at North I'.end, Ind., on a 
place belonging to Gen. William Henry 
Harrison. 

In July, 1819, Mr. Ewing was married 
to Miss Martha A. Mosby, daughter of 
Daniel Mosby, of Boone county, Ken- 
tucky, who was a friend and companion 
of Daniel Boone. He and his young wife 
spent the first six years of their married 
life on a farm in Kentucky, raising to- 
bacco. After carrying on the dry-goods 
business in Indiana for several years he 
came to Burlington, Iowa, in 1839. He 
at once opened a dry-goods store under 
the firm name of Ewing & Logan, and 
continued till 1844. when he retired from 
business, turning his store over to his 
sons, D. Mosby and John F. Ewing. 

Mr. and Mrs. Ewing were the parents 
of five children, all of whom are dead. 
His son IMosby was engaged in the hard- 
ware business on ^lain Street, with John 
G. Foote, for many years. \Villiam and 
Robert Ewing, sons of Alosby, kept a 
drug store on the corner of Fourth and 
Jefferson Streets, in Burlington, for some 
time. The former died in i8go. Mrs. 
Ewing died in 1830. and in 1832 Mr. Ew- 
ing was married to Mrs. Mary A. Antro- 
bus, of Greensburg, Ind. She died at her 
mother's near Cincinnati, in 1840, after 
which Mr. Ewing remained a widower. 
He and his son Mosby lived together for 
over fifty years under one roof, having 
never been separated. 

For over fifty-two years he was a de- 
voted member of the Baiitist church, and 



having been baptized in the Ohio River 
in 1824, being one of the charter members 
of the first church in Burlington, Iowa. 
Mis death occurred Dec. 12, 1876. He 
was a man of remarkable energy and in- 
tegrity of character, and of a pacific and 
conciliatory disposition in business. In 
all his long years of mercantile life he 
never had a lawsuit with any man. At 
his death the city lost an upright citizen, 
the church a true standard bearer, and his 
many friends one whom they loved and 
respected. 



HANS THIELSEN. 

H.\Ns TiiiELSEN, deceased, was con- 
nected with the construction of the rail- 
roads here many years ago. He was born 
in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, in 1819. 
He came from a highly accomplished and 
cultured family, and received a liberal 
education in the colleges of his native 
place. He was one of three children, all 
of whom are now dead. In the early 
'40's lie was married to an English 
woman of many accomplishments, and 
who gathered around her many friends 
while residing in Burlington. Mr. and 
Mrs. Thielsen became the parents of four 
children : A daughter, who died very 
young; Henry, Julius, and Horace, all of 
whom now reside in Oregon. 

Mr. Thielsen came to America when 
([uite a young man, and was first engaged 
as an engineer to help build the Michigan 
Central Railroad. He also built the Bur- 
lington & Missouri Railroad, and then 
went West, settling in Oregon, where he 
built the Short line from Portland to San 
I-"rancisco. and later was with the North- 



1038 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



em Pacific Railroad. Mr. Thielscn died 
in 1892. and Iiis wife passed away in 1902. 
They were both Swedenhorgians, and cit- 
izens in every respect of whicli the whole 
coninuinity were justly proud. .Mr. 
Thielsen was a Republican, but never as- 
pired to hold office. His home while he 
resided in HurlinRton was in a house on 
Washington Street on the present site of 
the First Methodist Episcopal church. 
Mr. Thielsen was a great reader, was well 
informed on all the leading topics of the 
times, and was considered good authority 
on many subjects. 



MERCY LEWIS. 



Miss Mercy Lewis, deceased, was one 
of the best-known ])ioneer settlers in Des 
Moines county, an<l to her as much as to 
any other old settler is due the present 
high iiosition in educational circles which 
r.urliuglnn now occupies. She was born 
in Connecticut. Jan. 12. 1816, and spent 
the early years of her life in that State, 
where she received a substantial educa- 
tion. In 1844 Miss Lewis and her sister 
Lucada came to liurlington, and opened 
up a private school in a small frame 
building on the lot now occupied b)' the 
residence of Mr. C. L. Poor, on North 
Sixth Street. They carried on this school 
for sixteen years, when Lucada died in 
i860, at the age of forty-six years. After 
this. Miss Lewis taught alone, continuing 
till 1870, and such jjrominent citizens as 
E. H. Carjienter, Hon. Thomas Hedge 
and sister, Mrs. Srpiires, John T. Remey, 
Mrs. Henry Ritter, Judge lirowning. 



-Mark, Xeuton, and Laura Derby, and 
numy others, were her pupils, and re- 
ceived their first and, in many instances, 
only education. She was exceedingly 
poj)nlar with her pupils, although several 
were severely disciplined. She was a 
believer in the old-fashioned and strict 
ideas of the people of Connecticut : these 
were thoroughly drilled into her pupils. 
Tiiere are very few of the i)resent older 
business and ])rofessii>nal men who did 
not receive their first instruction from 
Miss Lewis. 

After the school burned down, she re- 
turned to private life. ])urchasing a com- 
fortable home on High Street, where her 
many friends often gathered to celebrate 
her birthdays, and to listen to her as she 
told things of interest concerning the 
past. She was one of the older members 
of the Congregational church, and an 
active worker in religious and charitable 
fields. Rarely did the state of the weather 
keep her indoors, if she felt she could 
relieve the sick or divide with the needy. 
Her (juiet, conscientious ways, which she 
demonstrated in a very modest manner, 
and many noble deeds made her manv 
friends among all classes of i)eoi)le. 

Nov. 21, 1897, at the age of eighty-one 
years, after a brief illness, she received 
the summons to come uj) higher, and 
joined the dear ones she talked so much 
about. She was the last of her father's 
family, as her l)rotlur X.ithan of Danxille 
jiassed away a few years ])revious to her 
death. Years may conic and go. and 
many new ones will be ushered in to fill 
the ]ilaces of the departed, still there will 
ever be cherished in the hearts of all the 
kindest and most pleasant recollections of 
Miss Lewis. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



I039 



HENRY K. EADS. 

Henry K. Eads, deceased, was for 
many years one of the most highly hon- 
ored and respected citizens of Des 
Moines county. He was born Oct. 25, 
181 1, in Franklin county, Indiana, and 
was a son of Jonathan and Mary (Kind- 
die) Eads, both of whom were natives of 
Maryland. They were the paretits of 
eleven children. Mr. Eads came to Iowa 
by team from Indiana in 1840, and found 
on his arrival an uncultivated, uninhab- 
ited region, with the exception of a few 
settlements. At that time all kinds of 
wild animals were plentiful, and bands of 
Indians might be seen on the prairies. 
The early life of our subject was spent 
in Franklin county, Indiana, where he re- 
ceived his education in the log school- 
house, with its rude benches and no 
floors. He attended school only in th'j 
winter time, his summers being passed in 
helping on the farm. 

At the age of twenty he left the 
parental roof for a home of his own, and 
was united in marriage with Miss Ens- 
ley, a native of Franklin county, Indiana, 
and a daughter of Samuel and Catherine 
(Eads) Ensley. Immediately after their 
marriage Mr. Eads rented a farm, upon 
which they lived till 1840, and where 
three of their children were born. He 
settled on a farm in Burlington for a 
while, but did not find it very profitable, 
and took up the trade of a stone-mason, 
laying the foundation for the old build- 
ing known as the Barrett House, and 
also several other foundations. In 1846 
Mrs. Eads was called to her final rest, 
and was buried in Aspen Grove cemetery. 

In August, 1847. ^Ir. Eads married 



Miss Virginia Sleeth, who was born in 
Harrison county, Virginia, in October, 
1820, and was a daughter of John C. and 
Catherine Sleeth, who emigrated to Des 
Moines county in 1837. From this union 
there were four children, of whom Flor- 
ence is living in Stillwater, Minn., and is 
the wife of Mr. Burnham. 

During the early '6o's Mr. Eads bought 
farm land in I'^lint River township, and 
lived in that part of the country for over 
thirty years. He was a Republican in 
politics, and held the office of justice of 
the peace for some twelve years, and his 
decisions were always sustained by the 
higher courts. Mrs. Eads passed away 
in 1901. and Mr. Eads died in 1904, the 
latter being in his ninety-third year. 
They were both devoted members of the 
Methodist church, and had many friends 
and acquaintances in Burlington, where 
they spent the last few years of their use- 
ful lives. Mr. Eads was also a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. 



ADAM HARTZELL. 

Adam H.\rtzell, deceased, was a son 
of John and Mary (Row) Ilartzell, and 
was born in Mcnallcn township, Adams 
county. Pa.. April 6. 1809. H's father, 
who was a miller by trade, died in June. 
1828, and his mother passed away in No- 
vember, 1838. Their large family of chil- 
dren were educated in the common 
schools of their native county. 

Adam followed the milling business 
from the time of his father's death till 
1861, when he moved from Newport. 
Pcrrv countv. Pa., to Iowa, and settled 



I040 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



in Des Moines county, near liurlington, 
April l8, 1844. He carried on farming 
and stock-raising with much success, and 
was an enterprising citizen. 

May 21. 1833. he married Miss Cath- 
erine A. McAllister, who was a daughter 
of -Mexandcr Mc.Vllister, and was born 
in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, June 
17, 1816. She was one of ten children. 
Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hartzcll thirteen chil- 
dren have been born, six of whom are 
living: Randall M.. .\dam R., and Sam- 
uel T.. of Peru. Kans. ; Mrs. S. M. Lines, 
Sophia M., and Austin L.. of Des Moines 
county, Iowa. 

Mr. Hartzell was a Republican, but 
never an office seeker. He and his wife 
were members of the Methodist church. 
This upright and highly respected couple 
lived to ripe old age, both being over 
eighty years old at the time of their 
death. Mr. Hartzell died Sept. 14. i8i)o. 
and Mrs. Hartzell's death occurred .\pril 
15. 1905. 



J. ADAM FUNCK. 

I. Ai).\.M I-'UNCK. deceased, was born 
at Allheim, Grand Duchy of Hess'e- 
Darmstadt, Germany, Sept. z'j, 1807. His 
father was a baker, to which trade Adam 
was brought up, and which he followed 
from tlu- age of seventeen till he was 
about thirty-three. 

He came to America .\ug. i. 1830. 
landing in Baltimore, where he lived and 
followed baking for two years. He then 
went to St. Louis, in the fall of 1833, 
working there till the fall of 1834. when 
he went into business at Vandalia, then 



the cajMtal of Illinois, carrying on baking 
and a grocery business. 

In 1835 .Mr. Funck was married to Miss 
.Maria Kriechbaum. in St. Clair county, 
Illinois, .\fter remaining in Vandalia two 
years, Mr. and Mrs. Funck came to Bur- 
lington, in May. 1836: here he built a 
house, and in October commenced the 
baking and grocery business on Wash- 
ington Street, between Front and Main 
Streets. In 1842 he bought a farm in 
Flint River township, and farmed there 
some four years. He was also engaged 
for some time in the furniture and tan- 
ning business. 

In July, 1865, he engaged in the wagon 
and plow business on Seventh Street, un- 
der the firm name of Burg, Funck & 
Com()any. In .\ugust. 1871, he bought 
out Mr. P'urg. and associated himself 
with John Hertzlcr in the wagon busi- 
ness, under the firm name of Funck & 
llertzler. They were prosperous in this 
undertaking, and built nj) a very large 
trade throughout all Iowa. 

Mr. I'unck and his family were mem- 
bers of the (ierman Methodist church. 
In politics he belonged to the Democratic 
party. He was a man of strong and hon- 
est convictions, possessing a kind and 
sympathetic nature, and his name and 
character were never marred by a guilty 
act. 

Mr. and Mrs. Funck were the parents 
of twelve children, six sons and six 
daughters, of whom seven are living. His 
two youngest sons, Charles and .\dain. 
reside in r.nrliiigtoii. the former being 
city marshal, and the latter has a black- 
smith shop on Columbia Street. Mr. 
Funck (lied May 8. 1877, in his seventieth 
vear. Mrs. I-'iinck survived her husband 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1041 



some years, but was called to rest Oct. 
28, 1897, aged eighty-five years. She was 
a woman of a very mild and gentle dis- 
position, — one whose arm was ever reach- 
ing out toward the poor and needy. She 
was faithful to her Christian profession, 
and as long as health ])ermittcd was a 
regular attendant of her beloved church. 



COL. HENRY E. HUNT. 

Col. Henry E. Hunt, deceased, fa- 
miliarly called H. E., was a well-known 
and popular character of Hurlington for 
many years. His birth occurred in Elk- 
ton, Todd county, Ky., Aug. 29, 1820. 
When he was twelve years of age he 
served as an apprentice in a blacksmith 
shop in Newark, Ohio, which trade he fol- 
lowed for twelve years and then became 
a grocer in Columbus, Ohio. 

In 1849 he came to Burlington, and 
the ne.xt year opened a grocery store, 
which he conducted for many years with 
much success, owing especially to his 
kind and genial disposition. He was a 
member of the city council for some time. 
After disposing of his grocery he did not 
engage in any active business, though he 
was identified with several shows, and 
was ever considered the " showman's 
friend." 

He erected a beautiful home on lower 
Main Street, which has recently been 
purchased by Mr. Carl Neis. Mr. and 
Mrs. Hunt are both dead, the former 
passing away a number of years ago, 
while her husband survived her till the 
summer of 1903. Their three sons, Her- 
bert, Hayden, and Harry, are now resid- 



ing in Chicago. Mr. Hunt was a man 
with a warm and generous heart, and 
counted his friends bv the thousands. 



HENRY MOORE. 

Henry Moore, deceased, was one of 
the very earliest settlers in Burlington. 
coming in the spring of 1834, when there 
were but two log cabins in the place, and 
heli)ed to erect the first frame buildings 
for the original proprietors, Doolittle and 
White. He was born near Hagerstown, 
Aid., March 6, 1808, and when six years 
of age went to Ohio with his father, who 
settled on Sunfish Creek. Here Ilcnrv 
was brought up amidst the hardships and 
privations of frontier life, without the 
advantages of education, until twenty- 
two years of age, when he moved with 
his father to near Lafayette, Ind., where 
he remained one year. 

In 1833 he came to Nauvoo, 111., bring- 
ing a good horse with him, which he 
sold for fifty dollars, and was thus en- 
abled to purchase a chest of tools and 
other necessaries oi life. He began to 
work for a dollar and a quarter a day 
for Lyman Chase, who had several frame 
buildings to erect. He went into part- 
nershi]) with Mr. Stone, and remained 
with him for a short time, after which 
he began contracting and carrying on 
business for himself until 1851, when he 
entered into the real estate business. In 
1858-59 he erected a large and substan- 
tial residence on the corner of Third and 
Court -Streets, which was known in later 
days as the Moore House. 

In politics Mr. Moore was always a 



I042 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Democrat, and in 1846 was elected mayor 
of the city, having served six years pre- 
viously in the capacity of an alderman. 
He was also town recorder and county 
treasurer at different times. 

When (|iiite a young man .Mr. Moore 
married Miss Sarah Pierson, daughter of 
John Pierson. \\\ this union one son 
was born, William II., who is a resident 
of Burlington. Mrs. Moore died Nov. 19, 
1876. Mr. Moore finally retired from 
active business, though he enjoyed hunt- 
ing and fishing as well as many a young 
man. He passed away March 6, 1891. 
In business he was always a careful and 
])rudent manager, and by his energy 
and integrity accumulated a comfortable 
property. He possessed an excellent 
memory, and often furnished many rem- 
ini.scences of pioneer life to those who 
sought historical data of the county. 



DR. W. B. CHAMBERLIN. 

The career of Dr. William Brattle 
Chamberlin was a remarkable one. He 
possessed all the traits of the good and 
upright citizen, and was a true philan- 
thropist, a devoted Christian, and one 
who took the most active part in the wel- 
fare of his fellow-men in his day. 

Dr. Chamberlin was born in Pittsfield, 
Mass., Aug. 12, 1794. He was reared a 
Presbyterian, and belonged to the Brattle 
family tiiat founded tlu- I'.rattle Street 
church, the first church in Boston; and 
his uncle, or great-uncle, gave the very 
first money to start Harvard College. 

Dr. Chamberlin studied medicine, and 
received the degree of M. D. from the 
Berkshire College, at Pittsfield. In 1822 



he married Jeanette Campbell, and about 
the same time removed to Kentucky, 
where he lived and practiced medicine for 
some twenty-five years. In 1841) he re- 
moved from Warsaw. Ky., to Burlington, 
Iowa. Prior to the war he lived for 
some years at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and 
then returned to Burlington. In 1865 he 
went to California, where he remained 
two 3'ears. and then once more returned 
to I'urlington. In 1873 Dr. Cliamberlin 
went to live with his daughter, Mrs. 
.Manly, in Kentucky, and there remained 
till his death. He survived his wife about 
thirty-one years. 

Mrs. Chamberlin was born Nov. 30, 
1801, and died June 2, 1853. She was a 
noble Christian woman, of fine mind and 
great refinement. This exemplary couple 
were the ])arents of eight children, two 
of whom died in early infancy. Of the 
rest, — two sons and four daughters. — 
only one daughter is now living: Will- 
iam, the elder son, died June 16, 1859, in 
his twenty-fifth year: Elisha died Aug. 
if), 1870. in his forty-fourth year; Eliza- 
beth died Aug. 18, 1851, in her eighteenth 
year: .Alice (irey, the youngest child, wife 
of Edwin Knowles, of Galesburg, died 
Dec. 22, 1865, in her twenty-sixth year; 
Ida, born in Warsaw, Ky., Sept. i, 1837, 
became the wife of Horace B. Ransom, 
of Burlington. Iowa, and died in Burling- 
ton, July 21, 1894, leaving one son, Will- 
iam Otis ; Mary Jane, married for her 
first husband \'ir^i] McCracken Pendle- 
ton, a lawyer in Burlington, Iowa, who 
was killed in the Civil War. Later Mrs. 
Pendleton married M. C. Manly, of Ken- 
tucky. Mr. and Mrs. Pendleton had three 
children: Elisha, Ida, and Nettie. Mrs. 
.Manly now resides in Chicago. The 



mother, the two sons, and Elizabeth died 
at Burhngton, and Mrs. Knovvles in fali- 
fornia, all of consumption. 

Dr. Chaniberlin was of a very sensitive 
temperament, and subject to extremes of 
buoyancy and dei)ression, depending 
chiefly on his health or exhaustion from 
labor. At times all looked dark to him, 
but when well he was disposed to look 
on the bright side of all things. In his 
darkest hours he never expressed or felt 
a doubt of the ever-enduring goodness of 
God. He led a very active life, and ex- 
cepting when aslec]) or disabled, was 
never idle. He was always engaged in 
some business transaction, or in converse 
with friends ; and about his home he was 
busy with hoe, or spade, or prnning- 
knife, or other implement; or with book 
or pen ; or in search of something attract- 
ive in nature. He was a great lover of 
the beautiful and useful, ami took special 
delight in the cultivation of fruits, plants, 
shrubs, and flowers aliout his premises, 
and in such cultivation he was very suc- 
cessful. 

He was also a great lover of books, 
and a great reader on theological, relig- 
ious, moral, and educational tojjics, — tak- 
ing especial pains to obtain and circulate 
such works as fell in with the liberal and 
humanizing tendencies of the age. He 
was proud-spirited but not haughty, and 
was keenly sensible of his own imperfec- 
tions, in common with those of others. 
He was thoroughly democratic in his feel- 
ings. A lover of freedom and equality, 
civil and religious, he could brook no as- 
sumption of superiority on the part of 
king, lord, pope, bishop, priest, or others, 
save the simple excuse of their legitimate 
functions as public servants. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 10+3 

lie was, of course, opposed to slavery, 



and living many years in a slave State, 
and being more or less outspoken on the 
subject, he incurred the serious displeas- 
ure oi the more ignorant and \iolenl of 
the slave-holders of his vicinity. He was 
what was called a violent abolitionist in 
his day, and believed in buying all over 
a certain age, and setting free all born 
after a certain time. These strong views, 
always freely expressed, made him many 
bitter enemies, and at erne time his life 
was threatened. He bought a girl to 
keep her from being sold away from her 
family, which cost him .-djDut four thou- 
sand dollars. He forgave a man that in- 
debtedness for her. She lived in the fam- 
il}' a nund)er of years, and was taught to 
read, — almost a crime in those days, — 
and was free the moment he took her. 
She preferred to stay in his family, in- 
lending to go to Iowa with them, but 
died just before Dr. Chand)erlin's family 
started. 

Dr. Chandierlin possessed largely the 
faculty of ac(|uisitiveness. which not only 
spurred him to make such attainments as 
he deemed useful, but also enabled him to 
gather, in his early manhood, a consider- 
able share of this worlds goods. He 
seemed to entertain the idea that he had 
become possessed of more than really be- 
longed to him. In looking over the broad 
field of humatiity, he saw the great ine- 
cpiality existing, and that the masses 
needed more education, and tile ])oor 
needed more relief, and so making what 
j)rovision he deemed necessary for him- 
self and family. In- determiiie(l. rather 
than to continue acquiring simply to 
hoard, to become his own executor, 
and made such disposition while living of 



IO+4 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



his surjjlus means, as would, as he 
thought, be of the greatest service to his 
more needy fellow-men. 

About the time the doctor came to 
Iowa he purchased books and gave li- 
braries to religious societies in different 
locations, one of them to the Mt. Pleas- 
ant L'niversalist Society. He also brought 
with him to Iowa a number of Mexican 
lan<l warrants, one of which he gave to 
the Mt. Pleasant society, one to the so- 
ciety at Oskaloosa, and one or two each 
to other societies. The one he gave to 
the Mt. Pleasant society laid on land in 
the county, and brought one thousand 
two hundred dollars, which went toward 
building the church. Dr. Chambirltii be- 
came a member of the Universalist 
church of Mt. Pleasant in March, 1868. 
While living there he was an active mem- 
ber of the school board, and devoted 
much time to the interests of the schools. 
He also, during the same period, gathered 
and set on foot, through solicitation and 
purchase, a ])ublic library of several hun- 
dred volumes. This library constituted 
the nucleus of what is now the Ladies' 
Library of Mt. Pleasant, whiili has be- 
come one of the establisheil institutions 
of the city. 

While living in iUirlington. in conjunc- 
tion with Senator Cirimes and others, he 
aided in the establishment of the IUir- 
lington City Library, and took personal 
care of it for several years. In 1855 he 
placed in the hands of the trustees of the 
Universalist Society at Mt. Pleasant the 
sum of one thousand dollars to be in- 
vested. ;md the interest to be used freely 
and annually, for the relief f)f the neeily 
in the county. Subse(|uently. in 1868. he 
added to this fund obligations which 



after a time, amounted to six thousand 
dollars, which was to be kept as a penna- 
neiit fund, with the provision that the 
annual income, after some allowance for 
the care of the fund, and for local relief 
as before, should be apportioned to Uni- 
versalist and Unitarian parishes in Iowa 
and neighboring States, to be used solely 
for the relief of the needy, irrespective of 
religious belief. lie also placed a like 
fund of one thousand dollars, for like pur- 
l)oses, with the trustees of the Univer- 
salist church at (ialesburg. In 1856 or 
1857 Dr. Chamberlin also gave Lombard 
College, of Galcsburg, five thousand dol- 
lars, some valuable books to the library, 
and some additions to the cabinet. He 
was made a trustee in 1858, and served 
.some years. In 1870 he added to his 
former gift certain bank stock worth 
three thousand dollars. 

Dr. Chamberlin died at the home of his 
daughter. Mrs. Mary J. Manly, in Cov- 
ington, Ky., March 28, 1884, in the nine- 
tieth year of his age, and his remains 
were brought back to Rurlington, Iowa, 
for interment with his beloved wife and 
other members of his family. The doctor 
was of a very retiring and unassuming 
disposition, and was very averse, while 
living, to have his name paraded in con- 
nection with his benefactions. Xow that 
he is gone it is but just to his memory, 
and to his relatives and friends, that suit- 
able mention he made of them. While 
he was not what might be called a rich 
man, still he gave freely and cheerfully, 
and certainly his example will lead others 
likewise situated to follow his worthy 
deeds. 

The doctor's idea of genuine religion 
was that it consists in doing good to 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1045 



others, and probably intended to illns- 
trate this idea in a small lithographic- 
card, which many looked upon, standinj^' 
with a basket of fruit in his hand, with 
a couple of barefooted urchins standing; 
by his side, to whom he appears to be dis- 
pensing the fruit. ( )n the margin over 
the picture, in his own hand were the 
words : " Getting and enjoying religion." 
On the back of the card were several 
short sentences, of which the following is 
one : "All the good that we can get out 
of the world is the good we do in it." 



HON. SHEPHERD LEFFLER. 

Among the honored dead, who by up- 
right character and enterprising disposi- 
tion became prominent in State and 
county, is the Honorable Shepherd Lefif- 
ler. He was an early pioneer of Iowa, 
and respected throughout the State. The 
ancestors of the Leffler family a few gen- 
erations back came from Bavaria. Mr. 
Leffler was a son of Jacob and Jane 
(Smith) Leffler, both of German descent 
but born in America, and was born in 
Washington county, Pennsylvania, April 
24, 181 1. When he was quite young he 
moved with his parents to West N'irginia, 
where he lived till he completed his edu- 
cation. He was graduated at Jefferson 
College, Canonsburg, Pa., in 1833, and 
afterward studied law, graduating from the 
law department of the same college. He 
came West in 1836, making the journey 
from his home in West Virginia to Burling- 
ton, Iowa, on horseback. 

He was married at Muscatine. Iowa, in 
December, 1840, to Miss Elizabeth Par- 



rotte, who was born in Virginia, Aug. 12, 
1821. where she lived until shortly before 
her marriage. 15y this happy union four 
children were I)orn, two sons and two 
daughters: The elder daughter, Mrs. 
.\melia L. Sunderland, resides in Chica- 
go; Charles D. is married, and lives near 
Maryville, Mo.; the younger daughter, 
Jane, wife of Lsaac IS. Morris, died .March 
2y, 1878; Paul Eugene, the younger son, 
is married, and lives near Maryville, Mo. 

On Oct. 2, 1878, the devoted wife and 
mother was called from earth to heaven, 
leaving a vacant chair in this home, 
which was never filled. Mr. and Mrs. 
Leffler were members of the Episcopal 
church, and he always took an active in- 
terest in everything calculated to advance 
both church and State. 

Hon. Shepherd Leffler was a man of 
<|uiet and unassuming manners, strictly 
temperate, a great reader, and profound 
thinker. Early in life he began to take 
an active interest in the political ques- 
tions of the day. He belonged to the 
Democratic ])arty, and was elected to the 
State Legislature in 1839, when Iowa was 
a Territory. He was president of the 
first convention which met at Des 
Moines. Iowa, to frame the laws of the 
State, and a member of the upper house 
of the Legislature, in 1841-43. He was 
elected to Congress in 1845, ''f'^ served 
till 1851 ; and later, at the beginning of 
the Civil War. in 1861. he was again 
candidate for Congress, but the State 
being hopelessly Republican, he was 
defeated. 

.\fter that he retired to private life for 
a few years, always living the life of a 
country gentleman when jiolitical honors 
did not call him from home. His home 



1046 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFJIEIV 



life was one of uninterru])tefl happiness 
for nearly forty years. Mr. Leffler se- 
cured the right of way for the C. B. & 
Q. Railroad as far west as Ottumwa, 
Iiiwa. givinj; them the right of way 
tliroiigii all his land. He was the Demo- 
cratic candidate for govern<ir in 1875. but 
was again defeated, although he polled a 
large vote, and was su])])ortcd by many 
of the leading Republicans on the 
strength of his high moral standing in 
the Slate. 

Shortly after thai his health, which 
was never robust, began to fail, and he 
once more retired to his country home 
near Montrose, Iowa. After the death 
of his younger daughter and beloved 
wife, which occurred within si.\ months 
of each other, Mr. Leffler seemed to lose 
all interest in life, and lingered in this 
condition for nearly a year, dying Sept. 
7, 1879. His remains were taken to Bur- 
lington, Iowa, for burial, and for twenty- 
six 3'ears have rested in .Xsijcn Grove 
cemeter}' l)y tlu- side of his devoted wife 
and loving daughter. Years may conic 
and years may go, but they can not efface 
from the hearts and minds of his many 
friends and admirers the clKTishe<l mem- 
ory of Shepherd Leftler, who was an 
ideal, home-loving man, an enterprising 
citizen, and a noble statesman. 



WILLIAM E. BROWN. 

\\'iM-i.\M E. Uia)WN, an early pioneer 
of Burlington, was born in Fairfield 
county, Connecticut. Jan. 4, 1807, being 
a son of Jedediah and Rebecca Brown, 
natives of Connecticut. His marriage to 



Miss Rhoda ISonton occurred in Sep- 
tember, 1828, at Pound Ridge, Westches- 
ter county, .\. Y. 

Removing to New York City, he 
worked in a store for some years, until 
wishing to remove to the far West, as 
this region was then known, he came to 
Des -Moines county, Iowa, settling at 
I'lint Hills, as Burlington was formerly 
called, Nov. 18, 1834, where he worked at 
blacksmithing some years. Later he en- 
tered Hendrie's foundry and worked as 
a moldcr for seventeen }ears, when he 
retired from active employment, enjoying 
the accunndations of a lifetime at his own 
home on the corner of I'ifth and Yine 
Streets, the parchment deed for which he 
held from the govermnent, with Presi- 
dent Tyler's signature. 

To Mr. and Mrs. Brown were born ten 
children, five of whom died in infancy. 
The others were: William Mitchell, a 
minister of the Methodist Episcopal 
church, lioiii Sept. 10. 1837, the first white 
child horn in iX-s Moines county, and 
died in L'nion -Star, .Mo., Oct 2, 1903; 
Emily, born in Burlington, June 20, 1843, 
and died in Burlington, the widow of 
Daniel Howard, July 6, 1898; Clara, born 
in Burlington Dec. 3, 1845. and died un- 
married in Burlington, Jan. 18, 1868; 
Gould J., born in Burlington March 10, 
1847, and died in Crete, Nebr., Jan. 26, 
1894; Anna E., wife of J. B. Staples, born 
in Burlington Jan. 5. 1850, and lives at 
corner of Fourth and .Maple Streets, Bur- 
lington. Mr. Brt)wn's wife died March 3, 
1864, in Burlington, aged fifty-two years. 

Both Mr. and Mrs. Brown were active 
Methodists, doing much to establish 
Methodism in the new country. Mr. 
I'rown organized the first Sunday-school 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



104.7 



in the State of Iowa, at Burlington, and 
was its superintendent, the school hold- 
ing its sessions in a log cabin in 1837. 

Mr. Brown's second marriage was 
made April 8, 1866, with Mrs. Elizabeth 
W. Andress, widow of Daniel S. Andress. 

In Mr. Brown the .Methodist church had 
a faithful worker for a long lifetime, join- 
ing the church at twenty-four years. He 
held various offices — trustee, steward, 
.Sunday-school superintendent, and class- 
leader — many years, to all of which he 
gave absolute fidelity. 

His first vote was cast for Jackson, his 
only Democratic vote, as he thereafter 
affiliated with the Whig and Republican 
parties. 

He was a man of strong and pure prin- 
ciples, hating slavery, intemperance, and 
all sin uncompromisingly. Of a cheerful, 
gentle nature, he was well beloved by all 
who knew him. Mr. Brown died Sept. 
9, 1889. in Burlington, and was buried 
from the church he had helped so long 
to maintain, it having risen from a log 
cabin, with few members, to a beautiful 
and stately edifice, with nearly a thou- 
sand membership — a power in the com- 
munity. 



1865 his family removed to Ciiristian 
county, Illinois, where he resided until 
coming to Burlington in 1875. '" Mon- 
tana he practiced his profession, attorney- 
at-lavv, from his arrival in 1882 until his 
election to Congress in 1S8S. He was the 
last delegate in Congress from the Terri- 
tory of Montana, and was elected its first 
representative in Congress on its admis- 
sion to the Cnion in 1889. He was com- 
sioner of the general land office from 
March, 1891, to July, 1892, wiien he re- 
signed to accept the chairmanship of the 
Republican National Committee, which 
position he held until the election of 
Marcus A. Hanna at the St. Louis con- 
vention in 181/). In January. 1895, he was 
elected to the Senate of the United States 
for the term beginning March 4 of tiiat 
year. In the elections of 1896, 1898, and 
1900 the Bryan silver forces overthrew 
the Re]niblican majority in Montana, and 
Carter was defeated for re-election at the 
legislative session of 1901, being suc- 
ceeded by the millionaire mining mag- 
nate, Hon. W. A. Clark. In 1905 Mr. 
Carter was again elected a Senator from 
Montana to succeed Hon. Paris Gibson, 
whose term expired March 4. 1905. His 
term will expire in 191 1. 



THOMAS H. CARTER. 



Thom.'\s H. C.\rter, now a Senator 
of the United States from the State of 
Montana, resided in Burlington from 1875 
until his departure for Montana in 1882. 
His family here consisted of himself and 
two sisters. They resided for many years 
on Franklin Street, and then moved to 
Prospect Hill. Mr. Carter was born in 
Scioto county, Ohio, Oct. 30. 1854. In 



GEORGE H. WILLIAMS. 

One of the noted men among the 
early settlers of Burlingtt)n. who is still 
prominent in pul)lie life, is Hun. Ceo. H. 
Williams, now, at eighty-two years of 
age, mayor of the city of Portland. Ore. 
He was born in New Lebanon, Columbia 
county, N. V., March 26, 1823. He moved 



1048 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIFJV 



uilli his parc-iUs t(j (Jnondajja county 
when a child. He was educated at Pom- 
pey Academy, studied law with Hon. 
David Gott, and was admitted to i)ractice 
in the State of \ew \'ork at tlie age of 
twenty-one years. 

He emigrated to Iowa Territory in 
1844, and located at Fort Madison, where 
he practiced law until 1847. when he was 
elected judge of the first judicial district. 
then including the counties of Lee, Des 
Moines, Henry, Louisa, and Washington, 
serving five years. At that time Mr. 
Williams was a Democrat ; but the Whigs 
united with the Democrats in offering 
him a unanimous re-election, which he 
declined. 1 le was jiresidential elector-at- 
large for J'^ranklin I'ierce in 1852. and 
canvassed the State for him. 

By this time a strong tide of emigra- 
tion was (lowing toward the Pacific 
Coast, and Mr. Williams removed from 
Uurlington to Oregon, of which Territory 
he was appointed chief justice by Presi- 
dent Pierce in 1X5.^ lie was re-a])pointed 
by President l'>uch;inan. but declined the 
a])pointment, because, in common with 
many other Democrats of that ])erio(l. he 
did not approve of the President's policy 
as to Kansas. He was a member of the 
constitutional convention to form a con- 
stitution for Oregon, and chairman of the 
judiciary committee. The new State 
was admitted to the Union Feb. 14, 1859, 
and -Mr. Williams has ever since been 
prominent in its i)olitical activities, and 
has represented it at Wasliington in both 
the .Senate and Cabinet. 

He was elecled to the United States 
Senate in 1864, and served six years from 
March 4. 1865. He was a member of the 
high joint commission to make the treaty 



of \\ ashington for the settlement of the 
.Alabama claims, and was appointed at- 
torney-general of the United States by 
President tirant in 1871, serving nearly 
four years. The ])resident, recognizing 
his eminent legal qualifications, nomina- 
ted .Mr. Williams for chief justice of the 
L'nited States .Su])reme Court, but polit- 
ical complications arising, afterwards witli- 
drew his name. 

In 1902 Mr. Williams was elected 
mayor of Portland, which office he now 
holds tluring the progress of the Lewis 
and Clark Exposition (1905), setting a 
marked example of ])hysical and mental 
virility, and devotion to public interests. 
He is the only surviving member of 
President (irant's Cabinet, and. it is be- 
lieved, the only pioneer of Murlington 
dating as far back as 1847 who is still in 
])ublic life. 



THOMAS M. WILLIAMS. 

One of the early settlers of Burling- 
ton, who was held in high esteem by his 
fellow-citizens, was Thomas Martin W'ill- 
iams, a native of Ireland, who came here 
from Pittsburg. Pa., in 1838 or 1839. ^l""- 
Williams was of .Scotch-Irish descent, 
with an ;uimixlure of Welsh blood, and 
inherited the rugged manhood of those 
people. He was a man of more than ordi- 
nary intellectual capacity, and coming of 
;i family in comfortable circumstances, he 
was well educated, and developed a taste 
for literature and general knowledge. He 
l)Ossessed an aptitiide for ])olemics. and 
was endued with the characteristic 
Scotch-Irish gift of oratory, which es- 
pecially qualified him for public discus- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1040 



sion, and in which he found ;i pleasinp sprang^ a leak, and was compelled to find 

and useful field of effort. a harbor at Aliraniachi, Canada, instead 

Without necessity for eni,raj?ing in of New York or Philadelphia, as intend- 

manual employment, he thought to fit ed. From that point Mr. Williams and 

liimself for the profession of law, but ul- his sister journeyed to Thiladelphia, ar- 

timately abandoned the project at the riving in that city in 1824. 
earnest solicitation of his mother, a Instead of welcoming their mother by 

woman of profound religious convictions the next vessel, they received a letter an- 

and piety, who regarded the jjrofession nouncing her death. The ties of family 

■of law, ;it that time, as incompatible with affection were strong, and both were 

a deep religious faith. The son revered i)rostratcd by the great sorrow; the 

the mother, who was undoubtedly a daughter was taken with brain fever, and 

woman of unusual intelligence and de- was ill for a long lime. The son, in a 

voutness, and he inherited much of her paroxism of grief, suffered a hemorrhage 

religious faith and zeal, a trait that domi- which nearly ended fatally, and laid the 

nated his entire life and left its imprint foundation for his premature death later 

upon all with whom he associated. in life. 

Mr. Williams was the son of George Mr. Williams engaged in business em- 

MacWilliams, the latter being the family jjloyments in Philadelphia, and traveled, 

name until the migration to .\merica, Me married Miss I.etitia Benning, the 

when the prefi.x Mac was omitted, and daughter of a merchant and manufacturer 

the simpler and more popular form at Downingtown, now a suburb of Phila- 

adopted, as has been quite generally done delphia. Owing to his health failing, with 

by many of the descendants and collat- apparent symptoms of lung trouble, he re- 

€ral branches. moved to Pittsburg, and engaged in the 

George MacWilliams was a farmer, manufacture of rope, in concurrence with 

ajid lived at Cooteshill, County Cavan, the theory of the physicians that the in- 

Ireland. and was married to Elizabeth halation of the fumes of tar used in the 

McCrea. He died at the age of twenty- |)rocess would be beneficial. After living 

four, leaving a widow and two children, at Allegheny City several years, and his 

Thomas and Agnes Nancy. health again becoming precarious, he ac- 

The estate was settled, the farm sold, cepted medical advice to change to a 

and the family prepared to remove to Western climate. He shipped his family 

America ; but after the passage tickets and household goods by steamer down 

were bought, the mother was taken sick the Ohio and up the Mississippi River 

with what was supi)osed to be only a as far as Galena, but concluded to return 

severe cold. The doctor ordered her to to Burlington, where he had friends, and 

the seashore to await recovery, and the located f>n the Irish Ridge road. After 

son and daughter reluctantly sailed, ex- farming for several years, Mr. Williams 

pecting the mother on the next vessel, removed to the city, bought property 

It was a long and tempestuous voyage near the foot of Agency Hill, and estab- 

of eleven weeks' duration. The vessel lisluil a mpe factory, selling the product 



lOSO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



to mcrcliants in eastern and southern 
Iowa and western Illinois. He died Dec. 
i6, 1856, and was buried with Masonic 
honors. 

At a special connminication of the Des 
Moines Lodge, No. i. Ancient Free and 
Accepted Masons, held Tuesday, Dec. 16, 
1856, resolutions were adopted in memo- 
riam ; and the Daily State Gazette, of Bur- 
lington, in commenting upon his death in 
its issue of December 17, said : — 

"His character through life was that of 
an honest, industrious, ujiright man and 
a good citizen, signally faithful in all the 
duties that belong to the head of a family, 
to the social relations, and to good citi- 
zenshi]). To a mintl of unusual vigor and 
much culti\alioii he adtled a heart that 
was ever alive to the best affections, and 
a benevolence of disposition which never 
slept when the charities of our nature 
demanded its activity. He was, in a 
word, a man of many virtues, and of hut 
few, if any, faults. 

" ' None knew him but to love him — 
None named liim but to praise.' 

He died, as he had lived, without an 
enemy, and the sympathies of a whole 
community have followed him to his final 
resting place on earth. 

"His funeral took i)lace yesterday after- 
noon, and was largely attended, not only 
by our citizens generally, but by almost 
the entire Masonic fraternity of the city, 
of which society he had long been a bright 
and most honored member, and of which 
he was grand senior warden for the State 
at the time of his death." 

Mrs. Letitia (Bcnning) Williams, born 
in Oxford, Pa., Nov. 13, 1805, was the 



daughter of John and Jane (Hopkins) 
I'.enning. The father was born at Xew- 
toncumavady. County Derry, Ireland, 
1774, and died at Piiiladelphia when he 
was forty-five years of age. He came to 
.\merica when eighteen years old, but re- 
turned to Ireland and kept a store at 
Coleraine until he returned to .\mcrica a 
few years later. He was a man of great 
enterprise in manufactures and general 
merchandizing, and accumulated quite a 
fortune. His religious faith was Presby- 
terian ; in politics a Jacksonian Democrat. 
His wife, Jane Hopkins, was born at 
Newtoncumavady within two and one-half 
miles of the sea, and from their home 
passing ships were in plain view. The 
family were of tlie Covenanter, or Pres- 
byterian, faith. They had nine children, 
all except the first one born in the United 
States. Letitia, the fourth child, was 
married in Philadelphia to Thomas M. 
Williams, Dec. 3. 1R27, and died at P.ur- 
lington, Iowa, March 12, 1883. She was 
a woman in whom the love of home and 
faiuily was very strong, a inost devoted 
wife and mother, of marked patience and 
cheerfulness, facing every peril and trial 
of life with wonderful endurance and an 
abiding Christian faith. 

Children: George, Elizabeth J., Rev. 
Addison C, Milton B., Mrs. Matilda W. 
Power, and Mrs. Letitia C. Waite. 



REV. A. C. WILLIAMS. D. D. 

The Rev. Addison Crawford Williams, 
D. D., son of Thomas M. and Letitia (Den- 
ning) Williams, was born in Allegheny 
City, Pa., June 23, 1834. The family gen- 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1051 



€alogy is given in the sketch of Thomas 
M. Williams in this book. 

He prepared himself for a college 
course, and coni])lete(l his secular educa- 
tion in the lUirliuglon University. He 
taught school for a short time, and con- 
tinued his studies preparatory to enter- 
ing the ministry. Mr. Williams and 
Charles C. McCabe (afterward the famous 
war chaplain, and now bishop oi the 
Methodist Episcopal churcii) were boy 
associates, and both were converted in 
"Old Zion" church, r.nrlington. Hoth 
resolved to consecrate their lives to re- 
ligious work. Mr. Williams was licensed 
to preach in 1851), and entered upon his 
first appointment at West Point, Iowa. 
He filled in succession pastorates at Den- 
mark, Fort Madison, Mt. Pleasant, r.nr- 
lington, Des Moines, and Indianola, Iowa ; 
St. Louis, Mo.; Minneapolis ami Xnrth- 
field, Minn.: Lincoln, Nebr. ; Kansas 
City, Mo.; and Los .A,ngeles and River- 
side, Cal. A profound stvfdent, he ke])t 
in touch with the best thought of the day. 
Blessed with natural gifts of oratory, he 
was a successful and jiopular preacher 
and faithful pastor. He was a man of 
strong personality, and of rugged convic- 
tions, loyal to principle, and imbued with 
great faith and zeal for the cause to which 
he was called and to which he consecrated 
his manhood. 

He was married, June 2t,. 1859, to Miss 
Edith Candy, of Uurlington, Iowa. Mrs. 
Williams was born in Piath, England, 
Dec. 22, 1839, but was brought to this 
country when eleven years old. She 
united with the Methodist Episcopal 
church in her girlhood, and attended the 
Iowa Wesleyan College at Mt. Pleasant. 
Mrs. Williams died in Riverside, Cal., 
Nov. 22. 1896. 



They had seven children: IvJith Lola, 
born in liurlington, Iowa, \\n\\ 7, 1861, 
married Evan Abram Hosier, Kansas 
City, .Mo., Oct. 3, 1888. now living in 
Kansas City, Mo. They have one child, 
Abram Williams, born in Kansas City, 
Mo., Feb. 27. 1891. George Addison, 
born in Fort Madison, Iowa, Aug. 11, 
i8()2. Abbic Lincoln, born in l-'ort Mad- 
ison, Iowa, Se])t. 22, 1864, married George 
(iale Hitchcock, of Lincoln. Xebr., .Sept. 
7, 1887, lives in Claremont, Cal., and is 
member of the faculty of Claremont Col- 
lege. They have four children: Fdith 
Marguerite, burn at L.ake Minnetonka, 
Minn., Sejjt. 1, 1888: Harry Williams, 
born in Lincoln, Xebr., Dec. 31. 1889; 
George Gale, born in Claremont, Cal., 
Xov. II, 1895; .Arthur Lincoln, born in 
Claremont, Cal.. March g, igo2. Mary 
Eva, born in .Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. .\i)ril 
(), 1866, now living in Los Angeles, Cal. 
Charles Milton, born in Purlington, 
Iowa. .\])ril i(). 1868, and has one son, 
I'ert, Ijoru in Los .\ngeles, Cal., Dec. 22, 
1896. He is now living in Los Angeles, 
Cal. Letitia Elizabeth, born in Indian- 
ola, Iowa, Xov. 22. 1872, now' living in 
Los .Vngeles, Cal. Letitia Eliza, born in 
Indianola, Iowa, Nov. 22, 1872, now liv- 
ing in Los Angeles, Cal. Thomas Dale, born 
in -St. Louis, Mo., in 1874. died in infancy. 



REAR-ADMIRAL JOHN GRIMES 
WALKER. 

John Grixies W.\lker is a naval offi- 
cer, and was born in Ilillsboro, X. H., 
March 20, 1835. He graduated at the 
United States Academy in 1856. When 
the Civil War broke out, he enlisted, and 
took part in the capture of New Orleans, 



IOS2 



HinCRAPHICAL Rlil 'I Ell' 



in o])frati()ns apainsl X'icksburK, and al- 
most all the battles on the Mississippi 
River in i86j anil 1863. He coninian<letl 
the gunboat "Shannuit" in the capture of 
W'ilniinfjton. \. C He was secretary of 
tile light-house board in if^/.V/^. and 
chief of the bureau of navigation in 1881- 
89. He was ])ronioted commodore in 
i88r>. and rear-admiral in i8<)4: was then 
assigned to command the Pacific Station, 
and was retired in 1807. He was presi- 
dent of the naval retiring hoard in i8<)5. 
chairman of the light-house board in 
1895-96, and of the commission for the 
location of a deep-water harbor in the 
coast of southern California in 1896-97.. 
From i8<)7 to i8<;i; Mr. Walker was pres- 
ident of the Nicaragua Canal Commis- 
sion, and president of the Isthmian Canal 
Commission since T899. 



GOVERNOR JOHN CHAMBERS. 

Joii.N Cii.vMHERS, the second governor 
of the Territory of Iowa, was Ixirn at 
Bromley Bridge, Somerset county, X. ]., 
Oct. 6, 1780. His father, who was of 
Scotch-Irish descent, served in the war 
of the American Revolution. When John 
Chambers was fourteen years of age, the 
Chambers family moved to Mason coun- 
ty, Kentucky. In 1800 our subject was 
licensed to practice law, and his career 
as a lawyer was cpiite successful. At one 
time he embarked in the business of man- 
ufacturing, but incurred heavy losses 

In 1803 Governor Chambers was mar- 
ried to Miss Margaret Taylor, who died 
three years later; and in 1807 he married 
Miss Hannah Taylor, a sister of his first 
wife. 



During the War of 1812 he served on 
the staff of (ieneral William Henry Har- 
rison, with whom he campaigned later in 
the famous presidential campaign of 1840. 
.\s a civil officer, John Chambers held 
many positions. In iji)j he became dep- 
uty clerk of the district court, and in 1812 
he was chosen to represent his county in 
the State Legislature of Kentucky. In 
1815 he was re-elected to the State Leg- 
islature. In i8j8 he was elected to fill a 
vacancy in the House of Representatives 
at Washington, D. C. In 1830 and 1832 
he was again elected to the State Legis- 
lature, and in 1835 he was returned to 
Congress, being re-elected in 1837. 

March 25, 1841. he was commissioned 
governor of tiie Territory of Iowa, by 
President Harrison. He arrived at lUir- 
lington, Iowa, on the twelfth day of May, 
where he succeeded Robert Lucas, who 
was practically removed from office nearly 
two months l^eforc the close of his first 
term. The day following iiis arrival, .May 
13, 1841. lu- entered upon his duties as 
governor. In 1844 he was re-appointed 
to the office of governor of the Territory 
of Iowa, by President Tyler: but in 1843 
he was removed by I'resident Polk. He 
then retired to his farm, "Grouseland," 
which was located a few miles west of 
Burlington, and died Sept. 21, 1832, at 
the age of seventy-two years. 



GEORGE COLLIER REMEY. 

RE.\R-AnMiR.\L George Collier Remey, 
of the I'nited States navy, was l)orn in 
Burlington, Iowa, Aug. 10, 1841. He 
is a son of William Butler and Eliza 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



1053 



Smith (Hovvland) Remey, the former a 
native of Kentucky, the latter a native of 
Vermont ; grandson of Nathaniel and 
Matilda (Grigsby) Remey and of Seth 
and Harriet (Emmons) Howland, and a 
descendant of the Pilgrim, John How- 
land, who came to this country on the 
"Mayflower," and landed at I'lymouth. 
Mass., December, 1620. 

He was graduated from the United 
States Naval Academy in 183c), and was 
attached to the "Hartford," East India 
squadron. 1859-61. He was commis- 
sioned lieutenant, Aug. 31, 1861, and 
served on the gunboat "Marblehead" at 
the siege of Yorktown, and operations on 
the York and Pamunkcy Rivers; was on 
the lilockade and engaged in the siege of 
l]attery \\'agner, August and Septend^er, 
18(13; for a time during this period com- 
manded the "Marblehead," and com- 
manded tlie naval battle on Morris Is- 
land; took part in the bombardment of 
Fort Sumter, where he commanded the 
second division of Ijoats in a night as- 
sault on the fort on the night of Sept. 8, 
1863, and was taken ])risoner; was ex- 
changed No\-. 15, 1864. He was promoted 
lieutenant-commander June 25, 1865, and 
was attached to the steamer "Mohongo," 
Pacific squadron, Naval Academy, the 
sailing frigate "Sabine," the Tehantepec 
& Nicaragua Ship Canal Survey, the 
Naval Observatory, the f!agshi])s "Wor- 
cester" and "Powhatan," and commanded 
the "Frolic," 1865-1873; was commis- 
sioned commander Nov. 25, 1872. 

He was married July 8, 1873, to Miss 
Mary Josephine, daughter of Charles 
Mason, the first chief justice of Iowa, a 
native of New York, and a descendant of 
Captain John Mason, of the Pequot war 



fame, and .\ngelica (Gear) Mason, a na- 
tive of Massachusetts, of Burlington, 
lovva. A sketch of Judge Mason may be 
found elsewhere in this volume. Mr. 
Remey served in the bureau of yards and 
docks and on other duty, 1 874- 1 876; com- 
manded the "i'jiler])rise," 1877-1878; was 
chief of staff on the flagship "Lancaster," 
European station, 1881-1883; and at Navy 
Yard, Washington, D. C. 1884-1886. He 
was promoted captain in October, 1885, and 
was captain of the Navy Yard, Norfolk, 
Va.. 1886-1889; commanded the cruiser 
"Charleston," 1889-1892, Pacific and 
Asiatic squadrons ; was captain of the 
Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N. H., 1892- 
1905, and commandant of .same yard, 
1896-1898. He was promoted commo- 
dore June ii;, 1897; commanded the naval 
base. Key West, Fla.. during the Spanish 
war: afterwards cinnmanded the Navy 
Yard, Portsmouth, N. H., 1898- 1900. He 
was promoted rear-admiral Nov. 22, 1898; 
was commander-in-chief of the Asiatic 
station, A])ril, 1900. to March, 1902; was 
from May, 1902. to Aug. 10, 1903, chair- 
man of the lighthouse lx)ard and senior 
rear-admiral on the active list of the navy, 
and was then placed on the retired list of 
the navy by operation of law, sixty-two 
years of age. 



GOVERNOR ROBERT LUCAS. 

RoHiiKT Luc.xs, the first governor of 
the Territory of Iowa, was born at Shep- 
herdstown. in the valley of Jefferson, Jef- 
ferson county, Va., .April i, 1781. His 
father, who served in the Revolutionary 
War with the rank of captain, is said to 



JO? 4 



lilOGRArUICAL REVIEW 



have I)fi'n a (k-sccndaiil of W illiain I'cnn. 
of I'l-nnsylvania. His mother was of 
Scotch (Ifsccnt. Robert was the nintli in 
a family of twelve chiklreii. six of whom 
were sons. 

About the time our subject attained 
his majority, the Lucas family removed 
to Portsmouth. Scioto county, Ohio, then 
a part of the Xorthwest Territory. I'c- 
fore goinp to the ( )hio frontier, however, 
the father freed his slaves. In i8l6 Rob- 
ert Lucas became a resident of Piketon. 
Pike county, Oliio. where he continued 
to live imtil his removal to the Territory 
of Iowa, in 183S. 

Governor Luca> w .i> first married in 
1810, to Miss Elizabeth I'.rown. who died 
in i8ij: and in iSi() he married Miss 
]'"riendly A. Summer. ( )ne of his sons, 
Edward W. Lucas, was lieutenant-colo- 
nel of tiie Fourteenth Iowa Volunteers in 
the War of the Rebellion. 

Robert Lucas si)ent the greater part of 
his life in tlte public service, and held the 
office of first lieutenant in the Ohio mi- 
litia in 1803, and in 1804 held the same 
office in the militia of Scioto county, 
Ohio, .\fter promotion through the sev- 
eral subordinate ranks, he was finally 
ap|)ointed major-peneral of the Ohio 
militia in i.SiS. He was at one time com- 
missioned as captain in the re,£jular army 
of the L'nited States, and served in the 
W'ar of 181 2. .Subse(|uently he was ap- 
pointed to the |)osition of lieutenant-colo- 
nel, and then of colonel, in the L;nited 
States army. 

,As to civil positions, it appears that 
Robert Lucas was first appointed to the 
office of county surveyor by the governor 
of Ohio, in 1803. In 1803 he was com- 
missioned justice of the peace for l^nion 



townshi]), Scioto county, t )hio. For 
nineteen years he served in the Legisla- 
ture of ( )hio. The records show that he 
served as chairman in both branches of 
the Ohio Legislature. In 1820, and 
again in 1828, he served as presidential 
elector from ( )hio. Two years later he 
was re-elected to the same high office. 
In 1838 he was appointed governor of the 
Territory of Iowa by President \'an 
I'.uren. I-"inally. in 1844, he served as a 
member of the First Constitutional Con- 
vention of Iowa. It is worthy of mention 
that Governor Lucas acted as chairman 
of the first national convention of the 
Democratic ])arty, which was held at 
lialtimore, Md. At this convention .An- 
drew Jackson was nominated as the 
Democratic candidate for the office of 
president of the United States. 

.After retiring from the office of gov- 
ernor of Iowa, in 1841. Robert Lucas took 
up his residence on a farm which he had 
purchased near Iowa City. Iowa. lie 
died at Iowa City, Feb. 7. 1853. at the 
age of seventy-two years. 



GOVERNOR JAMES CLARKE. 

James Clarki:. the third and last gov- 
ernor of the Territory of Iowa, was born 
in Ligonier \'alley, W'estmorclaTid Co., 
Pa.. July 5, 1S12. Leaving home at an 
early age, he learned the trade of a printer, 
and found work in several ])laces, in- 
cluding Ilarrisburg, Pa. In 1836 he de- 
cided to go West, and secured a position 
in the office of the Missouri Republican. 
It was about this time that the original 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



1055 



Territory of Wisconsin was cstal)lished 
b\ Congress, and Mr. Clarke was attract- 
ed by the opportunities afforded by this 
new Territory. With .Mr. John ]'.. Rus- 
sell he joined in the publication of a 
newspaper (the Belmont Gazette) at Bel- 
mont, the newly appointed capital of 
Wisconsin. This was in the fall of 1836. 
and when the first Legislative .Vssembly 
of the Territory met in (Jctohcr. James 
Clarke was named as the printer for the 
Territory. When it was decided to re- 
move the capital to Piurlington, Iowa, Mr. 
Clarke hastened to the new seat of gov- 
ernment west of the Mississippi, and 
founded the Wisconsin Territorial Gazette 
and the Burlington Advertiser. 

Prior to the establishment of the Ter- 
ritory of Iowa, in 1838, Mr. Clarke was 
appointed Territorial librarian by Gov- 
ernor Dodge. Upon the death of William 
B. Conway (first secretary of the Terri- 
tory of Iowa), President Van Buren ap- 
pointed Mr. Clarke secretary of the Ter- 
ritory of Iowa. In 1844 he became mayor 
of Burlington, Iowa, and during the same 
year he served as a delegate to the first 
constitutional convention, which con- 
vened at Iowa City. Upon the removal 
of Chambers by Governor Polk, Mr. 
Clarke was appointed to the ■ office of 
governor of the Territory of Iowa, which 
])osition he held from Xovember, 1845;, to 
December, 1846. 

In 1840 Mr. Clarke married Miss Chris- 
tiana H. Dodge, a daughter of Henry 
Dodge, the first governor of the Territory 
of Wisconsin. In 1850, at the age of thir- 
ty-eight. Mr. Clarke died a victim of the 
cholera plague. One son and his wife 
had met a similar fate a few weeks before 
the death of the ex-governor. 



HON. P. HENRY SMYTH. 

Hon. p. Hi£.\rv Smvtii, deceased, an 
eminent lawyer and early settler of Bur- 
lington, Iowa, was a prominent figure in 
legal circles, and during his long years of 
residence in Burlington acquired a reputa- 
tion for a deep and comprehensive knowl- 
edge of the law. He was born in Wash- 
ington county, Mrginia, March 10, 1829, 
and was the son of James Crawford and 
.■\nn Ryburn (Orr) Smyth. At the age of 
eighteen, Mr. Smyth moved to Henry 
county, Tennessee, where he studied law 
and was admitted to the bar. In 1851 
Judge Smyth was married, in Cleveland, 
Ohio, to Miss Mary A. Crocker, daughter 
of J. Davis and Deborah (Doane) Crocker. 
Mrs. Smyth was born in Cleveland, of 
which i)lace her ancestors were the earliest 
settlers. The Doanes settled in what is 
now Cleveland in 1801, when there were 
but two houses on its present site. 

In 1857 Mr. Smyth removed to Burling- 
ton, Iowa, where he soon succeeded in es- 
tablishing a large and lucrative practice, and 
by his superior legal ability and prompt 
attention to the business of his clients was 
soon declared one of the foremost lawyers 
of the State. In politics he was a Demo- 
crat, and uncompromising in his views. He 
was appointed district judge of the first 
judicial district of Iowa in April. 1874, by 
the Republican governor, C. C. Car])enter, 
to fill a vacancy, but resigned the position 
in September of the same year. 

In 1900 Judge and Mrs. Smyth sold 
their handsome home, which they erected 
in 1874 on Fourth and Court Streets, to 
Mercy Hosi)ital, and moved to Cleveland, 
Ohio, where they owned a beautiful subur- 
ban residence. Here he lived in retirement 



1056 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



for some years, when the failing health of 
old age came on. and March 21, 1905. 
ended his earthly career, leaving a widow 
and two children to mourn his death : Judge 
James D. Smyth, the respected district 
judge of the district court of this district, 
who is a graduate of Trinity College, Hart- 
ford. Conn., of the class of 187^, and is a 
resident of Burlington ; and Dora, who is 
the wife of Charles L. Dyer, of Seattle. 
Washington. 

He is also survived by one brother. Cap- 
tain John O. Smyth, a railway builder, and 
for many years chief of police of Burling- 
ton, who is now the last of his father's 
family, which consisted of seven sons and 
two daughters. Judge Smyth was a de- 
voted member of the Episcopal church, 
being one of the early members. He is 
buried in Cleveland, beside his children, 
who died many years ago. Personally, 
Judge Smyth was a man of charming dis- 
position and ready wit, being a pleasant 
conversationalist and the possessor of de- 
cided ii])ini()ns un the leading topics of the 
day. In his profession he was respected as 
a worthy opi)onent and a hard fighter, and 
won many stubbornly contested cases by 
his superior insight in legal niatters. 



CLARK DUNHAM. 

Clark Dl'mia.m, at one time editor and 
proprietor of the Ha'a'k-Eyc. and also post- 
master of Burlington, was descended from 
an ancestry honorable and distinguished, 
the line being traced directly back to Elder 
Brewster, one of the leading members of 
the Puritan band who came to the shores of 
New England on the " Mayllower." Na- 



thaniel Wales, his great-grandfather, was- 
an ensign, serving with that rank in the 
Revolutionary War, and later became a 
ca])tain. 

Asahel Dunham, father of Clark Dunham, 
was married in Norwich, Conn., Oct. 30, 
1814, to Susan Wales, and their son Clark 
was born at New Haven, Conn.. Jan. 21, 
1816. In 1818 the father, with his family, 
removed to Hartford, Licking county, ( )hio, 
and in 1826 went to Newark, that State, 
where he engaged in making brick. There 
Clark Dunham ac(|uired a common-school 
education, and witli money which he earned 
met the expenses of a course of study in 
Granville College. About the same time he 
learned the printer's trade, and about a year 
after the completion of his college course, 
purcha.sed and edited the Smark Weekly 
and a tri-weekly pa])er called the Farmers' 
Journal, lie was thus engaged until 1850, 
growing in experience and judgment as the 
years passed by. Selling the paper in 1850, 
he then engaged in the construction of the 
Sanduskv & .Vewark Railroatl, now a part 
of the Baltimore & ( )hio system. 

Coming to Burlington with his family in 
1854, Mr. Dunham, in connection with his 
brother-in-law, John L. Brown, purchased 
the Hawk-Eye, which was then published 
three times a week. They continued its 
publication un<lir the firm style of Dun- 
ham & Brown for two years, when Mr. 
Dunham became sole owner. He had pub- 
lished this ]Ki])er in the interest of the newly 
organized Republican party, hut was so 
tactful in the expression of his views that 
he did not ofTend those politically opposed 
to him. and built up a good patronage. In 
1S57 Ju' bought the Tri-Wcekly Telegraph. 
and for a short time the paper was jniblished 
as the f lawk- Eye ami Telegraph, but soon 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



1057 



the latter name was dropped, and the Ihn^'k- 
Eye has since heeii the name of this journal. 
It was an earnest champion of the Union 
under the leadership of Mr. Dunham, who 
just before the close of the war sold the 
paper to the firm of Edwards & Beardsley. 
After a period of rest, he accepted the posi- 
tion of postmaster of Burlinsfton in 1867, 
and thus served until his death, .Xpril 12, 
1871, when fifty-four years of age. 

Mr. Dunham was survived by his wife 
and four children. Mrs. Dunham bore the 
maiden name of Lucretia Adams Williams. 
They were married Jan. 21, 1841. 



WILLIAM SALTER. D. D. 

Dk. \\'illi.\m Salter, a distinguished di- 
vine, author, and lecturer, and a prominent 
and honored citizen of Burlington, has since 
1846 maintained his residence here. While 
he has never sought to control the ma- 
chinery of vast business enterprises that 
move forward the wheels of material prog- 
ress, or endeavored to figure in political 
circles where they "cry and groan for pub- 
lic good, and mean their own," he has yet 
wielded an influence whose impres.s is seen 
in the lives of thousands of his fellow- 
beings, — in their moral awakening, in a 
broadening spirit of benevolence and hu- 
manitarianisin, in a greater breadth of 
thought, and in outreaching sympathy. 

His life history began in Brooklyn, N. Y., 
on Xov. 17, 1821. The ancestry of the 
family can be traced back to John Salter, 
a seafaring man. who sailed from Devon- 
shire, England, his native land, and became 
a resident of the New World in the latter 
part of the seventeenth century, establish- 



ing his home at the Isle of Shoals, and in 
Portsmouth, N. H. Successive generations 
of the family resided there, and that city 
was the birthplace of William Frost Salter, 
father of Dr. Salter. At the age of thirty, 
William F. Salter married Miss Mary 
Ewen. whose father, Alexander Ewen, a 
native of Scotland, came to the United 
States during the colonial period. 

William Frost and Alary (Ewen) Salter 
lived a few years in Portsmouth, and after- 
wards in Brooklyn. It was in the schools 
of New York City that their son, Dr. Salter, 
acquired his preliminary education. Later 
he became a student in the University of 
the City of New York, from which he was 
graduated in the class of 1840. His careful 
thought concerning his future, and his duty 
led him to the determination to become a 
minister of the gospel, and for two years, 
1S41-42. he was a student in the Union 
Theological Seminary of New York City, 
subsequent to which time he spent a year 
in the Theological Institution at Andover, 
.Mass., completing his course there in the 
class of 1843. I'o'' 3 brief period he had en- 
gaged in teaching school in Walden, N. Y., 
and in South Xorwalk, Conn. Now the 
West, with its possibilities for development 
along moral as well as material and intel- 
lectual lines, attracted him. This great 
region of the countr\' was fast becoming 
settled, and needed workers in the church 
as well as in other lines of activity. 

To this rich field, therefore, William 
Salter turned his attention, and in October, 
1843, arrived in Burlington, Iowa, after 
which he devoted two years to missionary 
work in Maquoketa and Jackson counties, 
Iowa. He preached his first sermon in tliis 
State at Keosauqua on Oct. 29, 1843, and 
on Xov. 5 of the same year was ordained 



I058 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



to tlie ministry. Accepting a call from the 
Congregational cluirch in P.urlington, he 
became its pastor on April \2. 1846, and 
was installed by ecclesiastical council Dec. 
30, 1846. 

With earnest piir[)ose and untiring zeal 
Dr. Salter entered \\\»m his pastoral work. 
He made a close stu<ly of the conditions 
that existed, and formed a definite plan of 
action for the church work. Its member- 
ship was small, and its house of worshij) 
was not completed until the December fol- 
lowing his acce|)tance of the pastorate. The 
years passed, and the work and scojjc of 
the church was gradually extended muler 
his direction. He had the faculty of se- 
curing the co-operation of the member- 
ship, of systematizing the labors, of organ- 
izing new church activities, and of gaining 
the supjiort and confidence of his people 
and of the community at large. The church 
grew into one of the strongest Congrega- 
tional organizations in Iowa, and its mem- 
bers were drawn from the most influential 
and cultured class in the city. His work 
along literary lines, as well as in the field 
of religious activity, gained for him the 
degree of Doctor of Divinity, which was 
confern-d npun him b\- the Iowa State I'ni- 
versitv, in 1864. 

Dr. Salter has continually grown in 
breadth of vision ; in his understanding of 
the great jiroblems of life, of the relation 
of man to the divine constitution and course 
of nature ; in his oratorical power, and in 
his strong and consecrated purpose. As 
pastor and preacher he won fame that ex- 
tended far beyond the limits of Burlington, 
even of the State, and in fact won distinc- 
tion as a prominent divine of the country. 
In more recent years he has had an asso- 
ciate pastor, but at the present day. when 



eighty-four years of age, he still occasion- 
ally speaks to his people, and continues in 
literary work as well. 

Xov. 17, 1 901, in the Congregational 
cluirch of Burlington, Iowa, on the occa- 
sion of the eightieth anniversary of his 
birth, be delivered an address which was 
number two thousand nineteen in the se- 
ries of his written discourses. It was indeed 
a sjiecial occasion in the history of the 
church. The day fell on Sunday, and 
special services were arranged. Dr. Salter 
preaching the sermon in the morning upon 
the subject. "Unsearchable Rich(is of 
Christ." On that occasion he had sur- 
vived all but four members of the Congre- 
gational church of Burlington as it was 
constituted when he was called to the pas- 
torate, these four being : Mrs. David Leon- 
ard, of the \\'est Burlington church ; H. B. 
Ware, of Parsons, Kans. ; Rev. Isaac Leon- 
ard and Mrs. Charlotte Leonard, of lona, 
\. J. As far as was known, only one per- 
son present. Mark Foote. was still living 
in rairlinglon at that time who bad heard 
the first sermon preached by Dr. Salter in 
this city. Dr. Salter is now the only one 
living who was a member of the church 
when he came to Burlington. 

A man of deep research, of original in- 
vestigation, of native intellectual strength 
and keen analytical power, he has given to 
the world the result of his study not only 
from the ])ulpit, but also from the lecture 
platform aiid in many published volumes. 
.\mong his j)ublications are : "Letters of 
Ada R. Parker," published in 1863, and 
constituting a work of rare value to the 
many friends of that lady, whose beautiful 
Christian character is well illustrated in 
the correspondence. He also wrote the 
"Life of James W. Grimes," third governor 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



1050 



of Iowa, which has been widely accepted as 
an invaluable liistorical work, not only as a 
deserved tribute to one of the fjreatest 
American statesmen of the time, but also 
as throwing much hght upon Iowa history 
at tlie time when the State as well as the 
naliun was lireakintj away from the control 
of the "Slave Power." All of Dr. Salter's 
works possess great value to the students 
of the history of Iowa, and western his- 
tory. He has been careful in his investi- 
gations concerning historical facts, and his 
writings may be accepted as correct con- 
cerning the subjects of which he treats. 

His bibliography includes : "An Address 
in Commemoration of the Two Hundredth 
Anniversary of the Discovery of Iowa, by 
Marquette and Joliet," at the fifteenth an- 
nual meeting of the State Historical So- 
ciety in 1873 ; "The Western Border of 
Iowa ;" "The Eastern Border of Iowa ;" 
"Dubuque in i(S2o:" '"Henry Dodge, Gov- 
ernor of the Original Territory of Wiscon- 
sin ;" "Sermon Preached in Reference to 
the Death of James G. Edwards, in 1851" 
(Edwards was the founder of the Burling- 
ton Hawk-Eye) : " James Clarke, Third 
Governor of the Territory of Iowa :" "The 
Progress of Religion in Iowa for Twenty- 
five Years ;" "The Death of the Soldier 
of the Republic, with References to the 
Death of Captain Cloutman ;" "Sermon 
Preached at the Funeral of Rev. Benjamin 
A. Spaulding:" "Memorial Discourse upon 
the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Denmark 
Congregational Association :" "The Plant- 
ing of Iowa ;" "Address upon the Laying 
of the Corner-stone of Gaston Hall. Tabor 
College, in Mills County, Iowa;" "Fif- 
tieth Anniversary of the Congregational 
Church of Burlington ;" "Augustus C. 
Dodge, United States Senator;" "A Ser- 



mon Commemorative of the Fiftieth Anni- 
versary of the Congregational .Association 
of Iowa ;" "Major General John M. Corse ;" 
"The Fiftieth .\nniversary of the .-Vdoption 
of the Constitution of the .State, at Burling- 
ton, Oct. 1-8, 1896;" and others. During 
the period of the Civil \\ ar he prepared 
and published a work entitled, "The Great 
Rebellion in the Light of Christianity," in 
which he spoke of the war for the Union 
as a cruel necessity for the life of the na- 
tion. He also compiled a ciuirch hymn-book, 
presenting a fine selection of Congrega- 
tional hymns and tunes; "Words of the 
Lord Jesus, .\rrangcd in Order of Sub- 
jects," and "Psalms for Worship and In- 
struction," and one hundred selections, leav- 
ing out psalms and parts of psalms, such 
as John Wesley said were "highly improper 
for a Christian congregation." 

One of his sermons on "Labor and Prop- 
erty" attracted much attention, and was 
largely circulated in pamphlet form. Among 
his more recent writings is a volume en- 
tilled, "Iowa, the First Free State in the 
Louisiana Purchase," published by A. C. 
McClurg & Company, Chicago. It is a 
brief and well-written history of the State 
from its discovery by Pere Mar(|uette in 
1673, to its admission into the I'nion in 
1846. 

In J\uie, 1895, Mauro & Wilson published 
Dr. Salter's "Schiller Memorial Lecture," 
with some "Gleanings from Schiller," in a 
booklet. The memorial lecture was read 
by Dr. Salter at Library Ilall, Tuesday, 
May y. 1905, and was a splendid tribute 
to the life, talent, ability, and work of the 
great poet, showing thorough familiarity 
with his style, his thought, and his pur- 
pose. Hon. Charles .Mdrich says concern- 
ing this volume: "It has interested me 



io6o 



BIOC.R. IfinCAL RlillElV 



greatly. You oiitliiu- Schiller's character- 
istics and soine of his life work in a manner 
not only instructive hut deeply entertaining 
as well." Dr. Salter is also the author of 
"Words of Life for 1905." Speaking of 
this, the naven])ort Democrat and Leader 
says : — 

"This little hook excels anything of the 
kind that has been offered ; not only in 
the length of the quotations, hut in the 
range of its research, and the fine sympathy 
and discrimination with which they have 
been selected. ICvery day in the year has 
its gem. in jirose or verse, and they run 
from I'ythagoras to Phillips Brooks. The 
finest things by the best authors have been 
gathered with extreme care. It has been 
a labor of love with Dr. Salter to com])ile 
them, and he has bestowed upon the task 
all the cai)ability that a keen natural dis- 
cernment, a discriminating mind, and a 
broad and thorough erudition have given 
him. .\nt merely moral ])recepts, rever- 
ence, thankfulness, and worship to God, 
are in this collection, but ]iatriotism, love 
of nature, a kindly sympathy with other 
men, zeal for education, for honest money, 
for probity in office, for industry and thrift, 
invention, aiul national progress, have their 
place as well. The beauties of peace, ecpial- 
ity before the law, reciprocal relations in 
trade and otherwise ; the making the most 
of life in the best way; good government, 
plain, common neighborliness, and every- 
day honor and honesty, are here set forth 
in epigrams that scintillate. One nuist read 
the book, and read it again, to appreciate 
the amount of reading it has taken to make 
the coni|)iler know all those from whom he 
([notes, and where to find the gems which 
he here resets for our daily wear and use. 
The best that can be said of this book that 



Dr. Salter has given us, is that it truly re- 
flects himself." 

Dr. Salter, in his writings, his labors, and 
his sermons, has shown himself a man of 
scholarly attainments. Moreover, he has 
always been the champion of education, and 
his efforts have been a tangible factor of 
the advancement in this direction in Iowa. 
He assisted in founding the Iowa College 
at Davenport in 1851, and became a mem- 
ber of its board of trustees, acting continu- 
ously thereon until 1864, about which time 
the college was removed to Grinnell, Iowa. 
In iS')7 he was appointed a member of the 
board of visitors to the naval academy at 
.VunajKilis. 

Dr. Salter was married Aug. 25, 1846. in 
W'inthrop church at Cliarlestown, Mass., to 
Miss Mary Ann Mackintire, the ceremony 
being performed by the Rev. John Hum- 
phrey, and the following month they came 
to their new home in Burlington. Her par- 
ents were Deacon E. P. and Mary (Tufts) 
-Mackintire, of Cliarlestown, Mass. Her 
father was born .\ug. ,^1, 1797, and died 
Feb. 3, 1864: while his wife, who was born 
May 4, 1797, died Dec. 20, i86o. She was 
the sixth in order of birth in a family of 
lieven cliildren. whose parents were Amos 
and Deborah ( l-rothingham ) Tufts, and 
was a representative in the fifth generation 
of the descendants of Peter Tufts. 

Mrs. .Salter was born in Cliarlestown, 
.Mass., Dec. 25, 1824. She attended Miss 
Ketleirs school in t"harlcstown from her 
fiiurth til her iwrlflli year, after which she 
was a pupil in 1 larvard school at Charles- 
town for three years. In 1840 she attended 
the Tem])le School held in the Masonic 
rem|)le of Boston, of which Charles E. Ab- 
bott was the principal. In 1841 she entered 
the academy at IJradford, Mass., where she 



DES MOINES COUNTY, lOlVA. 



1 06 1 



pursued the full course of study and was 
graduated in the class of 1844. Mrs. Salter 
joined the Wintlirnp chnrch of Charles- 
town in her sixteenth year, and her heart 
and hand were quick in response to every 
call of need, whether from near or far. She 
shrank from thinking evil and refused to 
speak it, and cultivated in her life all that is 
true, good, and beautiful. She loved music, 
flowers, and all the different phases of na- 
ture that are displayed in the outdoor world, 
and ever looked on the bright side of life. 
She was indeed a helpmate to her husband, 
not only in his home life but also in his 
pastoral relations ; and no death, perhaps, 
save that of Dr. Salter, could create deeper 
sorrow or more profound regret than that 
of Mrs. Salter. She was uniformly be- 
loved, not only in her own church but by 
people of all denominations, as well as by 
those who have no religious belief. She 
made for herself a firm place in the affec- 
tions of all with whom she came in contact 
by her graces of character, her intellectual 
culture, her broad charity, and kindly, help- 
ful spirit. She was active, cheerful, and 
courageous in all life's relations, and in 
various missionary and benevolent societies 
for the public good. She never failed in 
the full performance of the duty of a pas- 
tor's wife, both in the religious and social 
side of church work. Gifted by nature with 
superior intellectual powers, she kept pace 
with her husband in his scholarly attain- 
ments, in all of his theological studies, his 
writings, his historical research, and his lit- 
erary work. In her home she was a de- 
voted and loving wife and mother, and at 
all times exemplified the traits of a true 
mother in Israel. 

June 12, 1893, she was driving with her 
husband and some friends through beautiful 



Aspen Grove cemetery. They api)roached 
the place where some workmen were felling 
trees, and stopped that the doctor might 
converse for a few moments with the men, 
when all at once without warning a massive 
oak fell upon the surrey, pinning the occu- 
pants to the ground by ihe enormous weight 
of its great branches. .Mrs. Salter was in- 
stantly killed, and the doctor was badly 
hurt, while the friends were less injured. 
The funeral services were held in the Con- 
gregational church June 15, 1893, Rev. Dr. 
Robins, of Muscatine, and Rev. Dr. E. 
.\dams, of Waterloo, officiating ; and on 
the 22(1 day of June a memorial service was 
held at the regular Thursday evening meet- 
ing of the church. The Ladies' Benevolent 
Society, of which she was the president, and 
the Women's I'"oreign Missionary Society, 
of which she was also the president, adopted 
suitable resolutions. 

" She spreadetli out her hand to the poor. 

Yea. she reachctli forth her hands to the 
needy; 

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; 

And the law of kindness is on her tongue. 

She looketh well to the ways of her house- 
hold, 

.\nA eatcth not the bread of idleness. 

Her children rise up and call her blessed; 

Her husband also, and he praiseth her, say- 

M.iny dauj^hters have done virtuously, 
I'm thnu exccllcst them all." 

Dr. and Mrs. .Salter were the parents of 
four sons and one daughter. The eldest, 
Mary Tufts, born hVi). 4, 1849. was a stu- 
dent in Denmark .-\cadcmy in 1863, and 
died Nov. 5, 1864, .saying, the day before 
lier death, "You know I shall be happy, 
mother. " William Mackintire Salter, the 
eldest son, was educated in Knox College, 



io62 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



at Galcsburp. 111., from which he was grad- 
uated in 1 87 1, and attended the divinity 
school of Yale College in 1872 and 1873, 
and of Harvard University in 1876. He 
now resides in C'hica'^o, where he is the 
Icctnrer of the Ethical Society. He was 
married Dec. 2. 1885, to Miss Mary Sher- 
win Gibhens, and their daughter, Eliza 
Webb, born in Chicago, Jan. 20, 1888, died 
Dec. 2, 1889. Sumner Salter was educated at 
Amherst College, in Massachusetts, where 
he was graduated in 1877. He now resides 
at W'illiamstown, Mass., where he is organ- 
ist in the Thompson Memorial Chapel of 
Williams College. He was married May 2(^, 
1 881, to Miss Mary E. Turner, and their 
children are: Winthrop, born June 10, 
1883, in Syracuse, X. Y. ; Harold, born 
April ID, 1886, in Atlanta, Ga. ; Edith, 
born Feb i., 1891, in New York City; and 
William Frost, born Sept. 18, 1898, in New 
York City. 

Charles Frederick Salter, born Dec. 25, 
1861, died March 23, 1863. George Benja- 
min Salter, twin lircitlur of Frederick, born 
in Burlington, Dec. 25, 1861, was educated 
in the city schools here, and at Exeter Acad- 
emy, in Exeter, N. H., after which he en- 
gaged in the clothing business in Boston. 
Later he became connected with Donahue 
& McCosh. hardware dealers at Burlington, 
with whoni he remained for several years, 
until he began business on his own account 
as a dealer in hats and men's furnishing 
goods. Later he added a tailoring and 
clothing establishment, and is to-day at 
the head of the Salter Clothing Company, 
which was incorporated in 1905, and of 
which he is the president and treasurer. 
He was married Oct. 17, 1893, to Mrs. 
Mary (Tuttle) Stocker. 

An analvzation of the life work and char- 



acter of Dr. Salter is a difficult task for the 
historian, not because of its complexity, but 
because of the extent and scope of his la- 
bors. He has been actuated by a singleness 
of purpose that is based entirely upon a 
desire for tlie betterment of his fellow-men. 
Without the narrowness of mind engen- 
dered by sectarianism, he has stood strong 
in support of his views concerning the great 
questions affecting human happiness and 
the improvement of the world. The catho- 
licity of his behef and oi)inions. his broad 
scholarship and comprehensive knowledge, 
have made him the colleague and friend 
of many prominent representatives of in- 
tellectual culture in the nation. He was 
an abolitionist at a time when it required 
personal courage to announce one's con- 
victions on that subject. He has ever been 
a friend of the down-trodden and op- 
pressed, and has extended a helping hand 
not only from the i)ul])it or by the dissem- 
ination of great moral truths, but by actual 
contact with the poor and needy when his 
assistance could be given in tangible work. 
His writings and public utterances have 
made him known and honored throughout 
the land, but in Burlington and Des Moines 
county, where he has resided for so many 
\ears, he has that warm personal regard 
and friendsliii> which has arisen through 
his social life among the people, his per- 
sonal interest in the welfare of the individ- 
ual, and his helpfulness of direct or indirect 
character that is proving so strong an ele- 
ment in ihf r,])liuiliiinL; of the moral life of 
the city, i'erliaps no more titling ending 
to this life history can be given than the 
sonnet of Rev. Charles E. Perkins, of Keo- 
sauijua, to the Rev. William Salter, pub- 
lished in Coiigrcj^atioiial lotva. in May, 
1 90 1 : — 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



1063 



" Time lays his burdens gently on the head 
Of those high-minded ones who love the 
truth. 
And follow her high lead. With stately 
tread 
Their feet press forward. Gentleness and 
truth 
Their course inspire; sweetness and light, 
Honor and faith, attend their steps each 
day. 
So time, who loves the righteous soul, liis 
flight 
Makes manifest as softly as he may. 
And though the hair be silvered, and llie 
flesh 
Pale to a finer whiteness, in the eyes 
The clear light shines, while warm and 
fresh 
The heart with loving fervor ever flies, 
And year by year the mind grows yet more 

nobly wise. 
Thus, thanks to God, life writes an unstained 

page. 
And shines most glorious in the gracious 
youth of age." 



E. D. RAND. 



E. D. RanDj of Burlington, Iowa, now 
deceased, was a pioneer in the development 
of the lumber industry in the Mississippi 
valley, was active in the promotion of rail- 
road construction, in financial circles, and 
in civic and political life, his labors entitling 
him to rank with the founders and builders 
of his State. A native of Watertown, Mass., 
he was bom July 22, 1814, eldest son of 
Samuel and Mary (Carter) Rand. By the 
death of his father he was thrown upon his 
individual resources at a very early age, 



and worked on a farm until he was fifteen 
.\ears old. gaining his education in the pub- 
lic schools at such times as the exigencies 
of his eniiiloynient would allow, sometimes 
working nights and mornings for his board 
and attending school during the day. Thus 
his childhood exemplified that worthy am- 
bition and unconquerable determination 
which were to shape iiis later career. Going 
to Providence, R. I., he served an appren- 
ticeship in the soap and candle manufactur- 
ing business, remaining there until 1835, 
when he proceeded to Hamilton, Ohio, and 
became superintendent of the packing house 
of J. A. N. Fisher. This position he oc- 
cupied for two years, and then again fol- 
lowing the star of empire westward, lo- 
cated at Quincy, 111., where he engaged in 
stock-raising and pork-packing. The date 
of his coming to Iowa was 1839, when he 
settled on the Black Hawk purchase on the 
Des Moines River in the vicinity of Keosau- 
qua. He entered a claim, and began farm- 
ing operations, but sold his holdings be- 
fore the first harvest. 

Mr. Rand's next move was to Burlington, 
which thenceforth became his permanent 
home, and it was here that he spent the 
remainder of his life. Here he was em- 
ployed in the Bridgenian & Partridge packing 
house, and also entered tlic draying business 
in a small way, buying a horse and dray and 
hiring a driver. He left this firm in 1843, 
and formed a partnership with the firm of 
Peasley & Brooks to conduct a provision, 
lumber, and pork-jiacking business. Mis- 
fortune attended the venture, however, for 
on the recommendation of Mr. Peasley the 
firm had invested heavily in grain, and as 
a consequence suffered serious loss. Mr. 
Rand therefore retired from the business at 
the end of three years ; but prior to this 



:o64 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFAIEW 



time he Iiad purchased a tract of land, and 
u|)<)n this he now erected a building and 
began an independent pork-packing busi- 
ness, relying partially on borrowed capital 
for the inauguration of the enterprise. 
In this he was so successful that his profits 
amuunteil to $7,000 for the first year, 
an<l he built a brick packing-house and 
enlarged the business. In 1842 he be- 
gan in addition a lumber business on a lim- 
ited scale, and this increased so rapidly that 
in 1852 he invested therein all his capital. 
He l.itiT 1)1 night out the interest of Mr. Hill 
in tile saw-mill owned by the firm of Berry 
& Hill, and from this transaction grew the 
Burlington Lumber Company, the largest 
lumber company operating along the whole 
middle course of the Mississi])pi River. He 
became a jjartner of Carson & luiton. after- 
ward Carson & Rand, in the exploitation of 
Wisconsin timber lands, and was one of the 
organizers and heavy stockholders in the 
\'alle\ Lumber Company, of Wisconsin. It 
was in 1877 that he organized the Burling- 
ton Lumber Comi)any and was elected its 
first president : and two years later he organ- 
ized the Rand Lumber Com]iany. of which 
he also was the first president, and which he 
eleiated to the position of one of the largest 
lumber firms in the State. The largest lum- 
ber company with which .Mr. Rand was 
identified, however, was the Carson & Rand 
Linnher Comjjany, of Keokuk, Iowa, organ- 
ized in 1881, and of which he became presi- 
dent. He was also ])resident of the Keiths- 
burg Luniber Company, and was the mov- 
ing si>irit of many other enterprises that con- 
tributed to the prosperity and growth of the 
West, in which lie liad such implicit faith. 

With the State Bank of Burlington Mr. 
Rand became associated in 1862, when it 
was yet a branch of the Iowa State Bank. 



and on its organization into a national bank 
in i8()5 he became a member of its first 
board of directors, a |)osition in which he 
continued until his death, while he was 
elected ])resident of the bank in 1869 for a 
ix'riod of two years and re-elected for a sim- 
ilar term in 1881. He was one of the incor- 
porators of the Iowa State Savings I'.ank, 
and was its vice-president and a member of 
its directorate at the time of liis death, and 
was a director of the I'irst National I'ank 
of liurlington.. Tn the direction of these 
importaiil institutions, lie exhibited the same 
rare (jualities of business insight and dis- 
crimination which distinguished his conduct 
of the great lumber companies of the State, 
and which won him his first successes, and 
to his transcendant abilities much of their 
present pros])erity and unrivalled staiuling 
is due. He lent substantial encouragement 
to the building of the Narrow Gauge Rail- 
road and the Burlington & Missouri Rail- 
road, and his aid was given in many ways 
to the nil mil and material imi>r(>vement of 
the city of I'liirlington. He erected one of 
the finest and best business blocks in the 
cit\. besides numerous residence buildings, 
including a l)eanlifnl hdiiie for himself and 
famih. known as the "I'ines." In 1852 he 
ac(|uired a fifty-five-acre tract adjacent to 
his former jiurchase. which he plotted, and 
this is now an addition to Burlington, and 
the site of many manufacturing establish- 
ments, which ftirnish employment to a large 
amount of labor. 

E. D. Rand was twice married, his first 
marriage being in .\i)ril, 1837, to Miss Sarah 
I'roiul. of Centerville, Ohio, by w-honi he 
had six children, only one of whom is now 
living. Mary .\., wife of John M. Sher- 
le\. .Mrs. Rand died in Burlington in 
hiiic. iS:;(i. .Mr. Rand chose for his second 



DF.S MOrXF.S COUXTV. IOWA. 



1065 



■wife, whom he wedded June 13, 1852, at 
Burlington, Mrs. Caroline A. Roberts, 
widow of J. W. Roberts, and daughter of 
S. Sherfey, one of the pioneers of Burling- 
ton and of Iowa, he having settled in this 
city in 1837, although .Mrs. Rand was born 
at Hagerstown, Md. Of this union two 
children .survive, Horace S. and Carrie. 
Throughout life Mr. Rand was interested in 
public affairs, and by his work in the field 
•of practical politics manifested the posses- 
sion of many qualities of statesmanship in 
the truest and best sense of that term. In 
his early manhood he was a Whig, and 
joined the Republican party on its organiza- 
tion, later becoming a Liberal Republican. 
He was a valued worker in his party's in- 
terest, exercising a potent influence in its 
behalf, and materially contributing to many 
of its successes. He enjoyed the public con- 
fidence to a high degree, and was elected a 
member of the Iowa State Legislature in 
1856. serving with conspicuous ability, and 
was elected a member of the city council of 
Burlington in the years 1856, i860. 1862, 
and 1863. His influence in public life was 
always on the side of justice and right, and 
many highly praiseworthy measures, pro- 
mulgated by the public bodies of which he 
was a member, owed to him either their 
origin or effective sponsorship. His was a 
religious nature, and he united with the 
Congregational society, of Burlington, in 
1844, and ever after gave to the church his 
fullest support, contributing generously to 
its material necessities in all branches of its 
work, and at the same time exemplifying the 
truths for which it stands in his own life 
and daily conduct. His deatii occurred 
April 10, 1887, after a residence of nearly 
four decades in Burlington. His business 
ability was of vast scope, and although he 



suffered many reverses, he regarded each 
transition stage as the beginning of new 
opportunity, and left behind him a very 
large fortune. I'nder the stinuiius of neces- 
sity in early manhood his powers developed, 
and his keen mentality always enabled him 
to recognize the possibilities of a business 
situation. He found in the young but grow- 
ing city of eastern Iowa the opportunities 
he sought, and, i)rompted by a laudable am- 
bition which had for its objective point the 
acquirement of large success through honor- 
able methods, he gradually worked his way 
upward from a humble position until he 
ranked with the leading financiers and in- 
dustrialists of the State, thus proving by his 
life's record that prosperity and an honored 
name may be won sinniltaneouslv. 



DR. CHARLES A. WHITE. 

It is with pleasure that we present the 
life record of Dr. Charles .Abiathar White, 
as he is a self-educated and self-made man 
in the full meaning of the term. He began 
life in a plain and humble way, and having 
a great desire to obtain a higher education, 
worked during the daytime and studied bv 
lamplight till he had secured sufficient 
means to enable him to carry out his cher- 
ished ideas. 

The ancestry of Dr. White can be traced 
back to William White, of Boston, an Eng- 
lishman, who settled there about the year 
1640. and from whom Dr. White is of the 
seventh generation. All the members of 
that ancestral line were yeomen, closely 
answering to the freehold yeomen of Eng- 
land. 

Some of Dr. White's ancestors were act- 



io56 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



ive participants in the war of the American 
Revolution. I lis prand father. Captain 
Cornelius White, was a captain in the Col- 
onial militia, and fought for his king; but 
when the Revolution began, he was an 
ardent patriot, and was a member of the 
" committee of inspection, correspondence, 
and safety " for Taunton, Mass., his native 
town. His son, Cornelius White, grand- 
father of Dr. White, enlisted and served as 
a minute man immediately after the battle 
of Lexington, althougli he was only twenty 
years of age. He afterward became captain 
of militia, as his father had been. The 
father of the wife of Dr. White's paternal 
grandfather. Abiathar Leonard, was also a 
captain of minute men. 

Dr. Charles Abiathar White was born on 
a farm in Xorth Digliton, Bristol county, 
Mass.. Jan. 26, 1826, on his father's inher- 
ited portion of his grandfather's landed 
estate. 

Abiathar White, father of Dr. C. A. 
^\'hite, married Miss Nancy Corey, daugh- 
ter of Daniel Corey, of Dighton. Mass., on 
April 20, 1823. Six children were born to 
them in the following order : John W., now 
aged eighty-one, resides in Portland, 
Ore. ; Charles A., of this review ; Mary, 
married John Prugh, of P>urlington, and 
died there July 28, 1850; Sarah, became the 
wife of .Albert Walling, and went with 
him to Portland, and died there in 1884; 
Caroline, died in early infancy in Dighton; 
Albert, died in childhood in Burlington, 
Iowa, to which place Abiathar White's 
family moved from their New England 
home in 1838, and where Dr. White grew 
to citizenship. The parents of Dr. White 
both died in P.urlington, and are buried in 
Aspen Grove cemetery. 



In 1847 I^""- ^^hite visited his old New 
England home, where he was married, in 
1848. to .Miss Charlotte R. Pilkington, 
daughter of James and .\ancy Pilkington. 
who were both of English birth. Mrs. 
White was born at Taunton. Mass., March 
I, 1829. Soon after our subject was mar- 
ried, he brought his young wife to Burling- 
ton, where they resided till 1864. when they 
moved to Iowa City. Eight children were 
born to Dr. and Mrs. White, all in Iowa, 
six of whom are now living : James Albert, 
a physician, of Portland. Ore. ; Charles 
Everett, a lawyer in Madison, Wis. ; Ger- 
trude, wife of Herbert J. Browne, of Wash- 
ington, D. C. ; Herbert Corey, farmer, of 
i'.catrice, Ncbr. ; Lillie, died in infancy at 
Iowa City : Marian, principal of the depart- 
ment of Domestic Sciences in the High 
school of Washington, D. C. ; Edward 
Winslow. died in Maine in childhood ; 
Leonard Alwyn. dentist, in Washington, 
D. C. 

It has ever been a great comfort to Dr. 
White that he could give his children a lib- 
eral and finished education. When Dr. 
White took up his residence in Iowa City, 
his public scientific career began, as he was 
professor of natural history in the Iowa 
State University and State geologist of 
Iowa. He received the degree of M. D. 
from Rush Medical College, in Chicago, in 
1863. and the degree of A. M. from Iowa 
College at Grinnell in 1866. He was State 
geologist of Iowa, by legislative appoint- 
ment, from 1866 to 1869, inclusive ; profes- 
sor of natural history in the Iowa State 
University from 1867 to 1873, when in the 
latter year he moved his family to Bruns- 
wick, Me., and occupied a similar position 
in Bowdoin College till 1875. He was 



DES MOISF.S COUXTY. lOlVA. 



1067 



appointed paleontologist to the geograph- 
ical and geological surveys west of the 
one-hundredth meridian, in charge of Lieu- 
tenant George M. Wheeler, in 1874. He 
spent thirteen seasons in western geological 
field work, extending from Canada to 
Mexico, and west to the Pacific Coast. 

The great ability of Dr. White as a geol- 
ogist was recognized among the foremost 
geologists in the United States, and upon 
his removal to Washington, D. C, in 1876, 
he at once became connected with the gov- 
ernment surveys and the Smithsonian Insti- 
tution. The travels of this noted scientist 
were not confined to the States alone, as he 
made several trips abroad, the first one 
being made in 1886, when he traveled over 
Europe from Scotland to Italy, and as far 
east as Vienna. In all these countries he 
was received with the greatest cordiality by 
the geologists and naturalists, and has 
since continued a large correspondence with 
these gentlemen. 

In 1892 Dr. White became the associate 
in paleontology of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, which position he now occupies, and 
where he enjoys the most cordial friendship 
of all its official force. Besides holding the 
above-named positions of trust and honor. 
Dr. White has written largely on scientific 
and popular subjects. During the fifty- 
eight years of his literary life he has written 
some two hundred and thirty-one books and 
articles. Three articles have appeared from 
his pen within less than a year, and he is 
at present prejiaring another one. Owing 
to the great number of Dr. White's writings 
it will be impossible to enumerate them, but 
among the most important are : Geology of 
Iowa and the various official reports and 
bulletins of the United States Geological 



Survex', and Uic Smithsonian Instiluti(jn. 
John F.elknap Marcou and Timothy W. 
Stanton have each issued a catalogue of Dr. 
White's writings, which are of special in- 
terest. " The Mutations of Lycopersicum " 
and ".V Visit to the Quarry-Cave of Jeru- 
salem ■■ are among his later articles, and 
are very interesting and much appreciated. 
Mrs. White was an earnest Hible student, 
and in 1890, in order that she might have a 
sight of the I'.iblc lands, and of those places 
which are of special interest and helpful in 
church work. Dr. and .Mrs. White visited 
England, I->ancc, llelgiuni, Holland, Ger- 
many, Switzerland, Italy, Egypt, and Pales- 
tine, 'ihis proved to be one of the most 
enjoyable experiences of their useful lives. 
This worthy and devoted couple were life 
companions for nearly fifty-four years, and 
had the rare ])leasure of celebrating their 
golden wedding, in 1898. Four years after 
this happy occasion death entered this 
home, and carried from it the devoted wife 
and beloved mother on July 16, 1902. 
Rarel}- do we find a woman of more retire- 
ment and greater domesticity than Mrs. 
White ])ossessed. Those who knew her 
best, loved her most. She was a woman 
of unusually clear and practical intelligence, 
a devoted Christian of unwavering faith 
from girlhood, active in church and char- 
itable work. She was long a member of 
the relief committee of the associated char- 
ities of South Washington, showing rare 
judgment and great efficiency in the cause, 
and relinciuishing it only because of failing 
health, lint her chief characteristic was 
shown in the quiet and judicious perfomi- 
ance of domestic duties and her faithful 
devotion to her family and friends. Mrs. 
While is buried in Washington, D. C. 



io68 



RlOGRAPHICAl. REllEW 



Dr. White is a Royal Arch Mason, and 
a rcco^'nizod menihcr of tlie Phi Kappa Psi 
collcpe fraternity, although he has not at- 
tended a chapter for more than thirty years. 
In addition to the degrees mentioned, Ur. 
White received that of LL.D. from the 
Iowa State University. He has long been 
a member of the Xational Academy of 
Sciences ( .M. X. .\. S. ), which is the high- 
est scientific honor our country has to give 
to any one. He is also foreign member of 
the Geological Society of London, the 
highest honor Great Hritain has to give 
to any geologist, an honor conferred upon 
only forty living persons for the whole 
world, lie is also corresponding member 
of many other scientific societies of both 
Europe and America. 

The intelligent and highly gifted family 
of Or. Charles A. White are remembered 
in great kindness by the old residents of 
Burlington and Iowa City. Dr. White 
still resides in Washington. 



ISHAM GILBERT. 

IsH.v.M Gii.HEUT was lx)rn in llaniin 
county. KeiUucky. July J, iS-\V '"id emi- 
grated with his father's family to Prairie 
du Chien. Wis. (then Michigan Terri- 
tory), in 1830. His grandfather Gilbert 
was a N'irginian. and afterward a tobacco 
planter and tra<k'r in Hardin county. 
Kentucky. and a large slaveholder, though 
a just and honorable one. Becoming con- 
vinced of the error of holding slaves, he 
liberated them all. even old "Maniniy 
Ailsey," who was his devoted attendant 
during his last illness, an<l his most faiili- 
fiil friend. His son. Sanniel Ciilbert, the 



father of "Isham" (iilbert, as he was al- 
ways called, was lx)rn in Booneville. Ky., 
in I7f>8. and in i8im married Pliiloiheta 
Parker, in Louisville. Her father, Samuel 
Parker, was a pioneer citizen of Louis- 
ville, and the family had traveled thence, 
in iSij. all the way from Xew ^'ork State 
in an enn'grant w.igon, Philotheta being 
fourteen years old at that time. She was 
born in 17<)8. near Canandaigua, Ontario 
county. X. \' . Her father was a lineal 
descendant of the Parker Earls of Mac- 
clesfield, and her mother was a Howe, of 
the family of Admiral Lord Howe, of 
l\ev(dutionary fame. 

\\ lu II the Gilbert family arrived in 
Prairie du Chien, there was only a smat- 
tering of white families. American and 
Canadian Freiuh. in e\ idence : but there 
were many Indians, and the family min- 
gled in friendly intercourse with the Chip- 
pewas. Menominees, Winnebagoes, Sacs. 
and I'dxes. and acquired a fluent command 
of their languages. Samuel Gilbert be- 
came one of the pioneer hnnbernien of the 
Xorthwest. and at the age of twenty-two 
his son Isham rafted a large (juantitN of 
lumber down the "father of waters" to 
the .Mormon settlement at Xauvoo. where 
he disposed i>f lii^ !und)ir lov liie l)uil<liiig 
of the Mormon temple then in process of 
construction. 

Returning to his home at Prairie du 
Chilli, his (|nest for adventure led him to 
undertake a (|uestional>le enterprise, as 
regarded his personal safety. In the em- 
ploy of llie Hudson Bay Fur Company, 
Isham (iilbert set out, in the company of 
four half-breeds, for the British Posses- 
sions, and the Red River of the north, 
taking with him a stock of goods in ca- 
noes, which he jiroposed to exchange for 



niis MoiNiss couxTv. loir.i. 



io6g 



furs. He passed the entire winter with 
the Indians, going as far north as the Sel- 
kirk Settlement, in tlie i'.ritish Posses- 
sions, and in these months did not meet a 
single white man. I (|uote the following: 
"His fine ajipearanee. friendi\- manners, 
good judgment, and discretion, made him 
many friends among the intluential men 
of these great tribes, and his presence was 
welcomed, and his going regretted." 

In 1847 'i*^ married a New England 
woman, Susan Augusta Sampson, and 
with her established a hdnic at the foot 
of Lake Pipin, opposite the town of Ruds 
Landing, Bufifalo county. Wis., at which 
point he had a trading post. Sept. 17, 
1849, a son, John Webster, was born to 
them, who still survives. In the spring 
of 1 85 1, I sham Gilbert and family re- 
moved to Allamakee comity, Iowa, where 
he laid out the town of Lansing, Iowa. 
He took up his abode in Lansing, and 
here, Aug. 7, 1851. a daughter, Ella, was 
born. She did not live to maturity, but 
died at the age of twelve, and is buried 
in Burlington, Iowa, where she died. At 
Lansing, Isham (lilluTl built np an ex- 
tensive mercantile business, and was as- 
sociated with Joseph Reynolds, better 
known as "Diamond Joe Reynolds," in 
numerous and extensixe transactions and 
speculations. 

At the outbreak oi the Civil War the 
subject of this sketch organized a com- 
pany, which was mustered into the serv- 
ice at Dubu(|ue, in i8()j. as the Twenty- 
seventh Iowa Infantry, and James Isham 
(iilbert was ai>pointed colonel. .\ portion 
of the regiment under Colonel (iilbert was 
detailed to take the government annui- 
ties to the Chippewa Indians, his knowl- 
edge of the language and ac(iuaintance 



with the tribe giving liim peculiar fitness 
for this duty. The regiment reunited at 
Jacksonville, and was attached to Smith's 
Division of the .Vrmy of the Tennessee, 
and had part in General i'.anks's expedi- 
tion to the Red River. At the battle of 
Nashville, in December, 1864, Colonel 
Gilbert was in command of four regi- 
ments and a battery of light artillery, and 
led the charge on the left (lank of Hood's 
army, starting the retreat and rout of that 
.general's army. l'"or gallantry at these 
battles the colonel was promoted to be 
brigadier-general. His brigade attested 
their admiration for their commander by 
presenting him with a costly sword, upon 
which are inscribed the names of the bat- 
tles in which he participated. I'jjon this 
fine gold-mounted sword is inscribed the 
following: " Presented by officers of the 
Second Brigade, Second Division, Six- 
teenth Army Corps, composed of the Six- 
teenth .Minnesota. Tenth Kansas, Twen- 
ty-seventh Iowa. Thirty-second Iowa, and 
One himdred and seventeentii Illinois Vol- 
unteer Infantry, to Brigadier-tieneral Isham 
(lillnrt. as a testimonial of respect to a 
gentleman, an officer, and a friend." On 
the op])osite side of the scabbard from 
this inscrijjtion, is engraved a list of bat- 
tles in wliich ( Icneral (Iilbert participated, 
as follows : — 

Little Rock, September 10. 1863. 

I'ort De Russey. .March 14. 1864. 

Pleasant Hill. .\])ril 9, 1864. 

Chow Anville. April 23, 1864. 

.Marksville Plains, .May 16. i8f)4. 

Lake Chicat, July 6, 1864. 

Tupelo, Miss,, July 14, 1864. 

Oldtown Creek. July 15, 1864. 

Nashville. December 15 and 16, 1864. 

Fort i'.lakely, Ala., .\pril (). 1865. 



lOTO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REIIEIV 



His commissions are dated as colonel. 
Aug. lo. i8^)2: as brigadier-general, Feb. 
9, 1865; as major-general, .March 26, 1865. 
At the close of the war, (k-neral Gilbert 
took up his abode in Burlington, Iowa, 
whore his mother, two brothers, and only 
sister abode, and then entereil into part- 
nershi]) with his brother, John Webster, 
and W. Dallam Gilbert in the luniher 
business, in which they had been engaged 
since 1851 under the name of (iilbcrt 
Bros., now Gilbert, Hedge & Co. 

Geiural ( iillurt was a lover of the beau- 
tiful, as the grounds about the stately 
homes occui)icd by him at different pe- 
riods in Burlington attest. His home on 
Prospect Point, coiumanding an extensive 
view of the Mississip]>i River, was one 
of the handsomest in Burlington. His 
stables were always filled with line horses, 
for which he had the keenest apprecia- 
tion, and the lion of the stables was the 
beautiful bay war-horse "Dandy," who 
h:i<l been his companion throughout the 
war. 

In 1877, he cml>arke(l in extensive min- 
ing transactions with his old-time friend 
and ])art!U'r, "Diamond Joe" Reynolds, 
of .St. Louis, of steamboat fame, and re- 
moved to Georgetown. I-'or the next 
seven years succeeding he continued to 
live in Colorado, at various points, but a 
year and a half previous to his death had 
taken up his abiding place in Topeka, 
Kans., where he quietly dropped asleep, 
never to wake, Saturday night, Feb. 11, 
1884, the cause of his death being paraly- 
sis of the heart. .\ To])eka pajier com- 
mented as follows: "One of the most 
distinguished and gallant soldiers of the 
Civil War has just <lied in this city." His 
funeral took place in Burlington, where. 



in the (iilbert lot in .\spen Grove ceme- 
tery, he lies amidst his jjarents, child, broth- 
ers, and others of his kin. 

The Iowa pajiers commented freely 
upon his life and death and the nobilit\ 
of his character. I quote as follows: 
"General liilbert was lor many years a 
citizen of Burlington, and his death will 
cause widespread regret among the many 
who admired this high-principled, digni- 
fied, genial gentleman. .As a citizen he 
was progressive, liberal, and representa- 
tive, and in business affairs and private 
life, was the soid of honor and of excel- 
lence." 

The following is a tribute from a fel- 
low-soldier: "The soldiers who were in 
the Twenty-seventh Iowa Infantry, as 
well as those who were in other regi- 
ments, and who may have been from time 
to time brigaded with the Twenty- 
seventh, are saddened at the death of 
General James I. Gilbert, who was the 
gallant colonel of the twenty-sc\enth. Oi 
the many soldiers of Iowa and the North- 
west who knew Colonel Gilbert, none 
knew him but to love and admire him. 
He was of most commanding physique, 
and always commantled with bravery and 
dignity. It is entirely safe to say that no 
man ever commanded a regiment of men 
whose confidence and love for their com- 
mander were more complete than was 
that of his regiment for him. In the many 
battles through which he ])assed during 
the war, he showed the most consummate 
bravery and daring: but after the battle 
was over, was the time when his great, 
manly heart was exercised for the suf- 
fering ones around him ; and how (|uick 
he was to aid and assist them in distress! 
This same great nature was always his. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1071 



l\Iany, many times have T seen him, when 
on a long marcli. ride alon.ir I'k- line until 
he saw some lame and tired soldier, when 
he would dismount, and having placed the 
weary one upon his steed, would himself 
walk, perhap.s for nnlcs, till he had 
reached camp. Then always before re- 
tiring, he made a visit to each tent in 
the regiment. The colonel, for his good 
soldierly ability and bravery, was made a 
brigadier-general long before the close of 
the war. W'hile tributes have been writ- 
ten and published in some of the maga- 
zines of the day, commenting upon the 
good qualities of the great men of the 
war, yet none of them all was braver or 
kinder than James Isham Gilbert." 

From the Burlington Hazvk-Eye: " Gen- 
eral James I. (Albert, than whom no more 
genial gentleman or bra\er soldier ever 
lived in Iowa, a former resident of Piur- 
lington for many years, died at Topeka, 
Kans., Saturday evening, of paralysis of 
the heart, the unexpected and sad intelli- 
gence of his dissolution being conveyed 
to his aged mother and brothers residing 
in this city, yesterday morning. The news 
was generally circulated upon the streets, 
general regret being expressed at the tak- 
ing away of a man who was the embodi- 
ment of honor, integrity, and bravery. He 
was one of the public-s]Mrited, leading, 
and representative men of I'.urlington, be- 
ing connected v^ilh the lumber firm of 
Gilbert, Hedge & Co. At the outbreak of 
the rebellion, he organized the Twenty- 
seventh Iowa Infantry, which was mus- 
tered in at r)ulni(|ue in 1862. and of which 
Mr. Gdbert was made colonel. His regi- 
ment participated in the expedition to the 
Red River, under the command of Gen- 
eral Hanks, and was engaged in the mili- 



tary operations in Tennessee. .\t the bat- 
tle of Nashville he served with distinc- 
tion, and for the bravery he displayed was 
promoted to the rank of brigadier-general. 
He commanded four regiments and a bat- 
tery of light artillery. Three brigades of 
the army had been repulsed in their ef- 
forts to silence a battery, the capture of 
which was essential to the success of the 
Union forces. ' Can you take that bat- 
tery?' asked General Thomas. 'I can, 
and I will," was General Gilbert's prompt 
and firm reply. He effectually silenced 
the battery ; and later in the day General 
Thomas addressed him, ' I hope vour 
future will be as bright as the star that 
will soon adorn your shoulder.' He was 
made a brigadier-general. At Mobile, 
General Gilbert, by his bravery, won the 
praise of (leneral Canby. He captured 
Fort De Russey, and at the close of the 
war was sent to Te.xas to take charge of 
military affairs, and a short time after 
was mustered out of the service, at his 
urgent solicitation." 

From a Des Moines paper: "In the 
heat of debate, the senators paused long 
enough to hear read and pass a joint reso- 
lution, paying the tribute of the great 
State of Iowa to the memory of her great 
soldier and citizen, who has lately passed 
away. General James Isham Gilbert, of 
the Twenty-seventh Iowa. Several of 
his old soldiers are in the Legislature, and 
in the light of fading day the senators sat 
with bowed heads and busy brains as the 
joint resolution was read, and back rolled 
the \'ears of time, and once more the roar 
of the cannon and tlie whistle of the min- 
nie was heard, and tlic old flag seen ad- 
vancing, carried by the Twenty-seventh 
Iowa, on the bloodv field of Pleasant Hill. 



I072 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and each one respondcil to tlic low call of 
his name by the secretary, in a still lower 
voice, and the joint resolution was adopted 
unaniinonsly, showinj^ that an Iowa Leg- 
islature still dcliphted to honor the name 
of her heroic dead." 

I-Vom the liurlingtoi) IIai\.'k-E\c: — 

"gknkkai. (;ii.1!i:i<t"s military 

KIXORIJ. 

"The 1 "weiity-sevenlh Iowa \oluiileers, 
of which (jeneral (lilbcrt was colonel, was 
recruited in the nortliirn part of Iowa, for 
the most part from counties in the tliird 
congressional district. ( )n the third of 
October, 1862. they were imistered into 
the service, the rolls at this time being 
nine hundred and tifty-tvvo (052) cnliste<l 
men and forty (40) officers. Within a 
wejk after entering tile service, the regi- 
ment was ordered to .Minnesota to aid 
(jeneral PoiJe. Shortly afterward (General 
(iilbert was ordered to Mille Lac. a vil- 
lage on the lake of that name, one hun- 
dred and .twenly-fi\e miles north of St. 
I'aul. there to su])erintend the iJaynicnt of 
annuity to certain Indians. Taking six 
companies of his regiment. Colonel Gil- 
bert marcluMl rai)idly thitherward, per- 
formed the iluties assigned him. and re- 
turiu-<l to St. I'aul on the 4lh of .\'o\em- 
ber. While Colonel (Iilbert was absent 
on the march to Mille Lac, Major How- 
ard, commanding the four companies 
whicii had liieii left ,it h'ort Snelling. re- 
ceived orders to rejxirt with his detach- 
ment at Cairo, 111. Cpon returning to 
St. I'aul. Colonel (iilbert received simi- 
lar orders, and immeili.alelv proceeded 
to Cairo. The united command re- 
ceived orders to march with the forces 
under General Sherman. The men com- 



plained loudly of the (piality of their arnts. 
which were old Prussian muskets, jjoor 
at best, but Colonel (iilbert had the nerve 
and tact to satisfactorily sileiue .ill com- 
plaints," 

While General (jrant was inaugurating 
the cam])aign against Vicksburg, the 
Twenty-seventh Iowa was posted in de- 
tachments at various places on the rail- 
road, not far froiu Jackson, Colonel (iil- 
bert being in ct)mmand of that post. He 
here won the highest com])liments of (len- 
eral Oglesby for his energetic adminis- 
tration, which was es]>ecially commend- 
able on account of the unrelenting sys- 
tem whereby rich inhabitants wxre coni- 
jjelled to contribute to the su])])ort of the 
indigent L'uion people who had been 
driven from home, and sought jirotection 
within the lines. In the ca])ture of Little 
Rock, the regiment did not take an active 
])art. the fighting of the occasion being 
done princi])ally by cavalry and artillery. 
The regiment remained op])osite the city 
about two months, on guard and ])icket 
duty, (."olonel (iilbert the most of the time 
being in command of the brigade. On 
the 15th of Xovember, he moved his com- 
mand by rail to Durrall's I'luff. and going 
thence by steamer down the White and 
up the Mississippi River, reported to Gen- 
eral llurlburt at Memphis, near which 
city they went intt> (piarters, and there 
remained till near the close of January. 
1864. ( )n the 26th of January of that 
year the regiment moved down the river 
to X'icksburg, and engaged in the battle 
of IMeasant Hill, in which Colonel (iilbert 
was wnuniUd in the hand during the 
afternoon, but remained in the field 
thnnighout the engagement. .\l)ove and 
below (jreenville, .Marmaduke was doing 



DES MOINES COUNTV, JOll,!. 



1073. 



much damage, (jcncral Smith left Vicks- 
biirg to dislodge the troublesome intruder, 
who was routed, and the l)loekade of the 
river raised. In this spirited alTair, in 
wdiich the losses were about one hundred 
and twenty-five (125) on each side. Col- 
onel (Gilbert commanded the brigade. 
Throughout the campaign of Tupelo, he 
commanded a brigade, and the regiment 
bore its full share of the labors, skir- 
mishes, and battles. In the battle of 
Xashville, the Twenty-seventh, Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Lake commanding. Colonel 
Gilbert ])eing in conuiiand of the brigade, 
took a prominent ])art, entering the rebel 
works, or engaging any trooi)s on their 
part of the line, capturing guns ;ind ])ris- 
oners, and doing its whole duty, with a 
bravery unsurpassed. The regiment was 
the jjivot of General Smith's army, which, 
making a grand left whet'l, swung an.uind 
the enemy's left, fighting splendidly all 
the way, capturing e\ery fortification in 
the front, sex'eral lines of good works, 
and large numbers of prisoners, the colo- 
nel commanding, and his troops won 
great eclat for their conduct on the field. 
It was not long afterward that Colonel 
Gilbert was promoted, without a ])article 
of political influence, to the rank of briga- 
dier-general. His brigade in this contlict 
met with casualties numbering only 
ninety-one, a most honorable and gratify- 
ing fact, which may be accounted for by 
the wild firing of the rebels. 

"The Twenty-seventh next ])articipated 
in the campaign against Mobile. On 
April 2, it was sent out with the brigade. 
General Gilbert cunimanding. on a recon- 
naissance, with the oliject, also, of open- 
ing communication with General Steele, 
about to invest the works of lilakel)'. It 



was on this march that General (Jilbcrt 
narrowdy escaped death from a torpedo 
buried in the road, whicii was exploded 
by his horse trampling on it. General 
(Gilbert was entirely uninjured, although 
the sand was driven with such force 
against the horse as to start the blood all 
along his sides. General (Gilbert moved 
with General Canard's army division to 
the k'ft of (ieneral .Steele, now besieging" 
lUakely, the regiment doing excellent 
service. On April <), an impetuous charge 
was made on the rebel works, and the 
garrison fell. In this fine success, General 
( iilbert's brigade captured eight ijieces of 
artillery, six hundred prisoners, with a 
loss to itself of less than thirty men, 
killed and wounded. He gave higli praise 
to all the officers and men o£ his com- 
mand. General Gilbert, for his gallant, 
skilful conduct in ibis brilliant operation, 
was again recommended for promotion, 
which no doul)t he would ha\a' at once 
receivicl but for the cessation of hostili- 
ties. He was brevetted a major-general 
.soon afterward. .\t Montgomery the 
command awaited orders for mustering 
nut. ( )n the 2,^1 I if Jime. General Gil- 
bert issued an eloquent farewell a<ldress 
to his troops, and de])arted for the North, 
l)earing with him the benedictions of all 
bis old comrades in arms. Such is the 
military record of General Gilbert, tiriefly 
told. He was a bold, fearless, intrepid 
commander, and brave as the bravest." 

I'ersoual : In regard to General (jil- 
bert's education, he attended for a time 
the school in I'rairie du Chien, but later 
the grandfather ( lilbert sent East for a 
tutor for his children, and he resided in 
his famil\. The children ac(|uircd a flu- 
ent commaml of the I'rench language as 



I074 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



taught tluin by the Canadian French, and 
were conversant with the languages of 
the several tribes oi Indians by whom 
they were surrounded. ( jrandniothcr Gil- 
bert employed an Indian nurse, and the 
children, with this nurse, would fre- 
quently ])ass an entire day with the Chip- 
pewa tribe unmolested. Their free, health- 
ful, out-of-door life developed in the boys 
the fine physique for which they were 
noticeable, making of them the strong 
and rugged types of manhood that ren- 
dered tluiii veritable "sons of Anak."' 
General (iilbert was nearly six feet in 
height, broad-shouldered, and of good 
weight in ])roportinn to his height. My 
father was never tired of rehearsing his 
deeds of bravery and his nobility of char- 
acter. He was the ideal son, brother, 
husband, and father, and of such mag- 
netic sweetness of nature as to draw all 
men unto him. W'c children grew up 
reverencing our soldier uncle, and con- 
tinue to revere his memory, and feel that 
" To live in hearts we leave Ix^hind, is not 
to die." 



ROBERT BURNS. 

No history of Des Moines county 
would be coni])lete without mention of 
Robert Burns, who has passed the nine- 
tieth mile-stone in life's journey, and is 
therefore one of the most venerable citi- 
zens of this i)arl of the State. He is so 
well ])reservcd, however, both mentall\' 
and physically, that he would hardly lie 
accredited with that number of years by 
those unfamiliar with his history. In 
spirit and interests he seems yet in his 



prime, and kee])s well informed concern- 
ing the events of the day. He was born 
March 21, 181 5. in .\dams county, Ohio, 
his jjarents being Andrew and Hannah 
(.\danis) Burns. He comes of the same 
family to which belonged the illustrious 
bard of Scotland. Robert Burns. His 
father was a farmer, and was reared in 
Pennsylvania, whence he removed to Vir- 
ginia, and afterward to Adams county. 
Ohio. The education of Robert Burns 
was obtained in the olil-time subscrijjtion 
schools, and it was not until he was 
eighteen years of age that he had the 
opportunity of attending a free school. 
He began his education in a dilapidated 
old log building with greased paper win- 
dows, and in one end of the room was 
an immense fireplace. There were slab 
seats, and the desk was formed by laying 
a slab u])on wooden pegs driven into the 
wall. 

Robert Burns left Ohio, after edu- 
cating himself in both vocal and violin 
music, and in 1856 went to Morning Sun. 
Iowa, where he lived and taught music 
for ten years. He then removed two 
miles north of the town, where he spent 
three years, and in 187 J came to his pres- 
ent home in Yellow Springs township, 
purchasing forty acres of land. He after- 
ward sold twenty acres of this, and now 
retains the remainder. He was married 
Jan. 31, 1837. to Miss Jane Milligan. who 
was born in Adams county, Ohio, April 
22. 1811;, and was also educated there in 
the early schools. Her ]iarents were 
James and Mary (Pilson) Milligan. .Mr. 
and Mrs. Burns jiad one child, .Mary 
Caroline, who was born Feb. 12. 1830- 
and died of cholera .Vug. 7, 1849. 

Out of the kindness of their hearts, 



DES MOINES COUNTY. IOWA. 



IOTt 



liDwevcr, they liavo given homes to other 
ehildren. They adopted Evaline Trimble, 
\vh(3 was i)orn in western Iowa, Ang. 7, 
1873, and was a dan,t,diler of IIum])hrcy 
and Phclia (\'aughan) Trimljle, who 
came hy wagon to eastern Iowa. The 
father died when thirty-five years of age, 
leaving the family, consisting of the 
mother and six children (the eldest being 
only nine years of age), in very limited 
financial circumstances, and Mr. and Mrs. 
IJurns then adopted the daughter, Eva- 
Una. After the loss of her first husband 
Mrs. Trimble married George Mason, 
and they have one child, Etta Pearl, who 
now lives at W'oodburn, in Clark county, 
Iowa. The other members of the Trim- 
ble family were: Mar\' Minerva, who 
died at the age of thirty-tliree years; 
John \'auglian, living in Sioux Rapids, 
Iowa; Cora Luella, wife, of Millard 
Sprinkle, living three miles east of New- 
port, Iowa; William .Andrew, residing at 
Genesee, Idaho; and Anna Deborah, who 
died at the age of eight years. The other 
child whom Air. and Mrs. Burns adopted 
was Adelaide Grubb, a daughter of John 
and Adeline Grubb. She married Joseph 
Lenty, and lives two miles north of Morn- 
ing Sun. 

Mr. and .Mrs. linrns have now traveled 
life's journey together for sixty-eight 
years, and for several years past their 
friends have gathered on each anniver- 
sary of their wedding to celebrate the occa- 
sion. Jan. 31, 1905, the celebration was 
held in the spacious home of Mr. and 
Mrs. R. G. Reed, and one hundred and 
thirty-five guests were present. A sub- 
stantial meal was served, and afterward 
an interesting program was rendered, a 
number of speeches being made by those 



present, while some excellent musical 
numljers were rendered. There were 
also many letters of congratulation and 
greeting from absent friends, and the oc- 
casion was one long to be remembered by 
every one present. Mr. and Mrs. Burns 
are always in attendance at the old set- 
tlers' meetings, and it was arranged that 
at the last meeting this venerable couple 
of near!)- ninety years were to sing. They 
did so ; and others who were to take part 
then declined to fill their places on the 
program because .Mr. and Mrs. Burns 
had done so well. 

He followed the profession of teaching 
music for over twenty years after coming 
to Des .Moines county, and from the age 
of eighteen years until about two years 
ago he was leader of the church choir, 
and is still one of the bass singers. Mr. 
Burns yet operates all of his own farm, 
and nearly every year also rents an addi- 
tional tract. I'oth he and his wife have 
long been devoted members of the Re- 
formed Presbyterian church. In 1903 he 
suffered an accident whereby all of his 
ribs on the right side were broken, to- 
gether with his collar bone. He was 
driving a team of horses from Mediap- 
olis, which, becoming frightened at a 
burro, threw him from the buggy; but in 
due course of time he recovered his 
health. Mrs. Burns also enjoys good 
health, and her eyesight and hearing are 
very slightly impaired. Since joining the 
Reformed Presbyterian church she has 
missed only three communion days, and 
.Mr. Burns has missed but one since 
eighteen years of age. They are a re- 
markable couple, and their lives of 
Christian rectitude furnish an example 
well worthv of enuilation. 



1076 



BIOGRAPHICAL REl'lIiW 



JOHN WILSON WILLIAMS. 

John Wilson Williams, who was prom- 
inently connected with many of the early 
surveys of the State, and has left the im- 
press of his individuality and ability upon 
the le}^islation of Iowa by reason of his serv- 
ice in the State Senate and his influence 
in political circles, was bom in Qiarlotte, 
\ t.. .March 25, 1816, his parents being John 
Wilson and Minerva (Barnes) W'illiams. 
His education was acquired in the early 
schools of his native town an<l in the high 
scliool at Ileinsburg. IK- was reared by 
Mrs. .\nna I'arnes. his grandmother and also 
his guardian. an<l when he was twenty years 
of age she gave him a portion of his patri- 
mony, having complete confidence in his 
business ability and trustworthiness. He 
then started out in life on his own account, 
making his way westwanl to Hancock 
county. 111., where he made investments. 
He determined to become a surveyor, and 
received his theoretical knowledge of the 
profession from a Mr. Johnson in Wrmont. 
while his ])ractical training came from Mr. 
Sheldon, a noted civil engineer of Jackson- 
ville. 111., under whose direction he followed 
the business until lu- became a practical and 
skilled civil engineer. 

Mr. Williams maintaimil his residence 
in Illinois until 1S41), when he came to Des 
Moines county. Iowa, where he had pre- 
viously purchased three hundred acres of 
land lying in various tracts. He settled on 
a tract of one Inmdrid acres in Section 13. 
Huron township. ;md thereon continued to 
make his home initil iiis death, which ])eriocl 
covered almost forty-five years. He de- 
veloped this ])ro|)erty from its jirimitive 
condition, turning the first furrows in the 
fields, and continuing the work of improve- 



ment until modern buildings and rich har- 
vests gave evidence of his care, supervision, 
and practical methods. Indeed, his farm 
became one of the best in the comity ; but it 
did not re|)resent alone his landed posses- 
sions, for. as he was able to save from his 
profits a sum sufficient for further purchase, 
he added to his land, anil at one time was 
the owner of twenty-seven hundred acres, 
while at the time of his death he retained 
possession of alxmt si.xleen lumdred acres. 
He also became greatly interested in stock- 
raising, and fed many hundred cattle. He 
likewise pastured many others, his landed 
interests giving excellent o])i)ortunity in this 
direction. IK- also followed surveying, after 
his arrival in this county, and as an expert 
representative of the profession he surveyed 
the bomidary line between .Missouri and 
Iowa, and also surveyed many of the islands 
in the .Mississippi River for the government. 
He did only exjjert work in this line, having 
gained a rei)utation as one of the most 
skilled followers of the calling. 

In his political affiliations .Mr. Williams 
was a Whig in early life, casting his first 
presidential ballot for the candidate of that 
party in 1837. I'jjon the organization of 
the Republican ])arty he joined its ranks, and 
was one of its stanch advocates throughout 
his remaining days. .\ man of marked in- 
fluence and capability, his fitness for leader- 
ship was readily recognized, and he was 
elected to the State Senate, where he ren- 
dered conspicuous and distingui.shed service 
to the connnonwealtli. i !<.■ was also a repre- 
sentative in the lower house of the State 
Legislature, and was connected with many 
important constructive measures, while to 
each cptcstion which came up for settlement 
he gave earnest and thoughtful consider- 
ation. 



DES MOIXliS COl'XTV. IOWA. 



1077 



Mr. Williams was married in P,iirlin<^l()n. 
Dec. I, 1847, to Miss Julia Ann Robison. a 
daughter of Charles and Jerusha ( Kellogg) 
Robison. Mrs. Williams was born in Ohio, 
on Mill Creek, where her people were i)rom- 
inent pioneer residents, her natal day being 
Feb. 14, 1822. The six children born of 
this marriage were as follows : Herrick-. born 
Oct. 7, 1848, in Hancock county. Til., mar- 
ried Emma J. Pugh, a daughter of James 
L. and IMary E. (Barnett) Pugh. They 
have three children living and three de- 
ceased : Frank H., who resides on the 
island: Maggie, who died in 181/) at the 
age of fifteen years ; James Wilson, who is 
married, and resides upon part of the old 
homestead farm; Ida M., wife of Ed. Alc- 
Fadden, living in Oakville ; Charles, who 
died in T887, at the age of nineteen 
months; and Elmer, who died about 1891, 
when nine months old. Lela Minerva, the 
second child of Mr. and Mrs. Willi;iiiis, died 
when about twenty months old. Wilson 
Barnard, living in ( )akville, owns a ])art of 
the old homestead ])roperty in Huron town- 
ship, but much of the farm was sold to 
German settlers who located here in 1902. 
Minnie Minerva, the next member of the 
famil\-, died in 1886 at the age of twenty- 
five years. Julia Eliza is the wife of David 
\\'addle, a resident of West Plains, Mo. 
One child died in infancy unnamed. 

Mrs. Williams came to Des Moines county 
at a very early epoch in its development, and 
was one of the first school-teachers within 
its borders. She did not regard her own 
education as completed at that time, and 
afterward continued her studies in Warsaw, 
Carthage, and Galesburg, 111. She remem- 
bers the boats that plied the rivers in 1829, 
and relates many interesting reminiscences 
of pioneer times. In fact, she has written 



many articles concerning the early days, 
and is one of the most intelligent and cul- 
tured j)ioneer women of the county. To her 
husband she was ever a faithful companion 
and helpmeet on life's journey. 

Mr. Williams was a Congregationalist 
in religious faith, and took an active and 
helpful part in every movement tending to 
promote the social and material welfare of 
the coninumity, and to uphold its legal, po- 
litical. an<l moral status, lie Ijonght land at 
the fir.st land sale held in this locality, and 
served as deputy county surveyor of Des 
Moines county while still at work in Illinois. 
I-'rom that early day until his death he was 
closely associated with the improvement and 
progress of this section of the State, and 
was numbered among its luost distinguished 
pioneer residents, his efforts contributing to 
the best interests of the commonwealth, as 
well as to his home comnuuiity. He was 
thorough in all that he undertook, pos- 
sessed keen discernment, recognized possibil- 
ities and utilize<l advantages not only for his 
personal profit and achancement but also for 
the welfare of the whole community. True 
nobility of character won him high esteem, 
strong purpose caused his efforts to be 
crowned by successful accomplishment, and 
thorough reliability made his name a re- 
spected one wherever it was known. 



HERMAN MEYERS. 

11i;kma.\ .Mmykks, owner of extensive 
landed interests in Des Moines county, 
his realty holdings aggregating six hun- 
dred and twenty acres, was born in Prus- 
sia. C.ermany, .Aug. 13, 1839. When three 
years of age he was brought to .America 



1078 



BIOGRAPHICAL REyiEiy 



by his parents. Henry and Mary (Smith) 
Meyers, wlio embarked on an old-time 
sailing vessel, which, after ten weeks and 
four days spent upon the water, dropped 
anchor in the harbor of New Orleans. 
They then continued their journey up the 
Mississippi River to St. Louis, and on to 
I'.urling'ton. 

When he had reached 1 )es Moines 
county, the father purchased one hundred 
and twenty acres of land in I'enton town- 
slii]). In his farm work he was intensely 
I)ractical, and his resolute purpose and 
laudable ambition proved effective in win- 
ning success. .-\s the years went by he 
added other land, and made his h(jme up- 
on the farm until his death, which oc- 
curred in 1885. when he had reached the 
very advanced age oi eighty-eight years. 
Mis wife had long since ])assed away, 
having died in i!^53. when fifty-tliree years 
of age. In their family were six children, 
of whom Charles, of Hancock county, 
Illinois, Mary, the wife of Theo. Ickof, of 
I'lUrlington. and Herman, are still Ii\ing, 
while I-'red. William, and Charles, have 
passed away. 

Herman Meyers, reared in this county, 
has been familiar with its development 
and ])rogress for more than six decades. 
He shared with the family in the hard- 
ships and trials thai form a part of the 
exi)erience of every pioneer settler, and 
as his age and strength permitted he more 
and more largely aided in the work of the 
home farm. Eventually he became the 
owner of land, and carried on farming on 
his own account. 

It was in 1863 that Ik- juirchased one 
hundred and twenty acres in Yellow 
Springs, Benton, and Franklin townships, 
and as his financial resources have in- 



creased he has wisely placed his money in 
land, which is the safest of all invest- 
ments, until he now has over six hundred 
and twenty acres. He has also given 
much land to his children, and he expects 
soon to retire from the farm and remove 
to Mediapolis, where he will spend his 
remaining days in well-earned ease, en- 
joying the fruits of his former toil. At 
<:)ne time he was (|uite ^extensively en- 
gaged in the raising of cattle and hogs, 
and was accounted one of the most pro- 
gressive and prosperous agriculturists of 
the county. At the time of the Civil War 
he was drafted for service, but he fur- 
nished a substitute. 

In March, 1861. Mr. .Meyers was mar- 
ried to Miss Mary Granaman, a daughter 
of Christ and Caroline (Ueckman) Grana- 
man. Ten children have been born of 
this union: I.onie. the wife of Henry l!re- 
der; Louis; Molly, the wife of Henry 
lUirney ; William ; Lona, the wife of John 
Thie: ICmma, the deceased wife of 
Charles Ileizer; Minnie, at home; and 
three who died in infancy. 

Mr. Mej'ers has always been generous 
with his family, and devoted to their wel- 
fare. He is a man whose many personal 
traits of character are in accord with the 
elements of good citizenshi]), honesty in 
l)usiness. and reliability in all life's rela- 
tions. 



JAMES HENDERSON. 

TiiK State of New York has furnished 
scores and scores of men who have set- 
tled in nearly every State in the Union, 
and by so doing have assisted very ma- 
terially in the ui)building of the same. 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1079 



Iowa claims a goodly number of New 
Yorkers, among them being James Hen- 
derson, of this review. He is a son of 
William and Margaret (Smith) Hender- 
son, and was born in Meredith, Delaware 
county, N. Y., Aug. 23, 1838. His parents 
were married in TJelawarc county, Xew 
York, and became the parents of eight 
children, six of whom grew to maturity : 
Mary, married James Cummings, and 
lives in Louisa county, Iowa ; ElizalxHh 
and John B., both deceased ; Margaret, 
the wife of Thomas Cummings, has passed 
away ; Hugh, died in tlie Civil \\'ar, after 
serving for a year and a half ; and James, 
of this review. 

The father came to Iowa in 1S53, and 
located in Yellow Springs township, 
where he purchased a large tract of land, 
consisting of two hundred and ten acres, 
from Samuel McElhinney, where he es- 
tablished his Western home, in which he 
lived till he was called to his home be- 
yond the skies. He was a member of the 
Reformed Presbyterian church, and a 
man whose aim in life was of the very 
highest. 

The education of our subject was be- 
gun in New York, and as he was but 
fifteen years old when he came to Des 
Moines county, he had the privilege of 
attending the district schools in his 
adopted home. W'hen his school days 
were at an end, he turned his attention 
to farming, remaining under the parental 
roof for many years. 

March 27, 1867, Mr. Henderson was 
married to Miss Mary Jane Huston, a 
daughter of John and Susanna (Craig) 
Huston. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henderson 
have been born nine children: Susanna 
Margaret : Hugh I., lives on a farm ad- 



joining his father's; William John; Let- 
titia A., is Mrs. James Carson, of Wyman, 
Iowa ; Josiah James, at home ; Mary Isa- 
belle, married Leonard .\. I-'lindt, and re- 
sides at Evans, Colo.; Lettie Almira, a 
twin to Lettitia, died at the age of six 
months ; Rosa Etta, died when about four 
months old; and an unnamed infant, also 
deceased. 

.Mr. Henderson has three hundred and 
thirty-eight and one-lialf acres of land, 
one hundred of which is in Section 6, one 
iiundred and sixty in Section 8, and 
eighty acres in Section 7. When this 
property fell into the hands of Mr. Hen- 
derson, it was in its ])rimitive state, only 
eighty acres being broken. All the nice 
and modern iniiirovements were made by 
our subject and his father, the former 
having erected a comfortable dwelling of 
eight rooms and the necessary conve- 
niences for grain and stock. Mr. Hender- 
son and his son annually raise on an aver- 
age of about fifty head of hogs, five to 
ten head of cahes, and three or four colts, 
mostl}- of the draft stock. They also raise 
a few colts of fine bred fast stock. This 
place is well kept up and is one of the 
best in the county. 

In all public enterprises Mr. Hender- 
son has been an active, energetic worker, 
and no one stands higher in the respect 
and confidence of the people of this com- 
munitv than does he. 



HON. JAMES BRUCE. 

jA^rEs Bruce was born March 19, 1814, 
in Frederick county, Virginia, and died May 
I, 1888, at Mediapolis, Iowa. His father, 



io8o 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



fames Bruce, was a native of Frederick 
county, and volunteered as a soldier in the 
Revolutionary army, in 1779, when' seven- 
teen years old. His father was a Quaker, 
and opposed to his son bearing arms, and 
through the influence of his friends. Law- 
rence Washington, a nephew of deneral 
Washington, had hini made wagon-master, 
and he served in that position. The mother 
of James Bruce was Ann B.. a daughter of 
Morris Job and Lydia Bond, of Maryland. 

The family removed to Highland county. 
( )Iiio. in 1815. and James came to Des 
Moines county. Iowa. .\i>ril 1, li^^j, three 
tlays later entering a claim which was his 
for thirty-eight years. 

lie married Mary H.. a daughter of 
Judge David Rankin. March 28. 1839. He 
was a member of the first Ixianl of supervi- 
sors of Des Moines county in 1861. also iti 
1862-63, 3nd chairman of that body. He 
was a member of the House of Represent- 
atives of the tenth general assembly in 1865. 

His later years were spent quietly in his 
home in Mediapolis. Both his sons served 
in the Civil War. the elder, Lawrence H. 
C. liruce. dying from wounds received at 
^'ellow Bavou. La. 



SAMUEL FULLENWIDER, M. D. 

Dk. Sa.ml'ki. 1- 1 i.i.k.s w idkk. who for 
many years was an active member of the 
medical jjrofession of Des Moines county, 
and whose kindly spirit and Christian 
life, as well as ])rofessional skill, made 
him honored and respected by all men. 
was born in Shelby county. Sejit. 6. 1803. 
His boyhood and youth were passed 
without incident of s|><ci;il im])ortance. 



and m 1858. when twenty-five years of 
age. he was married to .Miss Jane Hous- 
ton, a native of Mason count\ . Kentucky. 
Soon afterward they removed to Indiana, 
locating near Lafayette, where Dr. I"ul- 
lenwider engaged in the practice of medi- 
cine, for which work he had i)reviouslv 
prejiared. In this cajiacits- he did much 
good throughout the community, being a 
conscientious practitioner whose labors 
were effective in alleviating suffering and 
checking the i-avages of disease. While 
in that locality he became deeply inter- 
est v-d in the founding of Wabash College, 
and did everything in his power to ])ro- 
mote the enterprise. 

In 1837 Dr. F"ullenwider removed from 
Indiana to Iowa. locating in the village 
of Wllow S|)rings. but subsecpiently ]nir- 
ciiased a tract of lan<l known as the Leon- 
ard \- Seeds farm. He erected thereon a 
brick residence, and it was in that home 
that his wife died in 1843. and her grave 
was the first made in Kossuth cemetery. 

in Deceni!)er. l.S4h, I )r. !• iillcnwider 
was again married, his second union be- 
ing with Miss .Mary .\. Blair, daughter 
of Thomas Blair, a ])ioncer resident of 
l)es .Moines county. She died in 1836, 
and her rem;iins rest by the side of his 
first wife. 

Dr. l-"nllenwi(Ier continued the practice 
of niediciiie after removing from ^'elIow 
S])rings to Kossuth, traveling in the in- 
terests of his |>rofession all over the 
northern part of Des .Moines county, un- 
til in atlvanccd years he gave u)) ])rofes- 
sional service. He was a ])hvsician 
trusted and well beloxed. and kept in 
touch willi the progress ai the medical 
fraternity. In jniblic affairs he was also 
active and |)ro!ninenl in his community. 



DF.S MOIXrS COUSTY. IOWA. 



1081 



He became one of the eleven charter 
members who organized the Yellow 
Spring;s Presbyterian church (X. S.) of 
Kossulh, So])t. 12, 1840, and in connec- 
tion with Thomas I'.lair and John ikindy 
constituted the first board of ndins^ elders 
of tile new church. At the time of the 
amalgamation of the Round I'rairie and 
Yellow Springs Presbyterian churches, 
on the basis of reunion of the old and new 
school bodies, adopted liy the two assem- 
blies Xov. 10, i86g, the membership of 
the two churches was transferred to the 
new organization known as the First 
Presbyterian church of Kossuth, and Dr. 
Fullenwider continued his membershi]) 
therewith until his death, being a regular 
and generous contributor to its support. 
The cause of higher education also found 
in him a warm friend, and he was one of 
the founders and a charter member of 
Jefferson Academy, of Kossuth, which 
was organized in the winter of 1844. 
Questions of state and national imjior- 
tance also elicited his attention, and he 
gave his co-operation to many measures 
for the general good. He was a member 
of the last Territorial Legislature of 
Iowa, and a mend)er of the Senate of the 
first general assembly following the ad- 
mission of the State into the Union. A 
man of strong and decided views, he al- 
ways had the courage of his convictions, 
and many instances are cited of how he 
stood resolutely for a position which be 
believed to be right, even though he had 
the strong opposition of the majority. 

Dr. Fullenwider passed away at the 
home of his ilaughter, Mrs. Narcissa J. 
McDill, in Preston, Iowa, Nov. 19, 1896, 
and was survived by the following chil- 
dren: J. H. Fullenwider, of Missouri; 



Xarcissa J., the widow of the late Judge 
J. W . .McDill, of Preston; Sanniel, who is 
living in Pjclleville. 111.; and .\. L. I'ullen- 
wider, of Colorado. Dr. hullenwider was 
a man of wonderful will power, of strong 
convictions, and had a keen sense of right 
and wrong; he never faltered in his ad- 
herence to a course which hi^ conscience 
and his judgment sanctioned. During his 
acti\-e life he was regarded as a leader in 
his comnnmity, and he also bore no un- 
important i)art in framing the early pol- 
icy of the State. Few men in the com- 
munity filled a larger sphere in shaping 
the destiny of Des Moines county, for he 
left his impress for good upon various 
lines of activity which find consumma- 
tion to-day in the splendid material, in- 
tellectual, and moral ]>rogress of the 
countv. 



PROF. S. O. THOMAS. 

li)i;xTiFiEi) with the work of the ])ublic 
schools of Des Moines county, Iowa, for 
more than forty years, and during the 
greater ]iortion of that period occupying 
a ])riiminent place in the forefront of 
educational jarogress in Iowa, is Prof. 
S. O. Thomas, who was born Dec. 12. 
1838, in Elizabethtown, Pa., a son of 
Thomas Francis antl Xancy (Kiln) 
Thomas. In his youth he removed with 
his parents to Washington county Penn- 
s\lvania. where he attended the scliool 
that afterward (levelo[)ed into the West- 
ern Xormal School. .\s a boy and as a 
vonng m.in he was variously em|)loyed. 
but at the inception of the war between 
the .States he relinquished all care for his 
private interests, and resolveil to devote 



I082 



nrnck.ii'Hic.iL re\ iiiir 



himself to the service ol his country. Ac- 
cordingly he enlisted on ( )ct. I, 1861, in 
Company 1), Kighty-tifth Pennsylvania 
Volunteer Infantry, and was assigned to 
Casey's Division of the .Army of the 
Potomac. .\t his own rc(|iiest he was 
transferred, in iS()_'. to the Independent 
New York Light .\rlillery. and with this 
force he remained lor about one month, 
when the advance was made on York- 
town, lliere he had the misfortune to be- 
come the victim of illness, and with others 
was left in the hospital at that ])lace, and 
later was removed to P.altimore, where 
he remained until discharged on July 4. 
1863. returning immediately to his home. 
During his military e-\])erience he was 
engaged in a number of skirmishes, but 
on account of his illness was jjrevented 
from |)articipating in the great battles of 
the war. 

At the close of the Civil War, Professor 
Thomas, linking his fate with that of the 
West, came to Des Moines county, ar- 
riving here in December. 18O4, and took 
uj) the work of teaching in the rural tlis- 
trict schools, .\fter three very successful 
terms in the country schools, he was 
called into the service of the Hurlinglon 
city schools, in the spring of 1867, and 
this has ever since been the scene of his 
efforts for the ad\ancement of education, 
he teaching continuously for approxi- 
mately forty years (with the exception of 
three years on account of poor health) in 
one school. During that time he was the 
jirincipal, an office which he still retains, 
and whose duties he has discharged with 
such marked ability that his re-engage- 
ment year after year has always been con- 
sidered a matter of course, and only modi- 
fied in the ])ublic mind by the possibility 



that he might be induced, i)_\ M>nie of the 
many flattering offers that have come to 
him from other cities, to desert the local 
field. He has always chosen, however, 
to remain loyal to his first choice; and 
although the school comprised at his 
coming only one hundred twenty pupils, 
the number rapidly increased under his 
leadershij). finally attaining the six hun- 
dred mark, with a corps of nine assistant 
teachers. In i8<>7 the old school edifice 
was destroyed by fire, and a new and 
modern structure consisting of twelve 
rooms, steam-heated, has been erected. In 
that year also a redistribution of school 
districts in the city limits cut off a large 
portion of the old territory, thus decreas- 
ing the number of |)upils to three hundred 
seventy-six : but more modern methods 
have been adopted, and while the number 
of pupils has been reduced, the number of 
assistants has been augmented to twelve, 
a change which has resulted in a marked 
increase of efficiency. 

( )n .\ov. 2. 1871, Professor Thomas 
wedded Miss Jessie Donnell, a daughter 
of Thomas and Kuth Jane (Braden) Don- 
nell, and to them have been born six chil- 
dren, two of whom (lied in infancy, wliile 
four survived until maturity, these being 
as follows: Frank, now a resident of 
Lewistdii. Idaho; Stella .May, who was 
killed in an elevator acci<ient in Chicago, 
Jan. 2/. Kpi ; IJert, also a resident of 
klaho: and Jessie, now a student in Par- 
son's College, at Fairfield, Iowa. 

Politically, Professor Thomas is allied 
with the Republican party, and in ad- 
dition to his other activities has long been 
a prominent worker in the cause of re- 
ligion, being a member of the Presbyte- 
rian church, which he has served for many 



DES MOIXES COUXTV. IOWA. 



1083 



years as deacon, and he still holds that 
office. As a man and a citizen his long 
and upright course has won him universal 
approbation, esteem, and regard, and his 
record of splendid achievement as an edu- 
cator is for his adopted State a matter of 
unbounded pride and self-gratulation. 



T. A. MERRILL. 

T. A. Merrill, editor and proprietor 
of the Neiv Era, at Mediapolis, was born 
in this town Jan. 2, 1878, a son of James 
and Jessie R. (Telfer) Merrill. The 
father. James \\". Merrill, is a native of 
Ohio, his I)irth having occurred in Mos- 
cow, that State, July 31, 1833. In 1855, 
subsequent to the death of his parents, 
he came to Iowa, being at that time a 
young man of twenty-two years. He was 
married Dec. 17. 1863, to Miss Jessie R. 
Telfer, who was born in Dundee, Scot- 
land, April II, 1839, and is a daughter of 
Alexander and Margaret (Robertson) 
Telfer. Subsequent to his marriage Mr. 
Merrill removed to Illinois, where he lived 
for a nund^er of years. In 1869 he re- 
turned to Northfield, and taught in the 
schools of that neighborhood for several 
years. In 1875 he purchased of O. S. 
Green the printing plant at .Mediapolis. 
and conducted the ])aper for some years 
under the name of The Enterprise, after 
which he changed it to the Xezi.' Era. He 
then published the |)aper semi-weekly 
until May, 1904, when it was purchased 
by his .son, T. A. Merrill. 

Mr. Merrill served for a short time in 
the army as a member of Company Ci, 
Forty-fifth Iowa Infantry, but because of 



physical disability was unable to take a 
very active part in the service. He has 
for many years figured prominently in 
journalistic and literary circles in Des 
Moines county, and was the publisher of 
the Yellow Springs and Huron townships 
history. 

T. .\. Merrill ])nrsued his education in 
the public schools of Mediaiwlis, and in 
his youth became familiar with the prin- 
ter's trade, gaining practical experience 
in his father's office. In 1899 he ])ur- 
chased the Nichols Gaaette office, which 
he still owns, and conducted that paper 
until May, 1904. when he purchased the 
Xeiv Era office of his father, and has since 
continued the publication of the latter 
journal as a semi-weekly ])aper. It is a 
bright, enterprising sheet, devoted to the 
dissemination of general and local news, 
and has a large circulation. 

Mr. Merrill was married to Miss Mattie 
H. Miller, a daughter of Miles M. and 
Jane (Sheppard) Miller. They have no 
children. 



MARLOW M. COON. 

Maui.ow .M. Cooi\, who is following 
farming and stock-raising in a practical, 
])rogressive, and profitable manner in Yel- 
low Springs township, was torn Oct. 11, 
1846, his parents being Samuel and Maria 
(Cook) Coon, both natives of New York. 
Removing to the West, they settled in 
Hancock county, Illinois, coming to that 
State with their family of seven children. 
They started by boat, and two of the chil- 
dren. Rozeltha and Milo, died while en route. 
The five children who lived were, Erniina, 
Rosanna, Caroline, Lorenzo, and Lucy, but 



ioH+ 



inOCR.IPHlC.lL KEIIIIW 



Fvosaiina died at the age of nineteen years. 
The fatlicr's death occurred in lUinois, May 
17. iSiS". while his wife passed away June 
-'3. 1 88 1. 

Marlow .\l. Coon acconipanied his par- 
ents on their removal to Illinois, .\fter 
reaching adult age he was married in that 
State to Miss Mary E. Hamilton, a daugh- 
ter of George and I'olly A. (Owens) 
1 laniilton, and a native of Indiana. She 
was only four years old when her |)arents 
removed to Illinois. Mrs. Coon was born 
June 15, 1848, and by her marriage has 
become the mother of the following named : 
(iarah Hell, hnm Sept. 4, 1868, is the wife 
of W . 15. I'olk, a resident of Denver, Colo. ; 
Samuel Edward, born I'eb. 26, 1870, is liv- 
ing in Burlington ; Wilson Weekley, born 
Oct. 4, 1873, makes his home in Kossuth ; 
John Thomas, born Jan. 24. 1875. is a resi- 
dent of Chicagc); Charles .\rtluir. born July 
9, 1877, 's located in Xorthfield, this county : 
.Marlow Clinton, born Sept. 28, 1879. is liv- 
ing in I'airfield, Iowa ; Margaret I'della. 
born Sei)t. 20. 1881, is at home : Orval I'irch. 
bi>rn ( )ct. 30. i.'<S4, is residing in Moline, 
111.; and George N'ictor. born I'cb. 14. 1888. 
is with his parents. 

At the time of the Civil War, .Mr. Coon 
offered his services to the government in 
defense of the I'nion cause, enlisting in 
March, 1863, as a member of Company D, 
Sixty-fourth Illinois Infantry. He joined 
the regiment at Carthage, 111., and was mus- 
tered into service at Springfield, that State. 
His command was assigned to the army of 
the Trinussee. ami he participated in all the 
engagements in which the regiment took 
part, including those of the .-\tlanta cam- 
l)aign and the celebrated march to the sea 
under General Sherman. Mr. Coon was ever 
faithful to the cause which he espoused, 



and remained with his command until after 
the close of hostilities, when lie received an 
honorable discharge at Louisville, Ky., and 
was mustered out at Chicago, in i8<')5. 

Returning to his family in Illinois, Mr. 
Coon continued to remain in that State 
until 1887, when he came to Iowa, and here 
he has continuously followed farming, hav- 
ing a good tract of land in Sections 29 and 
30, Yellow Spring.s' townshi]), twenty acres 
being on the former section, and sixty 
acres on the latter. This property has been 
partially tiled, but much of it has natural 
drainage, the alluvial soil producing excel- 
lent crops. The land has all been cleared 
and placed under a high state of cultivation, 
so that the farm returns an excellent income 
to the owner as a reward for his capable 
Tiianagement and practical efforts in culti- 
vating the place. He |)iirchased this property 
from .Mrs. .Mc.Meen in .March, 1887, and im- 
mediately took possession, since which time 
he has carried on general agricultural pur- 
suits. He has also made a study of the 
raising of hogs, keeping on hand an average 
of twenty-tive head of Poland China an<l 
Duroc Jersey hogs. He is a member of the 
(irand .-Xrmy post at .Mediapolis, and in 
politics has been a stalwart Republican since 
casting his first presidential ballot for Gen- 
eral Grant. 



ROBERT McELHINNEY. 

RoitERT McElhinnev, one of the pioneer 
settlers of Des Moines county, was a native 
of Ireland, and after residing in Louisa 
county, Iowa, for a time, he came to this 
county, arriving May 28, 1840. It was 
largely a wild and unimproved region, but 
he feared not the hardships and trials inci- 



DES MOINES COUXTV. IOWA. 



1085 



dent to frontier life, and resolved to make a 
home for himself and family in this section 
of the State. He therefore took up land 
from the government, becoming the owner 
of about four hundred acres, and the farm 
upon which his son, Joseph M. McElhinney, 
now resides is a part of the original tract. 
The entire farm lay in Des Moines county, 
but Mr. JMcElhinney always made his home 
just across the boundary line in Louisa 
county. He was an enterprising agricul- 
turist, a man of enterprising purpose and 
determined spirit, and in his fanning opera- 
tions he accomplished whatever he under- 
took. He died in 1883 ^' the advanced age 
of eighty-seven years, and thus passed away 
one of the well-known pioneer settlers of 
this section of the State. He had contrib- 
uted in substantial measure to the earlv 
development and progress here. His wife 
died about 1873 at the age of seventy-three 
years. She was also a native of Ireland, 
and their marriage was celebrated ere they 
emigrated to the New World. They became 
the parents of five children : Catherine, now 
deceased; Gavin, who is living in Morning 
Sun, Iowa ; John, of Leavenworth, Kans. ; 
Joseph .M., who occupies the old home farm ; 
and Samuel, who has also passed away. 

Joseph M. McElhinney was born in Ca- 
yuga county. New York. Oct. 26, 1829, and 
was ten years of age when he came to Iowa. 
He pursued his education in tiic early sub- 
scription schools, the schoolhouse being built 
of logs, and furnished, after the primitive 
manner of the times, with rude benches and 
a big fireplace. Reared to the occupation 
of farming, he has always followed that pur- 
suit, and is now the owner of one hundred 
and ten acres of valuable land on Section 
4, Yellow Springs township. The greater 
part of this is under a high state of cultiva- 



tion, and he also has twenty acres of timber 
land in Louisa county. He has made all 
of the im|)rovements ujjon his farm, erecting 
his large dwelling in 1876, and the barn in 
1875. There are other substantial buildings 
on the place for the shelter of grain and 
stock, and these in turn are surrounded by 
well-tilled fields. Mr. .Mcl'^lliinney raises 
annually from fifty to sixty head of hogs, 
mostly of the Duroc breed, and he also has 
some high-bred Hereford cattle. 

On Feb. ly, 1862, Mr. McElhinney was 
united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Wil- 
son, a daughter of Robert and Mary (W^il- 
son) Wilson. Her father was one of the 
original Covenanters in this ])art of the coun- 
try, and assisted in organizing the church in 
Yellow Springs township. He was a man 
of strong mentality and force of character, 
and he left the impress of his individuality 
for good upon the lives of those with whom 
he came in contact. Mrs. McElhinney was 
born in Ohio. March 28, 1833, and died Oct. 
7. 1895. By her marriage she had become 
the mother of three children : .\nna. the wife 
of Matliew Hutchinson, of Yellow Springs 
townshiij ; .\ancy, who died at the age of 
two years ; and William, who is superintend- 
ing the home farm. He was born in Yellow 
.Springs township, .April 5, 1868, and was 
married Jan. 3, 1895, to Miss Mary Ken- 
nedy, whose birth occurred Nov. 29, 1872. 
and who was a daughter of James Kennedy. 
Mr. and Mrs. William McElhinney have 
three chiklren : ( )live May. Ixirn June 18, 
1896: James M.. burn Jan. 2\. 1899: ami 
Martin Wilson, Ixirn July 2"/, 1904. The 
McElhinney family has been represented in 
the county from early pioneer times, and its 
representatives have always been known as 
enterprising agriculturists, reliable business 
men, and faithful citizens. 



lo8b 



BIOGRAPHICAL REllIiW 



THOMAS HUTCHCROFT. 

Thomas Hutchcroit was born in York- 
shire. F-lnglaiid, May 5, 1819, and died at 
his home in MediapoHs. Iowa, June 13, 1905 

He was united in marriage to Miss Eliza- 
bi-tli Fowler, Aug. 16. 1855. To this union 
one child was born, which died in infancy. 
The couple came to America in 1858, and 
settled in Des Moines county. They lived in 
this township most of the time since coming 
to this country, and for many years they 
lived on the farm east of and adjoining the 
town. In 1892 he retired from the farm and 
settled in town, where he spent the remain- 
der of his days. 

Mr. Hutchcroft — or Uncle Tommy, as 
lie was familiarly called — was a man of 
good habits, worthy of the confidence of all 
his relatives and neighbors ; honorable in 
all his dealings with his fellow-men. He 
was a loving husband, and his was a most 
hos])itablc home, where all his friends — 
who were legion — were always made wel- 
come. He leaves an aged wife, with whom 
he had lived half a century. 

The funeral was held from the family 
residence on Harrison Street at 1 : 30 p. m.. 
Thursday, and was attended by a large con- 
course of relatives and friends. The casket 
was covered with many beautiful and costly 
Howers given by loving friends. Rev. \V. H. 
Perdew conducted the services. .\ few 
nuisical numbers were renderd by Edward 
Bridges. M. L. Blake, Miss Circe Wagner, 
and Miss Margaret McConnell, Miss Lou 
Rogers playing the organ. The remains 
were then conveyed to Kossuth cemetery, 
where they were laid to rest until the resur- 
rection morn. The |)all-bearers were 
nephews of the deceased, and were as fol- 
lows: I'" rank Driiikall, of Yarmouth; John 



Drinkall, of Yannouth ; Henry Drinkall, of 
\\'\ man ; Tiiomas Drinkall, of this place ; 
William Pilling, of this place; and Oscar 
Hutchcroft, of Arapahoe, Nebr. 

People who were in attendance from a 
distance were: Mrs. .Anna .\t1lick, .St. Paul, 
Minn.: .Mrs. Hannah jordon, Mrs. Eliza 
RundorfT, and .Mr. and Mrs. Geo. Dotter- 
wich, of Burlington ; Mr. and Mrs. Moody, 
and Mrs. Geo. Lane, of Winfield ; Mrs. 
Elizabeth Drinkall, Mr. Wren Hutchcroft, 
Mr. and Mrs. George Hutchcroft, Mrs. 
Jessie McCann, Mrs. Mary Seickmann, .Mr. 
and Mrs. Geo. Drinkall, Mr. and Mrs. Gil- 
liar<l. and Miss Gladys Drinkall, of Yar- 
mouth; -Mr. and Mrs. John Jack, of New 
Port. 



WILLIAM SCHAFFNER. 

WlLLIA.M SCHAIF.VER, of Burllngtoll. 

deputy sheriff of Des Moines county, has 
been a factor in the progress and upbuild- 
ing of his adopted city along industrial 
lines, and by his long and honorable part in 
public affairs has merited and won the 
esteem of those who know him. Mr. 
Schaffncr was born .April 4, 1835. in Unter- 
maszfeld, duchy of Meiningen, Germany, 
a son of Christopher Schaffncr, a minister 
of the Lutheran church, and Carolina 
(Fleischman) Schaffncr, the former of 
whom died in 1840 and the latter in 1880. 
Our subject is one of a family of five 
brothers and one sister, of whom he is the 
last survivor, all the others being now de- 
ceased. He received his schooling before 
leaving his native land, being educated in 
a Real school, where he learned the French 
and English languages, and also studied the 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



1087 



economy of agriculture for a two years' 
term on a large farm where actual farming 
operations were conducted. Mr. Schaflfner 
(lid not, however, drop study when he com- 
pleted his term at sclifwl, but by constant 
reading and observation has come to be a 
well-informed man. 

When only seventeen years of age Mr. 
Schaffner decided that the best field for 
his activities was to be found in America, 
and he accordingly took passage in the 
sailing vessel " Itzstein & Welker," from 
which, after a voyage of sixty-two days' du- 
ration, he landed at Baltimore on Aug. 17, 
1852. From that city he traveled by rail to 
Cincinnati and thence by boat to New Or- 
leans by way of the Ohio River. He re- 
mained in New Orleans during a period of 
eight months, during which he acted as 
clerk to an architect, and then went to 
Louisville, Ky.. where for fifteen months he 
was employed by a garden marketman. For 
one year he occupied a position as clerk in 
a delicatessen store in Louisville, and in 
1885 he came West and located in Burling- 
ton. He shortly formed a partnership with 
Mr. Philip Bauer, in association with whom 
he built what is now the Burlington brewers- 
of Casper Heil. The firm, which was con- 
ducted under the name of Bauer & 
Schaffner, continued to operate the brewery 
for seventeen years, or until the business 
was abandoned in 1872. 

During this period of his residence in 
Burlington, ^Ir. Shaffner made many 
friends in the city and throughout Des 
Moines county, and as an active worker 
for the success of the Democratic party won 
much popularity and universal appreciation 
for his determined character and strength 
of purpose. LTn<ler the administration of 
Mavor Adams he was appointed city 



market- and weigh-master, an office which 
he held for a .short time, and when the 
death of Sheriff Latty left that office vacant 
he was nominated by his ])arty ior the 
place and elected in the fall of 1872. Later 
he was re-elected and continued in office 
for a total period of seven years, so satis- 
factory was his adminstration. His dis- 
charge of his duties was at all times highly 
effective, for he conscientiously regarded 
his office as a sacred trust, and one in which 
he was morally obliged to serve the people 
and the public interest with absolute and 
unfailing fidelity. Upon the expiration 
of his last tcmi as sheriff of Des Moines 
county, he engaged for six or seven 
years in soliciting work for the American 
Publishing House of Chicago, for whom 
he traveled in Nebraska selling the " En- 
cyclopedia of Health and Home," with 
which he had excellent success. Dur- 
ing the incumbency of Sheriff George 
Smith he received appointment as deputy 
sheriff, and has remained in that office 
during the tenure of Sheriffs Muenzen- 
meier, Ernest, and Williams. 

At Burlington on Nov. 22, 1855, Mr. 
Schaffner was united in marriage to 
Miss Dorothy Giebrich, who was born in 
Germany, and came to .America when only 
seven years of age, in company with her 
parents, who died at Centerville, 111. To 
them have been born ten children, seven 
of whom survive, as follows: Mrs. C. W. 
Cornell, Knoxville, Iowa ; Bertha, wife of 
M. Block, also of Knoxville ; Mrs. Dorothy 
Forsman. widow of J. P.. Siegfried, of St. 
Louis : Ida, unmarried, director of the 
Kindergarten on North Oak Street, Bur- 
lington ; William, of Burlington, a traveling 
salesman ; and Angela, who is a member of 
her parents' household. Mr. Schaffner is 



io88 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



a nicmlHT and faitliful worker in the Ger- 
man Lutheran clnirch, with which he has 
been actively connected for a long term of 
years. He was formerly a member of the 
Turner Society of I'urlington, but has 
droi)i)e<l from its membership roll. His 
political affiliation was with the Republican 
party until 1888, at which time he changed 
his allegiance in view of the fact that the 
question of Prohibition then became an 
issue. In 1859 he receivetl the honor of 
election as alderman from the third ward 
of Burlington under the administration of 
Mayor Corse, but owing to the pressure of 
private affairs he resigned after a short 
time. 

He displayed a jieculiar talent and abil- 
ity in business, but owing to circumstances 
beyond his control and by reason of great 
misfortune has suffered heavy financial 
loss. .\t the time of the failure of the 
brewery business he lost the entire fortune 
which he had accumulated up to that 
time, but nothing daunted by this calamity. 
he at once made a new beginning, and by 
care, industry, and stnuid judgment se- 
cured a competence by his own efforts. 
Through his long and honorable course of 
life, his high integrity and absolute up- 
rightness anil hiMKsu have won for liitn 
the deepest admiration and regard of all 
who know him, and he is to-day rich in the 
friendship of many of Burlington's most 
eminent .sons, men who have witnessed for 
many years the purity of his private life 
and his unsullied public career. He has 
deserved well of his fellow-citizens, both 
for what he has accomplished for their 
welfare and for the magnificent example 
of his life, and to no man is their respect 
vouch.safed in a truly greater or a higher 

degree. 



EDWARD HEIZER. 

Ekwaki) Hicizer is one of the pioneer 
settlers of Des Moines county still identified 
with its interests. He came here first in 
1844. arriving after a long journey across 
the country with a two-horse team and 
wagon : and after staying about three weeks 
he returned to his native county in Ohio. 
He was born in Ross county, Ohio, Nov. 13, 
1822, his parents being Samuel and Mary 
(Ware) Heizer. The father removed from 
X'irginia to Ohio, and it is thought that he 
was a native of Maryland. He died in the 
Buckeye State at the age of fifty-one years 
and eleven months, and his wife passed away 
in ( )hio when si.xty-seven years of age. In 
their family were thirteen children, of whom 
Kdward was the tenth in order of birth, 
and the only other surviving member of 
the father's household is his sister, Mrs. 
William .Anderson, a widow, who resides 
with her daughter in Highland county, 
( )hio. 

lulward lieizer began his education in 
the old-time subscription schools of his 
native State, the little " temple of learning " 
being a log structure fumisiied with slab 
seats, a puncheon floor, a long, narrow win- 
dow ina<le by removing one of the logs, and 
slab writing desks. The methods of teach- 
ing, too, were primitive when com|)ared 
with those of tlie jiresent day, but students 
were well grounded in the three essential 
branches of reading, writing, and arithme- 
tic. Mr. Heizer was reared to the occupa- 
tion of farming, which he has followed all 
of his life; and attracted by the possibilities 
of the growing West, he came with a two- 
horse team to Media|)olis in 1844. Soon he 
made arrangements whereby he purchased 
eighty acres of land in Section 24, Yellow 



DF.S MOfXrS COUNTY. IOWA. 



io8g 



Springs township, about a mile from the board of his district. At one time he was 

village, and later he added forty acres, coimectcd with the Know-Notliing society, 

while subsequently he purchased another 1 le belongs to the Presbyterian church, and 

tract of fifty-eight acres. This, however, he in his life has exemplified his faith in his 

sold to George Walker, while subsequently honorable relations with his fellow-men and 

he sold his original claim to Hope Eland, in his active and straightforward business 

This was all in a wild state when it came career. His mind bears the impress of the 

into his possession, and he developed it early history of the county, with all its 

into one of the fine farms of the township, pioneer conditions, its hardships and trials, 

on which he erected a modern farnihouse its pleasures and iiuerests : and his mem- 

and other commodious and substantial build- ory, as it were, has a ])annramic view of 

ings, adding likewise all of the equipments the development as the county has emerged 

and accessories found upon a model farm from a wild state, taking on the improve- 



ments known to the older Ea.st, keeping also 
in touch with modern ])rogress. 



HON. BENTON J. HALL. 



of the present age. Here he lived until 1904, 
when he purchased a nice residence in 
Mediapolis, where he now makes his home, 
living in well-earned ease and retirement 
after long, active, and honorable connection 
with agricultural pursuits. 

Xov. 20, 1845, ^Ir. Heizer was unite<l in 
marriage to jMiss -Anna Harper, a daughter .\If.n of marked ability, fnrcetul char- 

of Joab and Lydia (Jones) Harper, and a acter, and upright purjjose leave their im- 
native of Ross county, Ohio, bom April 2, press u])on the world written in such in- 
1825. For many years she traveled life's delible characters that time is powerless to 
journey by his side, proving a capable com- obliterate their memory, or sweep it from the 
panion and helpmeet to him : but Sept. 28, minds of men. The force of their example 
1903, she was called to her final rest. There spurs to emulation, and what they have 
were six children born of that marriage, of accomplished is an inspiration to those who 
whom five are living: David X., born Xov. come after them, while their sterling virtues 

live on forever in the hearts of those who 
have known and loved them, and are cher- 
ished in the annals of the community in 
which they lived and labored as faithful 
citizens. 

Uenton J. llall, deceased, in manner was 
always dignified, courteous, and kind, being 
of a very affectionate but somewhat re- 
served disposition. He rose step by step 
through indefatigable industry to wealth, 
honor, and inlluence. and numbered among 



II, 1846, now engaged in mining inter- 
ests, his home being at Colorado Springs. 
Colo. : Joab H., born Oct. 22, 1849, now 
a farmer of Iowa: Clara E., born July 8, 
1853, and died .\pril 6, 1856; Lydia E., born 
Mav 4, 1856, now the wife of Thomas 
Eland: .\ddie J., born June 5, 1859, now 
the wife of George E. Blake ; and Robert E., 
born June 10, 1836. now a farmer of Col- 
orado. 

In his political affiliation Mr. Heizer has 
long been a stalwart Re])ublican, and was his friends persons in ail walks of life. In 
for a number of vears treasurer of the school early life he was an enthusiastic outdoor 



lOUO 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



sportsman, and greatly excelled in what- 
ever he undertiKjk. His natural reserve 
kept him from joining any of the many 
secret societies, and whatever his personal 
popularity, it rested upon his ability and in- 
tegrity alone, and derived no assistance from 
friendships drawn from these associations. 
He inherited from his father, one of the 
prominent pioneers of Burlington, a mind 
of unusual strength and activity. 

His father. Judge J. C. Hall, a lawyer 
of mark, his chief characteristic being great 
force and clearness. He was always spoken 
of as one of the most powerful lawyers of 
the West, and won his way by sheer force of 
intellect to a position u|)on the supreme 
judicial bench of the State. Nothing could 
exceed the per.sonal devotion of Mr. Hall 
to the memory of his father ; and sometimes, 
in the power with which he bore down upon 
a jury or court, it seemed as if the son ex- 
ceeded the father. 

]\Ir. Hall derived a poetic, imaginative 
faculty from his beloved mother, which 
sometimes led him into refinements, but 
added a charm of imagery and fancy that 
contributed to make him popular as an 
orator. His was a very conservative dis- 
position, never following after fads of any 
kind, and it was always easy to know where 
he stood upon any public question. If he 
was sentimental, he never was unsound. 
.Mways a Democrat of the old school, a 
strict constructionist, opposed to all sump- 
tuary legislation, or doubtful experiments in 
tinance, he was steadfastly loyal to his party. 
\\ liile a man of reserve<l temperament, he 
was a man of the greatest courage in ex- 
pressing his conviction, regardless of con- 
sequences. During the war period, being a 
Democrat, he did not hesitate to speak his 
mind freely even in the midst of great ex- 



citement in the community. Similar cour- 
age he often exhibited in the conduct of 
his legal business, never concealing his 
views nor mincing his words through cow- 
ardice. His mind was especially useful and 
serviceable in legislative and judicial direc- 
tions. 

When in the State senate he was a rec- 
ognized leader — was looked to for leader- 
ship. But the judicial (juality was most 
conspicuously shown in the position of com- 
missioner of patents. This is essentially a 
judicial position, requiring, to make it a 
success, a rare combination of scientific 
ability and talents of a jurist. These Mr. 
Hall possessed and exhibited to a marked 
degree, according to the unanimous opinion 
of those who were best qualified to judge — 
the examiners and members of the bar. 

Mr. Hall was favored with public honors 
to a greater extent, jierbaps. than any other 
early citizen of Burlington. He was for 
eight terms city solicitor, for years president 
of the school board, a member of both houses 
of the Legislature and of Congress, and 
candidate of his ])arty fi>r attorney-general 
and judge of the supreme court. These all 
came to him as a favorite of his party and 
the ])eo])le. but it can be truly said that they 
did not come from his self-seeking. Ho 
could not ])ush himself, ami he never would 
try. The oftices sought him because of his 
ability, integrity, and reliability. In these 
qualities he was popular, but not in any abil- 
ity to solicit support for himself. He would 
never have been a success as a politician or 
wire puller, because he was not a politician, 
but eminently a statesman. 

Mr. Hall was born in Mt. X'ernon, Ohio, 
Jan. 13, 1835. He was the only surviving 
son of J. C. Hall, and came to Burlington 
in 1840. Shortly afterward the family set- 



DES MOIXES COLWry. lOirA. 



log I 



tied in Henry County, but came back to 
Burlington a year or two later and made 
this city their permanent home. Young Hall 
received his primary education in the Howe 
School, of Alt. Pleasant, afterward gtjing to 
Kno.x College, Galcsburg. where he con- 
tinued till his junior year, and was gradu- 
ated from Miami Cniversitv. of Oxford, 
Ohio, in 1855. I'pon his return from col- 
lege he entered upon tiie study of law in 
the office of his father, and after two vears' 
reading under tiie tutelage of that eminent 
jurist, was admitted, in 1856. to practice in 
all the courts of the State. At different 
subsequent periods he was associated in the 
practice of law in this city with his father. 
Judge S. B. Huston. \\". \\'. Baldwin, and 
E. S. Huston. 

April 16, 1857, Mr. Hall was married to 
Miss Louise Webb, of La Fayette, Ind., the 
youngest daughter of the late Col. David 
and Mrs. Sally T. \\'ebb. Mrs. Hall 
was always a faithful, helpful companion 
to her husband. There was a great deal 
of literary and oratorical talent in her 
family. Mrs. Hall possesses a mind of 
rare ability, is a woman exceedingly well 
posted on all the issues of the day, and 
is considered authority on all literary sub- 
jects. She is a lady of dignity and refine- 
ment, perfectly at home in any circle where 
culture and refinement exist. Perhaps her 
greatest charm is that of a brilliant conver- 
sationalist, and she. too. like her departed 
husband, has friends among persons in 
every station of life. 

In 1861 Mr. Hall became the candidate of 
his party in Des Moines county, for the 
State Legislature, but was defeated at the 
polls. Tn the years that followed his first 
legislative race he suffered himself to be- 
come the candidate of his party many times. 



though never with the chance of election 
in his favor, owing to the adverse political 
com])lexion of the county and State. He 
was earnest in his ])olitical convictions, and 
never could refu.se when his party friends 
came to him and asked him to be their 
standard bearer. 

In 1862 he was the Democratic candidate 
for attorney-general of Iowa, but was de- 
feated by C. C. Nourse, of Des Moines. 
In 1 87 1 he was elected over J. Wilson 
Williams to represent Des Moines county 
in tile .State Legislature. In 1873 he was 
the choice of his party for Iowa Su])reme 
Court Judge, but was defeated by J. M. 
Beck. He was elected to the State Senate 
in 1881. defeating John Patterson. 

In 1882 he consented to be the Democratic 
candidate for Congress from the I'irst Dis- 
trict, though the district was overwhelm- 
ingly Republican. He was defeated by 
Moses M. McCoid. Again, in 1884, he Ije- 
came the Democratic candidate for Con- 
gress, and was elected, defeating John S. 
Woolson, and was the first Democratic 
congressman elected from this district in 
over thirty years, the last being his uncle, 
the late judge Augustus Hall, of Nebraska. 
He was defeated two years later by Hon. 
John H. Gear. In the spring of 1887 he 
was appointed by President Cleveland com- 
missioner of patents of the United States, 
and served with distinction in this responsi- 
ble position until the close of Cleveland's 
first administration. 

Retiring from public lite, he opened a law 
office in Chicago, with a view to devoting 
himself to patent practice. He was con- 
ceded to be at this time one of the best- 
equipped patent attorneys in the United 
States. But his failing health forced him to 
refrain from entering actively into business, 



IO02 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



and he rctiirnc<l to IJiirlington, fully realiz- 
ing that his days of active life were over. 
Mr. Hall died after a short illness at his 
home, 422 Columbia Street. 

The r3cs .Moines County Bar Association, 
of which Mr. Mall was an esteemed mem- 
ber, convened at the court-room to take 
appropriate and sympathetic action upon 
iiis death. Judge James D. Smyth, presid- 
ing, called the late Hon. George Frazee to 
the chair. W. L. Cooper was made secre- 
tary. On motion of Mr. Illick and amended 
by Mr. Wake, the chair appointed a com- 
mittee of four. .Mr. George Frazee, Mr. 
W. W . Baldwin, .Mr. Thomas Hedge, and 
.Mr. 1-^. .S. Huston (it being in the motion 
that the chairniaii of the meeting act as 
chairman of the committee), to draft suit- 
able resolutions. The funeral of Mr. Hall 
was held from his late home, which is still 
occupied by his widow, and was one of the 
largest ever held in the city. During the 
hours of his funeral the schools were closed 
and all business suspended in attestation 
of their grief for the death of this estimable 
man. The members of the bar attended in 
a body, and Rev. J. M. 13. Davidson, as- 
sisted by Dr. Salter, a treasured friend of 
Mr. Hall, conducted the services, speaking 
words of cheer and comfort to the widow 
and other relatives, and paying a just 
tribute of respect to the dei)arted states- 
man. Mrs. Hall was not alone in her sorrow 
and mourning, for all Uurlington truly felt 
they had lost a good citizen and a man 
whom every one loved and respected. His 
remains were laid to rest in beautiful .\spen 
Cirove cemetery- 

" In a quiet s|)ot, away from tlic heat 
and dust, the mad race for peif and power, 
the anxiety and loss of living, where all 
is calm : out there in the beautiful cemeterv 



— the city of the dead — where there is 
no liarsiicr sound than the song of the early 
bird, come to mingle its melody with the 
voice of the whispering leaves, or the buzz 
of the bees ban(|ueling among the tlowers 
that n<xl and bow their stately heads as if in 
dreams among the shadows of the tombs," 
lie the remains of our departed statesman, 
slumbering on through eternity — at rest 
forever more. 

The following is the eulogy he delivered 
while a member of Congress, upon the death 
of X'ice-President Hendricks : — 

" When we consider how empty and 
tasteless are the rewards of honor and the 
successes of ambition, how vain are the con- 
solations of wealth and power, how fidl the 
world is of wreck and failure ; when we 
look down upon the plains of human life and 
witness the restless, wearied struggle for 
existence, the discontent and misery, we are 
led to ask : Where is there refuge ? What is 
hajjpiness, and where may it be found? 
It is not in camp or court or the busy marts, 
where want and penury call aloud. It is 
only in the home — in that domestic bliss, 
the only liai)]Mness that survived the fall. 
It arises from the pure consecration of two 
lives, one man and one woman, to each 
other. This is not a mere privilege, but a 
necessity to our humanity : without it life 
loses its zest, love its reward, and hope its 
realization. Xo one who by jirecept or cx- 
amjjle imperils the high standard of this 
awful necessity can be regarded as a friend 
to his fellow or a lover of his race. In 
this direction, with what safety and satis- 
faction can we then turn to Mr. Hendricks. 
'llie iinniaculate purity of his private life is 
the ])ro]K'rty and glory of the nation. 

" We may not lift the veil, even in this 
hour of desolation, and intrude the .sanctity 



DES MOINES COUNTY. lOlVA. 



1093 



of that blissful union between him and her 
who yet Hngers here. We know the golden 
cord is broken, but the casket yet retains 
its treasure. Frail pitcher of beauty upon the 
head of purity, borne safely by faithful feet 
to the journey's end through rough and 
tempting paths ! Where can the image find 
pediment or lodgment for contemplation and 
the perfection of our lives save in the peo- 
ple's homes and beside their hearths? And 
there the life and purity of the Indiana 
man has helped to elevate it." 

In concluding this address, which brought 
Mr. Hall into national fame as an orator of 
high intellectual jiowers, he thus expressed 
himself upon the philosophy of life : — 

'■ But. Mr. Speaker, why these ceremonies 
and eulogies? Though they might gratify, 
they reach him not. Are they not really for 
ourselves ? It is ordained for all to die, and 
is there a great undertone, never ceasing, 
which, like a solemn bell, when we listen, 
reiuinds us of mortality ? Alas ! the deep 
strain of human life pours in so constant and 
imperceptibly ! As generation after gen- 
eration disappears, the sullen roar of that 
broad tide which pours itself down the dis- 
tant and precipitous cataract into the dark 
valley of the shadow of death, is so remote, 
inaudible, and low, that we live as if we 
were immortal and would never die. Only 
when the dreadful dart comes home, strikes 
with sudden clangor in the circles of our 
household, or smites down some lofty char- 
acter entrenched in popular affection, are we 
startled out of deep, absorbed preoccupation 
into the consciousness of immortality ; and 
then, trembling and crouching, we wait 
expectant, and it strikes still nearer; then 
fright and fear again. Fear and fright are 
the instruments of safety. They forewarn 
and add speed to flight. But there is no 



safety, no flight from the universal Presence. 
Only one refuge, one need prepare, jirepare ! 
It requires long years of studious applica- 
tion and wide experience to prepare the 
garment to appear in before that august 
Tribune whose seat is near these precincts. 
" The highest social life adorns itself with 
nicest care, puts on its costliest raiment, 
when it comes before presidents and minis- 
ters of state : but there is a tribunal, a court, 
where none may enter unbidden and without 
[)reparation, — not the jircparation of an 
hour or a week, snatched in weakness and 
trembling from long years of health and 
boastful strength, but that which comes from 
long communion vvitii the divine attributes, 
a noble and willing submission to His 
visitations and His judgments, the observ- 
ance of His statutes, and a faith that places 
all things in the hollow of His great hand." 



H. P. SCHEURS. 



H. P. ScHEURS, superintendent of roads 
and ])ridges of Des Moines count\-, Iowa, 
is one of Ihirlington's native sons, having 
been born in this city March i, 1844, a son 
of P. M. Scheurs, who was born in Ger- 
many, and came to this city in 1840. after 
living in .\'ew York, Penn.sylvania. and 
Ohio, where he worked at his trade of cab- 
inet-making. When our subject was but an 
infant, his father died, the date being 1846; 
but the mother, whose maiden name was 
Magdalena Kauffmann. survived him many 
years, and died in Burlington at the age of 
about si.xty years. They were the parents 
of seven children, as follows: Christina, 
deceased wife of P. .\. Andre: Sophia, 
wife of John Demling. of liurlington : Mary, 



IOU4 



lilOCR.U'HICAL RlillEll 



widow (if Charles Wcdcrtz. late of Burling- 
ton : Klizabcth, who resides with her sister. 
Mrs. W'edertz ; Kathcrine. deceased, who 
was the wife of Fred Schildt, of Burlington ; 
II. I*., our subject: and John M. 

Mr. Sclieurs was reared in Burlington, 
beginning his education in private schools ; 
and when the pulilic schools were opened, 
he attended the South Hill school. He 
remained at his mother's home until 1859. 
when he went to ( )bio, wlicre he remained 
until 1S62. working with a cousin on a farm. 
In the latter year he returned to Burlington, 
and began working for the Chicago. Bur- 
lington & Quincv Railroad Company, en- 
tering its emiiloy as brakeman on a con- 
struction train, later doing re])air work and 
being variously employed. When the Mis- 
sissipjii River bridge was built, he was given 
the foremanship of a gang of fifty men 
engaged in putting down stub tracks, haul- 
ing lumber and materials, and similar work. 
I'or one year lie was ])asscnger and freight 
conductor, running between Burlington and 
Keokuk, and in all was engaged in railroad 
work for alxiut ten years, during which he 
gained much valuable exi)erience. which has 
no doubt played an important part in his 
subsequent success. In 1870 he embarked 
in mercantile pursuits, entering the grocery 
antl wholesale ice business with W'edertz & 
Comi)any, the business comprising in addi- 
tion a produce and fruit commission trade. 
which he continued successfully until 1888. 

.Mr. .Scheurs's public activities date from 
1889. when he received from Mayor George 
.\. Duncan the a|)|)ointnient as street com- 
missioner of the city of Burlington, a posi- 
tion in which he served with credit and to 
the general satisfaction until 1894. He then 
was employed by the board of county com- 
missioners to build the highwax north of 



the city known as the North Bottom Road, 
now a magnificent thoroughfare ten miles 
in length. His most important work up to 
the present time, however, was accomplished 
as superintendent of the bniUling of Crapo 
I 'ark — an enterprise requiring a vast 
amount of executive ability and technical 
skill. The site of the ])ark was at that time 
in the rough, encumbered with farm build- 
ings, underbrush, hedges, etc.. and it was 
necessary to take the ground in almost its 
wiM state and bring it to its present per- 
fection. This .Mr. Scheurs did. with only 
the drawn plans as a guide, cutting all the 
roadways, doing all the gratling and filling, 
constructing the walks down to the river, 
clearing otT the ground, putting in the 
sewers and tiling, thus doing all the funda- 
mental landscape work, and leaving it ready 
for the decorations that gave it the final 
form. His pay-roll during all the time he 
was thus engaged was approximately $500 a 
week, alxjut forty men and ten teams being 
employed for two years or seasons on the 
work, to the superintendency of which Mr. 
Scheurs was ap])ointe(l by the first park 
commission, consisting of I'. M. Crapo, 
Charles Starker, and K. Hagemann. 

( )n the successful conclusion of this great 
undertaking, he was appointed by the county 
hoard to the office of suiK-rintendent of 
bridges and highways, to have charge of 
building all bridges, constructing all high- 
ways, and the execution of all other work 
on highways of Des Moines county, such as 
cutting down hills, opening new roads, mak- 
ing big fills or grades, building ajjproaches 
to existing bridges, etc. He has served Des 
.Moines county in this capacity since i8(;4, 
hut was assisted by a foreman deputy during 
the period in which he was giving his atten- 
tion to the construction of Crapo Park. 



DRS MOIXliS COi'XrV. IOWA. 



1095 



In 1867 ^^r. Scheiirs wedded, at Burling- 
ton, ^liss Elizabeth Armknecht, of German 
parentage, who died in 1889, and is buried 
in Aspen Grove cemetery. Mrs. Scheurs 
was a woman of many estimable traits of 
character, and enjoyed a wide circle of 
friendship among the best ])eople of Bur- 
lington. To them were born one son and 
six daughters, these being in order of birth 
as follows : Charles H. : Clara, wife of 
George Yackel. of Fort Madison. Iowa: 
Mary: Katberine : F.mma : Charlotte: and 
Mildred. 

Mr. .Scheurs has achieved a measure of 
success which is highly gratifying to his 
friends and to all those who have watched 
his sure and steady progress, for his success 
is all his own, having Ix'en won without out- 
side aid of any kind : and thus it is that he 
is fairly and fully entitled to the name of 
self-made man — the proudest title which 
any citizen of this nation may bear, and one 
which the greatest ma}- well be content to 
deserve. His career has been long and 
varied, but uniformlv honorable, upright, 
and just in every particular, and his reward 
is the high regard and profound respect of 
bis fellow-men, while the qualities of his 
heart and warm: friendly disposition have 
endeared him to many. .-K member of a 
political ])arty. the Democratic, he has never 
allowed his allegiance, loyal as it is, to 
estrange him from any amicable or social 
relation, and has rather given his most 
earnest thought to the higher interests of 
mankind, finding true e.xpression of the 
ideal side of his nature in his religious re- 
lations. The key-note of his life has been 
useful endeavor and the building of char- 
acter, and in these respects his life record is 
one that should command the careful study 
of all as])iring and ambitious youth. 



SAMUEL HERSCHLER. 

S.\.\iL'Ei. Heusciilkr, in whom the spirit 
of enterprise and business activity finds ex- 
emplification, is a member of the firm of 
Ilerscbier iK: Eisfeld, succes.sors to the Eis- 
feld Cioiliing Company, of Burlington. A 
native .son of this city, he was born Jan. 5, 
1856, his ])arents being Solomon and Caro- 
line (Weiler) Herschler. The father was 
born in German), and came to America 
.ibout 1848, .settling first at Terre Haute, 
hid., where he remained until his removal 
to Burlington. Here he established a 
clothing business, being one of the leading 
merchants of his city. He was also an active 
factor in political circles as an advocate of 
the Democracy, and twice represented the 
third ward in the city council. He was a 
warm admirer of Stephen A. Douglas, when 
the Illinois statesman visited the Democracy 
of this city. Interested in all that pertained 
to public progress, his efforts in behalf of 
the general good were far-reaching and 
beneficial, lie was married in Terre Haute, 
Ind., to Miss Caroline Weiler, who was 
also a native of (iermany. and came to the 
I'nited States on the same vessel on which 
her husband crossed the Atlantic. 

They became the parents of five chil- 
dren, who reached mature years : Henry 
and Hardy, who are now deceased; Louis, 
who is in Pond Creek, Okla. : Samuel : and 
Rachael. wife of G. Schaaf, of Burlington. 
The father was killed May 10, i860, in a 
runaway accident, while taking his children 
out riding, and the mother, long surviving 
him. passed away in 1887. 

Samuel Herschler entered the public 
.schools at the usual age. proceeded through 
successive grades until he had completed the 
high-school course by graduation with the 



1096 



BIOGRAPHICAL RFA'IFAf 



class of 1872. Later he entered Bryant & 
Stratton's Iliisiiiess College, and completed 
the entire course in three months — a work 
that no other ])n|)il of the institution had 
ever accomplished, his previous business ex- 
perience, however, assisting him in this. 
His business career began practically when 
he was hut nine years of age, for at that time 
he began carrying the Ar^^iis. — now the 
Gazelle, — and was thus employed until he 
had completed the high-school course. ( )n 
July 5, 1872, he entered the employ of R. M. 
Raal) & I'.rothers as cashier and book- 
keeper, remaining witii tliat firm for seven- 
teen years, being advanced from one respon- 
sible position to another until 1884, when he 
became a member of the firm. This relation 
was continued until i88y, when Mr. 1 lerscli- 
ler removed to Lincoln, Xebr., where for 
two years he was engaged in the clothing 
business. .Vt the end of that time, E. M. 
Eisfeld. of I'.urlington, wishing to retire. 
Mr. Ilerschler jnircliased his interest in a 
clothing business lure, and became the 
senior partner of iln' linn ot Ilerschler &• 
Eisfeld, successors of the Eisfeld Clothing 
Company, his partner being L. .M. Eisfeld. 
Thev hold eiiual shares, and have conducted 
the business with mutual pleasure and 
profit since i8(;i. They also have a branch 
store at Litchfield, 111., and in addition to the 
eight persons emjjloyed in the Burlington 
establishment, they have five employees in 
the other store, making fourteen persons in 
all. including the ])roprietors. who are active 
in the business. 

Mr. Herschler was married, in 1885, to 
Miss 15ertha Eisfeld, a daughter of E. M. 
Eisfeld, and a native of Burlington. They 
have one child. Irina. who is a graduate of 
the high school of this city. In his polit- 
ical affiliation .Mr. Herschler is a Democrat. 



but without ambition for office, although he 
is well informed on the issues which divide 
the two great parties. He has attained high 
rank in Masonry, and now Ix-longs to Des 
Moines Lo<lge. Xo. 1, .\ncient I'ree and 
Accepted Masons, of which he is a past 
master, and was one of the youngest wor- 
shipful masters of the State, holding that 
office when but twenty-five years of age. 
He also belongs to Iowa Chai)ter, Xo. i. 
Royal .\rch Masons: to Zerapath Consis- 
tory, in which he has attained to the thirty- 
second degree of the Scottish rite : and to 
Kaaba Temple of the .Mystic Shrine. He 
is also connected with the Elks, and is a 
member of the Carthage Lake Fishing Club. 
He has social qualities which render him 
))oi)ular with a large circle of friends, and 
business (|ualifications which have gained 
him i)rominence in the commercial circles of 
Uurlini/ton. 



WILLIAM P. FOSTER. 

Wii.i.iA.M I'. I-'()STi;k, who is the oldest 
active bank officer in Burlington, having 
been connected with the First Xational Bank 
for over thirty-four years.is a son of Lionel 
and Caroline (.Saiupson) I'oster. and was 
bom in Calt, ( )ntario. Aug. 9, 1850. His 
father, who began life as a farmer, was liorn 
near Woodstock, \'t., in 1813. and his 
mother, Caroline Samp.son Foster, was torn 
at Kingston, Canada, in 1813. In 1856 they 
moved from Canada to a farm near Des 
Moines, Iowa, when five years later they 
moved to the city of Des Moines. While 
residing in Canada and Des Moines, Lionel 
Foster was engaged in the shoe and leather 
business. In 1867 he moved to Burlington. 
Iowa, where he engaged in life insurance 



DES MOIXHS COUNTY. IOWA. 



1097 



till his death. He enlisted in 1864, in Com- 
pany H, Forty-seventh Iowa Volunteers, 
and served until the regiment was mustered 
out. Mr. Foster was a Repul)lican, but did 
not aspire to office. He and his wortJiy 
wife were devoted members of the Presby- 
terian church. Mr. Foster being very active 
in his early life in the church in Canada. He 
died Feb. 6. 1879, while his wife survived 
him some si.x years, her death occurring 
Dec. 4, 1885. They are both buried in A.s- 
pen Grove cemetery. 

Besides our subject, Mr. and Mrs. Foster 
left one son, I. G. Foster, secretary of the 
r.urlington Lumber Company, and two 
daughters, Mary P'oster and C. Emma Ivis- 
ter. the latter being supervisor of writing 
and drawing in the iniblic sciimils in l!ur- 
lington. 

William P. Foster received his education 
in the public schools in Des Moines, and 
soon after coming to P)Urlington learned 
the trade of a printer, working on the Gaccttc 
and Argus and Haivk-Eyc till 1871. It 
was also in the _\ear of 1871 that Mr. Foster 
was first engaged by the First National Bank 
as messenger and bookkeeper, which position 
he held till July, 1876, when he was elected 
assistant cashier of the bank, and in January, 
1877, his ability and efficiency secured for 
him the cashiership of the bank. In i8g8 
he was elected vice-president and cashier. 
This First National Bank is one of the old- 
est in the State, its charter number being 35 1 , 
and the business was established .\pril J4, 
1864. June 5, 1900, Mr. i^'oster was mar- 
ried to Miss Elizabeth Julia Robertson. 
daughter of George Robertson, of Burling- 
ton, whose sketch appears on another page 
in this volume. 

By this happy union one son, \\"illiam P. 
Foster, Jr., has been born, his 1)irth having 



occurred .\pril 3. 1902. .Mr. I'dster is a Re- 
publican. In i(p3 Mr. l'"()ster erected the 
home at 403 Court Street, where he now 
resides. Mr. h'o.ster began life enii)ty handed 
an<l with a very limited education, but by 
industry and persistent efforts, coupled with 
high moral principles, has secured his posi- 
tions of trust and honor, till to-dav he stands 
as one of the leading and prosperous citizens 
and business men of the city, where he well 
deserves the esteem and confidence reposed 
in him. 



ALBERT WILLIAM RINKER. 

.\i.r'.i:Ki ^\'. Ri.\Ki:u, one of the younger 
business men of this city, was born in Bur- 
lington township, 13es Moines county, Oct. 
21. 1876. He was the son of John and 
.Margaret (Pfeiffer) Rinker, and spent his 
early days at the home of his father, receiv- 
ing his education in the jniblic schools of 
the city of Burlington, and also the German 
Catholic Parochial .'school. His first busi- 
ness experience was as an employee of the 
Burlington Wheel ^^'o^ks, where he was 
employed about eighteen months, after- 
which he apprenticed hiniself to McConnell 
lirotiiers, in their large iiarness and saddlery 
establishment, remaining with them until he 
had served his full time. His next employ- 
ment was with .Mr. Piaumberger, with whom 
he remained for one year, and was then 
for a time in Rock Island. He however 
returned to Burlington, ami in the fall of 
i8i)7 engaged in business for iiimself, put- 
ling in a .stock of iiarness, and iloing custom 
work, and also repairing at his store, 1700 
' Isborn Street. I'or five months, from 
.March, 1898, he was with .Mr. Xees, when 
he again returned to take a i)osition with 



logS 



lilOCRAI'IIU .11. Rurii-.w 



McCoHiicll I'lrothers. witli wliom lie re- 
mained six years, this long term of service 
for one tirni showing tlieir appreciation of 
his services. Feb. i. 1904. lie again em- 
barked in business for himself. locating 
at 512 Xorth t'enlral .\venne, where he 
opened a good harness and saddlery store, 
carrying a full line of all commodities usu- 
ally found in such an establishment. 

.\'ov. 12. iyo2. Mr. Riiiker was united 
in marriage to .Miss .Mary Eversman. a 
daughter of Henry and .\nna ( Koestiier » 
I-'versman. To this union have been Ixirn 
two children: Ralph Henry, who was born 
Sept. 25, i(p3 : and .\nna Alice, whose birth 
occurred June 7. 11)04. 

I'olitically. .Mr. kinker has never taken 
an active part, voting indei)endentlv for the 
men and measures that he deemed best fitted 
for the |)osition. 



and served for two years. He al.so served 
several terms as chairman of the Ixiard of 
supervisors. In 1882 he was elected alder- 
man at large, which ])osition he held at 
the time of his death, which occurred Sept. 
(k 18S4. 

Nov. 25. i8_V>. .Mr. Robert.son married 
-Miss .Mary I'.elle Henry, daughter of Dr. 
John 1-". Henry, of IJurlington, Iowa. I'nto 
.Mr. and .Mrs. K<itx^rtson were Ixirn three 
children: Mary I'.elle: Klizatxtli Julia, wife 
of William I", b'oster. wlio.se sketch ajipears 
on another ])age in this book, and Dr. 
George .\. Robertson, of Louisville, Ky. 
.Mrs. RolK-rt.son is buried Ix'side her husband 
in .\.s])eii (irove cemetery. They were Pres- 
byterians, and were long faithful and de- 
voted members of the h'irst IVesbvterian 
church in I'.urlington, Iowa. The home of 
.Mr. and .Mrs. RolxTt.son was IcKated on the 
corner of Fourth and Court Streets, where 
their daughter, Mrs. I-'oster. still lives. 



GEORGE ROBERTSON. 

(iKOKtii-; RoiiiiKT.so.N. deceased, a much- 
resjiected and ])rominent citizen of Burling- 
ton. Iowa, for thirty years, was of English 
and .Scotch ancestry, and was l)orn in Jes- 
samine county. Kentucky. .May <). i82<;. 
His parents were Dr. William Iteckwith and 
-Margaret (blelcher) Robertson. Mr. Rob- 
ertson studied law at the Transylvania L iii- 
versitv in Lexington, Ky., where he was 
graduated in the spring of 1854. 

In ilie fall of the same year .Mr. Robert- 
son moved to llurlington, Iowa, and began 
the jjractice of law, meeting with great suc- 
cess. He was a Democrat in politics, and 
ever ready to serve his party to the best of 
his abilitv. In 1872 he was elected mayor 
iif I'.urlington on the Independent ticket. 



THE McMULLIN WOELLHAF CO. 

TkiNrKKs AM) sr.vrio.NKRS, who are in a 
high degree representative of the nnxlern 
energy and enter|)rise which characterize 
hiisiness and industry in the latest phase of 
their development, are the gentlemen form- 
ing the above company, all of whom have 
been for several years residents of lUirling- 
toii. and at the ]jre.sent time rajiidly assum- 
ing a prominent ]x)sitioii aniong the business 
men in their adopted city. Mr. Mc.Mullin 
was born in Huron townshi]), Des .Moines 
count), near .\orthlield. a i)it)neer village 
whose site lia-- long since been deserted, 
the date being 1866, and he is a' son of 
lohn Mc.Mullin. a full sketch of wbose life 



DES MOINES COUNTY, IOWA. 



Toyu 



and ancestry is given elsewhere in the pres- 
ent vohinie. 

In 1880. when he was only fourteen years 
of age. Mr. McMullin began his active 
career, entering at that time the employ of 
a large job printing concern in ihirlington. 
Working at the business contiiniouslv to 
the present date, becoming thoroughly fa- 
miliar with the business in every detail, he 
has won the confidence and respect of all 
with whom he came in contact. Some- 
what more than two years ago. in I-"ebru- 
ary. I<P3. he decided that the lime was 
ripe for the inauguration of his independent 
career, and being ambitious for the achieve- 
ment of a larger success than was possible 
in a subordinate position, he severed his 
connection with his employer at that time 
and established a small printing business 
with his own capital. This enterprise has 
expanded far beyond the original hopes of 
its founder, and is still growing at a rate 
of progress which is truly remarkable. 

In March. I<P5. the McMullin-W'oellhaf 
Co. was organized. Mr. F. (i. Woellhaf 
and Mr. Elmer Sikes taking an interest in 
the business. 

^Ir. I", (i. Woellhaf was born .\ug. I, 
1877. in liurlington, Des Moines county, 
where he spent his early life, and he 
began working at the |)rinting business in 
1892. and developed marked ability in the 
■■.\rt Preservative of Arts." becoming thor- 
oughly familiar with the business in every 
detail. He has an inclination for military 
work. During the ."^iianish-American War 
he enlisted in the Sixth Batter\ . Iowa \'ol- 
tniteers. In the organization of Com]iaiiy 
H. P'ifty-fourth Infantry, 1. N. G., enlist- 
ing as a private, he successively held all 
non-commissioned offices, and in October. 
1904. was elected first lieutenant, which ])o- 



sition he is now holding with, credit to 
himself. He was married to Miss Minnie 
.May .Schaefer \ov. 18, 1903. 

-Mr. Elmer Sikes was born in .\urora, 111., 
in 1861. l)ut has lived in lluriington since 
1870. and was educated in the public schools 
of this city. When a young man he entered 
u])on a business career as a bookkeeper, and 
for twentx years was associated with Mr. 
I'liilli]) M . (.'rapii in the farm loan business, 
and secm'ed his business training in that 
connection. 

lie has other business interests, and en- 
joys a wide aci|uaintance, lx)th in his home 
city and adjoining States. He was mar- 
ried to .Miss .Agnes liock in 1893. 

In May. 189J. .Mr. Mc.Mullin was mar- 
ried to .Miss Antoinette Stiller, of Keokuk, 
Iowa. 

As printers lhe\ are masters of their art. 
and are never satisfied with anything less 
than the last possible degree of excellence 
in the work produced by this establishment 
— a fact wliich is highly significant, and 
in no small measure accounts for their suc- 
cess. The office is located in the Hedge 
building, where ten workmen and assist- 
ants are constantly employed, the business 
consisting of ])rinting of all kinds. Electric 
power is used, and the e(|ui)iment is thor- 
oughh and exclusively modern in every 
i)articidar. 



JACOB M. RISSER. 

JAcoi; M. RissKU. a leading and inlluen- 
tial citizen of Sawyer, Lee county, Iowa, 
and a descenilant of one of the early pio- 
neer families of the West, was born in West 
Point township. Lee county, Nov. 2, 1847. 
the son of Jacob and .\melia (Miller) 



BIOGRAPHICAL REVIEW 



Risser. Jacob Kisser, Sr., was born in 
Bavaria. Cierniany, Dec. 12. 1815. a son of 
Daniel Risser. wlio was born Aug. 25, 1794, 
and of Klizabeth (Smith) Risser. bis wife, a 
liaiig^bter of Henry Smith, and the date of 
the marriage of bis parents was May 26, 
181 1. When a lx)y of sixteen the father of 
our subject worked bis passage to America 
on a saibng vessel, and located at Cleveland, 
Ohio, wlure lie learned the trade of cabinet- 
making, and later established a cabinet- 
making shop of his own, a venture in which 
he was very successful. It was in that 
city on Dec. 8, 1842. that be married Amelia 
Miller, who was like himself a native of 
Bavaria, where she was born May 16. 182 1. 
In May. 1845. Mr. Risser. togctlur with his 
father-in-law and bis wife's sister and bus- 
band, accomijanied by their families, came 
to Lee county, settling in the southwest 
part of West Point township, where they 
moved into a log cabin : and it was in this 
bouse that Mr. Miller and his son-in-law, 
Henry Leisey, on May 10, 1845. became the 
victims of the celebrated " Mormon Mur- 
der." ftjr which the perpetrators of tiie 
crime, who were members of the Hodges 
family. ])aid the i>enalty with their lives in 
July of the same year at lUirlington. Iowa, 
where they were hanged. 

Soon after coming to Iowa. Jacob Risser 
purchasfd ;i farm of eighty acres, which he 
cultivated for a time, and later he owned a 
saw-mill in the village of West Point, oper- 
ating it with considerable j)rofit until some- 
time in the "So's, when it was destroyed by 
tire. He achieved success in all he under- 
took, anfl was respected for the fact that he 
was what is called a self-made man. having 
accumulated a competencx' by his own 
efTorts and entirely without aid of anv 
kind. 



1 le was a Democrat in matters of politics, 
and in his religious connection be was a 
member of the Mennonite church, together 
with his wife, continuing in that faith until 
his death, which occurred in 1896. followed 
by that of bis wife in 1902, they both being 
buried in the West Point cemetery. To 
them were lx)rn the following sons and 
daughters: Daniel I-., who resides in Pleas- 
ant Ridge townsbi]). this county ; John, who 
is a resident of Kansas: Jacob M.. our sub- 
ject: Abraham, who died when young: 
.Mary A.: and Anna, whose death occurred 
in childhood. 

Jacob M. Kisser, the subject of this re- 
view, received a good education in a select 
school at West Point, as well as being 
thoroughly trained in the work of the farm, 
and was employed as his father's assistant 
until the twenty-third year of his age. when 
he wedded Miss Elizabeth Schantz. who set- 
tled in that townsbi]) in i84('). At the time 
of his marriage, Mr. Risser. in company 
with a brother, worked the land belonging 
to the family. Jacob Risser. Sr.. of three 
hundred and forty acres, in partnership for 
six years, after which be bought a farm in 
Pleasant Ridge townsbi]) of eighty acres, 
where he resided until 1891. when be again 
disjKised of his land, and purchased one 
hundred and twenty acres in the north- 
western ])art of Washington township. .\t 
the latter ])lace be resided for twelve years, 
or until 1903, in the spring of which year he 
removed to the village of Sawyer, there 
entering into a ])artnershi]i with G. W. \'an 
Hyning to conduct a mercantile business, 
the style of the firm being \'an Hyning & 
Risser. but the connection has since been dis- 
solved, Mr. Risser retiring in 1904. 

Mr. Risser is widely known in Lee county 
as a progressive and enterprising farmer 



DES MOIXES COUNTY. IOWA. 



IIOI 



who has achieved large and lasting success 
in his work by virtue of business qualifica- 
tions of an unusual order, and his political 
activities have also brought him a large 
circle of friends and acquaintances, as he is 
a prominent member and worker in the 
Democratic party, and has received public 
honors at the hands of the people, having 
been twice elected to the important office 
of county supervisor, and added much to 
his popularity. He has also taken an act- 
ive and helpful interest in promoting the 
progress of religion and morals in his com- 
munity, he and ]\Irs. Risser being consist- 
ent followers of the Mennonite faith, and 
rendering much assistance in the labors of 
their denomination in this section. They are 
the parents of a family of two sons and one 
daughter, to whom thcv have given the ad- 



vantages of modern education and excellent 
home training, and who occupy an honored 
place in the society in which they move. 
These are : Jona G.. a resident of Montrose 
township, this county, who married Miss 
VAVa Claypoole, and has one son, Clay : and 
Elma E., and Irving P., who are members 
of the parental household. 

Mr. Risser, in November, 1904, purchased 
a home in Danville, Iowa, where he is now 
residing. Irving I'., in partnership with 
Charles liurton, purchased the general mer- 
cantile business of L. R. "Kelly & Co., of 
Danville, in October of 1904, and are now 
doing business under the firm nan-fe of 
FUirton & Risser, Miss Elma E. Risser act- 
ing as their chief clerk. 

[Complimentary sketch copied from our 
Review of Lee County. — Editor.] 




INDEX. 



Abercrombie, Col. J. C.. 1035 

Abrahams, James Fox... 1026 

Adams, Hon. Abraham G. loio 

Adolphson, Charles John- 826 

.'\nderson, Andrew Peter. 8ig 

.'\nderson, Carl .\lbert... 600 

.Anderson, Carl Angnst... 538 

.\nderson, Charles John.. 415 

Anderson. James .A 869 

Anderson, John 146 

.■\nderson, Nils 287 

.Andre, Edward 273 

.Andre, John H. 272 

Andre, P. A. 270 

.Andre, Philip C. 398 

Andre, P. Henry 273 

-Archer, Edward Gillam.. 362 

.Archer. George Henry... 853 

Arnold, Jacob 568 

Arnold, John 588 

.Asmussen, Benjamin .... 675 

Aiigutta, William 684 

.Avery, Henry 400 

Baird, James Wallace... 738 

Bailey, John Clark 512 

Bailey, Monroe 965 

Bailey, William Henry. . . 773 

Bandleon, Emil G 65 

Barhydt, Theodore W. • ■ . 548 

Barker, Hon. Charles I. . . 1025 

Barr, James F 847 

Barton, Joseph H 573 

Bauer, Fred Wilhelm-... 312 

Baughman, D. O., Jacob S. 520 

Beardsley, Dr. Charles... loii 

Beardsley, Simeon 560 

Betk, Conrad 849 

Beckman, Edward .Angnst 533 

Beckman, John T 236 

Beckman, Stephen J 463 

Beere, Amos 978 

Beere, Charles 939 

Beere, John 752 

Bendix, Christopher 975 

Bonne, Henry 442 



Bcrges, John Dietrich.-.. 285 

Berges, Sr., John Henry. . 286 

Bergsten, Giistaf Herman 944 

Berlin, William 920 

Bessin, Frederick 389 

Biklen, Charles H 476 

Binder, Joseph 783 

Binder, Joseph G 785 

Binder, Theodore 778 

Binkele, Henry .A 995 

Bird, George W 667 

Bishop. John Riles 590 

Blair, VX'illiam 178 

Clan!, Jolin 265 

Blaiil. Louis 269 

Blaul, Theodore 268 

Bloomberg, Carl J. H.... 171 

Blythe, Joseph W 15 

Bock, Frederick 932 

Bock, Jerome 505 

Boeck, George 544 

Bohlen, John Bernhard-.. 958 

Boesch, George C 158 

Boesch, John 154 

Boner, Wesley Reeves... 506 

Bosch, Charles G 900 

Bosch, George U 808 

Bosch, John George 431 

Bosch, John G.. Jr 431 

Bouquet, Peter 807 

Boyer, .Aaron 635 

Bradcn, John R 438 

Brand. William 663 

Brant, John H 566 

Breder, Casper H 104 

Breuer, Charles August.- 706 

Breuer, Henry 527 

Bridges, John Dilon 705 

Bridges. J. .A 908 

Bringer, .August F 455 

Brown, William E 1046 

Browning, Hon. M. D.... 1016 

Bruce, Hon. James 1079 

Bruhl, Max 800 

Brumm, William 652 

Brun. Emil 885 



r.run. Jll^epll .A 867 

Brydolf, Col. l-",ibian 901 

P.umgardncr, Jacob 576 

Bulirmaster, C. F. W.... 513 

Burdctte. John William.. 1028 

Burdette, Robert J 227 

Burkholdcr. l-'raiik (i 915 

Burnham, Loren i; 143 

Burns, Robert 1074 

Buser, Maximilian 804 

Busse, Frederick William 878 

Cady. Ralph P 606 

Caldwell, Elmer Ellsworth 696 

Caldwell. Milton P 854 

Calkins, Millard B 492 

Cameron, Clarence E. . . . 675 

Garden, John 248 

Carithers, .Andrew French 243 
Carithers, Isaiah Reid.... 681 

Carmean. William R 503 

Carnegy, John Johnson.. 788 
Carpenter, George B. P. . . 188 

Carson, William 16 

Carter. Thomas H 1047 

Cartwright. Stephen 328 

Cartwright, William 11- •. 832 

Caster, Dr. Jacob S 230 

Catlett, Edward W. M . . . 978 
Cave, William I'rederick. . 122 
Chamberlin. Dr. VV. B-... 1042 
Chambers, Governor John 1052 
Clarke, Governor James.. 1054 

Clinc. John .M 955 

Cludy, William 967 

Cochran. Dr. R. 1 395 

Comstock. Joab C 160 

Conkling. ICdwin B 496 

Conley. .Melvin Deloss... 383 

Connor, .M. C 1032 

Cook. Lyman 689 

Coon. Marlow M 1083 

Copcland. William W 56 

Corse, Gen. John M 1017 

Cowles, La Monte 34 

Cowles. D. D.. Rev. W. F. 332 



1 104 



IXPfiX. 



Cox, Daniel V 346 

Crap... Philip Ashley 468 

Crapo, Philip M 11 

Crawford. John R 397 

Cross. William C 192 

Dannii-s. William I-' 697 

Uaviy, Charles E 81 j 

Davis. David William 113 

Deam, James 665 

Dcarlove, George W 938 

nohii. John G 801 

Dod^je. Geii. Augustus C- 1004 

Doetnelaiul. Christ 864 

Donner, l-'rederick 709 

Downer. Klisha 774 

Downer, Willis Krwin... 703 

Dunham, Clark 1056 

Du'-linan. Henry John.-.. 234 

ICads, Henry K 1039 

ICarnest. David 708 

I'berhart, George K 376 

l''dg.ir, Samuel I-^lder 561 

E-:dgar, William John 500 

Kdwards, James Lyman.. 40 

l-"ibes, Joseph 779 

ICideniiller, George 918 

l-isfeld, I-:. .M 656 

l".lliolt. Robert Francis... 692 

l"'nde. Charles 212 

l-'nke, James W 410 

]ipstein, Jacob O58 

Ernst. Frederick Got fried 706 

Esau. Frank 943 

Fvans. Merrett Thomas.. 132 

Evans. Th.inias T 130 

Ewing. William H 1036 

Ewinger, Henry 984 

Ewinger, John H 677 

Ewinger, William 601 

Faris, Joshua 723 

Fichthorn, William 694 

Fischer, Tophel 850 

l-"isiher, William 60 

F'isher, Charles l-'rederick 858 

Manders, Daniel J 256 

Flanders, Samuel A 250 

Iteming, John C, Dr 55 

Memiiig, John J 337 

l-"orkel, .Vuguslus H. H... 574 
Foole, lion. John Graham 51 
Foster, Williani P 1096 



Frantz, John 223 

F'razec, George 1033 

Freeburg, Gust 787 

I'rench, Thomas 1020 

FulIenwider,M.D., Samuel 1080 
I-'unck, J. Adams 1040 

Gahegan, Michael Henry. 283 

Gallaher, George 631 

Gardner, l-"rederick J 921 

Garman, Charles M 516 

Gear, John H looi 

Geng, William .'\ugust... 787 

Gerbeling, Herman 802 

Gerdes, John F 669 

Gerling, Fred 662 

Getty, Hugh C 7(19 

(iibson, .Mien Essington.. 381 

Gibson. George 379 

Gicse, John H 164 

Gieseker, Carl Louis .S4() 

Gieseker, Louis Charles.. 845 

C.ieselmaii. Henry 4.^9 

Gilbert. Isham 1068 

Gilbert, John Webster 302 

Gilbert, Samuel 305 

(Gilbert, Washington D-.- 46 

Gillette, Delos A 666 

Gingrich, John Peter 2.V) 

Glascr, .August G 585 

Gottschalg, lulward 930 

Gould, Ora Jackson 291J 

GrandstaflF, 1-. Otis 36 

Green, Cyrus 570 

Grcvc, Henry 95() 

Griggs, Charles Thaddcus 421 
Grimes, Hon. James W.. 1002 

Gross, John 1)37 

Guest, Gen. James A 43 

Gustafson, .\ndrcw F.... 763 

I lacker, .Mbert 240 

Hafncr, John 55(1 

Haiglit, Charles Henry... 311 

Hale, Bernard 448 

Hall, Hon. Benton J io8() 

Hamilton, Albert 1 754 

Hanaphy. Dr. Frank P. . . 480 

Hanna. Caswell 66 

I lanson, N'els C 352 

Harms. John Willi.ini . . . . 757 

Harper. Hon. William 18 

H.-iri)er. John 942 

Harris. Hiram Spurlock.. 367 



Hartzell. .\dam 1039 

Hatton. Hon. Frank 608 

Hausenclever. l-'dward... 680 

Hawkins. .Mbert H 555 

Hawkins. James .\ 454 

lleckenberg, Charles .A.. 737 
Heckenburg, Mrs. Marg. 691 

Hedge, Hon. Thomas 976 

Hedge, Thomas, Sr 976 

Hedges, Jerome lildward.. 237 
lleitmeicr, Henry........ 883 

Heitz. Sebastian 671 

Heizer. Capt. Samuel B. 360 

lleizer, Edward 1088 

Heil. Casper 529 

Hellenthal, John Peter.. 695 

Hellenthal, .Michael 882 

Helt, Nicholans 464 

Helt, William 786 

Henderson, James 1078 

Henry, Dr. John F 1027 

lleiisleigh, William 655 

Herschler, Samuel 1095 

Herzog, Rheinhart. . . ... . 714 

Hess, Benjamin C 862 

Hingst, Theodore. 879 

Holsteen, .Major Fred S.. 465 

Howard. Wesley. 511 

Hudson. Hon. Silas .X. .. . 94 
Hueholt. Gustav .\dolph. 904 
Hukill. Charles Wesley. . . 524 

llnnl. Charles William 124 

Hunt, Col. Henry E 1041 

Hunt. John B 372 

Hunt. William B 186 

limit. William Claiborne. 41 

llurlbut. Thomas K 991 

Hurlbut. Willi.im H 923 

Huston. Samuel John R.. 547 

llulchcroft, George 618 

llutchcroft, Thomas 644 

lliitclicroft, Thomas 1086 

Mnlchison, John 445 

Ibbotson, John 661 

""•cr. F. C. 437 

Inghram. William D 682 - 

lla. Ulrich. 140 

Jackson, Edgar Thomas.. 194 

Jackson, I-Vank Oscar 755 

Jackson, George Kramer. 583 

Jackson, James 621 

Jackson, John Albert Sio 



INDEX. 



Jackson, Smith H 719 

Jackson, William Harvey- 622 

Jacoby, James H 557 

Jamison, George S 534 

Jenkins, George 718 

Johnson, Andy 8go 

Johnson, August H 748 

Johnson, Charles 8,?- 

Johnson, E. W 87 

Johnson, Frank Alfred. •• 482 

Johnson, Frank E 541 

Johnson, Dr. G. J 1021 

Johnston, Richard 642 

Jones, John Lincoln 698 

Jones, William E 112 

Jordan, Robert C 602 

Julius, Frederick S58 

Jnnk, Riibert B 604 

Kaestner, Henry 593 

Kelly, Daniel 147 

Kelley, David John 959 

Kelley, John L 257 

Kendall, William Albert- ■ 222 

Kirk, James 586 

Killough, James 715 

Kitchen, Jeremiah 539 

Klein, Joseph 319 

Kline. Charles Frederick- 594 

Kline, John Belless 595 

Klindt, Ferdinand H 704 

Knapp, Joseph 567 

Kocli, F. H. A 347 

Koch. M. D., Frederick E- 348 

Koestner, Charles 851 

Kolkman, Fred -^44 

Koonz, J. C 315 

Korf, Anton 941 

Krekel, John Henry 792 

Krekel, Louis F 775 

Kriechbaum, T. W 45 

Krieger, Frederick 877 

Krieger, William Henry. . 876 

Krueger, Charles H 742 

Knechen, Frank X 369 

Kuhlemeier, Fredrick J... 530 

Kuhlenbeck, John F 580 

Kuntz, Christian 816 

Lahcc, John 458 

Lahec, John S 462 

Lane, Charles Arthur---. 751 

Lane, John 575 

Lang, M. D., .^nna J 626 



Lange, Paul 434 

Langley, Howard .A.mes.. 342 

Landwehr, Joseph 672 

Laubscher, John 794 

Laner, Anton 373 

Lauer, Theobald 898 

Lee, John Thomas 599 

Lp^ffler, Hon. Shepherd--- 1045 

,Lehmann, Jacob L 764 

Lehr, Edward 970 

Leicht, Fred g6r 

Lembergcr, Henry 47S 

Leonard, David 414 

Lewis, Mercy 1038 

Lines, Allison 747 

Lines, John R 716 

Lloyd, Joseph A 322 

Lloyd, William Vaughan- 139 

Lofquist, John A 818 

Logan, Richard 420 

Logan, Samuel 420 

Lomax, Robert A 274 

Lowry, J. William 612 

Lucas, Christ 780 

Lucas, Fred William 879 

Lucas, Governor Robert-- 1053 

Luecking, Henry J 761 

l.undecn, Charles M 951 

Magel, Benjamin 487 

Magel, Clarence J. 489 

Magel, George Seibert--- 490 
Magle, Henry (see Sei- 
bert Magle). 

Magel, Peter 490 

Magle, Seibert 485 

Mailandt, Jacob P. 810 

Malchow, John 829 

Marquardt, Herman G--- 108 

Marsteller, Frank L. - - . - - 933 

Martin. Hugh Harvey...- 760 

Martin, Major J. N. 924 

Mason, Hon. Charles.... 1007 

JLithes, Chris 80 

Mathews, Howard A..-.- 121 

.Mathews, J. Ken 300 

McClure, Isaac Newton-- 103 

McCIurkin, John Calvin.- 201 

McColloch, Nathan A.- - - - 896 

McElIiinney, Robert .\. . - - 571 

McF.lhinney, Rcibcrt--.-- 1084 

Mclntire. Joseph .'\. 905 

McKee, David Harris...- 78 

Mcl.ain. John W. 623 



.McLane, Daniel W. 830 

McMullin, John 815 

McMullin- Woellhaf Co., 

The 1098 

McNaught, Ira M. 999 

McPake, John 969 

Mehaflfy, David 798 

Mehaffy, John 746 

Mehmken, Fred 805 

Mercer, John M. 62 

Merrill, T. A. 1083 

Mesmer, Leander J...... 668 

Messenger, Hyram- ------ 532 

Meyers, Herman. 1077 

Millard. l'"rank 993 

Miller, George A. 545 

Miller, William 734 

Mickey, Gov. John H.. . . . 1023 

Moehle, Chris William.. 708 

Moehlc, William 678 

Moehn, Adam 629 

Moehn, Martin 374 

Mohr, Christian 918 

Moir, Robert 553 

Montgomery, John 971 

Moore, Henry. . 1041 

Morehouse, William H... 92 

Moyers, Pearl Alfred.... 950 

Mumme, Joachim Andres. 686 

Munson, Peter .^ugust. . . - 817 

Murpliy, Michael W. 596 

Nees. Peter 985 

Nelson, Carl N. 478 

Nelson, Charles H. 945 

Nelson, Charles M. 860 

Ni.xon, M. D., Samuel E. . . 197 

Nordstrom, Jacob Robert 727 

Norton, Frank C. 423 

O'Farrell. John 797 

Orr, William 582 

Parker, M. D., Addis E... 515 

Patterson, Horace.-.-.-- 150 

Peterson, Andrew John.- 676 

Peterson, Henry .Anton.. 638 

Peterson, John .\ugust.-- 649 

Peterson, William 651 

Pieper, Henry William-- 726 

Picrson, Prof. Johnson... 1034 

Pietzsch, Louie 791 

Pilger, Jacob .Andrew---- 357 

Price, Dr. Jacob W. 339 



1 1 06 



fXDRX. 



Porter. Jaini-s Thompson. .340 
Piirtlock. David I,. 710 



Quell, Henry 



SSo 



Kand. Charle- W jX'j 

Rand, K. D. iot).i 

Randall, Or. William M . . igg 

Rankin, Thomas Richard. 43J 

Ramillcr, Frederick 974 

Rapp, Jacob ■ ■ ■ ■ 902 

Raiihaus, .Mbert 764 

Reed, Jcdui Walkinshaw 6}<5 

Reed, Robert G. 95J 

Reid, Millard Fillmore.. 503 

Rcid. William James-... 8j5 

Reipc, John Henry 614 

Reis, George John ,394 

Renner, Franklin 964 

Renner, John 218 

Renu-y, George Collier. . 1052 

Rickni;m, Fred 998 

Riepe. Charles II. 616 

Riel)e, Herman II. 615 

Riepc. Henry H.. 617 

l\ici)e, John Flick 618 

RilTel, George W 457 

Rinkor, Albert William. • io<)7 

Risser, Jacob M ioo9 

Ritler. Henry 404 

Ritztn.inn, John Baptist.. 235 

Roe, .Albert James. 226 

Roe. I). 1). S.. I'. .\. 224 

Robl), John J.inies 558 

Robb. Robert G. 247 

Rolib, Thomas Cargill. . . . 273 

Robertson. George 1008 

Rold. Chris 973 

Rolf, Jiihn I'rederich. . . . 741 

Roiiikey. I'".dward W...... -'81 

Ronr, Hon. D.ivid 1008 

Roih. John 886 

Rnssell, Simeon 296 

Rntter, Samuel 729 

Ryuii, Dr. William H. 758 



Saarmann. .\rtliiir Win 

Sacrison, Gust 

.Salter. William, D. I). 

Sandberg, I lenry 

Schaefer, M. I)., PanI II 
Schaffner, William.... 
Schenrs, H. P 



994 
1057 

1086 

109.1 



Schick. Charles Henry- • - - 745 

.Schupp. Gebhard .587 

Scholer. Jact)b 6,38 

Sihniiers. John Christian. 1^73 

.Schmidt. Carl 1 972 

.Schmidt, Henry C 968 

Schrader. Frederick 897 

Schramm. Charles F. ---■ 148 
Schramm. John Siegmund 220 

Schrei. -\flolpli 641 

Schroder. John -A 947 

Schro<ler. John .X 948 

Schroeder. John Henry-- 865 

.Schroeder, William F. .--- 866 

Schnltes, Adrian loi 

Schnltz. Henry 679 

Schultz, John 670 

Schuiz, William 728 

Schnlze, James Henry... - 750 

Schuler. Joseph 654 

Schwartz. Herman 890 

Scott, John C. 387 

See. Rev. Michael 843 

Senti. .-\ndrevv 777 

Senti. Samuel 776 

Sheagren. (instaviis V. . - . - 789 

Sheridan, Thomas Wm.-- 732 

Shcrrill, I.ce R 724 

Sielcrman, Freideric C--- 740 

Slingluff. Christian John-- 640 

Smith, \. J 206 

Smith. .Andrew 647 

Smith, F.dward J. • - - 625 

Smith, Fr.mk M. 74 

Smith, h'rederick .Monzo- . 182 

Smith. Hon. l-"llison 118 

Smith, Hon. I'rederiok \. 31 

Smith, Jiistns C. 447 

Smith, Joseph I". 648 

Smith, Thomas l.eander. . 700 

Smith, Samuel 276 

Smith, William CoKvell- 903 

Smith, William H. no 

Sniylh, Hon, P. Henry---- 105.1 

Sowden, F'rank H 542 

Spencer, Richard 1031 

Stadtlander, Henry W... 824 

Starr, Hon. Henry W.- - - - 1013 

Steffcner. Fred W. 822 

Steingrcaber, Walter G.-- 202 

Stewart. George J. 465 

Stewart. John Ramsey..-- 949 

-Steyh. William 424 

Sliefel. .Mbrecht 720 



Stiver-. Thomas 128 

Stockton. Judge L. D 1035 

Stodt. John 835 

Stone. Joseph C. .\l. D.. 1014 

Strothman. Charles A 926 

Strothman. John H 840 

Stncker, George W 386 

Stutsman. Hon. A. H..--- 1031 

Sucssens. I-"redrich 963 

Sunderland. N. P. 428 

Sutcliffe. James 881 

Sutcliffe. John Sidney.... 919 

Sutherland. D. D.. John R. 76 

Swan, John Ward 893 

Sweny, George 135 

Swygard. Frederick Wm.. 957 

Swygard. John P. 562 

Tabor. hVank Charles---. 491 

Tackenbcrg. II. J. 766 

Taeger. Henry J. 821 

Tacgcr. J. Henry 690 

Thie. Friedrich Hermann 528 

Thic, Henry 90 

Thie. Herman 871 

Thielsen. Hans 1037 

Thcmias, .Alfred 793 

Thomas. Fli 838 

Thomas, F.nos 744 

Thomas. John L. 114 

Thomas. Prof. S. O [081 

Thompson, F'rank F 982 

Thompson, Wm. H. 799 

Thornton, I'Vancis C. 769 

Timmerman, Lewis 584 

Timmerman, Louis I-". ---- 803 

Tomlinson, James A....- 208 

Tschenisch, Herman 839 

Turpin, William W. 210 

Uhlcr, John .\ 987 

L'nterkircher, Charles T. - - 310 

Unterkircher, I". L 307 

Unterkircher, G. L .309 

ITnterkircher, P. !•' 306 

Vahic, William 733 

Vance, Peter 327 

Vance, Reverend Wm.--- 326 

V^-indemark, Zuro 960 

V'annice, .Andy 409 

Vannice, James 407 

Van Osdol, John W. 72 

\'oelkel, Jo-eidi 770 



DEC 231949 



INDEX. 



(igelgcsang, John 290 

._igt, Frederick 452 

v'ogt, George Josepli .... 453 

Waclisimith. Prof. Chas. .. 159 

Waddel. John 416 

Waddel, Samuel 417 

Waddle, John William... 418 

Waddle, Robt. Courtney. 321 

Wagner. Jacob Frederick 924 

Waite, Charles Wesley... 330 

Waite, John 259 

Waite, John L. 262 

Walker, Rear-Admiral 

John Grimes 1051 

Walker, M'iUiam 510 

Wallentin, George 153 

Warren, Gen. Fitz Henry, roig 

Warren, Michael 876 



Watson, Alexander 390 

Watssin, J;imcs Richard.. 501 

Watson, John Milton 931 

Weingart, Rudolph 823 

Weinrich, Herman 16S 

Weinstein, Louis 88 

Weis, John P. 319 

Wertz, Jacob Christian... 720 

Westerbeck, Henry 935 

Westerbeck, William 936 

Welch, Samuel F.. 637 

White, Dr. Charles .\ 1065 

Whittemore, John 888 

Wichhart, Charles Henry. 809 

Wightm.an, Joseph P. 1030 

Willson, David 771 

Wilson, Samuel H. F. .... 133 
Williams, Rev. A. C, D, D. 1050 
Williams, George H. 1047 



Williams, Jacob 872 

Williams, John Wilson... 1076 

Williams, Thomas M 1048 

Wischmcier, Christian J.. . 940 

Woellhaf, Gottlieb 934 

Woepking, Theodore.... 734 

Woodcock, Charles 989 

Woodward, George M 184 

Wotring, Winfield S. 317 

Wunnenberg, Fred C. 806 

Wunncnbcrg, Henry 753 

Wunnenberg. Otto 907 

Wynian, Jolm 11 30 

N'ager. John 739 

Vagcr, William Augustus. <S99 

Yaklcy, Andrew 863 

Valcy. Horace J. 174 

Yohe, Isaac James 996 









-•^•S) ''-^ 



^v '< ^v -,< ^. 



o 



\.^' \<^ '^v<^^ '\< 

•r c^' "vc ..\ ^ ,v.- 

< ^ " ^ ~ 



Kt 






^ %<^' \^' ^.^ '^v,^ 



/""•^ /^-^ ^N^""-^ ■/"- -/^'-^ 

^ao* ^^O^ "^^0^ ■^/-d' "^ao^ 



.s^-^ 



C^P ^-^ ^^^ "^ .^*^ «^- ..f^ °^. 









/-^ #% /% 















''^r. At 



V. .A^' -^^ x> 







V » ^ * ° /^ % v" » ^ • » , -ii^ \ 



93. "-;. : *~ v# 93. -'L:*' ^^"^ 93. . „ . . v*^' 9>. ,. 


















" -9^ Oft t fy^^^^ ° <C^ '?<•, ■(L^ <2f 



'*- V » ■• • A ''?- 



N^^°- 







^^■:>^^/h^%,^' ^>v.,^%,^ ,vv,:':\,<?^ -v^^\'^\/' ^.^^^0^% 



J' * <ii^ 






^^■:>^^/h^%,^' ^vv.r-.'^^ ,vv,:'^X.<?^ -v^^\'^X/' *'^^^% 

\/ 9>^"^„ .* y 9>-'o\.*\/ ^o"',,.' </ ^0,'...'/ 



o . . ' vV" 93, 



^"^^ cp\^;j''.% cP\;L;;^'o-'<5i. 0°^^^,^",% ^ 






^^^ 






^ O^ 



o.A' 



if.<^ 



,^^^ 



9). ' o . . * , V^ O- 


















^^d^ 












■^n ^>^'*' *~- 









'"it^o^ 


















X.^^^ 









?:^ °^ 






